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AWA BREAKING NEWS: It appears that Jim Barnett and Georgia Championship Wrestling were stuck between a rock and a hard place but found a last minute solution. Barnett was really not happy with the idea of selling his company to either Ole Anderson or Vince McMahon, both of whom he distrusts immensely. Barnett has seen the landscape of professional wrestling change dramatically offer the last few weeks with many of the old guard NWA promotions joining Verne Gagne and AWA wrestling so Barnett figured he had nothing to lose when he picked up the phone to call Vern. Rumor has it that the talks have gone well as Barnett would love to stay in the game and Verne would love to scoop up the Superstation as another national television channel airing his new brand. Stay tuned.... who could be next? Cowboy Bill Watts, Fritz Von Erich, the Grahams in Florida or maybe even Vince himself will succumb to the power that is AWA Wrestling!

It seems the winds of change in the professional wrestling industry are blowing harder and harder. Ever since Roy Shire left the wrestling business in 1981 and Mike LeBell left Hollywood Wrestling earlier this year, the AWA has taken over northern California and especially San Francisco and the legendary Cow Palace. This left Don Owen up in Portland completely isolated from his other NWA buddies. He has struggle to attract major talent in the last few months and many have headed for stronger territories. According to the rumor mill, Billy Jack Hayes, Playboy Buddy Rose and Rip Oliver have one foot out the door if Owen can't promise them bigger gates. Verne Gagne who seems to always have one ear to the floor has also heard these rumors. He could just offer Owen's stars a contract but he wants more. He wants everything! Again, this is only a rumor but Verne and Don have been said to be behind closed doors. What will this mean for the wrestling industry. If Pacific Northwest very joined the AWA, Verne would have a stranglehold on almost all wrestling west off the Mississippi and with his recent TV deals, expansion seems to be the way to go. Hold on to your hats and keep reading the wild and bumpy ride of Pro Wrestling and the growth of cable TV as we hit the New Year.... 1984

The Dawn of War It appears that Vince McMahon’s road to controlling the wrestling industry has some real competition and it is coming from Verne Gagne and the American Wrestling Association. It all started with a phone call between Jerry Jarrett and Verne following the NWA quarterly meeting in March of 1983. Jerry informed Verne that Vince was threatening once again to break away and start his own national promotion and everyone in the room knew had the money to do it. Jarrett’s other concern and the real reason he called Gagne was that he felt that the NWA would never break away from their territory system as each owner was too pigheaded to see the forest through the trees. The original deal between Jarrett and Gagne to have Memphis break away from the NWA and join the AWA hinged on one big factor; Verne must sign Hulk Hogan to a long- term contract. Verne and Jarrett both loved the sport of wrestling but while Verne wanted to focus on the technical side, Jerry knew that in a large national promotion where you only visited major venues once or twice a month, Hogan’s schtick would be way over in every market. This required Verne to do two things. First, he had to agree to give Hogan the best merchandising deal ever handed out in the pro wrestling. This was the only way Verne could compete with the contract being offered by Vince McMahon and his money. Verne also allowed Hogan to go to Japan numerous times a year to pad his pockets with a whole lot of Yen. The contract extension for Hogan in 1983 means that Stanley Blackburn never entered the ring on April 24th, 1983 in Minneapolis. This was the night that Hulk Hogan had defeated Nick Bockwinkle for the AWA World title. In real life, AWA President, Stanley Blackburn entered the ring and reversed the decision saying that Hulk Hogan had thrown Nick Bockwinkle over the top rope and was therefore disqualified. In our version of wrestling history, Hulk Hogan is still the AWA World champion as we enter 1984. The next phone call by Verne was to Joe Blanchard of Southwest Championship Wrestling. Southwest had a great working relationship with the AWA and recognized their World Champion. Verne knew that SWCW was a key to the AWA succeeding and Vince not controlling the whole enchilada. The reason for this is that Southwest worked out a deal with the USA Network and was being seen across the United States on cable television each and every Saturday morning. Word was that Vince wanted this spot and the USA Network was intrigued as it would give them some major viewership in major east coast markets. While Joe and Verne were okay business men, Jerry Jarrett was a genius. Just look at his 17,000 square foot mansion outside of Memphis and you can see he is the one small time market who made it big. Jarrett had pitched an idea to Verne who was to relay it to Joe. TNT Wrestling…. Texas and Tennessee! TNT would