Tracking the Territories 1984- Volume Three

by Liam Byrne

  Morton is fired up as the match begins, taking Hess over with a hiptoss and throwing a punch at Rude who is standing on the apron. A bodyslam follows as Hess looks unsure as to how to counteract Morton’s speed advantage. He doesn’t need to worry seconds later as the Nightmares return to end the match as they jump Morton and leave it five on three in the ring. Lawler ends up heading backstage, only to return and throw a fireball at both Bundy and Rude! That, along with some punches to Hess sees the Family flee from ringside and leave the face trio standing tall.

  We do get a brief promo by Lawler to finish, with the focus being on Championship Wrestling being at the Memphis Fair on the Friday.

  This was back to good old Memphis, with title changes, wild brawls and fireballs. You can’t do this every week, but no promotion at this time makes things seem as out of control as Memphis manages when it gets going. With the happenings in the studio coupled with the main event from the Coliseum, this is a very entertaining show.

  MACW World Wide Wrestling 15.9.84

  As the show begins, we are immediately shown the finish of the Mid Atlantic Heavyweight Title match from last week which saw Ron Bass defeat Angelo Mosca Jr. to win the belt, though only after JJ Dillon got involved from outside the ring to break up a surefire pinfall. Dillon is with David Crockett and blames the unprovoked attack on himself by Mosca Jr. as to why Bass was able to take the victory. Dillon is joined by Bass and Black Bart, with Dillon believing that it is good that the Mid Atlantic territory finally has a champion that can be looked up to. Bass was happy with the celebration that Dillon put on post-match, wondering aloud what he might offer them when they win the NWA World Tag Team Titles.

  Mark Youngblood is first in the ring tonight as he takes on Doug Vines, with Crockett suggesting as he throws it over to the match that Youngblood could be a challenger for that Mid-Atlantic title. As Vines controls Youngblood with a side headlock, Crockett tells Johnny Weaver that they had lots of letters about how much people enjoyed the footage from inside the dressing room last week – something I remarked positively on as well. Youngblood lands a hiptoss, but as always, the fans are pretty muted for his solo outings. Three quick pinfalls follow a gutwrench, a slam and a chop respectively, before Youngblood uses a side headlock of his own. Thing briefly fire up with a Youngblood leapfrog and dropkick, only for him to take the match back to the canvas. Some chops and another dropkick have the crowd more excited, though Youngblood decides to try and get the pin off of a snapmare for some reason, unsuccessfully. One more chop sets up for a top rope axehandle for Youngblood which earns him the win in a pretty average squash.

  In the middle of the previous match, Crockett mentioned they had big news about the United States Championship, and he is joined by Wahoo McDaniel as he announces a tournament to crown a new champion. Unsurprisingly, McDaniel’s is unhappy about the decision, though he believes that he is ready for any of the other fifteen men that are challenging for the gold, even if that means taking out Tully Blanchard along the way. We then head to pre-taped words with Ricky Steamboat standing in what appears to be a home gym. He is also angry, thinking that the NWA have copped out in the decision they made and not speaking to him about it face to face. Steamboat’s only concern at this moment is McDaniel, but Steamboat will be prepared for October the 7th and will take the United States Title.

  The Assassin is a name who is also due to be in the tournament, though Mike Fever will probably offer him less difficulties than many of the other names gunning for gold. The Assassin brings the contest to the mat by using the arm, whilst he controls it with a head scissors and front facelock as Fever can’t fight his way back to his feet. The Assassin uses his bulk to just lay on top of Fever, following up with a knee to the face and a kick to the chest. More simple strikes and stomps lead to a hammerlock as the Assassins controls the pace. After several stomps to the arm, the Assassin sends Fever into the ropes and nails him with the taped fist. What follows is a sequence of the Assassin picking Fever up at two as he hits more punches and a legdrop before finishing things off with an elbowdrop. The Assassin’s bullying offense does little for me in all honesty.

  After a shill by JJ Dillon to promote Ron Bass defending the Mid Atlantic title against Mike Rotunda (with Dillon even mentioning Bass losing to Rotunda in Florida), Paul Jones and the Assassin speaking about Johnny Weaver (“The Ultimate Assassin”) stealing his mask, and Tully Blanchard waving around his $10,000 whilst talking about taking on Barry Windham, we get a chance to see Rotunda and Windham in a tag match against Paul Kelly and Gary Royal. It is Rotunda who starts the match with Kelly, though only moments before he is trading quick tags with Windham in order to work the arm. They land a big double dropkick, before Windham hits a slam and an elbowdrop for two. Kelly does manage to fight his way to a tag, only for Royal to get swallowed up by Windham immediately.

