Tracking the Territories 1984- Volume Three

by Liam Byrne

  Tommy Rich is not here this week so his words are sent via pre-tape. Rich can’t understand Gilbert’s behaviour, though he suggests it might be jealousy as he has noticed a change as they’ve travelled up and down the road to shows. After relaying Gilbert’s involvement in his business over the last two weeks, Rich also suggests that the jealousy may even have been about a potential shot at Ric Flair and the NWA gold. Rich is fairly repetitive here as he constantly talks about brothers don’t act the way Gilbert did, but the shill is definitely on for Monday at the Coliseum as Rich promises to have him all night long.

  This leads Russell to run down the Monday card: The New Generation versus the Nightmares; Tojo Yamamoto taking on Mr. Ito; Dutch Mantell against the Animal; Phil Hickerson and The Spoiler defending the Southern Tag Team Titles against the Rock and Roll Express; Jerry Lawler against Ric Rude; Tommy Rich versus Eddie Gilbert. The main event will see Steve Keirn team with Jackie Fargo against Rude and King Kong Bundy as Fargo tags with one of the wrestlers he passed ‘The Fabulous One’ gimmick onto. The card is noticeable due to its lack of gimmick matches – a rarity or so it feels.

  Speaking of Fargo, he has words to promote the main event on Monday, with his desire to gain revenge after he was left laying by Bundy, Rude and Hart the previous week. Fargo trusts Keirn, before making it clear that he doesn’t believe his opponents quite realise how violent he can be when he needs to be. After having words for all the heels separately, Fargo implores them to bring the best they got. These pre-taped words bring out Bundy, Rude and Hart and I need to take a moment to explain what Bundy is wearing. Cheap looking grey shorts and a pair of sunglasses. It is not a good look on the man, that is for sure.

  Hart and his First Family are furious that Fargo cost them the $100,000 last week, so I wonder if we will see some action from the Coliseum that ties this all together. Bundy gives some generic heel words, whilst Rude calls Fargo ‘Jackie Fargone’ and talks about doing the ‘Bundy Boogie’ once they are finished with both men. Once the First Family leave, Russell reminds everyone that Fargo and Keirn will be more than a match for any team in that way that Russell does from time to time; just stirring the pot a little bit in favour of the face team.

  We have an interesting set of events as two of the tag team matches due for the Coliseum on Monday see the opponents switched around for today’s show as The New Generation meet Phil Hickerson and The Spoiler, with the Rock and Roll Express versus the Nightmares still to come. Hickerson and Johnny Wilhoit start the contest for their respective teams, with an early attempt at a punch against the ropes by Hickerson wildly missing and a hiptoss out of the corner initially blocked and then reversed by Wilhoit. Mark Batten is tagged in, leapfrogs over Hickerson and uses a side headlock. However, in what looks like a bit of a blown spot, the Spoiler aims a knee on whip into the ropes but misses, yet this does lead to Hickerson taking control with a shoulderblock, several strikes and a snapmare.

  The Spoiler is in the match for the first time and hits Batten with a big clothesline and a bodyslam before tagging back out. Hickerson continues the beatdown with an excellent powerslam out of the Irish whip, whilst the Spoiler almost sends Batten into the lights with a back body drop. A one count off of a backbreaker leads to the Spoiler pulling Batten up early and landing a second, less impressive, back body drop. Hickerson is back and lands a knee into the bread basket before repeating a one count pull-up. This becomes a thing as the Spoiler does exactly the same on Batten after a knee of his own, leading to Wilhoit attacking Hickerson out of pure frustration. The referee is out on the floor dealing with Hickerson and Wilhoit as the Spoiler continues to beat up Batten, yet an attempt at a bodyslam sees Tojo Yamamoto hit the Spoiler with a wooden shoe to the back of the head. Batten lands on top of the collapsing Spoiler, with Yamamoto alerting the ref and blocking Hickerson’s return to the ring before the three count. A really fun match, mainly due to the tag team champion’s vicious offense, with a surprise ending.