combine Memphis and Southwest but with a name like TNT it would not have a regional feel. Combining some of the huge names from Southwest with the likes of Jerry Lawler and Nick Bockwinkle, who has been in Memphis ever since losing to Hogan in 1983, would make TNT one hot AWA show each and every week. Joe Blanchard loved the idea and so did the USA Network Executives who signed a long-term deal with Verne Gagne. TNT Wrestling will be airing each week starting in January of 1984. The other reason USA Network agreed to stay with the AWA and not go to Vince was another of Jerry Jarrett’s good ideas. “We only asked for 30% of what the WWF wanted from USA. We understood that we were not making much on our TV broadcasts at the time but as long as Vince’s product not being seen on national tv, he was not going to dominate the industry. Now all we had to do was put on a product that the fans loved and we would be the brand FOREVER! Since that original phone conversation with Jarrett back in March of 83, Verne has completely bought in to the idea that cable is the way to go. Taking a page out of Georgia Championship Wrestling and Fred Barnett, Verne looked to the new superstations of cable tv. WTBS has done wonders for Georgia as it has allowed him to move into places like West Virginia, Ohio and Michigan. These are three states that Gagne had hoped would someday become AWA but now he sees that as an uphill battle; all because of Ted Turner. So, what does Verne do? He turns to WGN, a superstation based in Chicago. Chicago, along with the Twin Cities has long been an AWA stronghold and if he could secure air time on this channel, he could lock up the third largest market in the county and bring in money that could rival Vince in, NY. Verne, once again, offers a major network a contract they can’t resist. He gives away some money in the deal for longevity as he knows McMahon is running out of cable options. Verne next turns to Stampede Wrestling and Stu Hart based out of Calgary. Gagne has already been running shows in Winnipeg and his AWA Major League show is shown across Canada on TV station CKND and syndicated across the country. Verne now wants to convince Hart that it is okay to jump ship and come to the AWA. In talks with Stu, Verne promises to keep his boys, Brett, Keith and Bruce over and to add a Light Heavyweight title and to bring in Stampede’s North American title as the second major title in the AWA. As luck or lack of luck would have it, the action was so hot on December 2, 1983 in the Ogden Auditorium in Calgary, a riot broke out as Bad News Allen turned on his teammates, the Stomper and Jeff Gouldie. After piledriving Gouldie on the concrete floor, Bad News Allen took the microphone and told everyone that he wished that his attack on Gouldie led to his death. This caused the crowd to erupt in anger and several injuries were reported. After this, Stu Hart was suspended from promoting events in Calgary. Without Calgary, Hart and Stampede was dead so it! Verne again calls Stu and offers him a small share of the AWA for his promotion. Hart is still reluctant until Verne gives him one more little nugget. For this bit of information, everyone will have to tune into WGN and All-Star Wrestling each and every week. Verne was on fire now, and once again took to the phones. He contacted both ESPN and TSN, the Canadian equivalent of ESPN, looking to make a deal. ESPN originally wanted a weekly show but Gagne felt that the way ESPN was looking to promote the AWA was a little too stuffy and came across with a boxing style feel so Verne went with WGN for the weekly show. He offered ESPN and TSN something bigger; 6 major cards with all the true stars facing each other. ESPN and TSN salivated at the idea of cheap, live, prime time shows that could see the likes of Hulk Hogan vs Jerry Lawler. Verne also gave ESPN and TSN all the rights to run the shows as often as they liked in reruns but he retained the video rights! Verne saw his audience growing and growing and for the first time, he thought that he might actually succeed in going national. We will see. Hopefully you enjoy Dawn of War and thanks to my partner in this project; Spaldoni. Any questions pm either one of us.

AWA BREAKING NEWS: It appears that Jim Barnett and Georgia Championship Wrestling were stuck between a rock and a hard place but found a last minute solution. Barnett was really not happy with the idea of selling his company to either Ole Anderson or Vince McMahon, both of whom he distrusts immensely. Barnett has seen the landscape of professional wrestling change dramatically offer the last few weeks with many of the old guard NWA promotions joining Verne Gagne and AWA wrestling so Barnett figured he had nothing to lose when he picked up the phone to call Vern. Rumor has it that the talks have gone well as Barnett would love to stay in the game and Verne would love to scoop up the Superstation as another national television channel airing his new brand. Stay tuned.... who could be next? Cowboy Bill Watts, Fritz Von Erich, the Grahams in Florida or maybe even Vince himself will succumb to the power that is AWA Wrestling!

