by Liam Byrne
The other shill we have at the moment is for the Starrcade Rally, an event that is designed to start the road to Starrcade. Barry Windham and Mike Rotunda run down the nature of the show; five matches, a live band and a free t-shirt to the first thousand people through the front door.
The Zambuie Express face Don Sanders and Steve Miller in the next contest, so we get the usual Express rush as they attack their opponents before the bell. This is standard Express as they squash Sanders with a double body attack after throwing him out of the ring earlier on, before working over Miller with little to no resistance. Elbows, kicks and chokes are the order of the day, whilst a slam sends Miller into the corner to bring Sanders back into the massacre. Sanders ends up back at ringside as it is clear that the Express have been given time to kill – this is going long for an Express squash. Elijah Akeem hits two huge elbowdrops on Sanders to finally put everyone out of their misery. The Express really don’t need to spend five minutes squashing a jobber.
Singles action follows as Black Bart takes on Sam Houston. The first attempt at a lock-up is halted by a Bart eye rake, who follows it up with turnbuckle smashes and bites to the forehead. A slam and a suplex have Bass in complete control, to the point where he pulls Houston up out of a pin. He repeats this after dropping Houston throat first across the top rope so viciously that Houston almost rebounds and hits the referee. The third time is following a big backbreaker, leading to Bart placing Houston in the tree of woe for some stomps to the face. A second eye rake cuts off an attempted Houston comeback and even JJ Dillon gets a chance to get involved as Bart sends Houston to the outside. A guardrail then gets brought into play as Houston ends up dropped throat first across it and then slammed hard into the concrete. Bart grabs Houston from the apron and hits the running powerslam for victory. A brutal squash, though a lot of heels use the ‘pulling opponents up at 2’ and ‘drop across the top rope throat first’ spots to the point where it demeans Bart as he is little more than all those spots with a cool hat.
After we get the Ultimate Assassin, Mike Rotunda, and Barry Windham retort to the previous shills, we get our first chance to see ‘The Raging Bull’ Manny Fernandez as he makes his way down to the ring in a rare example of an entrance on this show. His opponent is Gary Royal and Royal actually knocks over Fernandez with a shoulderblock, but his success is short lived as the Raging Bull hits a dropkick and threatens to nail a chop. This is a sign to Wahoo McDaniel, who has joined Crockett on commentary, with McDaniel clear in his belief that Ferndandez has no chance of beating him. Fernandez targets the leg to the point that we get a spot where Royal collapses on a slam – a big time spot that feels out of place in a squash. Fernandez does land a chop to punctuate an assault on Royal’s arm. Suddenly, Fernandez hits a slow release belly to belly suplex off of an Irish whip, rushes to the second rope and hits a kneedrop for the three count. The end was incredibly dynamic, making up for a pretty pedestrian opening.
We join McDaniel as he continues to profess that Fernandez has no chance of beating him, even if they end up facing each other in the United States Heavyweight Title tournament. Crockett cuts him off, introducing footage of McDaniel against Fernandez in which both men trade chops and strikes in the middle of the ring until a back hand to the face drops McDaniel. Deciding discretion is the better part of valour, McDaniel chooses to lose by countout rather than get embarrassed by the Raging Bull. As the footage finishes, the end of the interview is cut off as the show comes to a close.
The ending with Manny Fernandez offered something to a show that hadn’t always been the most inspiring up until then. Black Bart also deserves some credit for that, but the majority of the other squash matches went too long, especially the one with the Zambuie Express. Nobody needed that.
World Class Championship Wrestling 22.9.84
We have a rematch from a couple of months ago for the main event this week as Gino Hernandez and Kerry Von Erich meet once more. As Hernandez won the match before with the help of an illegal object, this screams of a chance for Von Erich to regain the victory. In addition to this, Chris Adams, Koko Ware and The Missing Link will all be in action.
