Wrestling Gold #5: Beat Me If You Can
Commentators: Dave Meltzer, Jim Cornette

It’s the last volume of this set and I think you get the concept at this point. If for some reason you’re reading this out of order, it’s a bunch of territory matches with Jim Cornette and Dave Meltzer doing commentary to provide history and stories. The match quality isn’t exactly the point but some of it has been effective before. Let’s get to it.

As usual, I’m giving my best guess to some of the locations and dates.

From San Antonio, Texas, 1981/1982.

Terry Allen vs. Nick Bockwinkel

Bockwinkel’s AWA World Title isn’t on the line….at least I don’t think. Allen is of course better known as Magnum TA and is very new here. They go to the mat to start and Allen keeps escaping, which has Bockwinkel somewhere between surprised and frustrated. Bockwinkel sends him into the corner though and grabs a short armscissors to keep Allen down. Back up and Allen slams him down a few times before grabbing a headlock as Cornette explains the story of Allen’s car crash. Allen grinds away before missing a dropkick in the corner. Bockwinkel is right back up with a knee and the piledriver finishes Allen at 5:24.

Rating: C+. This was a case of trying to get Allen in the ring with a veteran who could teach him on the job and there were few better for that role than Bockwinkel. Of course the result was never in doubt but that’s not the point of a match like this. It went fairly well as Allen did what he could, but Bockwinkel being there to walk him through it probably helped a lot.

From San Antonio, Texas at some date not listed and I only know the location because of the referee’s shirt.

Ivan Putski vs. Eddie Mansfield

Oh boy Eddie Mansfield. Basically he wasn’t very good and blamed everyone else for his lack of success and then exposed the business, which made him as popular as you would expect. Putski jumps him to start and is quickly knocked to the floor without much effort. Mansfield gets in a few ax handles and a middle rope elbow to the back. The choking doesn’t work very well for Mansfield, who is knocked out to the floor. This lets Cornette bury Mansfield for about the fourth time in a few minutes. Putski pounds him down but shoves the referee out of the way for the DQ at 4:16.

Rating: D+. I can see why Mansfield wasn’t exactly a household name until his 20/20 interview, as he was an incredibly generic wrestler who had nothing that made him stand out. Putski was a good enough power guy and his physique was more than enough to get him by. The size issue eventually got to him but he was quite the star for awhile. Unlike Mansfield you see.

From San Antonio, Texas, likely in the very early 1980s.

Tito Santana vs. Kelly Kiniski

Santana takes him down by the arm to start and works on the armbar. That’s enough to send Kiniski over to the rope so Santana is right back to the arm. A dropkick lets Santana grab a third armbar before a quick headknocker gets two. Back up and Kiniski powers him into the corner but Santana hits a flying forearm for two. The running crossbody finishes for Santana at 4:51.

Rating: C. Yeah you can kind of see why Kiniski was never a big star. He’s someone who was technically sound and that’s about it, as there just wasn’t much else to make him stand out. Santana was far from what he would become, but you could see the fire in there and that is always a good starting point.

From…..well it could be Detroit, Toronto, or Cincinnati, which is the only place I can find these two facing each other. If it’s Cincinnati, it’s January 28, 1967, but that could be totally off.

The Sheik vs. Tom Jones

Sheik has the referee check Jones for a foreign object and then jumps him anyway (customary for the Sheik) but hold on as we have to pause for his prayer. We actually get going and Jones jumps him in the corner, only for Sheik to grab quite the nasty flipping hammerlock. It’s nasty enough to make Jones give up at 1:40.

Post match Whipper Billy Watson comes in to make the save and is quickly beaten down. The fans go NUTS and throw trash into the ring (at Sheikh’s manager Abdullah Farouk, as Sheik is already gone) but unfortunately we cut away.

From Detroit, Michigan, probably in the mid 70s.

