peachchaos

I've been developing an idea which I think could bring wrestling back to the mainstream, like the "Rock n Wrestling" build-up or the Monday Night Wars. The only issue being that it doesn't really involve any WWE talent. Anyway, you book a celebrity actor who is known for working the general public and basically book them like Andy Kaufman in Memphis. Initially, I thought of Sasha Baron Cohen, since his "work" in Borat is the stuff of legends. He also has the acting chops to pull this off and get heel heat. A more current name would probably be Shia LeBeouf, who has generated more WTF moments for gossip sites than anyone. I'd say Cohen probably works better with his lanky physique and mic skills. So your heel celebrity comes in to WWE and does the whole "I only wrestle women" bit, goes over all the Divas and even wins the Divas title. He has to always cheat to win so it's not a burial of the entire division. Then one night while Rousey's in attendance, the male heel celebrity goes too far after a match and is going to injure a Diva until Rousey comes out and puts him in an armbar and breaks his arm. Celebrity heel wears a cast for months and months and threatens to sue, etc. Then they go on The Late Show with Steven Colbert and Rousey ends up knocking him out. So we have the blow-off match a WrestleMania, maybe a mixed tag of some sort. Thoughts?

Yeah, it wouldn't have made sense for Bret Hart to go out an beat chumps in less than 10 minutes. His whole shtick was that he was a mid sized sedan that anyone could drive.

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 8/6/83: David Morgan & Mike Hammer def. Gama Singh & Frank Morell @ 9:23 Jerry Novak def. Mr. Hito @ 4:48 The Tokyo Hurricanes w/ KY Wakamatsu def. Kerry Brown & Bulldog Bob Brown @ 14:32 Matt Borne def. Hubert Gallant @ 8:45 Jerry Blackwell def. Jim Neidhart @ 12:28 Dynamite Kid & Davey Boy Smith def. The Cobra & Junji Hirata @ 29:34 Archie "Stomper" Gouldie DDQ Dino Bravo @ 13:35 NWA Stampede North American Championship: Bret Hart © def. Terry Funk @ 36:24

Yes.

Fun. I'll be there if I can.

