wrestling / Video Reviews
Georgia Championship Wrestling (9.19.1981) Review
Image Credit: Georgia Championship Wrestling
Loading...-Originally aired September 19, 1981.
-Your host is Gordon Solie, who has the trophy. The Most Popular Wrestler contest winner WILL be announced, and that person will definitely, for-sure leave the studio with that trophy.
-BREAKING! Gordon announces that they were just notified by telegram that Dusty Rhodes lost the NWA World Championship (about a 50% pop for that announcement) to Ric Flair (about 70% pop for that announcement) in Kansas City. Flair went right to work honoring the championship commitments, however, Georgia attempted to work a few things out with the NWA. Flair is on a plane right now and they will attempt to have him in the studio for an interview in the next two hours.
-And here’s the Masked Superstar, who still has his mask and is now the National Champion AND the Georgia Champion as a result of his victory over Tommy Rich in the Omni. And Superstar minces no words, the Georgia belt is nice but I think we can all agree that “Georgia Champion” is less prestigious than “NATIONAL Champion,” so he declares the Georgia title retired and dead and says he’s only focusing on the National Title.
-And now Gordon Solie welcomes the newest star in Georgia Championship Wrestling, former Oakland Raider Otis Sistrunk. Superstar comes back out and hurls some insults before knocking Otis’ cowboy hat off his head. Otis smiles and laughs, like he’s watching the angle happen on TV, so…there’s some work to do here.
BRUNO SAMMARTINO, JR. & GEORGE WELLS vs. IRON MIKE SHARPE & IZZY SLAPOWITZ
-Bruno Jr. and Iron Mike start out, and my brain is having trouble wrapping my head around this match not happening at MSG while Gorilla Monsoon & Gene Okerlund bitch about the referee not being a referee correctly.
-Iron Mike applies a bearhug. Bruno breaks with a right hand and takes him down for a one-count. Apprentice G tags in and works the arm, so this could very well be the historic match that necessitated the brace for the rest of Mike’s life.
-Slapowitz throws a punch so hard that his own singlet starts to fall off. Bruno tags back in and bars the arm. George Well tags in and applies a top wristlock. Izzy slides free and tags Iron Mike back in. Forearm blows by the Iron one, Wells fights back with a headbutt. Bruno tags in and drops the leg for the first time six minutes into the match, a new patience record for him.
-Heels work Bruno over in the corner. Bruno fights back with a suplex/powerslamish thing. Wells tags in and hiptosses Iron Mike. Iron Mike gets him on the mat and grabs George’s legs the way that you do when you’re getting ready to apply a Boston crab, and when he grabs the legs…the referee starts counting a pin. So Mike has to let go immediately.
-Izzy tags back in and Wells bounces off the ropes and connects with a headbutt for the three-count. But in an unexpected post-match incident, Iron Mike runs in and throws Bruno out to the concrete, then attacks Wells and puts him in a body vice. Bruno “makes the save” but Iron Mike completely no-sells him and just walks out of the ring while Bruno is throwing punches at him.
-Ray Stevens is in Georgia, and he’s all pissed off because no NWA World Champion has ever signed a contract to defend the title against him.
-The Great Mephisto and Tor Kamata are out here. Mephisto pledges that he’ll guide Kamata to the World Title…but first, he has some business to tend to with Abdullah the Butcher. He brought Abdullah into George a few years ago and things didn’t work out. He accuses Abdullah of adopting western culture and abandoning his religion, and justice has to be served for doing that.
MR. WRESTLING II vs. TOMAHAWK THOMPSON
-Just some white guy with the name that a wrestler would have in a 1950s sitcom episode.
-II works the arm. Tomahawk gets aggressive, with clubbing blows. II fights back likewise and backdrops him, and the Japanese armbar gets the submission.
-Terry Gordy and Jimmy Snuka are here. Gordon Solie precedes the interview with a public service announcement, telling ticket holders for upcoming shows that Gordy would prefer that you not chant “Baby Huey” at him, and Gordy gets mad at him for directly saying the nickname that he’s upset about.
HANDICAP MATCH: RAY STEVENS vs. EDDIE DEAN & KEN HALL
-The story here is that Ray is in such a hurry to get to the top of the ranks that he’s asking for two opponents at a time just to inflate his win/loss record. He throws one jobber to the concrete and immediately does the piledriver on the other for the three-count. But it turns out this is elimination rules, so now Ray deals with the jobber who got thrown to the floor.
-Hall gets some token offense while Gordon is (unintentionally) funny, trying to find a way to say “Ray is a badass even though he looks like an old fat guy” with some finesse. Slam and a knee by Stevens are enough for the second three-count.
-Gordon is with Mr. Wrestling II. II is crestfallen because Dusty Rhodes couldn’t hang onto the title long enough for a title shot. He also mentions that he’s heard Ric Flair did some nasty things in the match where he wins the title, and that makes sense because, II points out, winning and keeping the world title for a long run can sometimes drive a man to desperate measures, which is why the fans who come to the matches have probably noticed that whoever the NWA Champion is, it seems like he always does shady, villain-like things during the matches. Anyway, II is demanding a title shot from Ric Flair now that Flair is the champion.
-And we IMMEDIATELY cut to a house show promo for the Omni next Sunday night, where the main event will be Flair vs. Mr. Wrestling II for the NWA World Title. Wow, Flair must have used the wifi on the plane to call and accept the challenge.
STEVE-O & BRIAN BLAIR vs. PROFESSOR SONOdA & BILL LANDRUM
-Steve-O and Blair work the arm on Landrum. Blair airplane spins him, then places him down on his feet in perfect position for a top rope bodyblock by Steve-O for the three-count. Sonoda tries a post-match attack, but like the opening match, it’s just completely blown off.
