Classic All Star Wrestling
Date: October 30, 2022
Host: Adam Parsons

I’ve been having more and more fun with this show every week for more than one reasons. One of the fun things about this show is trying to figure out what I’m actually watching, as some of the labeling isn’t exactly correct. That very well may be the situation again here and that makes for some fun times. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Parsons runs down the card.

From Memphis from some time in the 80s, possibly February 5, 1983.

Fabulous Ones/Bill Dundee/Dutch Mantell vs. Destroyers/Marauder/Invader

2/3 falls. Dundee slams Destroyer #1 down to start and then grabs a headlock takeover to put him down. Stan Lane comes in and snapmares #1 over as the pace picks up. Well as much as it is going to pick up in an eight man tag in Memphis. Steve Keirn slams #1 into the corner so Marauder can come in and get forearmed in the face. Er, mask. It’s back to Dundee for another slam and Invader comes in to punch him in the face. Er, fa…never mind. The eternally hairy Mantell comes in for all of three seconds before the Fabs hit a double clothesline to give Dundee the pin and the first fall at 2:48.

The second fall begins with Dundee stomping on the Marauder’s ribs as the dominance continues in full. Dundee even messes with Marauder’s mask so we pause for an adjustment before Lane comes in for a backbreaker. There’s a side suplex and Mantell comes in, only to have Dundee cut off an invading, uh, Invader.

Commentary says we have about a minute left as Dundee takes Marauder down with ease. Invader comes in and gets punched in the face over and over, allowing Keirn to come in for a jumping right hand. It’s back to Marauder so the Fabs can hit a hot shot for the fast pin and the two fall sweep at 6:16 total.

Rating: C-. This was a match where the idea was to get some stars in the ring and in front of a camera rather than anything competitive. As such, it was little more than target practice for the big names, which is what you would get in a lot of these matches. It was perfectly fine for what it was and it’s always cool to see some of these legends back when they were just the stars of the day for a change.

From Portland, likely in 1983-84.

Chris Colt vs. Brian Adidas

Colt is a name that you might not have heard of but he WAY ahead of his time with the weird, oddball style. They trade waistlocks to start as we hear about Buddy Rose sending a hitman (apparently at ringside) to go after Curt Hennig. Colt grabs a full nelson but Adidas sends him into the corner as we keep talking about Hennig and the hitman. With that going nowhere, Colt grabs a headlock as commentary talks about beverages. A backdrop sends Colt bailing to the floor for a breather as it’s kind of amazing to see how banged up the ring posts and ropes really are.

Back in and some dropkicks rock Colt, whose arms get tied up in the ropes. Colt needs a breather as we hear about an upcoming live event. A missed charge in the corner lets Colt start in on the arm until a headlock takeover….doesn’t really work that well for Adidas. Back up and Colt grabs the referee so he breaks it up, even holding Colt’s arms so Adidas can punch him to the floor. The referee raises Adidas’ arm for the win, presumably by DQ at 6:21.

Rating: C. And this is why I love this show. Where else are you going to see a Chris Colt match on TV these days? This was a total out of nowhere match with a pretty simple story of cheating vs. skill and it worked out well enough. I could have gone for some better commentary but for what we got here, I was invested in a short TV match from about 40 years ago so I’d call it a success.

Here’s the preview for next week.

From Memphis again. No date given but a little research seems to suggest around 1987.

Jimmy Jack Funk vs. Manny Fernandez

It’s a fight to start with Fernandez missing a dropkick and getting dropped throat first across the top for his efforts. Funk drops a fist to the head for two but Fernandez runs him over for a double knockdown. There’s a knee drop for two on Funk and the Flying Burrito gets two as Teijo Khan comes in to jump Fernandez for the DQ at 2:58. I’ve always liked Fernandez and it’s cool to see him here.

Post match Jack and Khan destroy Fernandez with a loaded glove. Jeff Jarrett makes the save with a broom, which would put this in late 1987/early 1988.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a nice mixture of stuff and a good example of why I look forward to this show every week. Sometimes you just need some random wrestling to have some fun and that is what you got here. It’s a really easy show to watch and the research of finding out what I’m seeing is a lot of fun. Check this out, if you can ever find it, or just throw something old on Youtube.

