paul sosnowski

Another question...10/7/72 Bockwinkel and Stevens defend the tag titles against Andre the Giant & Dr X (The Destroyer) in Chicago. Every result I see has the champs winning. I have 5 mins of footage that ends with Andre and Dr X getting their hands raised. Verne Gagne on commentary for AWA Classics, says that Dr X won the match with the figure four. But...you do not see the actual finish, it cuts away after he applies the spinning toehold. Does anyone know if it was a nontitle match, or what?

This is from Soldier's Field in Chicago. I thought it was a tag title match, but Bockwinkel and Stevens were champs at this time and defended the belts on this show against Billy Robinson and Wilbur Snyder. It is Bob Luce film footage and is narrated by him. Former boxing champion Jersey Joe Walcott is the special referee. We open with a closeup on the bloody face of one of the Blackjacks. It is really hard to tell which Blackjack is which, and also the difference between Crusher and Bruiser. The commentary doesn't help. Bobby the Brain Heenan is inside the cage with the Blackjacks, standing on the ring apron. One of the Blackjacks get slammed, then it is clipped. Then we see the Blackjacks whip Crusher(?) into the cage. They double team him in the corner, choking him and pounding on his forehead. Lanza runs Crusher into the cage again, they brawl towards the corner. Crusher pounds on Lanza, throws him into the cage and tags the Bruiser. Bruiser arrogantly puts his foot on Lanza's chest and gets a two count. He takes Lanza into the corner, gives Mulligan the finger, Mulligan charges into the ring. We have a four way brawl, with Crusher and Bruiser running and slamming the Blackjacks heads together. Bobby Heenan comes in the ring to check on his men, but he gets tossed into the cage for his troubles. Bruiser and Crusher take Lanza into the corner and they both climb the ropes and consecutively stomp on Lanza. Crusher backdrops Lanza, Mulligan tags in and brawls around. Heenan and the Blackjacks start to climb the cage, hoping to escape the beating. Crusher and Bruiser pull them back down, Heenan takes a swing at Jersey Joe Walcott and gets punched out. Heenan is a bloody mess. Blackjacks try to escape again, but wait...Bruiser and Crusher climb up after them, Mulligan gets his foot tangled in the ropes, but The Bruiser pounces on him, and Joe Walcott counts three. Blackjacks are pissed, Bruiser and Crusher attack Heenan and throw him into the cage, before delivering a double knockout punch. They toss the Blackjacks into each other and exit the cage. Bob Luce tells us that Heenan is vomiting as the Blackjacks try to help him get up. Seven and a half minutes of footage. It was pretty enjoyable, but really hard to judge. Most of the time, I could not tell who was who.

I'm really curious about the date of the bloody cage match with Heenan as their partner. I can't find a record of it anywhere. Not in Clawmaster's AWA results, Bockwinkel or Bruiser record books

This is from the Mid South Coliseum in Memphis, TN. Lance Russell tells us that this is title vs title, AWA vs Jerry Lawler's "CWA world title". Lawler is a heel and has Jimmy Hart in his corner. The last time Bockwinkel and Lawler faced each other in August, it was a 60 minute draw. This match has a 90 minute time limit. We are JIP at around the 20 minute mark. Lawler is reeling, Bockwinkel hits him with two uppercuts to the midsection. Bockwinkel spins around and hits another, he follows Lawler to the corner and slams his head twice into the turnbuckle. He runs him across the ring and slams him again into the opposite corner. Bockwinkel takes a swipe at Jimmy Hart, then pounces on Lawler for the two count. He picks Lawler up by the head and rams him into the mat twice. Bockwinkel drapes Lawler's neck over the middle rope, climbs up and drops a knee on Lawler's back. He climbs to the second rope again and drops a big knee to Lawler's chest, another two count. They swing at each other and connect with a punch at the same time, Lawler runs toward him, they bonk heads and both collapse. Bockwinkel gets up first, starts nailing Lawler with punches to the head and chest, he bodyslams Lawler and backdrops him, Lawler gets his foot on the ropes. He whips Lawler again to the ropes, Lawler meets him with a big kick to the chest, followed by several Lawler punches to the face and chest. Two big elbows to Bockwinkel's jaw. CLIPPED. Lawler continues to work on Bockwinkel's head and he is staggered and bleeding now. Lawler continues with the punches. then misses a fistdrop. Bockwinkel is freaked out by his own blood on his hands, and starts blasting Lawler with punches in the corner. He whips Lawler into the corner and hits him with a high atomic drop. The momentum sends Lawler over the top rope, but the referee rules it is not a DQ. Jimmy Hart reaches in and nails Bockwinkel in the face with something, a chain perhaps? Bockwinkel is down and Lawler covers him for a two.....But wait...Bockwinkel taps Lawler on the back and he thinks it was a three count. Bockwinkel rolls Lawler up for a two count. Jimmy Hart jumps up on the apron, Bockwinkel goes after him. Lawler comes from behind with a chain on his fist, but the referee sees it and grabs Lawler's arm and DQ's him at 26:43 (6:39 shown). What a wild finish!!! Lawler grabs his CWA Title off the table, and the referee hands Bockwinkel his own AWA World Title belt. This was so fun...it was great...I wish it was more than 6 1/2 minutes. I was smiling the whole time. I want more!!! F*ck it, I'm giving this 3 1/2 ***

This is Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling, not the AWA, but the title is on the line here in Charlotte NC. Only about 5 1/2 minutes of handheld footage. Jim Brunzell has Nick Bockwinkel in the abdominal stretch, Bock grabs the middle rope and tosses Brunzell outside. Brunzell jumps back in, gets nailed with a big elbow and a huge kneelift. Bock runs across the ring with him and rams his head into the opposite turnbuckle, then repeats it to the other side. Bockwinkel whips him to the ropes, backdrops him for a one count, then whips him again and meets him with another big knee to the midsection for a two count. He bodyslams Brunzell twice for another two count, as the crowd chants "Go, Jim Go!!!" He whips him to the ropes again, but Brunzell rolls him up for a two count, Brunzell nails a shot to the gut. Bockwinkel runs the ropes so damn fast all the time!!! They collide mid-ring. Bockwinkel chokes Brunzell on the ropes twice and gets a two count. Brunzell returns the favor and the crowd goes wild, Bockwinkel flips down to the mat and Brunzell hits...a Hogan legdrop!!! The challenger bodyslams Bockwinkel for a two, then immediately hits the over the knee backbreaker for another two count. He whips Bockwinkel to the ropes and hits the Brunzell dropkick. He grabs a toehold and grinds Bockwinkel's knee into the mat. He takes the hamstring and flips Bockwinkel's leg over twice, into the spinning toehold, but Bockwinkel reaches up with a punch to the face. Bockwinkel punches Brunzell low in the breadbasket, Brunzell goes for a side headlock, but Bockwinkel shoves him into the referee, the ref goes down....and the footage ends... I know the result is a DQ, but I'm not sure if this was the finish or if Brunzell gets the advantage or what... This was pretty decent, I am looking forward to seeing their other matches in 1981

