Tracking the Territories 1984- Volume Three

by Liam Byrne

  Memphis has raised its game once again with the Lawler/Bundy/Rude interactions, the crazy brawl between the Rock and Roll Express and Poffomania, and the main event with the aforementioned Express versus the Nightmares. An entertaining forty minutes of action unlike anything you’d see anywhere else in the country at the time.

  Championship Wrestling From Florida 21.7.84

  Gordon Solie, Buddy Colt and Barbara Clary are with us this week as Solie announces new United States Tag Team Champions, the Guerreros. Colt talks up how exciting they are as a team, before Oliver Humperdink gives some brief words about his new charge, The Saint, who will be talked about on Clary’s ‘Take Five’ segment.

  Humperdink is out there primarily to support Superstar Billy Graham as he meets Shotgun Willie in the first match of the evening. Graham has taken to wearing camouflage rather than the gi that characterised his look when he came into Florida, though he still waves his arms around in a facsimile of a karate expert pre-match. As Humperdink continues to talk about Graham’s full nelson being better than Billy Jack, Graham begins the contest with some chops to the throat and a knee to the head. Several turnbuckle smashes and a back elbow send Willie to the canvas and he is soon at ringside being introduced to the wooden guardrail. A big slam leaves him open for the full nelson and an easy victim for the Superstar. Graham’s squashes are pretty much identical each time, which I realise is par for the course at times, but with such a limited offense and his desire to always take the fight to the floor as well, it is jarring.

  After Chief Joe Lightfoot spends the majority of an interview promoting a match against Kevin Sullivan talking in French, we head back to the commentary booth to talk with both Humperdink and Graham. Graham says the only reason he is sweating is because of the lights in the studio, which have caused Colt to have some bad body odour. The Superstar waves around both the Florida Heavyweight Title and what he claims to be the Mixed Martial Arts belt of the World as he just throws words together at the black judo belt he holds in his hand. The point of the promo is to challenge Dusty Rhodes, with Graham promising to make him crawl and beg like a baby. Eventually, Solie cuts off Graham as they have a match in the ring, though the Superstar continues to rant over the top of him. He may be spent physically, but he is still an excellent promo.

  The Saint, Humperdink’s new charge, is dressed all in white with a mask for good measure. It is Fidel Sierra under the mask, who would go on to wrestle as the Cuban Assassin as well as have a run in the later days of WCW as David Sierra. His opponent is Denny Brown who is usually good value for a decent match. As Humperdink comes to check on his new man, Graham is still talking over Solie, though this stops as the Saint begins the contest with a kneelift and a back body drop to Brown. Brown isn’t going to stand back and take a beating however, as he hits back with some punches and a bodyslam. The Saint goes to the eyes to regain control, with a headbutt to the midsection to halt a second Brown comeback and the avoidance of a dropkick for the last Brown flurry. A swinging neckbreaker is enough for the Saint to win on his television debut in a brief, fun contest.

  One Man Gang’s face turn continues, although his interview with Solie starts with him suggesting that he wasn’t aware what was happening last week, which doesn’t exactly fill you with confidence considering he had had several run ins with Humperdink and his cronies. Gang has Betsy, his chain, which he will have with him wherever he goes if the Humperdink or his guys want to try and jump him again.

  The new champions, The Guerreros, have some decent opposition this week as Chief Joe Lightfoot and Scott McGhee, with Solie speaking about the international nature of the four wrestlers in the ring. Lightfoot and Chavo trade armdrags to begin, with a trip allowing Chavo to begin to work the leg with a standing leglock. Lightfoot manages to get to his feet and lands a hiptoss, leaving Chavo to tag out at the first sign of danger. Hector has little success with either Lightfoot or McGhee after a tag as the Scot takes him down to the canvas and looks to work the leg and arm.

  Quick tags keep the fresh man in the ring for both teams as neither can quite keep control for a prolonged period. McGhee shows off some impressive athleticism by flipping out of a double top wristlock, but two blind tags lead to a situation where both McGhee and Lightfoot are pinning the wrong guy to make it a legal combination. Solie teases the time limit draw, but McGhee is struggling against the double team offense of The Guerreros, both in the ring and behind the referee’s back. McGhee manages to land a double sunset flip for a one count, though more importantly it allows him to tag out to Lightfoot. Solie mentions there is one minute left and after Lightfoot grabs a sunset flip for two, the bell rings for the time limit. A good match that puts Lightfoot and McGhee in the shop window as potential challengers going forward.