Bobo Brazil vs. Michael Angelo

I would have laughed so hard if it was a wrestling turtle. Anyway Angelo jumps him to start fast and sends Brazil into the buckle, which just makes him mad. Brazil (who is towering over Angelo) works on the wristlock but gets knocked into the corner. A running elbow wakes Brazil up again and he raises his leg to kick Angelo on top of the head. The Coco Butt (jumping headbutt) finishes Angelo off at 3:53.

Rating: C. The match had a comeback and Angelo tried but there was no way around Brazil when he was rolling like this. Brazil was an absolute star and one of the most important wrestlers ever when it came to race issues so it’s nice to see him doing something here. Granted this wasn’t exactly some classic, but that’s not the point of this thing.

From San Antonio, Texas, probably in 1980.

Tully Blanchard vs. Wahoo McDaniel

Blanchard jumps him to start and McDaniel chops him into a frenzy. A quick shot lets Blanchard knock him down, earning even more chops in the corner. McDaniel flips him out of the corner and the chinlock goes on. Blanchard has to flip out of an abdominal stretch and is quickly suplexed back down.

Back up and Blanchard knocks him down, which means it’s time for McDaniel to go back to the chops. The chops have Blanchard looking mostly dead, with a butterfly suplex giving McDaniel two. Blanchard is chopped out to the floor so he pulls McDaniel out with him, because getting into a brawl with WAHOO MCDANIEL is a good idea. Anyway McDaniel throws the referee down and we’re cut off with presumably a DQ at about 6:15.

Rating: C+. It was fun to see McDaniel just beat the fire out of Blanchard, who was selling them like he was dying out there. McDaniel is another person who was incredibly underrated, as he was one of the most athletically gifted stars ever in wrestling. You don’t hear much but praise of him, and yet he still seems better than advertised whenever I see him. Not bad.

From Memphis, Tennessee, likely in the early 1980s (I’m sure Cornette will know).

Jerry Lawler vs. Eddie Gilbert

Gilbert slams him to start but Lawler is right back up with a slam of his own, sending Gilbert bailing to the floor. And yes Cornette confirms that this is from 1984 because of course he knows that stuff. The stalling begins until Gilbert backs him into the corner for a shot to the face and Lawler is a bit surprised.

We even hit the crisscross but Gilbert bails out to the floor, where he gets to signal his intelligence (he might be faking). Back in and Lawler drops him with a single right hand, sending Gilbert bailing to the floor again. Gilbert gets inside again and hammers away to take over but Lawler pulls the strap down and unloads with even more right hands. Cue Rick Rude and Jimmy Hart to go after Lawler for the DQ at 6:43.

Rating: C+. Yep this was certainly Memphis, with Gilbert doing all kinds of over the top selling for his idol and likely loving getting punched in the face. This was a studio match as well so the shorter run time is hardly a surprise. Gilbert is someone who had all kinds of talent and love for wrestling but it never quite clicked, though wrestling so much like Lawler in Memphis probably didn’t help that much.

Post match Lawler grabs a chair to clear the ring.

From Toronto, Canada, likely around 1978.

Tiger Jeet Singh vs. The Sheik

This is a Mud Match and it’s exactly what you would expect. The ring is full of mud and Singh knocks him down and chokes a lot before throwing Sheikh’s manager down as well. Singh chokes but the referee gets knocked down and covered in mud as well. The claw goes on but Singh lets go to beat up the manager again, all while Cornette talks about the various ridiculous gimmicks that promoters used in the Great Depression and World War II to draw crowds (ice cream matches are discussed).

Singh grabs the claw again and then knocks Sheik outside, where he throws a chair inside. That’s fine as Singh beats on him with the chair and hammers away before driving Sheikh’s face into the mud. The manager offers another distraction and this time Sheik chokes Singh down with….something for the pin at 7:15.

Rating: C. This was barely a match as there is only so much you can do with that much slippery mud around. That was the problem here but it was certainly different and I’ll take that over doing the same stuff so many times. The idea was the fans wanted to see the Sheik lose but since he pretty much never did….well there’s a reason Detroit went out of business.

Post match Hank James (Bobo Brazil’s brother) comes in to go after the Sheik and chokes him down in the back with mud everywhere.

