wrestling / Video Reviews
GCW Superstars (6.11.1983) Review
Image Credit: GCW
Loading...-I’m glad Jim Cornette has a podcast just because he was able to give a really good ten-minute summary of what this even is, and I’ll try to condense it even further before diving in.
-In June of 1983, here’s what was happening in the wrestling business:
#1. CWA, the Memphis territory, was having the best year of its history, and Jerry Lawler decided that this was a good time to lay down all his cards and demand 50% ownership of the company and control of the book, currently possessed by Bill Dundee. Lawler got everything he wanted, and the only downside was that it was kind of awkward to have the guy who lost the book still be in the company, so there was kind of a need for Bill Dundee to go…well…somewhere.
#2. CWA, the Memphis territory, was having the best year of its history, and as a result, it suddenly had a problem that it didn’t usually have: a bloated roster.
#3. World Championship Wrestling, nee Georgia Championship Wrestling, was now doing house show tours in West Virginia, Ohio, and Michigan with some success. The PROBLEM was that prior to this, the Georgia territory had a consistent circuit of house shows in Georgia and eastern Tennessee, and the house show tours in the northern states left the regular circuit with a weaker, depleted roster of lower-level guys, so suddenly, house show business was hurting in Macon, Columbus, Albany, Marietta, Chattanooga, and Knoxville.
-So CWA and WCW put their heads together and decided to try a little experiment–a new promotion that would be something of a “satellite” for both territories where they could combine their extra guys and rebuild interest in the towns where the Georgia territory was seeing dying house show crowds. And that brings us to episode #1 of the experiment…
-Thanks to KrisPLettuce for unearthing this, on YouTube and a slightly better-quality version available for download through Patreon.
-Originally aired June 11, 1983.
-The official title of this thing is WCW Presents Georgia Championship Wrestling Superstars, and I swear I think they got wishy washy on the name of the promotion just to save some money on the ring apron, because they’re using the old “Georgia Championship Wrestling” apron from WTBS. I’m pretty sure it’s also an old WTBS ring…the one that was just ridiculously low to the ground, so the managers can actually see over the top rope.
-Your host is Michael St. John. Joining him at the outset is Steve O, who promises an exciting brand of wrestling for this area. He promises Dutch Mantell, Superstar Bill Dundee, and the tag team of The Fantastic Ones. Uh, I think he means the FABULOUS ONES. Silly goose…
-UPDATE: Steve O’s hand is feeling better.
-And now, a pro wrestling version of one of those sci-fi stories where a traveler returns to his own time but notices that everything is just slightly off. We get the original Fabulous Ones music video that launched the team, set to “Everybody Wants You” by Billy Squier, with the guys in top hats and glittering jackets and bowties as strobe lights blink all around them…except it’s NOT Steve Keirn and Stan Lane. It’s not the Fabulous Ones. This is the new tag team of Terry Taylor and Bobby Fulton, THE FANTASTIC ONES. This is how crazy the wrestling world was without the internet, and with most promotions not airing on cable television. Wrestling fans in Knoxville and Chattanooga couldn’t see the Memphis territory, so nobody in those towns and nobody in Georgia had seen the Fabulous Ones, so somebody reasoned that even a Xerox copy of the gimmick would draw a zillion dollars. It’s really funny, it’s two different guys doing 100% the same act and taking on the same look to do it.
THE FANTASTIC ONES vs. RICK KLEIN & THE THING
-The entrance is hilarious because they do the thing where Stan & Steve would circle the crowd and greet their adoring fans, who would swarm them and hug and kiss them, but here…okay, first, it’s a rather sparse audience even by studio wrestling standards (MULTIPLE empty rows in this studio) and second, this audience is not totally sold on the gimmick just yet, so it leaves Terry and Bobby to just go down one row and shake hands, and it just looks like they’re doing the peace offering at a Catholic mass.
-It’s Fulton’s coming-out party as a not-jobber and does some really fired-up armdrags to look like a star right away. Taylor, who looks surprisingly odd with long tights, clears the ring with hiptosses. Taylor slugs Klein in the gut and Fulton slingshots himself over Klein to make it a sunset flip for a very fast win. I can’t even give a ruling on if these guys have chemistry because they were in and out so quickly.
-Freddy Miller is in the WTBS studio to meet Jim Cornette, who introduces us to “The Angel” Frank Morrell, “Bounty Hunter” Jerry Novak, and King Carl Fergie. A fourth member, “Royal Kangaroo” Norman Frederick Charles, will be introduced at a later time, but Cornette now officially has a stable: Cornette’s Dynasty of Champions. Cornette explains that he comes from a wealthy family, and his mother gives him a blank check any time he asks for one, and he demands the respect that he deserves any time that he comes to Knoxville. I might be skewed from having heard the explanation on the podcast, but when you see the collection of Cornette’s men here, they just immediately give off the vibe of “three extra guys.”
-Next, Freddy welcomes Superstar Bill Dundee, who’s looking to take on top competition like Steve O, Ray Candy, and Brett Wayne. Superstar sounds like Bart Simpson’s fantasy of being a burned out rock star, as he’s just here to remind us that all the people of Knoxville are burned-out slobs who hang out in bars.