  The Guerreros aren’t messing around at the commentary booth as they lord it over the fans who called them ‘wetbacks’ and haven’t respected them in the path. They are especially put out by Solie’s suggestion that Lightfoot and McGhee should get a rematch, with the Guerreros saying that ten minutes in the ring with men who are used to going hours if necessary means nothing.

  Dick Slater’s run this time in Championship Wrestling from Florida was the very definition of passing through as we head to Barry Windham talking to Solie about an I Quit match in Orlando. Having made a splash upon his return, Slater wouldn’t wrestle for Florida after this contest for almost two months. The footage shows Slater using a chair to choke Windham before waffling upside the head with it after Windham refuses to quit. A flying punch to the face allows Windham to take over with a top rope stomp to the chair that ‘broke’ Slater’s arm, though it takes several more chair-assisted stomps and a short arm scissor before Humperdink threw in the towel.

  Angelo Mosca is defending the Southern Heavyweight Championship against Tommy Wright, with Solie instantly questioning the quality of the ‘number one contender’ as Mosca calls him. Mosca barrels into Wright with both punches and kicks, sending him into the turnbuckle and landing a tackle in the corner. A straight right hand to the face is enough for Mosca to pick up the three count in a match that doesn’t even last a minute.

  After local promotion focusing on Windham taking on Graham for the title along the line and the Gang trying to earn give minutes against Humperdink by teaming with Rhodes to take on Ron Bass and Graham this evening, we get to see Kevin Sullivan in the ring against Mike Fever. Sullivan has a woman in the corner with him and sprints across the ring to pummel Fever before the bell rings. Two running double stomps and a Samoan drop are enough for another quick victory on this show. Sullivan instantly wanders over to the commentary booth and talks about being given ‘the Lock’, which appears to be the woman who joined him at ringside. Sullivan refers to Rhodes as his friend and speaks about how Rhodes will be back next week to stand beside him and take on the family of Mulligan et al. A sinister promo that leaves more questions than answers.

  After further local promotion by Clary that includes mention of a match between Rhodes and Mike Rotunda that sounds out of place, she is joined for her ‘Take Five’ with Humperdink and the Saint. The interview between Clary and the Saint is in Spanish as he speaks no English, with Clary translating for the audience. The Saint pledges allegiance to no-one other than Humperdink and Fidel Castro, whilst he gives some cigars to Humperdink as a gift and mentions that he primarily in the promotion to earn more money alongside his new manager.

  With only minutes to go, Billy Jack and Mike Rotunda are in the ring to take on Black Bart and Ron Bass, so I can only assume a schmozz finish is incoming. Jack and Bart open the contest for their respective teams and Bart cannot take Jack off of his feet with two attempted shoulderblocks. The Breakdancers are watching as Rotunda enters the ring and takes both Bart and Bass down with a side headlock/headscissors combination. Rotunda hits a crossbody on Bass for a two count and Jack wrenches on a side headlock, only to get thrown face first into Bass’ boot. Bass has to get into the ring to break up a sunset flip by Rotunda, w
hilst the heels illegally double team Jack several times. No schmozz finish, just the credits rolling and both teams continuing to fight at ringside as the match just…ends.

  A good show up until the main event really. The tag team match in the middle, a fun Saint/Brown match and two good squashes by Sullivan and Mosca make this a good show pretty much throughout – shame the main event served absolutely no purpose.

  MACW World Wide Wrestling 21.7.84

  Having had a short gap in action from Mid-Atlantic, we are back and straight into the ring with The Youngbloods taking on Gary Royal and Doug Vines. Jay Youngblood is in his slightly ridiculous ‘Renegade’ phase which sees him wearing face paint and talking about channelling the power of his people – it just doesn’t feel like it works with someone like Youngblood. As both teams go through a feeling out process, David Crockett makes it clear that the Youngbloods and the tag champions, Don Kernodle and Ivan Koloff, have been fined for a brawl that took place in the last few weeks. A suplex from Renegade earns an early two count, whilst Royal’s attempts to roll out of the way of a move just sees him getting an elbowdrop to the back of the head.