  Rotunda ends up showcasing his technical chops with a side headlock and some neat transitions, whilst Windham shrugs off a slam from the returning Kelly to hit him with a kick to the chest. Rotunda earns a two count off of a legdrop and a front facelock takeover, yet he gets caught against the ropes for the first signs of danger for the face team. It is incredibly brief however, as Rotunda just punches Royal in the face when he gets into the ring in an effort to pressurise his opponent. It is Kelly who ends up taking the pinfall loss, as a Windham dropkick sets him up for a Rotunda airplane spin. The team are well liked by the fans, and you can see why as they do bring a lot of energy to a roster that occasionally feels sluggish.

  Windham also gets a chance to talk to Crockett post-match, though the focus is on Dusty Rhodes and Nikita Koloff competing in an arm wrestling contest. Windham talks about the injuries that Rhodes suffered, although he is still walking tall in the locker room. We then see the footage of the contest, one that Rhodes managed to earn victory in, only to get attacked by Ivan Koloff and Don Kernodle. The footage cuts out just as the beatdown commences, which is a shame.

  Brett Hart and Keith Larsen are the next sacrificial lambs to the Zambuie Express, though they do at least avoid the trademark Express pre-match charge as the contest begins like a normal team match. It isn’t long before Hart is getting hammered with strikes, clotheslines and slams though, before an Express sandwich crushes him in the middle of the ring. Larsen gets an opportunity to enter the contest, yet things just continue the same as before – an Express beatdown. A handful of hair stops Larsen from putting together a sequence of punches, whilst Paul Jones takes an opportunity to waffle Larsen several times whilst the referee was unable to see.

  A slam on Larsen sees him thrown across the ring with ease, but as the fans are getting behind the jobbers, a missed charge into the corner gives Larsen a window of opportunity. He tags out to Hart, but he is cut off straight away, with a jumping headbutt moments later catching him awkwardly in the middle of his back. This is the beginning of the end, with a big elbowdrop finishing Hart off. The Zambuies are really not very good, but the pop for just a missed charge showed that their gimmick had value as anyone who could take the fight to them would have the fans on their side.

  A rare Don Kernodle singles match follows, though he is accompanied by both Nikita and Ivan Koloff as he takes on Denny Brown. Two fireman’s carry takedowns have Kernodle showing off in Brown’s face, though Brown then takes control with a side headlock. The crowd are very excited as Brown dives underneath a Kernodle crossbody attempt, but just as he is firing up, he charges straight into a Kernodle powerslam. A back elbow and a stalling suplex has Kernodle well on top after a poor start, though Brown does aim the odd punch his way that requires Kernodle to cut him off with a punch or a turnbuckle smash. Brown does finally put some combinations together, but a missed charge in the corner allows Kernodle to hit the second rope clothesline and lock in the cobra clutch for the finish. A good squash match, especially as Brown is a very watchable underdog wherever he goes.

  We get the return words from Mike Rotunda, “The Ultimate Assassin” and Barry Wind
ham in response to the earlier shills, before Johnny Weaver joins the Assassin and Paul Jones in the locker room to question how long the taped fist is going to be necessary. Hilariously, this is the sequence of events that actually leads to Weaver taking the mask from the Assassin, as the masked man gets annoyed with all the questions, takes a swing at Weaver and is sent to the canvas with a snapmare that also rips his mask clean off. A very roundabout way of promoting that upcoming contest, though it at least makes me realise I hadn’t missed something like I imagined might have been the case.

  The last match on the show is Black Bart against Sam Houston, with Bart taking control with turnbuckle smashes and headbutts from the get go. He dumps Houston in the tree of woe for several stomps, whilst Crockett and Weaver speak on the commentary about taking the mask off of the Assassin. Weaver tells the Assassin to come and get the mask before excusing himself from the rest of the show, as Bart is chucking Houston around the ring with ease. A running powerslam completes a dominant squash, a surprising outcome considering how Houston is often positioned as someone who can at least give his opponent a fight.