-World Championship Wrestling, Triple-A division is in Chattanooga tonight at 8:30 p.m.! On tonight’s card:
Superstar Bill Dundee vs. Dutch Mantell in a grudge match
Ron Garvin vs. The Iron Sheik
The Fantastic Ones vs. Larry Hare & Bill Rose
Brett Wayne vs. Norman Frederick Charles, III
The Angel & Jerry Novak vs. Jerry Oates & Chief Joe Lightfoot
King Carl Fergie vs. The Panther
-Weeeeee-ooooooohhhh, that’s…that’s certainly a card. Larry Hare is third from the top, if anyone needs clarification about why these towns were suddenly falling apart.
-We get the “Bad Reputation” music video showcasing Bill Dundee.
SUPERSTAR BILL DUNDEE vs. PAT ROSE
-Dundee takes down Rose in a side headlock, and they really should have just taken a few minutes before showtime to have those empty rows of chairs removed, because you can’t NOT notice them. And I think some people have actually left since the show started.
-Rose hiptosses Dundee and sends him scurrying out of the ring. Dundee heads back in and Rose immediately ties him up on the mat. Dundee goes to the eyes and drops him with a forearm. Rose hangs in there with an elbow for two. They go to the mat again. Dundee appears to load the boot before giving Rose a kick to the face and it’s enough for the three-count. Oh man, Iron Sheik’s not gonna be happy about that.
-Superstar Bill Dundee snatches the microphone away from Michael to remind us that he hates rednecks, and he hates Dutch because he’s also a redneck.
-Jim Cornette strolls in with his dynasty and announces “We’re going to be in Chattanooga tonight!” and literally nothing else. Absolutely worth making the drive and staying in the motel overnight. Michael even looks at the camera and says “That wasn’t really an interview” afterward.
THE ANGEL & JERRY NOVAK (with Jim Cornette) vs. KEN WHITNEY & THE STRAY CAT
-The Stray Cat has a tiger mask akin to the one worn by Tiger Mask. Flying headscissors by Stray Cat. Angel tries a backdrop, but Cat lands on his feet and does a ninja pose, so it really feels like they’re trying to get away with something here. Whitney tags in and gets booted down. Bearhug by Novak, but Whitney hangs in there. Angel tags in and applies…THE CLAW! Nothing can stop The Claw! Except its only weakness, sub-zero temperatures! Whitney submits to that one.
-Michael St. John says we have some tape coming up of a match that was recently held, probably because it was easier to obtain than a tape of a match that happened in the future. We watch highlights of Dundee and Dutch Mantell in the Omni to explain why these two guys hate each other and why they’re settling it tonight in Chattanooga.
-Dutch is in the studio, and he warns Dundee that he’s brought the whip to Chattanooga.
STEVE O & RAY CANDY vs. BILL ROSE & LARRY HARE
-A little “aha” moment at the start of the match, as Michael St. John notes that the timekeeper at the bell is a guy named Ronnie Gossett.
-Steve O starts off with a side headlock as Bill Dundee comes here to explain that he’s had a change in tactics since the last time the Chattanooga fans saw him, and all he cares about is winning.
-Ray Candy tags in and applies a toehold. Steve O tags in and adds a spin to it. Candy keeps it surprisingly scientific for a big man, tagging back in and concentrating on mat work and holds to work the leg. Steve O comes back in and the faces are surprisingly good with continuity here, wrestling like two guys with a strategy as they both laser-focus themselves on the leg. Dundee isn’t impressed, noting that everybody who gets in the ring looks like a star right up until they wrestle him.
-Hare tags in and tries raking the eyes to deal with Ray Candy, but Candy shakes it off and tags in Steve O. Steve gets caught in the heel corner, but Candy comes to his rescue. Dundee finally decides it’s time to make a statement and attacks Steve O for the DQ, and there’s no one to rescue him as the jobbers gang up on Ray Candy and actually have a LOT of success with it.
-Jim Cornette introduces King Carl Fergie, undisputed king of wrestling. I feel like this is a TEENSY bit of revenge from Dundee for losing the book in Memphis. Lawler’s cousin Carl has completely adopted Jerry’s look, complete with one-strap singlet.
KING CARL FERGIE (with Jim Cornette) vs. HIS MAN
-They never identify the jobber, so I’m naming him in honor of Gordon Solie.
-Fergie applies the front facelock while Cornette explains that his mother paid good money for the Dynasty, and he wanted a king because a king is fit for the amount that his mother gave him to arrange all this. Punches and a snapmare by Fergie. Chinlock by Fergie and finally Cornette brings up the issue of the unknown jobber and just dubs him “Mr. Potato Head” since he doesn’t have a name.
-Another chinlock by Fergie as Michael St. John mentions that we are rapidly running out of time. I would dispute “rapidly,” but this match definitely has a brume of running out the clock. Kneedrop finally wraps it up for Fergie.
-Freddy Miller is in the WTBS studio with the Iron Sheik and Paul Ellering. He’s putting up $10,000 for tonight’s match!
-Bill Dundee runs out the clock with a promo challenging everyone to a wrestling match AND a dancing contest. Also, everyone in this city is a fat redneck.