  Royal and Vines do manage to get Mark in their corner after Vines hits a nice hiptoss-style throw, with some heeling 101 and cutting off the corner to keep the Youngbloods apart. Royal makes a poor choice in trying to hit a second rope crossbody to avoid an Irish whip into the corner, but Mark ducks and makes the tag to the Renegade. He lands a chop and a dropkick on Royal, before a tag back out to Mark sees a back body drop and a legdrop. The tags are coming thick and fast, with Vines ending up getting caught in a bearhug/clothesline combination that we’ve seen the Road Warriors use this year and would be refined somewhat into the Hart Attack. That is enough for the victory in a spirited opener.

  Crockett is with Dusty Rhodes next as he discusses how the NWA United States Championship has been held up, though Crockett subsequently confuses things by talking about how Rhodes is clearly after the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Rhodes adds more to the mix by talking about taking Tully Blanchard’s Television Title and the $10,000 that Blanchard has put up alongside it, which will by the American Dream some breakdancing lessons apparently. Rhodes talks about how Wahoo McDaniel isn’t representing things properly when he talks about not getting title shots in the past, before preaching to the fans for unity. At the end of that, I still don’t actually know what happened to the United States Championship (a quick search shows me that he was stripped of the title due to Blanchard interfering in his victory for the belt).

  Buzz Sawyer is out now to take on Keith Larsen, with his run in the WWF already over. Sawyer was transient to say the least in 1984 as he covered All Japan, Central States, Florida, Southwest, Memphis and Puerto Rico alongside stints in WWF and Mid-Atlantic. Paul Jones is alongside Sawyer as Larsen has the commentary team excited with a crossbody that earns him a two count. Sawyer’s wildman schtick is toned down significantly from when he was in the WWF, though he still grinds Larsen’s face into the mat with little regard for his opponent. A suplex earns Sawyer a two count whilst a pin has an additional bite to the forehead for good measure. Sawyer uses a headbutt to keep Larsen at ringside in an unorthodox fashion, though Larsen once again comes close with a sunset flip into the ring which is followed by a small package. A bearhug is switched into a side belly to belly suplex, yet Sawyer misses a headbutt and Larsen fires back with a back body drop. However, a leapfrogging Larsen is caught in midair with a powerslam for the three count. Too equal in terms of booking for my liking, but Sawyer’s powerslam is always a beauty.

  After local promos that shill a show in Roanoke with The Assassins (1 and 3) teaming with Paul Jones to take on Rufus R. Jones, Jimmy Valiant and Adrian Street whilst Don Kernodle and Ivan Koloff defend the NWA Tag Team Titles against the Youngbloods, it is the aforementioned Assassins against Mark Fleming and Vinnie Valentino up next. Assassin #3 is a recently debuted Nick Patrick before he would become more famous as a referee, tagging with his father, Jody Hamilton. It is Fleming in the ring with #3 first, and after a pretty ropey looking hiptoss, #1 is tagged in and somewhat isolated by the face team, at least initially. However, it is #3 who gets a chance to beat down on Fleming with knees and stomps, before a back elbow from #1 sends him to the canvas for a two count.

  #3 hits a well-executed suplex for another two count, but lets Fleming escape long enough for a tag to Valentino, who brings the fight to both men before earning a two count with a dropkick. #3 goes to the eyes to halt the momentum, with #1 using an armbar and several headbutts to slow the contest down. #3 again lets the jobbers make a tag, with Fleming this time taking the match to the rookie Assassin up until #3 telegraphs a back body drop attempt by landing an elbow to the back of the head. Considering the Assassins are in control following a #3 gutwrench suplex, the finish is odd as he turns around to tag and gets rolled-up. This allows Jones to slip something to #1 who knocks out Fleming with a punch and earns the pin. #3 didn’t look too bad in this first airing that I’ve seen, though the Assassins shouldn’t need to use nefarious tactics to take care of a team so low on the totem pole.

