Georgia Championship Wrestling (8.29.1981) Review

-Originally aired August 29, 1981.

-Your host is Gordon Solie.

-Cast your votes for Most Popular Wrestler as soon as possible!

MR. WRESTLING II & GEORGE WELLS vs. DAVID SIERRA & TONY RUSSO
-More hinting toward something, as Wells starts the match but II just gives Sierra a smack from the apron before anything at all has happened in the match. Jobbers try to double-team Wells, but Wells fights them off with double flying headscissors. Hiptoss into a side headlock by Wells, and then II tags in proper.

-Not much happens from there, as it’s just a side headlock exhibition for much of the match. Wells gets trapped in the heel corner and dropkicked. Sierra tries to make it a boxing match but Wells outmatches him there. Russo tags in and gets hiptossed and headscissored by II. Shoulderblock by Wells and a kneelift by II for the III-count.

-BREAKING NEWS: Effective next week, GCW moves time slots again, but Gordon promises that this is a permanent change…Saturday at 6:05 Eastern. Try to remember that.

-Steve O is here and cuts a Backlundish promo.

MASKED SUPERSTAR (National Champion) vs. BRUCE GALLAGHER
-Superstar punches and snapmares Gallagher down. Slam and a neckbreaker, but Superstar will not allow the three-count. Cobra hold gets the win instead.

-Tommy Rich accuses Superstar of being GUTLESS, because he never defends that National Title against him.

TOMMY RICH (Georgia Champion) vs. RICK FERRERA
-Mildly interesting because of the exchange program that appears to be going on between two of the territories. Nick Patrick is a referee in Georgia, and a jobber in Mid-South. Rick Ferrera is a jobber in Georgia, and a referee in Mid-South.

-Rich slams Ferrera down. They trade front facelocks, with Ferrera getting the edge for a bit. Full armdrag and twist by Rich as Gordon even brings up the fact that our referee for this match is a trained wrestler himself.

-Ferrera with headscissors on Rich. Backdrop by Rich, but Ferrera raises the knees to block an attempted splash. Atomic drop by Ferrera gets a one-count. Ferrera goes for a Boston crab, but Rich powers out and applies an abdominal stretch for the submission.

-Superstar is out here to deny accusations that he’s DUCKING challengers. Did you know Tommy Rich went to a lakeside cabin a few days ago for rest and relaxation?! Superstar is only giving title shots to jobbers, because those guys are in there night after night wrestling.

KEVIN VON ERICH vs. JIM NELSON
-That is indeed the future Boris Zhukov, looking incredibly slim and trim at this point in his life.

-Side headlock while Gordon rattles off some stats for Kevin. Kevin was actually born in the Yukon as a result of his dad’s travel schedule at the time, and he holds a degree in Forestry.

-Nelson applied a headscissors, but Kevin kicks free and snapmares him. Elbow drop and Nelson does a really funny cartoon character sell of that. Nelson rallies and goes for a front facelock–I cannot get the hang of calling a “chancery” after all these years. Kevin gets aggressive with punches and forearm blows, and a big splash by Kevin gets the win. That’s certainly a choice for a finisher with Kevin’s body type.

-Kevin Von Erich tries to give another interview, but Jimmy Snuka and Terry Gordy interrupt. Jimmy Snuka is the quintessential example so far of why the territory system could never have survived the cable TV area, because his whole act here is a rude douchebag cowboy jock, and to go from that to “untamed wild man who can barely speak” was something that you could only get away with for so long.

TERRY GORDY & SUPERFLY JIMMY SNUKA vs. KEITH LARSON & DENNY BROWN
-Gordy hammers on Larson and slams him. Snuka tags in and works the arm. Snuka is wearing BOOTS, I might add, so again…just a totally different persona. Gordon laments that a wrestler with the talent and conditioning of Snuka actually takes shortcuts to get wins.

-Brown tags in but Gordy just immediately suplexes him. Superfly splash and a piledriver to finish it.

-Gordy and Snuka are READY for Andre the Giant in the Omni tonight!

STEVE O vs. JOSE MEDINA
-Dropkick by Steve, and he goes into a side headlock before rolling Medina for a quick two-count. They start getting aggressive and Medina is surprised when Steve O turns out to be up for that. Medina fights back but misses an elbow. Airplane spin by Steve O, and a top rope bodypress gets the win for Steve O.