Our ‘encore match’ this week goes back a couple of months also, as Killer Khan took on Chic Donovan:
Chic Donovan has his hands full in the next match as he meets Killer Khan, but he does his best to initially avoid Khan and tries to work the arm. An attempt at a dropkick is shrugged off by Khan, as are some chops later on in the match, yet a rake of the ears by Donovan seems to have some effect on the Mongolian. It is all for nothing though, as Khan begins to target the knee with a kneedrop off the top onto Donovan’s leg whilst it is perched on the bottom rope. David Manning rings the bells to award the match to Khan due to the punishment Donovan has suffered and the referee deeming him unable to continue. Khan continues the assault, only to be run off by both Kevin Von Erich and Chris Adams as they land a double dropkick to send him to ringside. A dominant performance from Khan that continues to get him over as a real monster.
Chris Adams and Koko Ware were mentioned as being in action earlier, and it just so happens to be against each other. Norvell Austin is nowhere to be seen, but Gary Hart is in the corner of Adams. Ware lands a crisp bodyslam to begin, following up with a second for good measure. Ware struts around, but then Adams manages to avoid a punch in the corner and hit a back body drop that has the crowd fired up. This allows Adams to take the match to the canvas with an armdrag and a cross armbreaker. It takes a stomp to the face to break the hold, though a slam only sees Ware miss a resulting elbowdrop and find himself in an armbar and back in the armbreaker. There is a lot of jawing between Ware and Hart, with the Playboy also offering Adams words of encouragement.
This time, it is a sequence of punches that frees Ware, who then sends Adams to ringside. However, this allows him to have a quick talk with Hart, one that looks like it pays off as he lands a sunset flip for two and throws Ware to ringside moments later. A rake with the boots as he gets back in the ring puts Ware back on top, with a chinlock then used in order to wear down the Gentleman. Adams manages to break the hold, but charges into a clothesline and finds himself tied in the ropes. Ware should win with the brainbuster, but he takes too long going to the top rope instead, as well as diverting to jaw further with Hart. This leads to Adams nailing the superkick for the win. A good match to start things off on World Class Championship Wrestling.
Before the next contest, we join Mark Lowrance in the locker room as he speaks with Iceman King Parsons, Skip Young and Kerry Von Erich. Parsons and Young talk up their new tag team, with the focus on the Pretty Young Things – Young is due to face Norvell Austin the following week. As Young tells Austin to give his life to the Lord as his ‘blank’ belongs to Skip next week, Von Erich arrives to talk Gino Hernandez, his new bodyguard Andrea, and Stella Mae French, believing that Stella Mae has what it takes to deal with Hernandez’s new ‘lady giant’.
Mike Galleger, having picked up loses against Killer Khan and Jake Roberts in recent weeks, is up against The Missing Link so is unlikely to reverse his fortunes. Link just walks up to Galleger and hits him with punches, kicks and a couple headbutts to begin. There is no real rhyme or reason to the early brawling, though the Link does then slam Galleger. A reversal of an Irish whip into the corner gives Galleger some brief respite, but it is incredibly brief as we get more headbutts, including a falling one off of the second turnbuckle. Link uses a bear hug and a reverse atomic drop to prolong the agony for Galleger and for myself, before finishing the contest with a diving headbutt. Awful contest that did nothing for the Link and even less for Galleger.
We head to pre-taped footage of Gino Hernandez and Nickla Roberts (or Andrea, depending on who is talking) talking to Mark Lowrance from the comfort of his convertible. Having two titles around his waist again, Hernandez is in a buoyant mood, whilst Andrea believes that Stella Mae has been dealt with.
Even with two titles, the Gino Hernandez versus Kerry Von Erich match in the m
ain event is non-title. As loud ‘we want Stella’ chants pick up, the two men trade the advantage over initial collar and elbow tie ups. Having had success with a hiptoss, Hernandez tries to use one again, only to get taken over with a backslide for a two count that also sees him head to ringside to regroup. Back in the ring, Von Erich begins to work the arm with a hammerlock that is supplemented with some kneedrops, but Hernandez is into the ropes and back to ringside once more. This is the same after a dropkick by Von Erich, as Hernandez uses every opportunity to break the momentum of his opponent.