From Memphis, Tennessee, June 16, 1984.

AWA International Title: Masao Ito vs. Austin Idol

Idol is defending and gets pounded down to start. The slow forearms have Idol in trouble so he comes back with some slams. The Las Vegas Leglock is loaded up but Ito’s manager goes for a distraction, allowing Ito to kick him to the floor. Said manager knocks Idol cold with some nunchucks and that’s a countout at 2:56. It’s also apparently a title change.

Post match Dutch Mantel and Jerry Lawler come out to check on the out cold Idol.

From San Antonio, Texas, some time in the early 80s.

Scott Casey/Terry Allen vs. Tully Blanchard/Gino Hernandez

Casey headlocks Hernandez down to start so it’s off to Allen to work on Blanchard’s arm. Blanchard gets in a cheap shot so it’s back to Casey to hit him in the face. Everything breaks down and we get a collision so Allen drags Blanchard into the corner. Casey gets in a few right hands before it’s back to Allen for a bearhug, which is quite the visual given Allen’s rather small trunks at this point. Hernandez makes the save and drops a backwards top rope elbow on Allen for the pin at 4:42.

Rating: C+. This was just a little taste of Blanchard and Hernandez, who were rather one of the more underrated teams of their era. They worked well together and it was fun to see them getting together and doing their thing by being sneaky and underhanded. Casey continues to be a nice hand in the ring and I’ve gotten more into him during this series, as he was good at what he did.

Blanchard and Hernandez have a big celebration in a funny bit.

From Memphis, Tennessee in late 1981/early 1982.

Terry Taylor vs. Sabu

Not that Sabu, as this one is better known as Coco Samoa. Sabu flips around to start and sends him into the corner as we get an early standoff. A hammerlock with a pull of the hair brings Taylor down and Sabu rakes the bare foot over Taylor’s face. The right hands don’t work for Taylor as Sabu knocks him right back down, meaning we can hit the chinlock.

Sabu’s legdrop misses though and Taylor gets two off a backbreaker. Another backbreaker gets another two but Sabu knocks him back down. Some choking on the apron sends Taylor outside so he comes back inside to slug away. With nothing else working, Sabu throws him over the top for the DQ at 10:06.

Rating: C+. Sabu felt like someone who could have been a thing if he was a bit bigger (he was barely 5’2 and that wasn’t going to be enough), as he had the look and enough in-ring abilities. Taylor was as white meat of a wrestler as you could have wanted and he made a nice fired up comeback here. The match went a bit long and the ending came out of nowhere, but the pieces were there.

From somewhere in the Central States territory (possible Decatur, Illinois on August 10, 1984).

Wahoo McDaniel/Tommy Rogers/Marty Jannetty vs. Ted Oates/The Grapplers

This isn’t the Fantastics’ Tommy Rogers and the Grapplers are Len Denton/Tony Anthony. Jannetty dropkicks Oates (his trainer) down to start and it’s off to Denton, who gets armdragged into an armbar. The good guys take turns on Denton’s arm but Denton slams him back down. The middle rope elbow misses though and it’s off to Anthony, who gets taken down by the arm as well.

Jannetty’s dropkick means it’s time to work on the arm, only for Anthony to grab a powerslam. A double back elbow drops Rogers and Oates hits a knee, followed by a suplex for two. Jannetty’s attempted save doesn’t work so we hit the chinlock before Rogers is sent into Denton’s boot in the corner. Everything breaks down and Denton misses a flying clothesline, allowing Jannetty to hit a Thesz press for the pin at 10:17.

Rating: B-. This was a fast enough paced match with Jannetty feeling like a young star who could have become a much bigger deal if hew as given the chance. That is more or less what happened and it was fun to see what he would become. I could have gone for more McDaniel here, but that is the case pretty much all the time, whether he is in the match or not.

Post match Oates jumps Jannetty and piledrives him on the chair. That’s a big angle for back then.