  Jerry Lawler is back out, though this time his focus is on a match with Ric Rude rather than the victory in the tag team tournament. After opening with some barbs about how fat Bundy is, he questions the audacity of Rude’s belief he can fight twice on Monday, especially after facing Lawler in the first of those matches. Lawler debates the intelligence of Rude, whilst also claiming that Rude’s confusions come about due to his lack of a female valet (though he does suggest that Hart works in that capacity). Lawler promises to do to Rude what he did to Angel; piledriver him into the canvas and leave him unable to compete in the main event.

  Dave Brown runs down the various cards that are along the circuit this week, but the fans in the studio are subsequently let down as it seems like the Rock and Roll Express are coming down, yet Ric Rude and Jimmy Hart are back out. Rude is brandishing a baseball bat and gets incredibly angry as Russell tries to talk about the fact that there is a match due to take place, smashing the bat into the table so violently that it pops out of his hands (and it can be seen later that he put a whole through the front of the desk in the process). Rude grabs the microphone to talk about his problems with Lawler, whilst questioning Russell as to whether he has ever hated someone so much that any violence and pain they can cause would never be enough. Rude talks about how even making Lawler a vegetable wouldn’t be good enough for him.

  Rude wanders off with the baseball bat in hand, opening a set of doors at the back of the studio and wandering out. This is the very definition of an angle that doesn’t play out well in the studio as what we see are a number of fans both in the ring and at the door, whilst we never properly see Rude smash up Lawler’s car, only the aftermath. Lawler does eventually come out to chase him off, with Bundy apparently waiting in a getaway car, but for once, the implementation of a wild angle in Memphis is just off, at least for those watching on television.

  With Hart having fled the scene, the Beekeeper is in the corner for The Nightmares as they take on the Rock and Roll Express. According to Russell, it is Nightmare #2 who begins with Ricky Morton, and it is Morton who uses his speed to take the fight to both Nightmares, avoiding #2’s offense to hit a monkey flip and an armdrag before taking out #1 with another armdrag. Robert Gibson is tagged in, as is #1 but we see the same outcome as a back body drop and armdrag have Gibson in control. #2 is tagged in but is unable to use the blind tag to his advantage, whilst Morton does as he holds back an attempted Nightmare punch and hits one of his own.

  Gibson slides into the ring and through Morton’s legs to hit a punch on #2 as the Express are just completely toying with their opponents. #2 briefly seems to gain control with a forearm in the corner, but a reversed Irish whip leads to a hiptoss and a flying headscissors. #1 and Gibson are back in the ring after the Express celebrate, but this time we see a handful of hair send Gibson hard into the mat face first after both men hit the ropes. This allows the Nightmares to begin to work over Gibson, including a vicious whip into the corner that almost sends Gibson over the top rope. A double back elbow and a #2 elbowdrop followed by a kneedrop earns the Nightmares a two count, but a punch sends Gibson too close to Morton, allowing the hot tag to be made.

  Morton clears out both Nightmares before Gibson hits an axehandle from the second rope. A double elbow and a double punch both require the pins to be broken up as I’ve lost control of which Nightmare is legal. All four men end up in the ring briefly, but after both Nightmares end up at ringside, the Beekeeper is dragged in to get hit with the double dropkick finisher. With the referee distracted, one of the Nightmares grabs out a chain and nails Morton for the three count. As this is expiration of time, this means the match currently stands at 1-0 to the Nightmares.

  Before the second fall, Lawler is out and his is fuming after the actions of Rude. His words are brief, but he makes it clear that Rude will end up in a hospital once Lawler is through with him. Phil Hickerson and the Spoiler also find time to join Russell between falls, with Hickerson smoking a cigarette as he is in his casual gear and talks about training
hard to get back into the shape he was when he was Mr Universe. Hickerson repeats his words from last week, with the focus being titles rather than victories in his eyes. The tag champions leave, having laughed off the likelihood of the Rock and Roll Express taking the gold.

  Rather than getting into a second fall, the Rock and Roll Express actually come out and join Russell to talk about their match against the tag team champions. Though it wasn’t mentioned earlier, there is no time limits, no disqualification, no over the top rules…basically, there aren’t any rules from the sounds of it. Morton, in running down the stipulations, also calls the belts ‘The Mid-South Tag Team Titles’ twice, whilst Russell also makes it clear they hadn’t announced any stipulations for the match after Morton stops talking.