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Classic All Star Wrestling
Date: October 23, 2022
Host: Adam Parsons

We’re back with another week of random classic matches which in some cases are more old than classic. Either way, I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of this as I don’t know what’s coming and that’s a great feeling to have. If nothing else, it’s cool to try to figure out what I’m seeing most weeks, which is quite the mystery to solve in some cases. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Adam Parsons runs down the card.

We’re starting with a bit of a confusing one, as Parsons says this is from Southwest Championship Wrestling (San Antonio). Now this is billed as being from San Antonio, but the ring is rather Memphis, the commentary is rather Memphis, the referee is from Memphis and the only record I can see of these two having a match is in Memphis on January 4, 1986, so I’m thinking Parsons slipped up with the announcement.

Rick Casey vs. Benny Trailer

Casey (better known as Wendell Cooley) works on the arm to start and grabs a quick suplex. Arm cranking ensues and the bulldog finishes Trailer at 3:04.

Rating: D+. The match was nothing more than a squash but I was having fun trying to figure out where this took place. All signs point to Memphis and I’m all but certain it was just a quick mistake from commentary. That’s the fun part of this show and they made it work again here, even if it was a pretty lame match.

Next up is from International Championship Wrestling, likely from the early 1980s.

Tojo Yamamoto vs. Kenny Harris

Yamamoto was a longtime star in Memphis so this is a rare excursion for him. The graphic says Harris but commentary (which sounds like Lanny Poffo) says Hall. A chop has Yamamoto in trouble so he goes into his tights for what is likely a phantom foreign object. Yamamoto gets his arm cranked so it’s a pull of the hair to get himself out of trouble.

Another shot sends Yamamoto into the corner and we pause again as he keeps trying to find something in his tights. Back up and Yamamoto goes to the eyes to take over and some chops in the corner keep him in trouble. Some chops put Harris down and the stomach claw is enough for the submission at 5:20.

Rating: D+. You know, if you want to have Yamamoto go with the foreign object deal, he might want to actually find one (even if it doesn’t exist) at some point. I’m not sure what else you could expect here, but they were doing quite a bit of stalling for a payoff that didn’t really come. That being said, you don’t get to see much Yamamoto but he knew how to do the villainy things. There are better examples than this though as it wasn’t the most interesting deal.

I’m assuming we’re staying in in International Championship Wrestling, as I can’t imagine anywhere else going here, from Frankfort, Kentucky, again in the early 1980s.

Pez Whatley vs. Walter Johnson

We’re joined in progress and Johnson, a former NFL player, misses a headbutt as the referee is down. Whatley dives into a bearhug as Rip Rogers comes in to throw powder in Johnson’s eyes to give Whatley the pin at 1:00 shown. Just the finish instead of the match here.

Post match, Whatley yells about Ronnie Garvin and yes this is ICW.

Finally, from Southwest Championship Wrestling in San Antonio, likely on July 1, 1984.

Parsons gives us the preview for next week and signs off before the main event. Ok then.

Bruiser Brody vs. Abdullah the Butcher

We’re joined in progress again with the two fighting on the floor. Back in and Butcher kicks him low so Butcher beats up the referee (in case you thought the referee mattered here). The brawling continues as we get a second referee, who is shoved down almost immediately. They fight to the floor again and then into the crowd where they find a piece of wood. A bunch of fans run off as they fight to a high rise area and choke/rake eyes. Brody grabs a chair and Butcher wanders off at 4:58 shown.

Rating: C. I have no idea how much of that was part of the actual match as it was just a big brawl rather than anything resembling a match. Brody and Butcher were there to do this kind of thing over and over and that is why they would always be able to find work around the country and world. It’s a total freak show, but dang they could make it feel exciting.

Overall Rating: C-. This wasn’t one of their better shows, but what matters is still the fun from just seeing what we might get that week. It’s the point of a show like this and it worked very well again here. Getting to go around the wrestling world and get away from the WWF or Crockett is great for a change as there is so much talent that you just won’t see most of the time. Not a great edition, but dang this is a fun concept.

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Classic All Star Wrestling
Date: October 16, 2022
Host: Adam Parsons

So it’s back to this show, which should be a lot of fun if they do things like they did last week. Granted that seems to be the format of the show and that should make for a lot of fun every week. Last week’s preview mentioned a battle royal featuring Andre the Giant, which could be anything. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Adam Parsons runs down the card.

We’re going to Big Time Wrestling to start. The promotion is based out of Detroit but I believe this is from Toronto in 1975. Or at least something close to that.