Stampede Wrestling presents Wrestling At The Corral August 5, 1983 at the Stampede Corral in Calgary, Alberta (aired 8/6/83) The show opens with footage of Rick Martel winning the NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship at the Canada Cup Tournament on 7/1/83 in Toronto and being handed the belt by Gene Kiniski. An announcement comes on the screen which explains that top Canadian challenger, Dino Bravo, will challenge Martel for the title on August 25th in Vancouver. "The Great Gama" Gama Singh is escorted to ringside by belly dancers and a snake charmer. He says his search for a world championship-caliber tag team partner continues. He has scanned the globe for the perfect monster. Last week, The Russian Assassin did not live up to his moniker, as is true of most Russians. He now seeks European brutality, and he found what he was looking for in the bowels of Paris, France. He brings out "The French Angel" Frank Morell. 1. NWA Stampede International Tag Team Champions The Tongan Terrors vs. Gama Singh & The Angel Frank Morell The Terrors come out unannounced and receive a huge face pop for disposing of Morell rather quickly. Singh refuses to tag in and leaves the ringside area in protest. Winners - The Tongan Terrors @ 6:19 with a double thrust kick. Jimmy Hart appears in a pretaped promo. He hopes all the fans of the Calgary Hart Family are enjoying their moral victory last week, but the fact of the matter is that Stu Hart won the battle but not the war. He's happy for the Harts, really. Now they can afford to buy Helen a make-over! But seriously, losing the money he stole from the Harts has given him the clarity needed to see the error in his ways. He wants to make amends to the entire Hart Family, the real Hart Family he says, and has sent a package as a peace offering tonight. Commercials. Ed Whalen announces that the 7 foot 500 lbs. Andre the Giant will be a big part of the Supercard in Vancouver on 8/25, when Dino Bravo challenges Rick Martel for the NWA Canadian title along with a No Disqualification Match between Hulk Hogan and Abdullah the Butcher. Word is Andre has his eyes on Jerry Blackwell, who has given his good friend Stu Hart a bit of trouble lately. 2. Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan (taped 6/2/83, footage courtesy NJPW) Winner - Andre the Giant @ 5:00 via count out. Jerry Blackwell cuts a promo on Andre and the Harts. He brings out a huge wooden crate and says in the crate is a gift from Jimmy Hart to Stu Hart. He pries the crate open with a crowbar and reveals a black curtain concealing the contents inside. Blackwell says he also has a little surprise of his own for Bret Hart specifically. He says the managed to take out one of the Two Men in Black Ski Masks, but the other Masked Man is here tonight and wants revenge and he might even takes Bret's North American title with him. 3. Stan "The Lariat" Hansen vs. Mr. Hito These two still have unsettle business from their tag team match in Vancouver a few weeks ago. Hansen crushes Hito dead in no time and hits the lariat for the pin. Winner - Stan Hansen @ 4:56 with the lariat. Post match, Hansen looks to end Hito with the cowbell, but "The Anvil" Jim Neidhart runs out with a steel chair to even the odds. Hansen throws the bull rope down. Anvil ditches the chair to prove a point and the two have a stair down before the locker room empties and they attend to Hito. Commercials. KY Wakamatsu cuts a pretaped promo with The Tokyo Hurricanes (Hiro Saito, Shunji Takano). He talks about the British Bulldogs and says they're the only team standing between the Hurricanes and the Tongans. He says last week was a shining example of why they are the best team in wrestling and all it will take is one more win over the Dogs to make it official. We then see a music video of Tokyo Hurricane highlights set to Styx's "Mr. Roboto". 4. NWA Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-heavyweight Championship: The Cobra © vs. Junji Hirata A competitive match that shows off the high flying offense of both guys. Cobra hits a plancha on Hirata and both men are counted out. Winner - DRAW @ 12:39 when both men were counted out. Commercials. Jerry Blackwell wheels the wooden crate out to ringside. He tells Whalen he doesn't want to be around to see what's about to happen and leaves the building. 5. NWA Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship: Bret Hart © vs. The Man in the Black Mask (Jerry Novak in a ski mask) Winner - Bret Hart @ 0:15 with a roll-up. Afterwards, The Man in the Black Mask jumps Bret but doesn't really get the edge on him. He charges at Hart, but Bret back body drops him out of the ring and into the crate. He comes out of the crate looking a lot skinnier and gets back in the ring with Bret. Bret charges him with a series of punches but to no avail. The Masked Man hits a low blow and takes Hart out with a stump pile driver. He unmasks: IT'S TERRY FUNK! Funk gets on the mic and continues to beat down Bret Hart. He gets out his branding iron and says if anyone comes out and tries to stop him, he'll burn the whole damn building down. NWA Ambassador Gene Kiniski comes out and tells Funk he is now suspended from the National Wrestling Alliance and is going to be blacklisted if this continues. Funks says he doesn't give a damn about the NWA or the promoters. All he wants is a match against Stu so he can finally prove the Funks are the Greatest Family in Wrestling. Bret recovers and says if Funk wants a match with a Hart, it better damn well be him and it better damn well be RIGHT NOW. Kiniski approves and we have our main event. 6. Terry Funk vs. Bret Hart They get about 10 minutes to work with here and its a lot of Terry working over Hart, with Bret making the comeback attempts and getting cut off with underhand tactics. Eventually, Funk goes for the branding iron which the ref takes away and is distracted when Funk uses the ring bell on Bret's knee. He then wraps Bret's knee around the ring post and locks in the spinning toe hold for the win. Winner - Terry Funk @ 10:00 with the spinning toehold Post match, Funk goes for the branding iron and lights it on fire but Kiniski comes out with a fire extinguisher. Ed Whalen announces that since Funk won he will now face Hart tomorrow night in Edmonton with the title on the line and the show goes off the air.

That's fine. All bookings are now final.

Pass.