January 8, 1984 From coast to coast, continent to continent and border to border, we welcome you to AWA All-Star Wrestling coming to you from the Pavilion in downtown Calgary on WGN. I am Rod Trongard and joining me today with some special interviews will be Gene Okerlund. Well fans, the new era of the AWA has begun and what a kick-off classic we had this past Friday night in the Coral right here in Calgary. Unfortunately, the shenanigans of the Sheiks were once again one of the major stories. Let’s check out the action in their World Tag Team title defense against Rick Martel and Curt Hennig. VTR: We see a video of Sheik Adnan Al Kassie using his cast to clock Curt Hennig and help Patera and Blackwell retain their AWA title. Gene Okerlund: Well ladies and gentlemen… we all just saw it… the Sheik used the cast as a weapon All of a sudden, the Sheiks rushed out and took over the interview. Sheik Adnan Al Kassie: Hala Assalum Alaikum. Insha Allah Masha Allah. Ahlan Marhaba Wa Sahla. Gene Okerlund…. You upset me very much. You claim that I used my cast as a weapon. I told you last week my arm was broken doing good deeds all across the Middle East and now you accuse the great sheik of cheating. I assure you, my men are the best wrestlers in the World and can beat Rick Martel and Curt Hennig or any other team the AWA has to offer. Gene Okerlund: I guess you failed to watch the tape we all just saw. Anyway… this Saturday in Edmonton, Blackwell and Patera… you will be meeting Rick Martel and Curt Hennig but this time in singles competition. Patera and Blackwell are pretty good on the mic themselves and they let everyone know exactly what they are going to do Martel and Hennig. After the Sheiks leave, AWA President, Stanley Blackburn comes out and informs us that tonight we will see the first match in the tournament to fulfill the open AWA North American title that was vacated by the suspension of Bad News Allen. He lets us know that there will be 8 competitors and tonight it will be Jim “the Anvil” Neidhart vs Tom Zenk. Blackburn also informs us that Bret Hart will face off against Superstar Graham in a first round match this week in Sales Pavilion in Edmonton. And next week, right here on All-Star Wrestling we will find out that last 4 competitors. COMMERCIAL MATCH: The Road Warriors defeat Tom Stone & Pete Jackson This is a complete squash match that gives Rod Trongard time to hype up the brutality of the Road Warriors and reminds all the fans in Edmonton that the Road Warriors will be action this Saturday night. MATCH: Al Perez defeats Verlon Biggs with a Sleeper Rod Trongard pushes the youngster Al Perez hard and it is obvious that the AWA has plans for him down the road. Perez does a nice job of getting over with the fans. Between Al Perez and Rick Rude, the AWA has some young talent who could just turn out to be stars. COMMERCIAL Match: King Kong Bundy with Bobby Heenan vs Lanny Poffo Poffo has shown a lot of skill of late but this is an impossible task. Poffo attempts a few forearms but they have no effect on KKB. Poffo knows he is in trouble and tries to escape but Bundy snags him. The end came quickly as Bundy hit the Avalanche. Gene Okerlund: Ladies and Gentlemen… this Friday night at the Sales Pavilion in Edmonton… Bobby Heenen and his man King Kong Bundy … will get another shot at Hulk Hogan for the AWA World Title. Bobby Heenan: Listen up all you Humanoids … the reason for the rematch is simple… the AWA officials know the referee messed up in Calgary as Hogan couldn’t do anything against the monster that is King Kong Bundy. We all saw it. Hogan illegally grabbed Bundy by the throat and choked him and the ref refused to make him break the hold. Hogan should have been stripped of the title and put in jail for assault. I threatened to sue the entire AWA but then they agreed to give Bundy another title shot this week in Edmonton. If I see any funny business, I will be on the phone to the lawyers immediately. King Kong Bundy will by the champ within a week. Gene Okerlund: Oh, the web we weave when we seek to deceive. Bobby Heenan, your nose is growing. You know as well as I do that Hulk Hogan slammed King Kong Bundy in the center of the ring and then got the 1..2..3. Match: Brett Hart defeats the Assassin (Roger Smith) with the Northern Lights Cloverleaf After a tough match against the Assassin, Bret Hart tells Gene Okerlund how excited he is to be in the North American Title tournament and he can’t what for Saturday in Edmonton with his first-round match against the Superstar! COMMERCIAL Before we get back to the ring, we go to Gene Okerlund with Superstar Graham Superstar Graham: You know Gene Okerlund…. I hear the rumors that the Superstaaaa is a little long in the tooth. (As he flexes his big biceps) Well, I know I have been in this game a long time and all that means is that I am real goooood! Bret Hart…. You were