North American Title: Stan Stasiak vs. Ron Doner

Stasiak is defending and the name is Doner, not Donner as the graphic says. Doner takes him down by the arm but Stasiak is back up with a thumb to the throat to cut that off in a hurry. Stasiak takes him into the corner but misses a charge, which is enough to send him outside and give the fans a BIG reaction for Doner. Back in and Stasiak takes hi into the corner again, only to get forearmed into the ropes for his efforts. Doner is back on the arm that got hurt in the missed charge and then leapfrogs the referee (that was cool) to stay on Stasiak. With the arms freed, Stasiak is done with this and finishes with the heart punch at 4:18.

Rating: C. Stasiak is a guy who could have been quite the monster for someone to slay at the right point and Doner seems to be the latest person to go after him here. Stasiak was a former WWWF Champion at this point so he was already a big deal in the sport and being a champion here wasn’t a surprise. It wasn’t exactly a good match, but the fans were into Doner so it was fine for a one off match.

From ICW in Lexington, Kentucky (likely at Henry Clay High School). Based on who is holding a title coming in, we’re looking at late 1981 or late 1982.

TV Title: Great Tio vs. Ron Strunk

Tio is defending and he is managed by Ox Baker. Strunk elbows him down to start and Tio needs a breather in the corner. Some chops put Strunk in trouble but he blocks a ram into the buckle to send Tio outside. Back in and Tio sends him outside as the video goes black for some reason, but commentary suggests that Baker got in a cheap shot. Back in again and Strunk slams him down, only to be sent into the corner. A suplex retains Tio’s title at 3:46.

Rating: C-. Strunk didn’t exactly do much here but at least he put up a short term fight until Tio beat him. Tio is fine for a monster and you could see him being the kind of monster for a classic good guy to take down (there’s a theme with this show). Nice, short match here and Tio wasn’t half bad.

Post match Baker brags about his champion winning and promises to get even better because of some changes coming with Tio’s training regimen.

Parsons talks about the dangers of the battle royal.

From Polynesian Pro Wrestling in Hawaii, I believe on December 19, 1984.

Battle Royal

There are twenty people in this and we’re joined in progress so I’m not even going to hope to figure out everyone involved. Some notable names would include Andre the Giant, Jimmy Snuka, Don Muraco and Masa Sasito. Andre cleans house and everyone brawls on the ropes as we hear about Dusty Rhodes and Magnum TA coming to Hawaii. Commentary keeps going on about an upcoming show as the camera just goes around the ring with various brawls. We’re nearly four minutes in and we’ve heard all of ten seconds of discussion about the match.

Back to back wrestlers are tossed out and Snuka pairs off with Muraco for a double elimination. We’re down to six with Andre, four other people not important enough to mention. One of them is tossed and Andre dumps two more….which is enough for Andre to be declared the winner at 6:17 shown. The other two just don’t count because….I don’t know why.

Rating: D. I’m not sure if this was normal for Polynesian Pro Wrestling but it felt like a bit of a waste of time. I get the idea of talking about an upcoming show (and the show they were talking about was the biggest show the promotion ever had, but my goodness the match they were airing was nothing but background noise. Andre winning a battle royal is no surprise and is always fun to see. I just could have gone with it getting some kind of attention.

The preview for next week wraps us up.

Overall Rating: C. The not so great main event aside, I could still go for a lot more of this show and I will be sticking around for a long time. Just seeing the random stuff that pops up is cool as it isn’t a bunch of famous or classic matches, but rather a sample of the run of the mill stuff that you would see, plus a bigger main event. It’s a very fun half hour and I will take that every week.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Classic All Star Wrestling
Date: October 9, 2022
Host: Adam Parsons

I have absolutely no idea what this is but it aired on a local station on a Sunday afternoon so I had to check it out. This is a weird situation as there is no promotion or stars listed so not only do I not know where it is coming from but I’m completely lost going in. That’s a new way to go so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence featuring clips of Andre the Giant, an old Bam Bam Bigelow, Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Lawler, so I’m guessing this is some Memphis deal…..and then there’s a ring skirt that says HAWAII. What in the world is this?

Adam Parsons (who looks like he’s in a tiny room for a studio) welcomes us to the show and says we’re going to Portland to start. Parsons explains that this isn’t the famous Destroyer (Dick Beyer) but rather Fidel Sierra under a mask. Seriously I am totally lost as to what this is but it’s kind of great.