Overall Rating: C+. You could tell they were running out of material by this point as there’s nothing on this disc that I must see and it’s also a bit shorter than the previous two. The concept remains exactly the same and you could easily swap most of the matches around without losing anything. It’s still fun, though I wouldn’t recommend doing a bunch of them in a row as some of the charm goes away upon all of the viewings. Still though, not bad and for an hour and a half, it could have been a lot worse.

 

 

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World Championship Wrestling
Date: July 14, 1984
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Tony Garea, Gorilla Monsoon, Gene Okerlund
Host: Vince McMahon

Now THIS is a famous one, as (in the very condensed version) Vince McMahon bought the World Championship Wrestling (the TV show, not the company) time slot from Georgia Championship Wrestling and brought his product to the south. This basically sent the company’s fan base into open rebellion, which ultimately resulted in Ted Turner getting the time slot and (in part) setting off the WWF vs. WCW war. This is how a lot of it started though, so let’s get to it.

We’re officially introduced to Vince McMahon, who stands in front of a World Championship Wrestling backdrop to completely melt my mind. He runs down who is coming and you can already feel how off this is compared to the NWA style.

House show ads.

Adrian Adonis/Dick Murdoch vs. SD Jones/Nick Decarlo

Non-title and the ring announcer pronounces it as A-Done-Is. Murdoch grabs a headlock on Jones to start and brings in Adonis, with Jones being smart enough to back away in a hurry. A backdrop puts Adonis down so it’s back to Murdoch, who is headbutted down. Decarlo comes in to work on the arm and it’s an armdrag into an armbar.

Murdoch gets his arm cranked as well but a whip into the corner takes Decarlo down. An Adonis elbow gets two and Murdoch wrestles Decarlo down again. Decarlo slips over for the hot tag to Jones to pick up the pace but Murdoch takes him down as well. It’s quickly back to Decarlo, who is caught in a belly to back suplex/top rope clothesline combination for the pin at 6:08.

Rating: C. And that’s probably the high point of this show. Adonis and Murdoch are kind of a forgotten great team and that finisher looked rather good. The problem is that this was just a step above a squash with a bunch of people the fans didn’t want to see. That is going to be the problem for the entire show, and I’m not sure if it is going to get much better than this.

Gene Okerlund talks to Mr. Fuji, who brings in George Steele. Okerlund desperately tries to make him talk and eventually gets Steele to say STEELE. Oh it’s going to be a long show.

More house show ads.

Jesse Ventura vs. Chris Curtis

From Minneapolis and Jesse makes sure to yell at a Minnesota Viking to start. Jesse goes at his usual pace to knock Curtis into the corner. A slam sets up a missed legdrop but a shot to the throat cuts Curtis off again. Ventura cranks on the arm before grabbing the over the shoulder backbreaker for the submission at 3:40.

Rating: D. Yep it was downhill from the opener as this was a boring squash. I have no idea who thought it was a good idea to put Ventura in the ring for a show like this because he was never exactly known for what he could do in the ring. This was slow and boring, like so many other Ventura matches.

B. Brian Blair loves the competition around here and is looking for the Tag Team Titles. He still needs a partner though.

Alexis Smirnoff wants competition too. He should settle for finding a better accent.

The WWF Magazine is on sale, complete with photos of Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant! Now they can’t actually be on this show, but at least you can find out where you can go to pay money to read about them doing cool things!

Iron Sheik vs. Ron Hutchison

Sheik knocks him around with ease to start as the fans want Sgt. Slaughter. Some kicks to the ribs set up the camel clutch to finish Hutchison at 2:08.

More house show ads, including ones we have already heard.

Vince McMahon talks about Bobo Brazil possibly being the best black wrestler of all time.

Big John Studd vs. Bobo Brazil

From Philadelphia and Vince talks about Bobo being on the comeback trail. Given that he turned 60 four days before this aired, I wouldn’t bet on that being a success. Studd knocks him around to start and we hit the bearhug in a hurry. Bobo reverses into a bearhug of his own and headbutt Studd down as we look at the fans instead of the ring. Studd bails to the floor for a bit but comes back in to take Bobo into a chinlock. That’s broken up and Bobo headbutts away but gets knocked down with a single shot. Studd drops an elbow for the pin at 5:41.