out here a few minutes ago acting all humble…. Well you should be. This Saturday night in Edmonton, I am going to teach the young buck something… and that something is HE AINT READY! Match: Mr. Hito defeats Larry Cheatum with the Senton Bomb Before the match starts, Rod Trongard tells us we are in for a treat. The fans of Stampede have known that Mr. Hito is one of the best lightweights for a long time and know the fans of the AWA know that to. He was awesome tonight and the fans appreciated his skill. It is rare, but Mr. Hito is one of the few fan favorites from Japan wrestling in America. Match: Jos Leduc vs Bruce Hart Before this match started, the Sheepherders and Leduc were interviewed by Gene Okerlund about the feud that is going on between them at the Harts. Jos Leduc: I will tell you the problem. No respect… No respect for the British Commonwealth. The first sign of trouble and that sniffling Stu Hart goes and sells his company to an obnoxious American capitalist. Why…. Because he must protect his little boys. Well make no mistake about it… Harts… the Commonwealth is coming for you. As for the match… it is a repeat of last week when Leduc took on Crusher. It lasted only a minute or two and then the brawl was on. Bruce and Keith Hart along with the Crusher vs Leduc and the Sheepherders. Ron Trongard: I can’t believe how hot this feud has gotten in just two weeks. These guys really loath each other. Fans in Edmonton… the Sheepherders will be taking on Bruce and Keith Hart this Saturday night. All I can say is hide the women and children COMMERCIAL Out of the break we see the AWA Champion, Hulk Hogan, with Gene Okerlund who first hypes up the fact that no matter what Bobby Heenan says, Hulk Hogan did indeed bodyslam King Kong Bundy last week in Calgary and reminds Hogan that Bundy will get one more shot as Hogan this week in Edmonton. Hulk Hogan: As I told you last week Mean Gene… Hulk Hogan backs down to no challenge. I saw Bundy down and I summoned all the power in these 24 inch pythons and I scooped up King Kong Bundy and slammed him to the mat. And I will do the same this week. Gene Okerlund: Indeed… Indeed. Hulkster what I am about to show you may disturb you but take a look at this video from Jerry “the King” Lawler Jerry Lawler: Well Hulk Hogan, I heard you say last week that I better be careful if you come down to Memphis as all the Hulkamaniacs down here would turn against me. Well you are right! I would be very afraid if a maniac came at me. I mean a maniac is someone who should be locked up because they are out of their mind and anyone who roots for you is out of their mind. I have heard people say that Hogan is afraid to come to Memphis and that I should come to you. Well I know one thing. I am not coming to the great white north where it might be 40 below zero. I am not afraid of you but the polar bears might get me. And if they don’t, then something much scary than polar bears might come after me and that’s Canadian women! I think I will be right here waiting for you Hogan if you ever get the guts to come to Memphis Hulk Hogan: Mean Gene, I am getting sick and tired of hearing from the King of Nothing. He knows what would happen if I wrestled him anywhere in the country and that includes Memphis. He can try to bribe everyone in the Mid-South Coliseum including the referees who I know for a fact are related to Jerry Lawler and it won’t make no difference…. Hey Jerry Lawler…What you gonna do when Hulkamania and the largest arms in the world run over you! Gene Okerlund: Well Rod, you heard him… Hogan is ready for anyone including King Kong Bundy or Jerry Lawler. Match: Dynamite Kid vs Bobby Fulton The AWA Light Heavyweight Champion, Rock n Roll Buck Zumhofe joins Rod Trongard at the announce table for this one and they hype of the stacked light heavyweight division here in the AWA including Dynamite Kid, Bobby Fulton, Steve Regal, Greg Gagne, Mr. Hito and Bruce Hart. This is where Eddie Gilbert comes out and wonders why they have left his name out. Zumhofe and Gilbert get into each other’s faces and have a pretty good verbal fight. Rod Trongard tries to keep the peace as he reminds Gilbert that Zumhofe wrestles whoever the AWA says he wrestles. As for the match, it is awesome. So many technical moves as these guys are moving around the ring like they are on fire. In the end, Dynamite knocks Fulton down with a spear and then catches him with a Diving Headbutt and gets the three-count. Dynamite Kid goes over and helps Fulton get to his feet and this match then ends just like it started… with a Handshake. The crowd loved it. Dynamite sees the scene between Gilbert and Zumhofe and goes over to the announce area where he is confused at how Gilbert thinks he is in line for a title shot as it should be him. Verne Gagne comes out and let’s everyone know that he has a big announcement next week about the AWA Light