TOR KAMATA (with Great Mephisto) vs. ROUGEAU
-Gordon Solie never gives us the jobber’s first name, but he resembles no Rougeau that I’ve ever seen in my life. He looks like Avery Schreiber and takes a really nice bump on the turnbuckles whoever he is.
-Dropkick by Kamata, and a big fat splash gets the quick win.
-Gordon tries to interview Steve-O and Brian Blair. Kamata tries to pick a fight with Steve-O and Steve-O says he’ll sign a match if Kamata wants to come out here and stir shit.
HOUR #2! PYROTECHNICS GALORE IN THE WTBS STUDIO!
-Tommy Rich walks out, and Gordon Solie sort of tips off this segment by literally holding a plaque AND a trophy as he introduces Tommy. It’s official, Tommy is 1981’s most popular wrestler. Tommy cuts a grateful promo. Michael Hayes and Steve-O stroll out. Hayes shakes Rich’s hand and gives him credit because he caused some trouble for Rich a few months ago, and he admits that Rich handled it like a man. Steve-O congratulates him too.
-…And here comes Mr. Wrestling II, who examines the trophy and says he thinks it would look better on the mantle in his house. And there’s a long, long pause before II…hands it back, congratulates Rich, and leaves quietly. And everyone in the studio seems REALLY surprised by that. Rich does a lengthy, gracious speech giving II his props for being such a great wrestler over the years, and II shakes his hand appreciatively.
-And here’s Ric Flair, who says it’s a joke that they’re making a big deal about a plaque and a trophy while the guy with the most important prize in wrestling is being made to WAIT for the segment to end?! Appalling.
TERRY GORDY & JIMMY “Superfly” SNUKA (Tag Team Champions) vs. KEN TIMBS & BOBBY GARRETT
-Gordon is surprised to hear a “Let’s go, Terry!” chant. Champs wear down the opponents and Gordy connects with a bodypress that looks to finish, but Garrett breaks the pin and Gordy seems surprised by that.
-Garrett tags in proper and gets a knee and an armdrag for his trouble. Snuka tags in and gives him a hard chop. Timbs tags back in and takes a beating. Garrett tags in and gets rammed down to the mat, in perfect position for a Superfly splash for three.
-Tommy Rich comes back out to say thank you once again since Flair cut off the last segment. But one other thing, Superstar STOLE his Georgia title at the Omni, and Tommy is challenging him to a street fight rematch, and he’ll have his cowboy boots and his taped fists ready for that one.
-Kevin Von Erich & Michael Hayes are out here to talk about what happened the last time they tried to win the Tag Team Titles from Snuka & Gordy. We head to highlights from the Omni, where it looks like the gold is about to change hands with an iron claw by Kevin. Gordy passes out from the pain, and it looks like a pinfall is imminent, but Snuka scrapes his body off the mat and out to the floor so they can take the L by countout instead of pin. I love how it doesn’t even occur to Kevin & Michael to kick Snuka’s ass 2-on-1 and drag Gordy back in. They just watch helplessly as the referee counts ten.
-Back in the studio, we confirm that the rematch in the Omni will be in a cage. No running away this time.
MASKED SUPERSTAR (National Champion) vs. DENNY BROWN
-Brown surprises Superstar with mat wrestling technique. Superstar gets aggressive with a series of backbreakers and a slam. Neckbreaker could finish, but Superstar wants to make a point, so he goes for the Cobra instead and gets the win that way.
-Superstar cuts a really funny promo about how lame it is to hear somebody who’s supposed to be a top star waving to his mom and dad at home before thanking the fans for cheering for him. Tommy Rich heads to the ring for his squash while Superstar rants about that, and they exchange words. Superstar brings out a rope, a can opener, and a pushbroom, and promises to use all of them in the Omni street fight. Wishful thinking, but I would have loved it if WTBS had aired the Omni shows a la the MSG shows up north. These shows get me so stoked about matches that I know I won’t see.
TOMMY RICH vs. BOB MCKENZIE
-Yes, that is actually the jobber’s name, and I’m so pleased.
-Rich beats the hell out of McKenzie in uncharacteristic fashion, and Gordon speculates it’s because he’s getting himself into a mindset for a street fight.
-McKenzie fights back with a right hand that would the toque right off your head. Rich throws chops at McKenzie, eh, and armdrags him. Rich gives the hoser a kneelift and locks on the abdominal stretch for another win on SuperStation 17. Keep getting those wins and maybe you’ll get booked for a match on Network 90, Tommy.
-Ric Flair is back out here and demands RESPECT, complaining the fans are making too much damn noise for somebody who’s accomplished as much as he has. Flair emphasizes that he’s not “The People’s Champion,” he’s his OWN champion, because he worked for the belt and they didn’t, dammit.
TOR KAMATA (with Great Mephisto) vs. JERRY MAHONEY
-Knucklehead Smiff apparently couldn’t get medical clearance to work this week, so they called in a substitution.
-Chops by Kamata, and he just rams Mahoney into the turnbuckle HARD before kicking him down. Kamata chokes Mahoney and clotheslines him down. Fat guy splash gets three.
-Gordon Solie asks Mephisto about Kamata’s background. He started as a sumo wrestler, then expanded into learning karate before finally training in both wrestling and boxing.
MR. WRESTLING II vs. JOSE MEDINA
-II gets Medina on the mat and rides him for a bit. Medina throws punches. II punches back and knees him down, and the Japanese armbar finishes.