This is for the AWA World Heavyweight Title. But we only get 4 minutes of action. Yes, you read correctly, it is Greg Gagne not Verne getting a title shot in 1979 We start with Bockwinkel down on the mat, Greg is on the outside, the referee is putting a count on him. Greg barely makes it in at ten, but Bockwinkel immediately kicks him back out to the floor. Greg starts to get up, Bockwinkel runs around the apron and punts him in the ribs. The referee is trying to get Bockwinkel to back off, but now he slams Greg's head into the apron. Bockwinkel runs over and punches him in the head twice, sending him to the floor "like a wet noodle", says the commentator. Greg is still on the outside, Bockwinkel keeps trying to stop him from getting back in the ring. Finally, Greg grabs Bockwinkel's leg from the corner and posts it on the outside. Greg jumps into the ring, "Oh is he hot, there goes the Gagne temper". He slams Bock's hamstring on the mat, and bodyslams him. Whip to the ropes, and two flying dropkicks, into..the GAGNE Sleeper!!! Bockwinkel rolls thru the ropes and Greg falls out as well. Greg gets back in the ring first, and Nick swings a chair at his head and nails him from the floor. Immediate DQ!!! Bockwinkel is screaming and complaining that it was a chokehold. Bockwinkel yells at the crowd and leaves. No sign of Bobby Heenan. The footage was poor quality. Nothing really worth seeing

This is JIP and probably clipped, only 6 minutes of footage. It is marked as February 3, 1979, but it is actually on that same date in 1980. The Crusher is 53 years old here, Bockwinkel has recently turned 45. We start with Nick Bockwinkel ramming The Crusher's head into the far side of the cage, then he brings him over to camera side and does it again. Bock punches the Crusher in the head four times and Crusher goes down. The Crusher is bleeding now and Bockwinkel is punching and going after the cut. He is biting him and goes to ram him into the cage, but The Crusher reverses and sends Bockwinkel into the fence, he punches Bock and takes him into the fencepost on the opposite side. Bockwinkel is bleeding now. He throws Bock into the cage two more times and starts raking his face against the steel mesh. Crusher slowly climbs to the second rope...and very slowly drops his foot on Bock's head...very slowly. Crusher punches and busts open the cut. We get a 10 minute call at about the 3 minute mark of the footage. Bockwinkel hits an uppercut and pounds on Crusher's back. Now he is hammering down on Crusher's forehead and both men are bleeding profusely. Bockwinkel climbs to the top rope to escape the cage, but Crusher comes up after him and knocks Bock to the mat with a big blow to the head. Crusher steps down and hurls Bockwinkel across the ring with his back to the cage. Bockwinkel whips Crusher, drops down, and Crusher runs the ropes and hops over him, but then the two men collide and collapse. Nick is up first, and covers Crusher for a one count. Then he starts climbing the cage again. The Crusher follows him to the top rope and rams Bockwinkel's head into the top of the cage. He slowly climbs down and pounces on Bockwinkel for the three count and the win, maybe around the 13 minute mark. (Nontitle). 5:45 shown Crusher looked better than I expected at his age. Bockwinkel was great. 2 3/4*** based on what aired.

Nick Bockwinkel has been AWA World Champion since November 8, 1975. He will lose it eight days after this to Verne Gagne in Chicago (7/18/80). Well, I thought this was complete, but there is a "5 Minutes" call at 23 seconds of the footage. Arrgh...it's JIP and clipped!!!! Mean Gene Okerlund is doing commentary from ringside. He mentions that Bobby Heenan was run out of the arena by Greg Gagne during the opening of this match. The special referee is Buck Zumhofe. We start the footage with a lockup, Bockwinkel with a hiptoss. They tie up again, Bockwinkel pulls Bravo's hair and sends him into the ropes, this time Bravo gets a hiptoss and Bockwinkel rolls outside to take a breather. Bockwinkel wins a test of strength and takes the younger man down to his knees. Bravo starts getting back up, Bockwinkel kicks him in the gut and takes him down with a side headlock. They get back to their feet, Bock hits two shoulder tackles and takes Bravo back to the mat with the headlock. Finally Bravo gets back to his feet, but Bockwinkel comes off the ropes with another tackle, goes for another but Bravo catches and bodyslams him this time. Bockwinkel punches Bravo in the abdomen and takes him down with a third side headlock. Bravo tries to rolls him up twice and gets a one count. Bravo gets back up, whips Bock to the ropes, Bockwinkel comes back at him with a clothesline. Bravo hits a huge hiptoss, but bockwinkel hits another punch to the mid section, followed by an eye rake and takes him down again. Bravo gets up, nails a big punch to Bockwinkel's abdomen, Bock runs the ropes and Bravo hits a drop toe hold for a takedown. Bravo works over the leg, but Bock escapes with a hair pull and an eye rake. Bockwinkel charges at Bravo in the corner, but misses with a big knee. Bravo capitalizes on the pain and hooks Bock in an indian deathlock on the mat. He nails Bock with two big chops to the head. Bravo stands up with the deathlock and slaps Bockwinkel down. Then he drops backward to the mat trying for the submission. He holds the champ down for a two count. Bravo continues to work on the left leg. Bockwinkel escapes with a choke, comes at Bravo for a big splash, but he misses. Bravo puts Bockwinkel into a deep one legged boston crab, Bockwinkel pulls his hair and rakes his eyes again. The champion gets Bravo in the corner and nails him with an overhead sledgehammer to the chest, followed by some punches to the head, he whips Bravo to the corner and slams him headfirst into the buckle. He drapes Bravo over the second rope and drops a huge knee to his back. Bockwinkel pounces on him for a two count, before slamming Bravo's head into the buckle twice more. Bockwinkel hooks on a front facelock, but Bravo starts punching him in the thigh, he kicks the leg out from under him and applies the spinning toehold into a figure four. Bockwinkel tries to grab the ropes, but special referee Buck Zumhofe kicks Bock's hands loose four times before Bock can finally escape. Bockwinkel begs off, but Bravo stomps down hard on his left leg. He tries for the figure four again, but Bockwinkel sends him down with a fist to the forehead. Bravo puts Bock's head into the turnbuckle and hits a roundhouse right for another two count. Bravo whips Bockwinkel to the ropes for a big back body drop and another two count. Bockwinkel reverses a whip and gets a victory roll up, Bravo tries to pin Bock's shoulders down with his legs. Bravo hits an over the knee backbreaker, he stomps on Bockwinkel, but is answered with another eye rake. Bockwinkel tosses him to the outside, between the second and third rope. Clipped!!! Bravo is suddenly back in the ring, nailing Bock with punches, he whips him to the ropes for a flying dropkick, into an airplane spin. He throws Bockwinkel down to the mat and the referee counts to three!!!! The bell rings!!!! Bravo celebrates, grabs the title belt and runs out of the ring, up the aisle. BUT WAIT, Bockwinkel's foot was on the ropes and the referee orders the match to restart immediately. The match must continue, but Bravo is gone!!! Mean Gene says the time is 28:43, but then the ref starts his count...Nick Bockwinkel wins by count out at approximately 30:00. If you include the count out, I get 20:57 of footage. Three and 1/4 ***. I liked seeing young babyface Dino Bravo.