Heavyweight Title and that will come next week. This seems to ease the tension between Dynamite and Gilbert but Zumhofe has a quizzical look on his face. COMMERCIAL MAIN EVENT: AWA NORTH AMERICAN TITLE TOURNAMENT MATCH Jim “The Avil” Neidhart vs Tom Zenk So, what is stronger… a chiseled bodybuilder like Tom Zenk or a barrel-chested guy shaped like a fire hydrant. Well this match will give us the answer. The crowd is going for Zenk as the men don’t like the antics of the Anvil while the girls can’t get enough of Zenk’s good looks. Zenk starts strong but both men know there way around the squared circle. The Anvil is able to get on top and hits Zenk with everything but the kitchen sink but he can’t get the pin as Zenk keeps kicking out at 2 ½. Neidhart, as we have seen before, gets frustrated and tosses Zenk to the floor and follows him out. WHAM… The Anvil has clobbered Zenk with a chair and the ref immediately calls for the DQ. Zenk may have moved on in the tournament but the Anvil doesn’t stop his beating of Zenk. In the end, we see a bunch of jobbers come from the back and pull the Anvil away. Rod Trongard: Well folks… we will have to see what Stanley Blackburn and Verne Gagne have to say about what we just saw. I know that this is something the AWA won’t stand for and Jim Neidhart might have just gotten himself in some trouble. We are out of time tonight but don’t forget the big show in Edmonton on Friday and TNT Wrestling on the USA Network on Saturday. So long from the Corral. SALES PAVILLION: EDMONTON: JANUARY 14th, 1984 1. Al Perez defeats Tom Stone with the Sleeper 2. Mr. Hito defeats Lanny Poffo with the Diving Senton 3. The Road Warriors defeat Steve O and Phil Lafon as the Road Warriors hit the future Doomsday Device on Lafon. Wow the Road Warriors are impressive 4. Dynamite Kid defeats Mr. Electricity Steve Regal with the Diving Headbut 5. The Sheepherders vs Bruce & Keith Hart ended in a 20 minute time limit draw that saw both teams beat each other all over the ring. Neither team wanted it to end and the locker room had to empty to regain order 6. Sheik Jerry Blackwell defeated Curt Hennig after Hennig was clobbered once again with Sheik Adnan Al Kaissie’s and the Blackwell hit a top rope Giant Splash 7. Rick Martel defeated Sheik Patera when he ducked under the Cast shot and Al Kassie actually clubbed hi own man. Martel made the quick cover and then went after Al Kassie. Hennig came back on the other side of the ramp and they #1 contenders to the tag titles cornered Al Kaissie and began to rip of the cast. WHAM… Blackwell came from behind and attacked. Patera recovered enough and the brawl was on…. And it carried on all the way to the locker room 8. AWA NORTH AMERICAN TITLE TOURNAMENT MATCH: Bret Hart defeated Superstar Billy Graham with the Cloverleaf. This match was a little awkward as Superstar had some difficulty getting around the ring and his bumping and selling were not up to par. Hart made the best of t and it didn’t really matter as Bret is so over in Canada that just his presence excited the fans. 9. AWA WORLD TITLE MATCH: Hulk Hogan defeated King Kong Bundy with Bobby Heenen. Bundy did have his time on top in this match and looked to be on the verge on the championship as he went for the Avalanche but Hogan moved at the last second. Hogan fulfilled his promise and body slammed the big man and then connected with the Big Boot and Leg Drop for the win! Hogan also endeared himself to the fans of Calgary as he grabbed Heenen by the neck and press slammed him to the Mat.

Wow... this is exactly what we imagined when we started talking about this. The merger of Southwest and Memphis gives you an awesome roster and it is going to be a roller coaster ride each and every week to see who is on top. I mean ... Race vs Funk, Bock vs Lawler... Rich vs Tully... Impossible to pick the Main Event. I am so excited for the first ESPN show. Great first show! Exotic Adrian Street is such a wildcard. He could really get some heat with his antics in some of your venues. Also, looking to see who rises to the top in a stacked tag team division. Thanks for doing this with me.

Thanks for the comments in our fantasy booking game. In our research, we saw that WWF All American Wrestling didn't take place until Sept 6, 1983 and in our game Hogan had won the belt on April 24th of 1983. We also had the beginnings of the relationships between Blanchard, Jarrett and Gagne starting in April of 1983. Maybe we could have explained it better but in our version of the game, talks between all parties, including USA network would have began and Southwest would have keep their weekly show until Memphis joined them to kick off 1984; changing the show on USA from Southwest to TNT. If we have some of our dates mixed up, we are sorry. Thanks everybody for reading. If anyone ever has any interest in joining us, we would love to have you.