Rating: D-. I’m surprised they made it through the end of the show at this point as this was another awful squash. How hard can it be to make a BIG JOHN STUDD squash effective??? He hits you, he bearhugs you, he finishes with some power move. They managed to make that look bad, but Brazil being presented here as some kind of a star in these circumstances was weird enough.

Paul Orndorff explains why he’s handsome and has great hair. He’s the reason the divorce rate is so high, because every time he looks in that camera, more women leave their husbands for him. Orndorff is someone who continues to impress me more every single time.

Same WWF Magazine ad from earlier.

House show ads.

Vince promises more in the future, including Hulk Hogan next week! Host Freddie Miller comes in to close the show.

In a minor but telling sign of how messed up things were: Gene promised us another match but we just got ads and Vince instead. How slapped together was this show?

Overall Rating: F. This was the definition of WWF arrogance/not getting it, as they had no idea what the fans wanted to see and then threw out a completely pathetic collection of squashes with no particular rhyme or reason. I’m stunned the show was as well received as it was (and it was completely rejected) because this would have been bad in front of any audience. Your first show featured Studd, a nothing Murdoch/Adonis squash and the combined efforts of the Iron Sheik and Jesse Ventura? This was completely horrible and is only there for historic reasons (and it was huge to put it mildly). Total failure here.

 

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Wrestling Champions From Chicago
Date: April 5, 1963
Location: Chicago Coliseum, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 3,140
Commentator: Bob Elson

This is about ten days after my father turned ten years old. After holding the record for about two weeks, the Washington DC shows I did have lost their spot as the oldest show I’ve ever reviewed. This is presumably a TV show from the local promotion, which means I have no idea what to expect here. Bobo Brazil is in the main event and that’s all I’ve got. Let’s get to it.

The music sounds like something out of a circus which is fitting for a wrestling show.

Apparently this is the International Wrestling Alliance which I’ve never heard of.

Brute Bernard/Skull Murphy vs. Bavarian Boys

The Boys are Rudi Jacobs and Harry Wenzel. This is 2/3 falls and I have no idea who is who here. Brute and Harry start things off. Brute and Skull look almost identical so I’m in trouble with telling who is who. They double team Wenzel and a double kick to the chest gets two. After some more cheating it’s off to Murphy who is quickly taken to the mat. Jacobs comes in and works on the leg which fires up the crowd. The Boys are tiny by comparison so this is likely power vs. speed.

Jacobs gets Bernard tied up in the ropes and hits a cross body before bringing in Harry for some kicks to the face. Back to Jacobs for some dropkicks to a still tied up Bernard. They’re picking the pace up very quickly. Harry comes in again and they head to the mat for a chinlock/bite from Bernard. The heels (Bernard’s team) double teams Wenzel in the corner and we’re told that they only have until four to break rather than five. That’s interesting.

We get a modern classic as the hot tag is made but the referee doesn’t see it. Some things never change I guess. A double slam on Harry is enough for the first fall for Murphy and Bernard. To start the second fall, things break down for a bit until it’s down to Wenzel vs. Murphy. Harry takes him to the mat and tries a surfboard (called that here) but Bernard makes the save. Rudi comes in with a MISSILE DROPKICK (that was a HUGE spot back then) for only two.

Jacobs gets caught in the corner in the same sequence we had earlier on. Murphy gets thrown across the ring in a surprising power display by the much smaller Bavarians. Back to Bernard as everything breaks down again. Some near falls are broken up until it’s Murphy hiding in the corner from Wenzel. Harry scrapes Murphy’s eye with his boot and cranks away on the arm for a bit.

Back to Jacobs for a lot of whipping into the corner before putting on a leg lock that I can’t see the details of. Murphy blocks a snap mare attempt from Wenzel before Harry goes back to the arm. The idea of selling hadn’t quite been perfected at this point. Johnson comes back in for a bunch of dropkicks and gets a very fast submission off an abdominal stretch. Yep, very different time here.