This match is from Chitose, Hokkaido Sports Center. There is something different about Jumbo....ohmygosh...he's wearing the legendary black jacket and black trunks. He looks mean and...surly. What happened to the happy-go-lucky babyface of years past? He's only 32, but he looks so angry! Nick Bockwinkel comes to the ring wearing bright yellow trunks and the majestic AWA World Title Belt. This is a one fall match, and it is COMPLETE!!! They shake hands before the bell. They circle around a bit, lock up, Bockwinkel gets behind, Jumbo quickly reverses it, neither man gets control, so they are back to their feet. Bockwinkel gets a standing full nelson, Jumbo reverses it. Bock slips out. They lock up again, Bockwinkel takes Jumbo down to the mat with a hammerlock. He grinds down on it and won't let Jumbo get up. Jumbo makes it back to his feet, and Nick aggressively slaps him down again, holding tight onto the arm. Bockwinkel is really cranking on it now, and hooks a half nelson on the mat. Jumbo stands up again and finally gets to the ropes. My god, Bock tears down on his left arm again and locks him on the mat. He is using his legs now, to somehow put an indian deathlock on his arm! He is relentless. Jumbo tries to roll him over and gets a one count. Jumbo makes it to the ropes again, Nick fiercely pounces on him. Jumbo stands up, Bock uses the hair this time to take him down again. Jumbo gets brief control, but Nick answers with a knee to the gut, he takes him down again and stretches the arm out. Jumbo finally rakes Nick's face with his boot and gets free. He hammers some fists to Nick's back, whips him to the ropes for the high flying knee. But his arm is still in pain, and he can only hold Nick down for a one count. Jumbo drops three elbows on Nick's back and hits a russian leg sweep for another one count. Bockwinkel takes Jumbo into the corner and nails him in the abdomen with three big elbow thrusts. He whips Jumbo into the ropes, but Jumbo gets a one count with a sunset flip. Jumbo strikes Nick's back with a double axe, then hits an enzuigiri for a two count. He hammers Nick's back some more, then Jumbo comes off the ropes with a Thesz Press for two. The frustration is building. Jumbo tries for a back suplex, but Nick counters with an elbow to the face and hits a high backdrop suplex of his own, followed by a piledriver for a two count. Bock tries to piledrive him again but Jumbo drops him to the mat. Jumbo punches and stomps on Nick's back. Bockwinkel bodyslams Jumbo and climbs to the second rope, but misses a knee drop. Jumbo starts working the leg, spinning toehold into a figure four leglock. Bockwinkel makes it to the ropes and rolls to the outside. He slowly gets back in, Jumbo stomps his leg some more. Bockwinkel throws Jumbo outside and rams his head into the post. Bock limps around and follows him to the floor, goes for a piledriver and gets met with a backdrop. Bockwinkel tries to get back in the ring, but Jumbo viciously stomps him into the mat. Jumbo whips him to the ropes for another high flying knee, then hits an over the knee backbreaker for a one count, Nick's foot is on the rope. Bockwinkel hits three punches to the abdomen, followed by an uppercut and slams Jumbo's head into the mat. Bock hits two elbows to the chest, and then four punches to the face, before Jumbo goes down for two. Bockwinkel rolls him up for two, then a backslide for two more. He lands some haymakers, and Jumbo is staggering. Bockwinkel elbows him in the face, rams his head into the turnbuckle and hits a few hard knees to the midsection. Now Bockwinkel is frustrated, he hits a backbreaker on his knee, drops a knee to Jumbo's chest. Jumbo starts getting back up, exchanging slaps and punches and hits a big dropkick. Jumbo piledrives Bockwinkel, but Nick's foot is in the ropes again. Jumbo hits some elbows in the corner, but Bockwinkel rakes his eyes. Jumbo hits the backbreaker on the knee, and flattens the Champion with some more big stomps to the back. Jumbo hooks a boston crab for the submission, but Bock gets to the ropes again. Jumbo hits a brainbuster suplex for a two count. Another enzuigiri sends Bockwinkel down, Jumbo whips him to the ropes and tries for the abdominal stretch. Bockwinkel escapes and stumbles into the referee, who is knocked to the outside. Jumbo hits a backdrop suplex, but there is no ref. Bockwinkel pushes Jumbo into the ropes, but he moves and Nick elbows the recovering referee in the face!!! Jumbo slaps Bock down to the mat and hooks on the figure four leglock. Bockwinkel is flailing around and screaming in agony. The referee gets back in the ring, checks on both men and calls for the bell. Jumbo jumps up and raises his arms in victory....but the referee tells the announcer that he has disqualified Nick Bockwinkel. 29:24 Jumbo is so confused, and so am I. The other wrestlers carry Bockwinkel out of the ring, limping to the back. This felt like a real Championship struggle for an important World title. I really enjoyed this match, but geezus...a Dusty finish in Japan in 1983??? Four and 1/4 ****. Hated the finish

Ok this is weird. We get a few minutes of slow motion clips of a recent match from Chicago, narrated by NIck and Bobby Heenan. We see Bockwinkel dropping Gagne throat first over the top rope, next it cuts to Bockwinkel giving Gagne a piledriver for a two count. We see Gagne hit a backslide and he appears to get the pin, but Bockwinkel's foot was in the ropes. Heenan immediately jumps in the ring to protest, he kicks Young Greg Gagne at ringside. Verne attacks him and throws him into the post. Young Greg has a full head of hair!!! He gets in the ring, brawling with Nick and Heenan, father and son fight together. Heenan takes some huge bumps. Greg tosses Heenan out, Verne throws Bock over the top rope. "There is question about the outcome of the match". Nothing special about this footage....not really worth seeing....oh well. **** Ok...the footage says 2/22, but Bockwinkel fought Art Thomas in Chicago on that day. I am almost 100% certain that this is from 3/13/75****