Wow.... great start for TNT! You have really got the tag team division going. Decimation... The Nightmares... the Guerreros and not to mention the Fab Ones who were not even on the card. I wonder who will ultimately come out on top. Great way to hype up 3 feuds in one match with that main event. The are all huge names and with Wildfire in Memphis you have that wildcard who could turn on anyone at any time. Love your roster! Great way to get the crowd into it with Mr. USA vs the Cuban Assassin! All of that and I have not even mentioned Harley Race vs Terry Funk! Wow. The people will be rushing to TNT to see action like that.

JANUARY 1, 1984 From coast to coast, continent to continent and border to border, we welcome you to AWA All-Star Wrestling coming to you from Superstation WGN right here in downtown Chicago, Illinois. I am Rod Trongard and joining me today with some special interviews will be Gene Okerlund. Well fans, welcome to a New Year and welcome you to a new age in professional wrestling. That’s right folks, we will be coming to you every Sunday night right here on the Superstation WGN. And that’s not all that is new here on All-Star Wrestling. Let’s head over to Gene Okerlund and his special guest, AWA President Verne Gagne. Gene Oakerlund: Well Verne, Happy New Year to you. Thanks for joining us on our first show here on WGN. I understand you have a few big announcements for all the great fans of the AWA. Verne Gagne: Happy New Year to you and all the AWA fans. First of all, I want to thank the good people at WGN for airing AWA Wrestling and we know this is going to be a great partnership. We have fans all over the world and now they will be able to see AWA wrestling each and every week. Along with our show here on WGN, AWA wrestling will also be airing a second weekly show on the USA Network titled TNT Wrestling. Gene Okerlund: TNT Wrestling… It seems like the AWA is exploding here in 1984! Haha Verne Gagne: That’s right Gene but that is not all! Let me show you a quick video from from Stampede Wrestling in Calgary, Alberta Canada on December 3. VTR: We see a video tape of Bad News Allen turning on his teammates, the Stomper and his son Stomper Jr. in a 6 Man tag match against Bret Hart, Davey Boy Smith and Sonny Two Rivers. The attacked resulted in Stomper Jr. being piledriven numerous times on the cement floor. After Jr. was carried out on a stretcher, Bad News Allen took the house mic and said that he hoped his attack on Stomper Jr. led to his death. This was more than the fans at Ogden Auditorium could take and a riot broke out. Gene Okerlund: Verne that was some seen up there in Stampede Wrestling. Verne Gagne: You got that right Gene and as a result, Stu Hart, the promoter of Stampede Wrestling has been barred from hosting events in Calgary. Stu and I are good friends and we go back a long way. I didn’t think it was fair that Stu was being blamed for the riot caused by Bad News Allen and I didn’t think it was fair that the great wrestling fans in Calgary would be without the sport they love so Stu and I sat down and hammered out a deal. Stampede Wrestling will now become one with the AWA. Gene Okerlund: Wow, that is huge. So now the fans in such places as Calgary, Edmonton and Saskatoon will get to see all the stars of the AWA. Verne Gagne: True but it works both ways, the AWA fans in our regular cities like Denver, St. Paul and Chicago will see all of the great stars from Stampede like Bret Hart and Dynamite Kid. Gene Okerlund: And let’s not forget that lunatic…. Bad News Allen. Verne Gagne: Speaking of Bad News Allen… He has been suspended for 90 days for his actions in Calgary and he has also been stripped of the North American Heavyweight Championship. Next week, we will have information on how that title is to be filled. Gene Okerlund: Well thanks Verne… what a night is has been already. A new superstation, a second weekly show on TNT to go along with All-Star Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling has been added to the growing AWA family! COMMERCIAL Match: Rick Martel & Curt Hennig defeat Porkchop Cash & Norvell Austin This match is exactly what the new show is all about. Limit the squash matches and give the fans what they want while keeping the top stars hot. Martel and Hennig are one of the top teams in the AWA are on the heels of the AWA Tag Team champs, The Sheiks (Ken Patera & Jerry Blackwell) who are managed by Sheik Adnan Al Kassie. As for this match, we get a lot of back and forth but in the end, Martel and Hennig are just too good and Hennig catches Cash with the Hennig-plex. Gene Okerlund catches Martel and Hennig for a quick interview. Okerlund: Well folks, let me tell ya, I am delighted to bring in our next guests. The #1 contenders for the