  We get one last brief interview segment as Paul Jones joins Crockett, backed up by the Zambuie Express, as Jones warns Weaver that you never take anything from him or the Assassin.

  A show that picked up as it went along personally, with Windham, Rotunda and Kernodle all doing their best to turn the episode into something watchable. The Weaver/Assassin altercation was something different, though it didn’t help that it was effectively spoiled by the shilling of the local shows.

  World Class Championship Wrestling 15.9.84

  Bill Mercer is with us to run down the card as always, with the main event this week seeing Kerry and Kevin Von Erich teaming up to take on The Missing Link and Killer Khan. In addition, Chris Adams and Jake Roberts will also be in action, alongside an encore match that shows the action from when Kerry met Khan.

  It is the encore match that we begin with, as we are given a second chance to watch last week’s main event:

  The main event is up next as Kerry Von Erich meets Killer Khan. Mercer’s interest in the looks and body of Kerry border on the homoerotic, but you can’t doubt the response of the fans who absolutely adore him. Von Erich tries to take the match to the floor with a drop toehold, but Khan just muscles him back up and onto the turnbuckle, a move that earns him a punch to the face. Kerry makes the mistake of going for a powerslam, but transitions to a modified armdrag and armbar. Khan powers his way out of it, only to get cut off with a dropkick and several punches, including a discus version. Khan keeps coming though, hitting a boot to the stomach and several overhand strikes. A side kick has Kerry on the canvas, with a snapmare then leading to a struggle over the Asiatic spike on the mat. To fight it off, Kerry applies the Iron claw on the stomach, though gets a punch to the face for his trouble.

  Khan misses a charge, before getting a back elbow and some more punches to the face. Unfortunately for Kerry, Khan’s punches are more dangerous, turning the tide until Khan misses a second rope kneedrop. In a completely unsurprising ending, The Missing Link wanders into the ring the moment Kerry applies the claw, leading to a two on one beatdown that is halted by… a referee, rather than one of other of the Von Erich brothers. Nothing special, whilst the finish was about as obvious as you can get.

  It is Chris Adams who is first up in the Sportatorium this week, taking on ‘Wild’ Bill Irwin, with the added wrinkle of Adams being seconded by Gary Hart whilst Irwin naturally has Skandor Akbar in his corner. There is no clean break as Adams is forced back into the ropes, nor one from the Brit as he retaliates in kind with a chop to Irwin moments later. A second attempt at a cheapshot from Irwin misses, leading to a hiptoss, a dropkick and a snapmare into a chinlock as Adams is quick to take advantage. A lot of the camera work focuses on Hart and Akbar trading barbs and looks at ringside. It is Irwin using Adam’s momentum against him, throwing him through the middle ropes, that allows him to take control, using several overhand blows and a turnbuckle smash.

  Irwin’s time on top is brief, with Adams slipping out of the back of a bodyslam and using a roll-up that earns him the nearest of nearfalls; the match looked over but Irwin just broke the hold. Some reversals off of an Irish whip ends up with Adam targeting the arm on the canvas after a throw takes Irwin down, but a knee to the stomach sends Adams back to the outside. Once again, Irwin’s offense is halted by Adams reversing a move into a pin, with a schoolboy this time getting a two count. Adams returns to a chinlock, with Hart at ringside giving him instructions to apply it as effectively as possible. Hart and Akbar’s verbals distracts the referee long enough to allow Irwin to hit a punch to Adam’s throat, breaking the hold and leading to the first real sustained pressure from Irwin.

  A bodyslam and a big running knee drop earn Irwin a two count, though Adams lands a dropkick and some punches in the corner as neither man can keep the other under wraps for long. Adams tries to charge Irwin in the corner, but eats a boot to the face, though Irwin only gets a one count off of a gutwrench suplex. After some more back and forth, Adams hits a superkick that forces Akbar to place Irwin’s foot on the ropes to break the pin. Seconds later, a knee to the face by Irwin has Adams down, but the finish all goes awry as it is unclear (especially to Mercer) whether Irwin got the three or not. Possibly out of position to break it up, Hart instead whacks Irwin in the head with a shoe, somehow unseen by the referee, and that is enough for Adams to win. A good, competitive contest let down by an awfully executed finish, one that needs to be explained by the announcer post-match; Adams apparently had his hand over the rope on the first three count.