This is for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship, which has been held by Nick Bockwinkel since November 8, 1975. The show is outdoors at Comiskey Park, Chicago. The footage is great quality, and was part of an AWA Classics PPV called Turkey Day Turmoil that aired in 2001, Mean Gene Okerlund is doing voiceover commentary. It is NOT complete, it is CLIPPED. Bobby the Brain Heenan accompanies Bockwinkel at ringside. The bell rings and Bockwinkel charges at Verne and hits him with a Thesz press. Bock hits the ropes and Verne catches him in a bodyslam. They lockup and Bockwinkel hooks him in a full nelson. The 5 minute call is made at the 50 second mark..wtf. Gagne breaks the sleeper and gets a hiptoss. They circle around each other a bit and Bockwinkel gets a hammerlock on Verne's left arm. Gagne tries to take him down to the mat, but Bock holds on. Back to their feet, Verne finally breaks the hold with another toss, Bockwinkel claiming it was a hair pull and pleads to the referee. Bockwinkel consults with Heenan. Collar and elbow tieup, and Bockwinkel backs Gagne into the ropes, but is met with a huge slap to the face. Gagne sweeps Bock's leg out from under him twice, and Bockwinkel gets frustrated and goes outside the ring to talk to Heenan again. Clipped...back in the ring, Gagne takes Bockwinkel down with a hammerlock, Bockwinkel tries for a bodyslam, but now Verne retains the hold. 10 minute call after about 5:50 of action seen here. Gagne continues to work the arm, flips Bock and takes him down with a top wristlock into an armbar. Gagne jumps down and sits on the arm. He grabs both arms and puts his foot in Nick's back for a type of surfboard. The referee asks Bock if he wants to quit and Bockwinkel vehemently shakes his head NO. Bock keeps trying to escape and counter, but Verne takes him down. Clipped again. Now they are tying up in the corner, Bockwinkel pounds a fist to Gagne's chest, but Gagne comes back with a big chop. Gagne grabs Bock's leg and give him a big uppercut, before whipping him to the opposite corner. He whips him across the ring again and drives a knee into Bock's chest. But wait...Bockwinkel slides outside the ring and slams Verne's left leg three times into the ringpost. Gagne tries to take a break outside, but Bockwinkel pulls him back in and drops an elbow onto Verne's thigh. This time, Verne actually does pull Bock's hair, but the ref catches him. Bock applies a spinning toehold, but Gagne breaks it with a punch to the face. Bock drapes Gagne's leg on the bottom rope and drops a knee on it. Bock tries for a figure four, but Gagne tosses him off. Bockwinkel continues to work the leg while on the mat, grinding his fist and elbow into Verne's knee and hip. Gagne regains control and drops his knee over Bock's face, before both men finally get to their feet. Gagne is limping and nails Bockwinkel with a big chop, he goes for a slam but cannot hold him and Bockwinkel winds up on top for a two count. Bockwinkel kicks the hamstring, we get a 20 minute call at about 13 mins of action. Bock tries to drape Gagne's leg again, but Verne moves out of the way and Bockwinkel's knee hits the mat. They exchange some blows, Verne sends Nick flying down with a huge hammer to the chest. He hits a flying kneedrop then tries to roll up Bock for a two. Side headlock, a shoulderblock, both men collide mid-ring and struggle to regain their footing. Bockwinkel is up first and dumps Verne on his head with a piledriver. He goes for another but Gagne reverses it and backdrop suplexes him for a two count of his own. Gagne whips him to the ropes, but misses a dropkick. Nick tries for a splash, but also misses, he turns around right into the GAGNE SLEEPER. Bockwinkel falls to his knees, the referee checks his hand and he is out!!! The bell rings and we have a New AWA World Champion at 22:08. (15:44 shown). Bobby Heenan furiously jumps around the ring. Greg Gagne celebrates and hugs his father, along with other babyfaces, Tito Santana, Steve Regal(awa version), Mad Dog Vachon, Billy Robinson and the Crusher. They carry Verne around the ring as fireworks go off in the stadium for his 10th title win. 3 1/2 *** (won't go higher due to the clipping)

This one is gonna be quick cause there's only 3 minutes of footage. We start with Nick having Verne trapped in a sleeper. Verne tries to grab the referee, and backs Nick into the corner, but cannot escape. Gagne goes to one knee, but rises up and slams Nick backward hard into the corner and succeeds in breaking the hold. Bockwinkel goes after him, but immediately gets trapped in the Gagne sleeper. Heenan grabs Verne's leg and trips him and Bock falls back on top of him. It looks like both men's shoulders are down. The referee counts three and raises Bockwinkel's hand. Heenan jumps in the ring celebrating with the title belt. AWA President Stanley Blackburn steps in the ring, takes the title back and gives in to Gagne on a DQ. Heenan and Bockwinkel are pissed. Verne slaps both of them around, sends Heenan shoulder first into the ringpost, and tosses Nick out of the ring. That's it.