  Finally, we get to the second fall as the Nightmares jump the Express to begin a four man brawl in the center of the ring. The match settles down as the Express maintain control by keeping #1 in the corner, but the referee gets in the way as #1 begs off and effectively causes a reset. Morton ends up getting brought into the heel corner, with a #2 double axehandle to the top of the head off of the second rope. #1 hits a jumping clothesline for a two count, whilst #2 lands a running shoulder tackle in the corner and several punches. This is all to set up the finish, as #2 goes to repeat the spot and Morton jumps up into a pinning combination for the three count to tie up the match at one apiece.

  With regards to in-ring action, this was a really good show – outside of the Lawler versus Animal contest, the other three big matches were either notable for character work or for the fact that it was two named teams against each other. Whilst they tried to ramp up the Rude and Lawler feud with the baseball bat attack on the car, it didn’t play out so well on television and was the only real sore point of one of the better shows I’ve seen during the year.

  Championship Wrestling from Florida 11.8.84

  We get a fade out from footage of the Rock and Roll Express as it looks like they are continuing their tour of the territories. The audio quality of this show is pretty awful, but Buddy Colt does announce the main event as being Kevin Sullivan and Superstar Billy Graham against the One Man Gang and Chief Joe Lightfoot.

  Speaking about teams that have been doing the rounds, The Hollywood Blonds are in the first match fresh from their brief involvement with Memphis earlier in the year. They are against Mike Allen and John King, and it is Allen and King who clear the ring with multiple hiptosses early in the contest. The quality makes it difficult to work out which one of the Blonds is in the ring, but they do manage to control Allen in the corner by utilising quick tags and double team offense such as a double back elbow and double back body drop. King’s distraction of the referee allows a diving headbutt by the illegal Blonde to go unpunished, but a couple of punches to the stomach allow Allen to tag to King.

  King comes in with an impressive dropkick, though makes the odd decision to tag back out to Allen pretty much instantly. An O’Connor roll attempt allows the illegal man to clock Allen in the face to set up a second rope clothesline/back suplex combination. This isn’t enough however; the pin comes with an inside cradle for some reason. The Blonds in a squash are a difficult proposition as they are all about stooging, something that doesn’t really benefit a match where they are supposed to be dominant.

  The audio quality continues to hinder my attempts to really get all of the information from the promos, but what we do hear is Oliver Humperdink making it clear that the Saint was going to take the Florida Heavyweight Title from Scott McGhee, before Dory Funk Jr. comes out to join Gordon Solie whilst waving a signed contract for a match that he wants Billy Jack to sign. Solie calls Funk Jr. out on choosing a time when he knew Jack wouldn’t be about to make this challenge, with the challenge actually being answered by Mike Graham instead. Graham slaps Funk Jr. before he signs the paper, with Funk Jr. retaliating and it seems we have a match as they head straight to the ring.

  Some scrapping on the canvas leads to a reset as neither man comes out on top, yet the first time Graham strikes Funk Jr. the former world champion is sent flying across the ring. Funk Jr. tries to bring the match to the outside, but Bill Alfonso brings both men back between the ropes, a place where Graham pushes his advantage with a fireman’s carry takedown and armbar. Funk Jr. is nailed with another big right hand as Davis continues to work the armbar. An Irish whip breaks the hold and allows Funk Jr. to hit a back elbow to turn the tide.

  In an odd submission hold, Funk Jr. hooks his legs around Graham’s body and just … lays on top of him, pushing all his weight down on top of his opponent. A couple of forearms allow Funk Jr. to once again aim to send the fight to the outside, but once again Alfonso gets in the way. A butterfly suplex earns Funk Jr. a two count, yet Graham fights back out of the corner as the two men strike in an exchange that Funk Jr. comes off the worst in. Funk Jr. uses a handful of hair to avoid a figure four leglock, only to miss an elbowdrop to follow and find himself in a wrenching side headlock. Funk Jr. seems to have broken it with a back suplex, but Graham holds on. The two men end up rolling to the outside once more, with Alfonso again in the middle though they do hit some punches this time.