The third fall begins with Murphy claiming a back injury and not wanting to face Wenzel anymore. The ever nice referee makes him come in anyway and things slow down a bit. We keep stalling for a few more minutes so it’s off to Jacobs instead. The big guys take over with some cheap double teaming until it’s down to Murphy vs. Wenzel again. Bernard comes in and finally gets in some offense with knees to the chest and a lot of stomping. This doesn’t last long as it’s quickly back to Jacobs but it was fun while it lasted.

Rudi pounds away in the corner and sends Brute flying before it’s off to Murphy again. Skull hides in the corner and brings Skull back in immediately. These are really fast paced tags. Murphy and Brute tag about three more times in fifteen seconds before we get down to Brute vs. Jacobs again. The abdominal stretch goes on (called the Cobra Twist here) Bernard again but Skull comes in with a headbutt, giving Bernard the winning pin on Jacobs to end the match.

Rating: B-. I don’t know if it’s the expectations for this to be slow because it’s old or what, but this match was REALLY fun. They played up the power vs. speed formula before the formula had been invented and it came off like a really entertaining match. I’m really surprised by that and it’s worth seeing more from these guys. Good stuff.

The Bavarian Boys complain about getting cheated. They have a right to and talks of a rematch are heard. Some German is also heard.

IWA World Title: Bobo Brazil vs. Moose Cholak

This is 2/3 falls as well and I think Bobo is challenging. Moose is a BIG guy, weighing well over 300lbs. His nickname is Golden and he wears headgear ala Rick Steiner. Moose wins a slugout to start and sends Bobo to the mat. Bobo isn’t a small guy at all either so this is going to be a brawl I’d assume. They slug it out again and Bobo takes him down this time before putting on a quick chinlock.

Moose punches him into the corner but Bobo comes back with chops. He goes after Moose’s headgear but can’t quite get it off. Moose headbutts Bobo (Bobo’s finisher) and they slug it out again. Bobo staggers him with a headbutt of his own so they head to the mat. Moose kicks away at the leg and cannonballs down on it like Flair. Bobo shrugs that off and works on the arm a bit. Moose is whipped into the corner and literally the ring moves. Out of nowhere Cholak hits a knee to the chest and a splash for the first fall.

Bobo chokes him into the corner to start the second fall and goes after the gear again. We hit the chinlock again before Moose bails to the apron. Moose misses a charge in the corner and Bobo backdrops him down to tie us up at a fall apiece. Moose takes him to the mat by the arm to start the third fall. There’s a half nelson by the champ into a bodyscissors as we kill some time. After a few two counts in the bodyscissors by Moose, Bobo escapes and puts on a chinlock of his own.

The champ makes it to a rope as we’re told that the curfew is almost up. They go to a test of strength and I think you know what’s going to happen here. Bobo is in trouble but headbutts his way out of trouble. Instead of power, Brazil tries to take it to the mat but winds up in the ropes instead. Cholak goes after the leg again in a hold that looks like a cover.

Bobo hooks a headscissors but Moose hooks one of his own at the same time. Basically they look like they’re…..never mind. Moose headbutts away a bit more to take over but it seems to tick Bobo off. He chops away in the corner and hits the Coco Butt which is acting way more like a signature move than a finisher. They slug it out until the curfew and the draw.

Rating: C. This would have been WAY better if they cut out about five minutes of the time killing. Bobo was always a crowd favorite because he had a ton of charisma. I’m not familiar with Cholak but he did pretty well out there. He makes for a solid heel champion, even though I can’t find much information on this particular title.

Moose insists on being announced as champion. He wants a rematch with more time, despite saying Bobo is a poor sport.

Overall Rating: B-. I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to. They had some very solid matches on here and promos to set up rematches when one ended with cheating and another in a draw. I’d love to see some more from this territory as the show was really entertaining. Good stuff here and worth checking out.

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