Nick Bockwinkel is narrating this silent film footage with Larry Nelson, I think... We are JIP, but I have no idea on the match time. We get 14 minutes of good clipped footage. Gagne has Bockwinkel down in a head scissors, but Bock escapes and they get to their feet. Next we see Bockwinkel has Verne in a side headlock, Verne escapes and hits Bockwinkel with a knee to the gut, Bock comes off the ropes but Verne bodyslams him, Bock rolls outside. Back in the middle of the ring for a test of strength, Bock gets the advantage and brings Gagne to his knees twice. Verne starts to get some steam, but Nick slams his arm into the post and breaks the hold. Bockwinkel charges at him and wraps his arm in the ropes. Gagne has a lot of tape on his right wrist and Bockwinkel starts attacking it, viciously twisting it as Verne cries out in pain. Verne escapes, but Bockwinkel charges at him in the corner and continues his attack on the wrist, taking Verne down with a hammerlock. Then we see Verne and Bock standing in the corner and Verne grabs Bockwinkel's arm and slings it over the top rope. He stomps on Bockwinkel's arm repeatedly. Nick falls to the outside, he gets back in and Gagne slams his arm into the post, carries him to the opposite corner and rams his head as well. Verne works him over on the mat, ties up his arms, but Bockwinkel gets to the ropes to break. We are clipped again, suddenly I catch a glimpse of Bobby Heenan at ringside, who was not acknowledged at all to this point. Verne has Bockwinkel on the ropes, but Bock hits him with a knee. Verne takes him down with a wicked armdrag, into a hammerlock on the mat. Verne shoots a half nelson and tries to pin Bockwinkel, but Bock bridges up on his neck three times. They stand up and Bockwinkel hits a back elbow to the head to break free. Bockwinkel comes off the ropes, Verne drops down and again catches the hammerlock and hooks Bock's leg as well. Bockwinkel gets an arm free and rakes Gagne's eyes. Gagne picks Bockwinkel up and slams him for a 2 count. Gagne misses a dropkick, Bockwinkel drops two standing kneedrops to Verne's chest, barely missing his throat. Bockwinkel slams Gagne and then grabs a side headlock. Verne whips him off and they collide mid-ring, both men are down and groggy. Bockwinkel is up first and crawls over and gets another 2 count on the champ. Bockwinkel attempts a piledriver, but Gagne sprawls his legs and hits a slow back suplex for a 2 count on Bock. They throw a few punches. Final clip...Bobby Heenan is on the apron, Gagne dropkicks Bock into him. Gagne gets a 2 count, whips Bockwinkel to the ropes, hits an elbow to the chest and gets another two count. Heenan is still down on the apron, trying to pull himself up, Bockwinkel shoves Gagne towards the ropes and he goes flying over the top rope for the DQ. Some decent footage, at first I thought it was just JIP and not clipped. Hard to judge again, but it looked good.

This is only four and a half minutes of footage from Bob Luce's "The Classics" VHS Series, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. The tape says fall of 1972, but I am certain that it is from their November 9, 1971 match. It's film clips, narrated by Luce. We see Verne suplex Bockwinkel on his head. He ties up Bock's arms and gets a one count. Next we see Bockwinkel in charge, he gets a half crab on Verne's right leg. Footage jumps to Verne trying to escape. Then he has Bock's arm again. It jumps again and Bockwinkel is pounding Verne's leg outside on the apron. Bockwinkel gets the half crab again. Then we get Bock on the outside again, from a different side of the ring hammering Verne's leg on the apron. This is confusing footage... Back in the ring, Verne punches Bock in the face and goes outside and pounds Bock's leg on the apron twice, he gets back in the ring and stomps on it. He punches Bock in the face twice and whips him to the corner twice before backdropping him. Then it goes to Gagne having Bockwinkel in the sleeper. Bock breaks it and the footage jumps to him hitting a backbreaker over the knee getting a two count. Then we see Bock slamming Verne. He comes off the top rope for a knee, but misses Gagne. Now they are both standing again and Verne is punching Bock in the face and slams him to the mat. Gagne climbs to the top rope and drops a knee on Bockwinkel's throat and gets disqualified. "Verne Gagne is being admonished by the referee and apparently It's all over here in Chicago" I can't judge this, but it looked pretty damn good from the clips. I liked Gagne hitting the flying knee to the throat for the DQ.

The ring announcer is a bit confused.. He says this match is for the World WBA Championship, then corrects himself and says "AWA Championship". He also seems to botch the ending of the match and can't get the finish straight. Nick Bockwinkel has been champion since November 8, 1975 and is accompanied by Bobby the Brain Heenan. Nick and Heenan seem to have a problem with the Gagne sleeper and are warning the referee to watch out for the choke. This match was filmed exclusively for Japanese TV and it is complete. Bockwinkel looks spry and much younger than his opponent. Nick is 44 and Verne is about 2 weeks shy of his 53rd birthday. Nick circles around his opponent several times after the bell rings, and quickly gets Verne in a hammerlock. Verne shakes him off and hurls him hard to the mat, and then takes him down again with a drop toehold. Back to their feet and Bockwinkel locks on a standing full nelson, but Verne drops out of it and kicks him off. They lock up again and Gagne shoves Bockwinkel hard into the ropes twice. Now a third time, and Verne slaps Bock in the face. He takes Bock down with three armdrags and Bockwinkel bails to the outside and consults with Heenan. A ringside fan calls Bockwinkel, "You Creampuff". Lol Bockwinkel gets the advantage in the next lockup, pushing Verne into the ropes. Instead of a clean break, Bock hammers a fist into Verne's chest. But Verne returns with a fist to Bockwinkel which sends him flying across the ring. Verne is arguing with the referee and Bock tries to sneak attack him, but gets caught. Verne takes Bockwinkel down with a waistlock and grabs an armbar. He rolls to the center of the ring, and ties up both arms in a scissorlock and hits three legdrops on Bock's head. He cranks hard on Nick's right arm and rolls him for a 2 count, but Nick gets his feet on the ropes. They get up and Verne hits a big knee and follows with some chops that send Nick to the canvas for another 2 count. He scoops Bockwinkel again and ties up his legs with an indian deathlock. Nick again bails outside, but Verne kicks him in the head on the way out. Someone yells at Bock, "Cmon you pussy"!!! Verne takes Bockwinkel by the left arm again and drags him around the ring with it, lifting him off the mat. He takes Nick down by the arm, spins around and sits on it. Bockwinkel finally gets Verne in the corner and breaks the hold with three big punches to Verne's ribs and abdomen, followed up by four big kicks. Verne is down and Bock starts choking him in the corner. He's stepping on his throat now! Verne kicks Bockwinkel in the ribs and nails three big uppercuts. He punts Bock in the ribs and sends him into the turnbuckle. Another big chop that sends Bock flying for a 2 count. Verne bodyslams Bockwinkel five times, hard down to the mat. He drops a knee on Bock's head, but the champion gets his foot on the ropes. He misses a second knee and Bockwinkel takes advantage, working over the injured leg. Bockwinkel hooks on a figure four, but Gagne rolls to the ropes for a quick break. Gagne is up and punts Bock in the ribs again, whips him to the corner, back first, and gets a high back bodydrop for another 2 count. Bockwinkel grabs a side headlock and chokes Gagne on the ropes a bit. Bock attempts a piledriver, but is met with another backdrop. Bock whips Verne to the ropes, but Gagne shoulderblocks him and sends him down. Verne comes at him again, but Bock catches him and both men tumble over the top rope to the floor. Gagne gets back in the ring first, and whips Bockwinkel into the corner. Drops him again and hooks on the dreaded Gagne sleeper hold. Bobby Heenan has seen enough, Bockwinkel pulls him into the ring and Heenan jumps on Gagne for the DQ at 18:26. (announced as 19:28). Gagne is furious and attacks Heenan, sending him between the ropes and flying hard into the ringpost. Heenan hits a gusher as Gagne climbs to the top rope and drops a knee on Bobby's throat!!! Heenan's face is soaked with blood like on the cover of a 1970's Sports Review Wrestling magazine. Seriously, he is lying on the mat in a huge puddle. Our confused ring announcer says that Verne is the new AWA World Heavyweight Champion. AWA President Stanley Blackburn has to get into the ring and correct him. "Verne Gagne wins the match, but Bockwinkel still retains the belt and is still champion". He repeats and corrects himself several times. Four stars ****