'Bulldog' Bob Brown

Here is the lineup for the next loop: Calgary, Alberta, Canada 8/5/83 (TV Taping): NWA Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Champion Bret Hart will be in action! Stan "The Lariat" Hansen Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 8/6/83: NWA Stampede North American Championship: Bret Hart © vs. Terry Funk Archie "Stomper" Gouldie vs. Dino Bravo Dynamite Kid & Davey Boy Smith vs. The Cobra & Junji Hirata Jim Neidhart vs. Jerry Blackwell Matt Borne vs. Hubert Gallant Kerry Brown & Bulldog Bob Brown vs. The Tokyo Hurricanes w/ KY Wakamatsu Mr. Hito vs. Jerry Novak David Morgan & Mike Hammer vs. Gama Singh & Frank Morell Victoria, British Columbia, Canada 8/7/83: Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart & Mr. Hito vs. Jerry Blackwell & The Bounty Hunters Archie "Stomper" Gouldie vs. Dino Bravo Dynamite Kid & Davey Boy Smith vs. The Tokyo Hurricanes w/ KY Wakamatsu Matt Borne vs. Hubert Gallant David Morgan vs. The Cobra Mike Hammer vs. Junji Hirata Kerry Brown & Bulldog Bob Brown vs. Gama Singh & Frank Morell Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada 8/8/83: Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart & Mr. Hito vs. Jerry Blackwell & The Bounty Hunters Dynamite Kid vs. Gama Singh Archie "Stomper" Gouldie vs. Kerry Brown The Cobra vs. Davey Boy Smith Kerry Brown vs. Frank Morell Junji Hirata vs. Dino Bravo The Tokyo Hurricanes vs. Mike Hammer & David Morgan Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada 8/10/83: No DQ: Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart vs. Jerry Blackwell & Bounty Hunter #1 Dynamite Kid vs. Archie Gouldie The Cobra vs. Davey Boy Smith Kerry Brown & Bulldog Bob Brown vs. Mike Hammer & Matt Borne David Morgan vs. Gama Singh Bounty Hunter #2 vs. Mr. Hito Junji Hirata vs. Hiro Saito Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 8/11/83: No DQ: Bret Hart vs. Jerry Blackwell Dino Bravo vs. Archie Gouldie Dynamite Kid & Davey Boy Smith vs. The Bounty Hunters The Cobra vs. Junji Hirata Jim Neidhart vs. Hiro Saito Hiro Saito vs. Matt Borne Kerry Brown & Bulldog Bob Brown vs. Gama Singh & Mystery Partner Plus...Stan "The Lariat" Hansen!

House Show Results July 30th through August 4th Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 7/30/83: Mike Hammer def. Frank Morell @ 7:17 The Invaders def. The Dungeon Masters @8:23 The Cobra def. Hubert Gallant @ 12:00 Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie def. Matt Borne @ 6:15 Dino Bravo def. Kerry Brown @ 29:29 Davey Boy Smith & The Dynamite Kid def. The Tokyo Hurricanes @ 19:18 No DQ for the NWA Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Championship: Bret Hart© def. Gama Singh @ 25:17 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada 7/31/83: Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie def. Matt Borne @ 9:01 The Cobra def. Kerry Brown @ 15:39 Jim Neidhart def. Hubert Gallant @ 10:00 The Invaders def. Mike Hammer & David Morgan @ 8:19 Davey Boy Smith & The Dynamite Kid def. The Tokyo Hurricanes @ 29:18 2/3 Falls for the NWA Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Championship: Bret Hart© def. Dino Bravo @ 28:43 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada 8/1/83: Mike Hammer def. Frank Morell @ 2:13 Hubert Gallant DRAW David Morgan @ 15:00 The Cobra def. Matt Borne @12:28 Dino Bravo vs. Gama Singh @ 24:14 Jerry Blackwell def. Jim Neidhart @ 8:18 Davey Boy Smith & The Dynamite Kid def. The Tokyo Hurricanes @ 25:16 NWA Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Championship: Bret Hart© def. Archie Gouldie @ 15:32 via DQ Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada 8/2/83: Matt Borne def. David Morgan @ 10:17 Mike Hammer def. Frank Morell @ 7:23 Dino Bravo def. Gama Singh @ 20:47 The Cobra def. Kerry Brown @ 15:56 Davey Boy Smith & The Dynamite Kid def. The Tokyo Hurricanes @ 12:16 Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie DDQ Jim Neidhart @ 8:46 NWA Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Championship: Bret Hart© def. Crusher Blackwell @ 24:48 via DQ Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 8/4/83: Kerry Brown def. Hubert Gallant @ 3:23 Kerry Brown def. David Morgan @ 10:12 Kerry Brown def. Frank Morell @ 4:23 Dino Bravo def. Gama Singh @ 24:40 The Cobra def. Matt Borne @ 13:34 Davey Boy Smith & The Dynamite Kid DRAW The Tokyo Hurricanes @ 45:00 Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie DDQ Jim Neidhart @ 7:34 NWA Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Championship: Bret Hart© def. Crusher Blackwell @ 15:00 via DQ