-Gordon Solie takes a moment to explain the way that the NWA World Title works. The champion signs contracts for title matches far in advance. If the title changes hands, the new champion must fulfill contracts signed by the now-former champion. So, just, say, for example, according to Gordon, IF Dusty Rhodes loses the NWA Title in the near future, some other guy would wrestle in matches that Dusty’s been advertised for. If Dusty loses it.

BRUNO SAMMARTINO, JR. & CHRIS CANNON vs. JEFF SWORD & DAVID SIERRA
-Cannon is young King Kong Bundy with a full head of hair and a sophomore-on-the-football-team goatee.

-Sammartino rides Sierra for a bit and bodypresses him for two. Cannon tags in and works the arm as Gordon mentions that Cannon is also an accomplished golfer. Now that CAN’T be true because “TNT” would have done something with that a few years later.

-Brunior tags back in and gets worked over by the jobbers. Sammartino fights back with a backdrop and an elbow for two. Cradle for another two. Cannon tags back in and finishes it himself with a big splash.

-Tommy Rich and Mister Wrestling II are both here to say a few words about the Most Popular Wrestler contest, and Mr. Wrestling II emphasizes what a great victory it will be for him to get that trophy, again talking as if he’s already won the thing.

BRUISER BRODY vs. MITCH BARLOW
-One-armed slam by Brody. Big fistdrop gets the easy win, as Barlow just got obliterated in there. Gordon complains that Brody really should only be wrestling guys his own size.

-Michael Hayes and Andre the Giant is here, and Hayes is all excited because his Andre’s shirt is hanging open and he didn’t bother shaving, and that’s proof that Andre is a Freebird.

STEVE O & GEORGE WELLS vs. DENNY WOLFE & JIM NELSON
-Nelson gets knocked around by both opponents. Denny Wolfe tags in and gets whipped. Steve O works the leg. Nelson tags in and gets his arm worked over. Wolfe gets chopped across the throat. Wells splashes Wolfe for the win. Are there any other finishers available this week? Was this some kind of locker room pact?

-The tag team champions promise to get nasty with Andre the Giant tonight at the Omni.

TERRY GORDY & SUPERFLY JIMMY SNUKA vs. D.G. & D.G.’S PARTNER
-Neither jobber is identified, but one of them has monogrammed boots, so here’s the amount of identification you’re going to get for this match.

-D.G. gets aggressive to start, but the champs overwhelm him. Hayes and Andre come out to watch the match, and the visual is incredible. The ring that they used in the studio sat lower than an arena wrestling ring, so Andre remains on the floor but his head overlooks the top rope.

-D.G.’s Partner gets double-teamed. D.G. tags in, and Gordon doesn’t even bluff, he actually calls the action with “Gordy goes after the man who tagged in…” Does Gordon not have a rundown or anything in front of him?

-Superfly whips D.G. and suplexes him. Superfly taunts Andre, but Andre takes ONE step forward and Superfly’s faces switches straight to “Oh shit…” and he backs down. Gordy tags back in and finishes one of his opponents with a piledriver.

-Bruiser Brody comes in with a giant steamer trunk, which he claims is the ballot box for Most Popular Wrestler. He opens it up and reveals that there’s only one vote in there, and it’s for him. The capper is that “OFFICIAL BALLOT” is scribbled across the top, and the crowd cracks up. Also, Blackjack Mulligan is done in this territory because Bruiser Brody put him in the hospital last week. He promises that in the next week, he’s going to stuff Chris Cannon and Andre the Giant into caskets and drown ’em, which is a pretty firmly heel thing to do.

MR. WRESTLING II & KEVIN VON ERICH vs. PROFESSOR SONODA & ED TIMBS
-Kevin works the Professor’s arm. Timbs tags in and gets a boot to the gut. II backdrops Timbs as Gordon launches into this thing about how Kevin’s tight skin causes him to bleed and suffer rope burns easily, which can be a drawback in a wrestler’s career.

-Everybody tags and Sonoda chops II. Timbs tags in, but runs right into a kneelift. Top rope bodypress by Kevin, who manages to fly the length of the ring, and that gets the win.

IRON MIKE SHARPE vs. JERRY MAHONEY
-Mahoney tries a full nelson, but Sharpe flexes out. Sharpe just beats on Mahoney and finishes with a body vice.

-Iron Mike heads to the commentary desk to complain that he’s not getting the caliber of opponents that he deserves. Be careful what you wish for, Iron Mike.

4.9

The final score: review Poor

The 411

This one felt like a full two hours.