I can't find any complete results for ECWA shows in 2001. After the Super 8 on 2/24, there was a show on April 7 with Lowki and Danielson vs The Haas Brothers. On May 5, Lowki was in a 6 way match with Jayson Reign, Russ Haas, Charlie Haas, Scoot Andrews and Vince Goodnite. On July 21, there is a famous Ki vs Danielson match with Ricky Steamboat as referee. I'm not sure about the result of the 9/22 four way match, I have not watched it in a very long time and I don't remember it at all. "an incredible match of the year candidate in the four way main event. Low Ki, Chris Daniels, American Dragon and Scoot Andrews delivered over 30 minutes of hard-hitting, high-flying, body twisting excellence with this must see match. Ki also had a match against Chris Daniels on November 3 Ki and Dragon defended the tag titles against the SATs on December 1st. I know that the original match I asked about was not in the ECWA, cause my first show there was 1/12/02

Ughhh...this match is NOT complete.... Filmed exclusively for Japanese TV. Giant Baba is on commentary. One Fall match. We are deep in the heart of the AWA, Minneapolis Minnesota. Nick Bockwinkel is accompanied by Bobby the Brain Heenan. Verne Gagne steps into the ring and says he wants to challenge the winner of this match, in the very near future. (He will get it July 18th in Chicago) Heenan gets in Verne's face, and gets slapped and hurled out of the ring. Mean Gene announces Jumbo as being "from the Orient"....ugh. Heenan is carried out. They aggressively lock up three times. Jumbo gets Bockwinkel down with a headscissors...and we are CLIPPED. Less than one minute into the match. We return with Bockwinkel in control of Jumbo's arm down on the mat. Jumbo gets up, whips Bockwinkel into the ropes and hits the high flying knee for a one count. He staggers Bock with uppercuts and a big elbowsmash to the back. He knocks Bockwinkel down again with a double hammer fist to the chest and kicks him hard in the back twice. The Minnesota crowd is solidly behind the young Japanese babyface star. He stomps on Nick's back five more times and goes for the camel clutch, but Nick quickly makes it to the ropes. He nails Jumbo with three elbows to the gut, but Jumbo lands a big overhead chop to Bock's head. He picks up Bockwinkel and twice hits the over the knee backbreaker, but only gets a one count. He stomps Nick's back three more times and hits a double sledgehammer. Jumbo looks to the crowd and rallies for support. Bobby Heenan has returned to ringside, as Jumbo hooks a deep single legged crab. Bockwinkel makes it up the ropes for a break, but then begs off in pain. Jumbo stomps Nick's back again, but Bockwinkel answers with two elbows to the midsection. Jumbo attempts to grab a headlock, but Bock pounds him with more elbows to the stomach. Bock fires a big punch to the head, and both men collapse to the mat. Bockwinkel is up first and goes for a bodyslam, but Jumbo falls on top for a two count. Jumbo grabs Bock for a high atomic drop and goes for the pin, but Nick's foot is on the ropes. Jumbo hits a double underhook and the crowd roars with glee. He whips Bockwinkel into the ropes and comes back with an abdominal stretch, but not for long...both men tumble between the ropes to the floor. Heenan comes over to help his man back in the ring. Bockwinkel gets Jumbo in the corner and appears to rake his eyes, followed by a throat punch which the ref does not see. He underhandedly punches Jumbo twice again. I wonder if Heenan handed Nick something for the assist? Jumbo is woozy as Bock gets a two count. Bockwinkel goes for a piledriver, but Jumbo back body drops him. He whips Jumbo into the ropes, but Jumbo counters with a sunset flip for a two. The crowd is on its feet. Jumbo hits a piledriver on Bockwinkel and covers for one, but Bockwinkel comes back with another suspicious looking punch. Jumbo whips Bock to the ropes and drops down to the mat, but Nick leaps over him and both men collide and bonk heads, knocking each other silly. Jumbo falls to the floor and the ref starts counting, but Bockwinkel reaches over and slams Jumbo's head on the apron twice. Bockwinkel won't let Jumbo back in the ring, hits four big punches and posts his head on the buckle. He then kicks Jumbo a few times and hits a high backbody drop for antoher two count. He whips Jumbo across the ring, but Jumbo answers with a knee to the face. Jumbo goes nuts and starts stomping Nick in the back eight times, before hooking the abdominal stretch. Bockwinkel doesn't stay in it long and flips Jumbo over...onto the referee. Jumbo gets a visual three count. Jumbo hits a dropkick and almost lands on the poor ref. Another three count as the crowd screams for the ref to wake up. Jumbo slams Bockwinkel and goes for another pinfall, but suddenly Bobby Heenan jumps on Jumbo and Bockwinkel gets DQ'd at 20:05. Jumbo stomps Bock a few more times but the ref continues to ring the bell. Bock gets up and takes a swing at Jumbo, but is overwhelmed by his chops and tumbles to the floor. Bockwinkel and Heenan slink away, but keep the title. Now, I said this match was not complete. Only 14:45 of 20:05 is shown. But the ring announcer also says the time of the match is 23:17, so either the AWA was padding time and the Japanese TV called them out on it. I can't rate the match higher than 3 1/2 *** due to the clipping and also the shitty finish. But it was good for awhile.