God is dead. I'm not religious but I still love professional rasslin.

I've always thought Bret was full of shit when he made that comment in his book. I think he actually came to Vince with the cowboy gimmick in tow and was turned down. He was from Calgary. His family's promotion was called Stampede Wrestling. They ran shows at the rodeo etc. It made sense for him to have a cowboy gimmick. Also, he worked the "Cowboy" gimmick years before: https://youtu.be/oM-uNlZ6G-o

Really enjoying the Bock run here. I can picture him getting the best out of JYD and Dusty, which should both do pretty good gates. I also dig the fact that Bret now has his finisher and his nickname, as I sent him down to Stamford in hopes of Parv/Vince giving him those very same tools.

Thanks, yo. And thanks for reading everyone.

Oh yeah. That's how he beat El Matador at Mania 8. Mr. WrestleMania's first step. Nah, Santana picked him up for a slam, Sherri missed her cue, and Shawn's weight took Santana down for the pinfall, making them all look like chumps. Teardrop suplex would've been much better.

As much as I'd like to argue for equal representation, I don't believe Lord Littlebrook deserves a spot on the Board. I'll vote Tunney for Midget President.

Not a nock on Parv, but I don't see how anyone could watch the Mid-South set and not see him as a top worker for that promotion, which alone is enough to qualify someone for this list in my opinion. The comedy is definitely a plus for me, as Murdoch is one of the few guys who could still work a quality straight (and most of the time violent and nasty) match while incorporating some comedy bits in his matches. "Incorporating" being the key word here, since unlike Santino, Murdoch never really worked schtick entirely. The only other guys I can really think of that did this well were Terry Funk (i.e. his matches with Hogan) and to a lesser degree Steve Corino (in his ROH face run circa 2010) and Colt Cabana (with varying degrees of success). Cabana and Corino are nowhere near my list, so the fact that Murdoch and Funk were able to be top notch workers and get their comedy stuff over strong is a plus for them in my mind.

Yeah. Dynamite is on this tour. All bets are off.

Dave "Fit" Finlay Steven Wright Pete Roberts Marty Jones Stampede will be running without 4 of it's top stars in Jan/Feb '84 as Bret, Davey, Kid, and Cobra all leave for an extended tour of NJPW. Does anyone have an issue with me supplementing my roster with British talent for this timeframe only? I'd be willing to control the bookings for British talent entirely, but I'm guessing the big issue is that we really don't have any good source for results for these guys. Since we don't have anyone running England in our universe, does it even exist?

I'd vote for Carlos for sure.

Quality stuff right here, sir. This is sort of a wrestling fan's wet dream: Japanese wrestling fully translated. And dare I say you provide the most detailed match summaries. Major props. I only hope the quality doesn't dip when the kiddies go back to school. :/

Good stuff here. In my book, the Midnights are the best team in Canada at this stage.

Hey Parv, I never got confirmation from you on the 7/21 date, so I ran the show without Andre. Can we reschedule for 9/22?