Hernandez has more success this time, using several strikes before avoiding a corner charge that sees Von Erich collide with the ring post. Two back elbows have Hernandez trying to get the pin whilst both men are in the ropes, so he transitions to a front facelock instead. Hernandez isn’t able to maintain control for long, eating another dropkick, but he halts Von Erich’s offense with a knee to the gut before sending him to ringside. This leads to a sunset flip into the ring by Kerry for a flash two count, before a mid-ring collision has both men down. Kerry applies the iron claw, but an eye rake manages to break it two times straight. Von Erich is fired up though, earning a two count off of a sequence of punches, but as Von Erich applies a bear hug, the focus shifts to Stella Mae’s arrival at ringside. Mae ends up in the ring in an effort to try and get Andrea to fight with her, whilst Hernandez just throws Von Erich over the top rope to end the contest. A brief scuffle ensues after the decision, but nothing particularly noteworthy as the duos go their separate ways.
A very good episode of World Class Championship Wrestling, outside of a diabolical Link versus Galleger squash. The main event and opening match were both good though, whilst I’m happy they at least didn’t just give Kerry his win back over Hernandez, as I had hypothesised.
WWF Championship Wrestling 22.9.84
The version of the show that I have access to cuts out the introduction by Vince McMahon, though we do see Howard Finkel announce Bruno Sammartino prior to a match between Ron Shaw and the Junkyard Dog. What this show does have is the original music, which means the Dog heads to ringside with ‘Another One Bites The Dust’ pumping through the PA system. However, his entrance is cut short as Shaw jumps him before he can fully get into the ring, though the Dog soon shakes off several of Shaw’s punches and greets him with some of his own right hands. Finally, Sammartino joins McMahon on commentary, with Vince talking up the standing ovation that the legend received. An atomic drop earns the Dog a two count, before he slaps on a chinlock to wear Shaw down. When Shaw escapes, he bites the Dog’s forehead, only to receive several more punches and a headbutt for his trouble. Dog lifts Shaw up, parades him around and dumps him into the canvas for an easy three count. A perfectly acceptable squash as the WWF look to establish the Dog in their promotion.
This week, it is Lord Alfred Hayes who introduces the WWF Update, with the focus this week on Hulk Hogan. We see footage of Hogan’s return to the Twin Cities, allegedly a place that claims to be Hogan’s home, though Hayes suggests that wherever Hulkamania runs wild could make the same claim.
It feels like it has been a while since we’ve seen Dr. D. David Schultz, but he is here to take on Steve Lombardi this week. Both men trade side headlocks and headscissors on the mat in the early going, before Schultz uses a waistlock and front facelock in an attempt to work over Lombardi, who does slip out of the back into a hammerlock though ending up in the ropes in the process. No clean break allows Schultz to take control, using strikes, a suplex and a back elbow, each move punctuated with glares at the crowd. Lombardi reverses an Irish whip, but collides with the ring post on a shoulder charge, leading to a Schultz slam and the second rope elbow for three. There is something eminently watchable about Schultz, even though this contest was nothing spectacular.
The first shill of the evening sees Captain Lou Albano and Dick Murdoch promote a Madison Square Garden six man match including Adrian Adonis, The Wild Samoans and Sergeant Slaughter. Albano is happy to get involved if needed, even though Murdoch tells him he won’t have to get involved as Adonis and himself will have more than enough to get the job done.
Our second opportunity to see The Freebirds under the WWF banner is next as they take on the team of Iron Mike Sharpe, Aldo Marino and Rusty Brooks, a motley crew if ever there was one. This time, the Freebirds do get a good reaction from the fans in attendance, with Hayes in particular doing a good job of cheerleading for the team. Brookes and Gordy start the contest, mainly to show Gordy’s power as he takes over the 340lb Brookes with a clothesline and a poorly executed slam, one that McMahon oddly claims he wasn’t able to complete. Roberts ends up sending Brookes into the heel corner, taking down Marino with a dropkick upon entry and setting up for the back body drop/piledriver combination from Hayes and Gordy that absolutely plants Marino hard into the canvas. The referee probably could have counted to one hundred. A much shorter contest than last time, which felt like it was better for it. Still, there does feel like there is something missing – the hot Texas crowds, perhaps?