Brett Sawyer/Buzz Wayne Sawyer vs. Destroyer/Igor Volkoff

From what I can find, this is from April 11, 1981 at the Sports Arena in Portland, Oregon. Buzz and Destroyer start things off with Buzz picking up the pace, setting up a crisscross. Buzz slams him down for two but Volkoff makes a rather fast save. It’s Volkoff coming in and dropping Buzz with a knee to the ribs as we’re told there are four minutes left. There was either some slick editing in there or this has a five and a half minute time limit.

Destroyer comes back in to drop a knee as we hear about how Destroyer and Rip Oliver are the Tag Team Champions. The beating on Buzz continues as we’re down to three minutes. Buzz dives through the ropes for the hot tag to Brett though and house is quickly cleaned. A running forearm drops Volkoff and a knee drop gets two. Buzz…..seems to fall off the top in an attempt to take out Volkoff so instead it’s a small package to give Buzz the pin at 3:31.

Rating: C. The time didn’t help things but they did what they could with what they had. The Sawyers were a regular tag team all over the place so it was natural that they had some chemistry together. I’m not sure why Volkoff was here instead of Destroyer’s regular partner but they worked fine as a pair of villains. Brett was good enough in the ring, despite being one of the most horrible people in wrestling outside of it.

We’re off to Memphis, probably around 1986/1987.

MOD Squad vs. David Haskin/Ken Johnson

The Squad (Spike/Basher) are probably best known as being a low level team in Jim Crockett Promotions. But hang on as commentary says that this is the MOD Squad against….David Johnson and Thunderbolt (Larry) Hamilton? I have no idea what is going on here but I’ll trust Lance Russell over Adam Parsons.

MOD Squad vs. David Johnson/Thunderbolt Hamilton

We’re joined in progress with Hamilton taking Spike down and working on the arm. Spike gets up without much trouble and hands it off to Basher, who brings Johnson in to beat on him instead. The Squad’s manager is walking around ringside with a book called MOD RULES as Basher grabs a chinlock. A suplex drops Johnson again and Basher drops Spike onto him with a legdrop for two, with Spike pulling up from the cover. Something like a hart Attack from the top finishes Johnson at 5:21 shown….and apparently this is a 2/3 falls match (normal in Memphis)…and we’re not going to see the second or third fall. Ok then.

Rating: C-. Kind of a dull match, but the Squad was never exactly known as a great team. This was pretty much a squash as Hamilton got in some offense before Johnson got crushed. I’m not sure what the deal was with the wrong names, but this doesn’t exactly seem to be the most detail oriented setup in the first place.

From the Cobb County Civic Center in Marietta, Georgia, October 2, 1988. This seems to be from Southern Championship Wrestling, a Georgia promotion.

AWA World Title: Jerry Lawler vs. Tommy Rich

Lawler is defending and Parsons seems to say they aired the setup to this match last week. We’re joined in progress with Lawler in trouble as Rich hits a bulldog for two. A second bulldog is broken up though and Rich takes out a camera man in the corner by mistake. Rich cuts off a comeback attempt and hits a clothesline into a piledriver but doesn’t cover. Instead, Rich snaps him throat first across the top and takes it outside.

A right hand only hits post though and Lawler is able to take down the strap. They get back inside with Lawler hitting a backdrop as the ring announcer sounds like he said we’re eight minutes in. Lawler hits a suplex and drops a fist for two but the middle rope fist misses. Rich loads up the foreign object to knock Lawler silly for the pin at 6:02 shown, despite Lawler’s foot being on the rope.

Rating: C. Given that rich was never AWA World Champion, I don’t think this is going to count. They trimmed off a lot here and this seemed to be much more about setting up something for a rematch later on. What we got was pretty standard Lawler, but having it in Georgia didn’t quite fit as well as in Memphis. Fine enough match, even if it was so clipped.

Parsons tells us that the result was overturned so no worries. We hear about Rich’s heel run in the south in the late 80s and we get a preview for next week’s show.

Roll credits, featuring multiple Parsons (no Iceman) as part of the production crew.

Overall Rating: C. I’m assuming that Parson and the Wrestling Legends Network (seems to be a parent company/distribution label) has bought up a bunch of old territory footage and is airing it on local television, half an hour a week. Well if you insist I guess, as I’ll certainly be doing this every week. This was a short collection but this is going to be a show where it’s a question of what do we have on any given show. I’m absolutely sold and this was a GREAT surprise treat.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.