AWA tag team titles… none other than Rick Martel and Curt Hennig. Guys…. This Friday night in Calgary at the Coral, you will get a World Title Shot against Sheik Patera and Sheik Blackwell. Ric Martel: First of all Gene… it is great to be with you but let’s get one thing straight, it is going to be wonderful to be on the first AWA card in Calgary. I am so excited to be working with some of the great stars to the North. As for the AWA tag team champs, they are as much Sheiks as my grand-parents. They are nothing but traitors who have been corrupted by that no-good Adnan Al Kassie. Curt Hennig: That’s right Rick and after this week in the Corral, Ken Patera and Crusher Blackwell will be as much Sheiks as they are champions! Gene Okerlund: Trust you me … Curt Hennig and Rick Martel mean business. If you are anywhere near the Corral this Friday night, you will be in for a real treat. COMMERCIAL Match: Tommy Rogers vs “Mr. Electricty” Steve Regal Tonight’s match between these two skilled grapplers is one of the things that Sturt and Verne Gagne talked about in their merger. Fast paced, technical wrestling that seems to follow the rules. While Mr. Electricity did try a few questionable tactics, for the most part, this was pure wrestling. In the end, Rogers executed a spot-on drop kick and as Regal staggered to his feet. Rogers hit a sunset flip for the three count. Match: King Kong Bundy with Bobby Heenan vs Bobby Fulton Fulton is a nice up and coming light heavyweight but he is in way over his head here. Fulton tries a few dropkicks and even a cross body block but each time he is swatted away like a gnat. The end came in just a few minutes as Bundy hit the Avalanche. Gene Okerlund: Ladies and Gentlemen… this Friday night at the Coral in Calgary… Bobby Heenen and his man King Kong Bundy … will take on Hulk Hogan for the AWA World Title. Bobby Heenan: Listen up all you Humanoids up there in Calgary… Just a few months ago the two smartest men in all of wrestling… myself and Sheik Adnan Al Kassie made the deal of a lifetime. He paid me $500,000 for Ken Patera. He has turned that into the greatest tag team in wrestling today… the Sheiks. With that money I am in the process of rebuilding the Heenan family to rid the World of Hulk Hogan… this week you will see King Kong Bundy break Hogan into little bits and pieces and bring the title back to the family where it belongs. Gene Okerlund: Remember the last time your “family” tried to stop Hulk Hogan. Nick Bockwinkle lost the AWA World title. Bobby Heenan: And who asked you anyway. Go grow some hair. COMMERCIAL Match: Bret Hart vs The Turk Ali Bey Another good match for the TV audience and it was used to put Hart over with the AWA fans. Bey came in wearing his fez and antagonizing the fans on his way to the ring. Rod Trongard hypes Hart up for the entire match as we see he has a lot of technical skill but also a lot of fire in his belly when things turn rough. It is obvious that Stu has groomed him well and he is going to be a star. The win came with a submission move Trongard called the Northern Lights Cloverleaf. Gene Okerlund gives us a quick interview and Hart is real serious about showing the fans what wrestling up in Calgary is all abooot. They also spend some time hyping up his match this week in Calgary against the Stomper. COMMERCIAL With Gene Okerlund now is the AWA World Tag Team Champions, Sheik Ken Patera and Sheik Jerry Blackwell along with their manager Sheik Adnan Al Kaissie. As Al Kaissie comes in, Okerlund notices a cast on his right hand and asks what happens. Sheik Adnan Al Kaissie: Hala Gene Okerlund. Assalum Alaikum. Insha Allah Masha Allah. Ahlan Marhaba Wa Sahla. I have been back in the middle east with King Hussein of Jordan and his people were so excited to see me that they nearly pulled my arm off. They are ecstatic that I have convinced these two men behind me that Allah is the one true God and this week in Calgary, we will prove that Allah is on our side as we crush Rick Martel and Curt Hennig. Gene Okerlund: Well ladies and gentlemen I did not understand half that conversation but trust you me, that Word Tag Team match in Calgary this week is going to much tougher then the Sheiks think. Martel and Hennig are really on their game. Match: Rick Rude beats Verlon Biggs with the Full Nelson Rick Rude is a nice up and comer with a great wrestling body who Trongard puts over. The fans also seem to buy into his persona and it will be interesting to see his growth her in the AWA Match: Greg Gagne defeats Larry Cheatum with Sleeper The interesting part of this is that Jimmy Garvin and Precious came out to ringside during this match. Garvin and Gagne will meet this week in Calgary and Garvin was just trying to get under the skin of Gagne. Nothing