  We cut to what appears to be Dusty Rhodes commentating over video footage of an NWA World Heavyweight Title Match between Ric Flair and Wahoo McDaniel, although it is unclear as we join in the middle of it. McDaniel tries to use the ropes for leverage to pin Flair but fails, as Rhodes talks about this being the chance McDaniel believes he has been denied. Flair has to put his foot on the rope to break the next pinfall, yet the ref sees Tully Blanchard knock it off and awards Flair the match by disqualification in one of the softer decisions you’ll ever see. As Flair tries to brawl with Blanchard, McDaniel grabs the champion from behind and allows Tully some free shots as Rhodes professes that McDaniel has gone bad for the money. As we head back from the footage, Rhodes is waving around some textbooks in a tenuous link to the children that McDaniel turned his back on for the greed. This footage may have been inserted from a spot later in the show as it gets referenced as upcoming in the next contest.

  This footage also cuts straight into a match with the NWA Tag Team Champions as Don Kernodle and Ivan Koloff meet Sam Houston and Brett Hart (Barry Horowitz). Kernodle hits an early crossbody attack to allow him to make the tag to Koloff, who targets the arm of Hart. Nikita Koloff is ominously watching on as Hart back body drops his way out of an armlock and tags to Houston, entering the ring and landing a crossbody of his own for a two count and hitting two glancing dropkicks. Koloff tags out and Kernodle shows Houston how it is really done with a beautiful dropkick that connects hard in the face of Houston. This leaves him open for double teaming from the champions, with Koloff landing a back elbow, an elbow drop and a hammerlock slam before Kernodle aims his own elbowdrop at Houston’s arm.

  Houston avoids a second elbowdrop and tags out to Hart, with another example of how to do a dropkick better than Houston putting Kernodle on his back. Just as it looks like the champions are in danger, Kernodle telegraphs a back body drop and plants Hart with a swinging neckbreaker. A shoulderblock that is effectively Hart just running into Koloff is followed by a Kernodle kneedrop, before the two men trade missed charges into the corner. Kernodle takes advantage of Hart’s mistake with a second rope dropkick and the champions land the back suplex/top rope clothesline combination moments later for the three count. Sloppy in places, but fun due to the underdog competitiveness of the Houston/Hart team.

  Tully Blanchard is out now to defend the actions of Wahoo McDaniel to David Crockett, covering his behaviour in costing Ricky Steamboat his United States Title as well as getting involved with Ric Flair’s business. It is short and sweet, with a couple of words thrown in for Rhodes for good measure.

  The next match begins weirdly as Brian Adias is waiting in the ring for the arrival of his opponent, Jeff Sword. When Sword finally shows up, the match can begin as Adias takes early control with a side headlock. A dropkick after a leapfrog allows Adias to use a side headlock takedown to bring Sword to the
mat, but he manages to fight his way out of it at least initially, only for Adias to win the battle of the top wristlock.

  Adias uses another leapfrog to set up for an armdrag this time, but the going is slow as he returns to a top wristlock. A rolling front facelock takes Adias and Sword into the ropes, so we get another side headlock spot with another takedown. Sword hits a few punches to break the hold, only to get sent around in an airplane spin moments later for an Adias win in a turgid excuse for a squash match that felt like one long side headlock. As the match was dragging towards its conclusion, the big push was on an Adias versus Buzz Sawyer feud, with reference to Adias getting treated badly by Mad Dog when he first entered the business. You couldn’t get two more polar opposite guys in terms of charisma or just generally creating something enigmatic and engaging in the ring.

  After the usual Jimmy Valiant rant to promote the previously mentioned six-man tag in Roanoke, it is Valiant and Adrian Street who close the show out for us in the ring against Ali Bey and Bobby Bass. It is a shame Street didn’t stay heel for longer, but the characters of Valiant and Street do work well as a fun loving face tag team. The commentary make it clear how good Street is in the ring and he has some initial success in outwrestling Bey, including a flying headscissors to escape an armlock. When Valiant is in, there is no subtlety as we get eye rakes, punches and bell ringers with the crowd loving every second. Valiant does land two armdrags which is more wrestling than I’ve ever seen from him, leading to a back elbow by Street on Bass.