Hulk Hogan is now with Mean Gene Okerlund to promote his title defense against Jesse Ventura, focusing on all the ‘hanging and banging’ he has been doing in preparation, as he has the ‘eye of Hulk Hogan’ due to how personal this has become between the two men.
Cowboy Bob Orton is up next, facing off against the strangely named Joe Mascara. An early drop toehold takes Mascara to the mat, though he is able to fight his way back to his feet and land an interesting flip into an armdrag for good measure. Mascara holds onto the arm even as Orton tries to shake him off, yet some punches finally see Cowboy take control. This initial exchange seems to anger Orton as he takes Mascara to ringside and sends him head first into the guard rail twice. Things all go a bit pear shaped as Orton suplexes Mascara into the ring, but then tries to put him in place for the superplex from the bodyslam position. Unsurprisingly, this doesn’t work, with Mascara ending up falling either side of the ringpost before Orton unceremoniously grabs him by the tights to pull him into position. Thankfully, the superplex is a thing of beauty and ends the contest. Was perfectly fine until the really awkward exchanges before the finish.
It is Piper’s Pit up next, and fresh from not getting involved in the contest against the Freebirds earlier in the show, Iron Mike Sharpe is his guest. It takes one mention of the fans calling Sharpe ‘wimp’ to see him go crazy, though Piper is quick to assure him that it isn’t a name he uses. Piper also suggests people believe Sharpe has steel hidden under his leather wrist covering. Sharpe denies this, with Piper then getting out two blocks of wood for Sharpe how hard he can hit. It looks like Sharpe is going to do it, but he then kicks the wood away, finishing the segment with Piper supporting Sharpe by saying he didn’t have to prove anything to anyone.
Gentleman Jerry Valiant is in the ring for a huge moment for the Sammartino family – if no-one else – as David Sammartino makes his WWF debut. Bruno talks about keeping David away from the promotion for four years in order to get him ready with matches in Japan and South America, whilst David takes Valiant down with an armdrag. The following armlock signals the arrival of Brutus Beefcake, doing his casual walk around the ring whilst apparently checking out Sammartino. He isn’t down at ring for long though, and as the focus returns to the in-ring action Sammartino continues to work on the arm. Moments later, a powerslam off of an Irish whip gives Sammartino his first win, though he is still really green and lacking offense to make this anything worthwhile.
A somewhat name match on paper follows, as Terry Daniels takes on Nikolai Volkoff, though the noteworthiness of the contest is purely due to the link between Daniels and Sergeant Slaughter. In reality, Daniels has nothing much for Volkoff, with the Russian taking over with strikes before dumping Daniels throat first on the top rope. Two dropkicks do allow Daniels to get a two count, but a crossbody attempt sees Volkoff just dump him throat first once more across the rope. This is it for the Private, though Volkoff decides to send out a message by hitting two
press slams into backbreakers. Volkoff’s decision to then jump on Daniels leads to the arrival of the aforementioned Slaughter, yet Volkoff manages to keep him out of the ring by sending the Sergeant into the ringpost. Eventually, Slaughter does make it into the ring and begins to choke Volkoff, but gets caught with a loaded boot shot from the Iron Sheik as Volkoff’s partner comes down to help him out. The locker room ends up emptying in an attempt to stop Volkoff and the Iron Sheik, but as it consists primarily of jobbers, they are largely unsuccessful. McMahon chooses to throw to an interview in the hope that things will have been resolved by the time we come back.
That interview is with Jesse Ventura, as he positons the match against Hulk Hogan as one of good versus evil, especially as he is better than the champion in every conceivable way. Ventura bets on himself to win as evil always prevails.
To finish, we have some more fatherly pride being showcased as Bruno talks about his son’s debut, before McMahon announces that we will see footage of a Roddy Piper versus Jimmy Snuka contest as the main feature for next week. Can’t argue with that compared to some of the matches we are having to sit through.
This was a decent enough episode of Championship Wrestling, though one carried more by interesting characters and wrestlers than the actual wrestling itself. Schultz and Orton are always engaging, whilst the pull apart brawl near the end was a rare time when the WWF tried to channel the out of control feeling that you see in several of the other promotions. Everything else was at least fairly inoffensive.