  After a commercial break, we see footage of Gino Hernandez taking on Ric Flair, with Hernandez taking advantage of the referee being down to blast Flair with a pair of knuckle dusters, only to then get knocked off of the top rope by Stella Mae French wielding a two by four. This allows Flair to get the win, before we cut to French getting attacked by Nicola Roberts in the crowd as Hernandez battles with Mike Von Erich. Roberts whacks Von Erich over the back of the head, sending him into a Hernandez shoulderbreaker that allows ‘The Handsome Halfbreed’ to regain the American Heavyweight Title.

  In typical World Class fashion, they’ve seemingly changed the surname of one of their favourite jobbers, George Wengroff, which is at odds with just about every other place I see his name written down and how it is pronounced. However, his surname is less of a concern than his opponent, Jake Roberts. We get the usual spiel before the men even lock-up about Wengroff’s visual impairment, with the first lock-ups then leading to two clean breaks. It is Wengroff who hits the first moves in anger, dropping Roberts with three bodyslams in a row. This sees Roberts back off, but Wengroff then gets a two count out of an Irish whip into the corner.

  As Wengroff locks on an abdominal stretch, Mercer then explains why the finish stood for the previous match; a case of the promotion protesting too much to try and negate a poor finish. Wengroff gets another two count off of a bodyslam, but then meets a boot to the stomach that allows Roberts to follow up with two chop blocks. Roberts grapevines the legs to continue to work on them, before dropping Wengroff with a lariat and an uppercut under the chin. A punch stops an attempted sunset flip by Wengroff, though Roberts then slips on a slam that almost earns Wengroff a fluke victory. However, any momentum is instantly halted with a knee drop and the DDT for a Roberts win. This was way too competitive for Roberts, making him look weak, especially when compared to his debut contest.

  You know that you have a Von Erichs versus Devastation Inc. main event when you are left with barely five minutes before the show closes out. It is Khan and Kerry who begin the match, though Kerry instantly tags out to Kevin in order to use some quick double teaming and a Kevin headscissors to take the Mongolian down briefly. This use of quick tags appears to be the Von Erich gameplan to isolate Khan, with Kerry back in straight away with a takedown and several elbows to the leg. It is only when Kevin decides to shift his attention to
Link that Khan is able to halt the Von Erich offense, leading to a brief four man brawl and ending with Link and Khan working over Kevin. Khan uses an over the shoulder backbreaker to wear his opponent down, but a kneedrop after a bodyslam misses and allows Kevin to make the tag. Khan is rocked by a discus punch, before Kerry applies the sleeperhold. This sparks more brawling from all four men, with Akbar also getting up on the apron. For the second time in this contest, Kevin focuses on someone who is currently not involved in the action, allowing Khan to hit Kerry with the Asian Spike (as Link holds Von Erich in place) for the surprise three count. The joy on Khan’s face is somewhat akin to the joy on my face having seen a rare Von Erich loss. The match went just over four minutes.

  Whilst the back end of the show didn’t really deliver, the Adams versus Irwin match had been legitimately enjoyable up until the finish. That they spent such a long time trying to explain away what happened only served to draw more attention to it, and not in a good way.

  WWF Championship Wrestling 15.9.84

  We get a change in the commentary booth as Angelo Mosca Sr. is in in place of Tony Garea to run down the card with Vince McMahon. Salvatore Bellomo takes on Greg Valentine, Tito Santana will be in action, as will the ‘Women’s Tag Team Champions’, Princess Victoria and Velvet McIntyre.

  It is Greg Valentine and Salvatore Bellomo who meet in the ring first, with both McMahon and Mosca Sr. focusing on how big Lou Albano’s gut is pre-match. A Valentine hammerlock sees Bellomo use a takedown to escape, though an attempt to lock in an armbar leads to a Valentine gutbuster. However, Bellomo rocks Valentine with a standing dropkick before applying a rear chinlock. Weirdly enough, Bellomo’s second dropkick as he is moving is substantially worse, though he does set it up by cartwheeling over a Valentine drop down. After a chat with Albano at ringside, Valentine send Bellomo throat first into the top rope before landing a fist drop. The Hammer is unable to apply the figure four leglock as Bellomo fights his way out of it, but Albano does get a chance to give Bellomo a couple of kicks as he falls outside the ring.