Nick comes to the ring in a fabulous white tracksuit, with the words "Bockwinkel World Heavyweight Champion" emblazoned on the back. This is a one fall match. These two know each other well. We start the match with a very aggressive lockup, they struggle a bit, and Nick throws Jumbo off. They lock up again,and Nick gets the advantage once more. A third time and Nick scoops Jumbo and slams him to the mat, but wait...Jumbo fires up and comes back and slams Nick twice. Nick does a go-behind and Jumbo reverses it twice. Jumbo grabs a hammerlock and forces Nick to the mat. Back to their feet, Nick grabs Jumbo's hair and whips him to the ropes, but Jumbo gets a shoulderblock. Nick hits a high hiptoss, but Jumbo grabs the arm again, and gets a Steamboat-style fast armdrag. Bockwinkel gets to his feet, but Jumbo turns it into a double arm wringer. Bock struggles for several minutes, and eventually backs Jumbo into the ropes. Instead of a clean break, Nick punches Jumbo hard and fast in the gut. Nick wins a test of strength and brings Jumbo to his knees, but Jumbo gets up, kicks Bockwinkel and hooks on an abdominal stretch. The crowd chants "TSURUTA!!" Bockwinkel writhes in pain, but drops down to the mat and escapes the hold. They lock up again, but Bockwinkel immediately backs Jumbo into the ropes and nails him with 3 hard elbows to the abdomen. Jumbo falls to the outside, Nick grabs his head and slams it on the apron. Nick picks up Jumbo and suplexes him back in the ring for a 2 count. Bockwinkel grabs a side headlock and brings Jumbo to his knees again. He whips him into the corner and locks him in a sleeper. The referee checks Jumbo's arm, but Jumbo breaks the hold with four elbow smashes to Nick's stomach. Jumbo whips Bockwinkel to the ropes and the crowd knows what's coming...Jumbo hits the high flying knee and gets a two count!!! Jumbo picks him up for a perfect double underhook suplex and gets a one. Jumbo is in total control, hits 3 uppercuts and Nick falls on his back. Jumbo turns him over into a boston crab. Bockwinkel is screaming "NO" to the referee, but makes it clear he is in a lot of pain. Nick starts to power up, Jumbo releases the hold and stomps his back five times!!! Bockwinkel crumbles to the mat and Jumbo now hooks on the camel clutch. Bockwinkel makes it to the ropes for a break. They exchange blows and punches, but Jumbo keeps hammering Nick's back. He picks him up and drops him on his knee for a backbreaker and another two count. Bockwinkel fires up and starts nailing Jumbo with elbows and punches to the gut. He carries Jumbo around and slams his head into three turnbuckles. He tries to slam Jumbo, but his back gives out!!! Jumbo is relentless now, hits some knees and whips Bockwinkel into the corner back first, hammering fists and hooks another abdominal stretch. Bockwinkel gets free and tries to run the ropes, but Jumbo catches him in an airplane spin. Bockwinkel grabs the top rope and both men tumble over it. Jumbo picks him up again on the floor and carries him around the outside of the ring in an airplane spin before slamming him down. But both men are counted out at 18:44. They get back in the ring and slug it out a bit, until Nick decides he has had enough. He grabs his title belt and Jumbo reluctantly shakes his hand. This was a great match. I loved every second of it. Four and 1/4 ****

JoeG, you are not referring to the ECWA 9/22/01 show? The Haas Brothers, London and Kendrick are not on the show... But I know I have a VHS of the main event, it was pretty heavily pimped as a great indy match in 2001 http://www.rfvideo.com/ecwa92201wilmingtonde.aspx

This match is from Korakuen Hall, and takes place on an IWE show. Kintaro Oki is 51 years old at the time, Bockwinkel is 45. I don't know much about Oki, but he was also known as Kim Ill and was a member of the first class of the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame, along with Bockwinkel. Whoa....Lou Thesz is the special referee!!! I did not know that. The AWA title belt looks majestic as always. This match is 2/3 falls. Handshake starts the match. Oki backs Bockwinkel into the ropes, gives him a clean break. Bockwinkel tries for a go-behind, but Oki takes him down with a sweet double wristlock. Bockwinkel gets back up, into the ropes again, but Oki takes him down once more. Bockwinkel struggles to get up, Oki holds onto his arm. Finally Bockwinkel escapes with an upkick. Bockwinkel clamps on a tight standing full nelson and eventually brings Oki down to the mat with it. Oki breaks it with a stomp and takes Bockwinkel down with a rear chinlock. Bockwinkel sits out and reverses it into a hammerlock. Oki whips Bockwinkel into the ropes and slams him down to the mat. Oki controls Nick's left arm and rolls around, punishing it from a variety of positions. Thesz says "Whatdayasay, Bockwinkel?" Nick tells him to forget it. Bockwinkel kicks Oki in the head, Oki whips him into the ropes, Bock comes back with a shoulderblock, but Oki hiptosses him and clamps on another armbar. Thesz is down there checking Nick's shoulder, but Nick bridges up and avoids the count. Bockwinkel attempts to roll Oki and holds the tights, but only gets a 2 count. Bockwinkel thrashes around on the canvas, but cannot escape Oki's grip. Bockwinkel finally gets the advantage by grinding his boot in Oki's face. Bock peppers him with elbows and Oki is down for a one count. Nick hits another big elbow in the corner and reverses a backslide to gain the first fall at 10:20 The second fall begins with Oki trying to take control of Nick's arm again,but Nick shoves him down, both men exchange side headlocks, before Bockwinkel takes him down with a drop toehold and turns it into an Indian deathlock. Oki struggles to reverse it, but Bockwinkel hammers down on the opposite leg as well. Thesz declares a stalemate and separates the two opponents. Bock grabs a leg and takes Oki down, but he is in the ropes. Thesz demands a break and when he does not get it, he grabs Bockwinkel by the throat and pulls him off. The two legends shove each other but Bock remains focused. He nails Oki with four big unanswered elbows in the corner, followed by three more up against the ropes. He whips Oki down to the mat and grabs a tight side headlock, but may have turned it into a choke. Now he is choking Oki on the ropes, but Oki counters with a back bodydrop and a massive chop to Bock's chest. He nails Bockwinkel with five huge headbutts and gently covers Bockwinkel for the pin at 6:34. The third fall begins with Oki chasing Bockwinkel, whose head is now busted open from the headbutts!!! Oki meets him with three more and then whips Bock to the ropes and rams his head into Bock's abdomen. Bock is bleeding badly, and gets two more headbutts for a 2 count. Oki slams him and drops an elbow, but only gets a one count. Bockwinkel rolls to the floor, Oki comes out and throws him back in. Another headbutt for a 2 count. Oki charges at Bock, but Bock grabs the ropes and both men tumble to the outside. Oki slams Bockwinkel on the floor, but both men are counted out at 2:09. Oki hits a big suplex on Bockwinkel, but the bell has already rung and Thesz assures him the match is over. Bocikwinkel appears as a bloody and beaten man. Total match time 19:03 Four stars **** I love seeing Bockwinkel against a wide variety of opponents. This board needs more BOCK!!

Ugh...maybe the cage match was Reckless vs Trent, and Ki was also on the show?