  Funk Jr. walks away from Graham and throws a chair in the ring, one that Graham threatens to use until Alfonso grabs it off of him. Graham ends up down on the canvas in a body vice and Funk Jr. full mount, but he bridges several times out of nearfalls before fighting his way back to his feet. Funk Jr. misses a dropkick, Graham hits one of his own, and the bell rings for the time limit draw.

  However, after a commercial break, the two men are still fighting as they decide to waive the time limit and continue. Funk Jr. looks like he has the win with a jackknife pin in the corner with added rope leverage, but Graham is able to roll his shoulders several times until Alfonso notices the cheating and breaks it up. The two men are swinging for the fences again and Funk Jr. is struggling, but the referee ends up getting bumped by Graham on a missed charge at Funk Jr. The spinning toe hold is blocked by Graham and turned into the figure four leglock, yet there is no referee to administer a decision. As Alfonso is just getting to his feet, Jesse Barr enters the ring and drops multiple knees on Graham to cause a disqualification, an act that has both Solie and Colt in shock.

  Things escalate quickly as Barr heads to the announce table. Barr makes it clear that Funk Jr. basically asked him for protection, but as Solie voices his disapproval, Barr grabs the announce by the suit collar. Colt tries to get involved and is blasted with a backhand to the face, though Barr walks off without doing anything more to Solie. To have someone grab one of the announcers is exciting; for it to be Solie is really unexpected, as he so rarely gets brought into the action. It is also by far the most interesting Barr has been in the brief time I’ve seen him this year.

  Barr is straight into the ring as he goes against The Dream, Mike Davis’ gimmick that looks like it is already floundering. Barr’s offense relies heavily on Greco-Roman style takedowns as he smothers the Dream with ease. However, the Dream gets a boot up on a charge into the corner, lands a dropkick and a bodyslam. Unfortunately, he then charges into a Barr shoulderbreaker, whilst it is an inside bulldog cradle (that looks like a floatover fisherman suplex, pretty much) that gets the win. The speed with which the Dream has become inconsequential is stunning; hopefully Barr might have some longevity.

  It is notable that the promotion has upgraded the quality of the chyrons that announce matches. What is also notable is the decision to dub Billy Jack ‘The People’s Choice’, as well as Pez Whatley now being the Southern Heavyweight Champion, a belt we last saw around Angelo Mosca’s waist. In between, not only did Whatley win the gold (his first singles gold it would appear), he defeated Jim Neidhart who has also arrived in Florida. The matches that are being shilled include Jimmy Valiant versus Kevin Sullivan, Jesse Barr teaming with Jim Nighthart (CWF spelling) to meet Mike Graham and Billy Jack, whilst Pez Whatley defends the title against Dory Funk Jr.

  We then have some promotion of a ne
w initiative in the region that aims to offer help and guidance to those who need it – words given by a local Sheriff – and supported by Billy Jack, who has a young girl sitting on his lap who I believe is a missing child that was found after an appeal, though the audio is still very hard to make out. The same child is also in a further promo in which she gives Jack a hug.

  The Saint is up next as he takes on Tommy Wright – and defeats Tommy Wright in around fifteen seconds as a high knee sets up the neckbreaker. Wow.

  Solie is joined by Blackjack Mulligan before the main event, and Mulligan has Kendall Windham alongside him for no real reason other than to get him air time. They are both out to watch One Man Gang and Chief Joe Lightfoot take on Superstar Billy Graham and Kevin Sullivan, especially as they have a woman apparently from the family’s past under Sullivan’s spell. Rather than focus on the match, we see Mulligan talking to the woman who is covered in a veil and using crutches to get around. As he pulls it back, he is so upset by what he sees that he chases Sullivan from the ring, yet does nothing much before heading backstage with Kendall.

  The match has been ongoing with Lightfoot taking a beating from Graham, but he manages to fight his way back into the contest against Sullivan. The One Man Gang is tagged in briefly, only to make a poor mistake and tag Lightfoot back in too soon, with the Chief caught by Sullivan. Graham and Sullivan both work over Lightfoot momentarily, yet Lightfoot manages to tag back out to Gang. After some double squashes in the corner, Gang showcases his impressive strength by catching a diving Sullivan coming off of the top rope and turning it into a bear hug. The finish is ridiculous – Graham hits Gang in the eye, pulls in Lightfoot who is clearly the illegal man and pins him after a double throat chop.