This match was exclusively filmed for Japan TV. The whole show appears to be All Japan vs Mid Atlantic, and all the matches are on video. Chavo Guerrero vs Masa Fuchi, Giant Baba & Genichiro Tenryu vs Jake Roberts & Jerry Grey, Terry Funk vs Barry Horowitz (calling himself Brett Hart), Rufus R Jones vs Dory Funk Jr, Jack & Jerry Brisco vs Bob Orton and Jimmy Valiant, and Bruiser Brody vs Jumbo Tsuruta. The ring announcer tells us that Ric Flair does not have his belt is that he was defeated by Harley Race "last week in St Louis". Some woman in the crowd yells "Noooooo!!!!!" It was actually 2 days earlier. Flair also defended his title on June 8th in a 60 minute draw against Jumbo in Nagoya. Tough schedule. You can feel the hate as they lock up. Flair is a total babyface here. Valentine backs Flair into the corner and Flair fires up with chops and a beal throw. Valentine begs off and is sent down to the mat with one more mighty chop. Flair pounces on him and reigns blows down on Greg's head. Ric whooo's and struts. Flair takes Valentine down with a wristlock and trips him up. Greg knocks Flair down with 3 big elbows. He jumps on him and drops a hammering fist. Greg drops Flair's neck on the top rope and drops the big elbow on his chest for a two count. Valentine slows things down with a chinlock, but Flair is back up with a chop to his chest and an uppercut elbow that drops Valentine face first on the mat. Valentine begs off again, but Flair won't have it. He gets Greg in the corner, goes up to the second rope and does 10 head punches. Valentine rolls out to the floor, Flair whooos and struts again. It's great to see him so young and enthusiastic. They are exchanging hard blows, Valentine hooks on a sleeper, Flair escapes by hoisting Greg up and dropping him on his knee. Flair drops an elbow for a 2 count, followed by a crushing knee to the face. Flair gets a big suplex and locks on the figure four! Valentine knows he is in trouble and gets to the ropes to break. Flair is relentless, kicking at Valentine's leg, exchanging hard chops and blows. Valentine gets a side headlock and Flair goes to suplex him, but Valentine accidentally kicks the referee. Flair gets a visible 3 count. The ref is back up rather quickly and Flair bounces off the ropes and hits a bodypress for another 2 count. Valentine posts Flair's leg on the outside and gets back in the ring to apply his own nasty spinning toeholds and the figure four. Flair reverses it and Valentine rolls to the ropes. Valentine goes to the ringside table and grabs his title belt, hammering it down from the outside on Flair's knee. He gets in the ring with it, but Flair grabs the belt away from him and slams him in the head for the DQ at 12:17 But it is NOT over. Flair pounds on Greg's head and hits him with the belt again, shoving referee Sonny Fargo away. Flair opens up the cut on Greg's already bandaged head. Flair kicks the ref and throws the belt down. Valentine tries to escape up the aisle. Flair chases after him, back to the ring, Valentine is bleeding badly now. The aftermath reminds me of crazed Flair brawling around the building from Bash 89. Four Stars ****

JK, there are 2 different matches, 6/3 and 6/10. The first one is the one that you describe where Steamboat bleeds and gets DQ'd. In the second match, Snuka gets DQ'd for choking Steamboat with a chair

I am almost certain that in 2001 or perhaps 2002, I saw a match somewhere in New Jersey, Lowki vs Trent Acid in a steel cage. Did this really happen? I have never been able to find anything about it anywhere. JCW perhaps? Maybe it was Ki against Billy Reil or Reckless Youth? But it was definitely a steel cage match

This is for Jumbo's United National Title. We are at Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas. The champinship proclamation is read by Fritz Von Erich. It appears this is the only time that DiBiase ever appeared in WCCW. They have faced each other before, in All Japan five years ago. There is a handshake before the match. Ted tries to lock up with Jumbo, but Jumbo circles around him, reverses and escapes. Ted gets a single leg takedown and immediately rolls up Jumbo for a one count.. They lock up again, Jumbo drops Ted with a fireman's carry into an armbar, but now Ted quickly escapes. Ted takes control of Jumbo's left arm. Ted with a shoulderblock, Jumbo with a hip toss, Ted takes him down again with an armdrag. Jumbo rises to his feet, but Ted clamps down on it, Jumbo tries to break it with 3 chops to Ted's chest. Ted answers back with two elbows to the face and a kneelift. He gets Jumbo with a chop of his own, but Jumbo comes off the ropes with a kneelift in return. Jumbo grabs a standing headlock, Ted tries an atomic drop, but Jumbo holds on and takes him down to the mat, but Ted rolls him up twice, for a one count. They get to their feet, Jumbo nails Ted with 3 big knees to the face, and an elbow to the head, Ted tries to fight back, but is met with the running kneelift. Jumbo backs Ted into the ropes and slaps him in the face! Tempers are flaring now. DiBiase returns the slap and drops some hammerfists to Jumbo's back, followed by a slam and a kneedrop to the face for a 2 count. Ted whips Jumbo to the ropes and gets him with a big knee to the gut, he climbs to the second rope and comes off with an elbow to the head. Ted gets Jumbo in a headlock, Jumbo breaks it and hits a shoulder tackle, attempts a sunset flip but Ted drops on him for a 2 count. DiBiase backs him into the ropes, but instead of a clean break, Jumbo is met with elbows and gets his head thrown into the turnbuckle. DiBiase piledrives him but only gets a 2 count!!! Jumbo brainbuster suplexes Ted in the middle, gets a 2 and follows with a Russian leg sweep. At the ten minute mark, Jumbo suddenly hits a Thesz press for another two. Ted is definitely getting frustrated, punches Jumbo in the gut and the head and takes him into the turnbuckle again. Jumbo whips Ted to the opposite corner and goes for the flying knee, but DiBiase moves out of the way. He starts working on Jumbo's knee, dropping his own knee onto it six consecutive times before going for the spinning toehold. Jumbo fights out of it, gets back to his feet, Ted kicks the leg from under him three times but is met with a dropkick from Jumbo. Jumbo hits some chops to the head and gets a big back bodydrop suplex on DiBiase for a 2 count, but Ted's foot was on the ropes. Ted takes Jumbo up for a suplex of his own. DiBiase drops Jumbo on his knee, goes for the spinning toehold again and Jumbo kicks him over the top rope. Jumbo meets Ted on the way back in with hammers to the back, attempts a suplex, but Ted kicks the leg out and goes for another spinning toehold. Jumbo cradles him and gets the pin at 14:02. This was really fun and better than I was expecting. 3 1/2 ***