else really happened except Precious flaunting her beauty as Garvin and Gagne gave each other a real stare down. At the interview desk, Okerlund asked Gagne what that that was all about but Greg seemed to care less and wanted to talk about how excited he was by all the new things going on here in the AWA. COMMERCIAL Match: Crusher vs The Assassin (Roger Smith in a mask) The crowd loves this physical brawl which saw the old timer, Crusher, wrestling from the top when all of a sudden the Sheepherders and Jos Leduc hit the ring. They beat Crusher all over the arena as Rod Trongard yelled for help at this disgusting act by Leduc and the Sheepherders. Eventually the entire Hart family, Bret, Keith and Bruce hit the ring. Trongard had to introduce Bruce and Keith to the AWA audience as they had not been seen in these parts but the fans loved what they saw. The Harts eventually won control of the ring with Leduc and the Sheeherders on the floor and the Harts in the ring. The Harts dared them to come back for more but the group Trongard was calling the Commonwealth down feet and shook his hands. This alliance instantaneously put the Harts over in the AWA! COMMERCIAL As we come out of break, Trongard informs us that it will be the Crusher, Bruce Hart and Keith Hart against The Sheepherders and Jos Leduc this week in Calgary. The show ends with one last interview Gene Okerlund: Ladies and Gentlemen…. With me now is none other than the AWA World Champion. That’s right folks…. Hulk Hogan. Hulk, please tell us how you do it. This schedule you have is insane. Every week you wrestle the best of the best on you keep coming out on top. This week in Calgary … it will be you and the monster called King Kong Bundy. Hulk Hogan: Well listen up Mean Gene… that is what being the champ is all about. This week in Calgary I will be hanging and banging and pumping these huge 24 inch pythons up so I can scoop up that 450 pound Bundy and slam him through the mat and then I am going to drop these huge legs across his head for the 3 count. After that I might just catch me a weasel named Bobby Heenan and take him outside where it is 30 below zero and slam him into the frozen tundra. Gene Okerlund: What I sight that will be Hulk Hogan: And when I am through with him, I hear there is a King down in Memphis who has been talking about how I could never go down to Memphis and leave with the belt. If there is one thing Mean Gene that the Hulkster doesn’t like, it is being told he can’t do something. Jerry Lawler, watch what you saw or all those Hulkamaniacs down in Memphis will be turning against their King. THE CORAL: CALGARY: JANUARY 6th, 1984 1. Rick Rude defeats the Turk with the Full Nelson 2. Tommy Rodgers defeats Lanny Poffo with the Drop Kick followed by a Sunset Flip 3. Jimmy Garvin defeats Greg Gagne when Precious hit Gagne with the loaded purse 4. Dynamite Kid defeats Bobby Fulton with the Diving Headbut 5. The Sheephers and Jos Leduc wrestled Bruce Hart, Keith Hart and Da Crusher to a DDQ as they brawled all over the arena with a lot of bloodshed. Crusher really endeared himself to the fans of Calgary as he went toe to toe with Leduc. 6. Bret Hart defeated the Stomper with the Northern Lights Cloverleaf after a long war of a battle. 7. AWA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE: The Sheiks (Patera & Blackwell) defeated Curt Hennig and Rick Martel in a wild match with a finish that saw Sheik Adnan Al Kassie get involved. All 4 men were in the ring at the same time and the ref was knocked to the ground. Adnan Al Kassie came up on the apron and clocked Hennig with that new cast of his and down Hennig went. When the dust cleared, Blackwell came off the top rope for the 440 pound Giant Splash and got the three count just as the ref recovered. 8. AWA WORLD TITLE: Hulk Hogan defeated King Kong Bundy with Bobby Heenen. Bundy did have his time on top in this match and looked to be on the verge on the championship as he went for the Avalanche but Hogan moved at the last second. Hogan fulfilled his promise and body slammed the big man and then connected with the Big Boot and Leg Drop for the win! Hogan also endeared himself to the fans of Calgary as he grabbed Heenen by the neck and press slammed him to the Mat.

AWA WORLD TITLES AWA World Title Hulk Hogan: defeated Nick Bockwinkle: April 24, 1983 in Minneapolis, MN AWA World Tag Team Title The Sheiks (Ken Patera & Jerry Blackwell) with Sheik Adnan: Al Kassie defeated the High Flyers (Jim Brunzell & Greg Gagne): 6/26/1983 in Minneapolis, MN AWA World Lightweight TItle Buck Zumhofe: Defeated Mike Graham: June 19, 1983 in Hamburg, MN ALL-STAR WRESTLING TITLES: AWA North American Title: Title was vacated after Bad News Allen was suspended for his role in the Brawl in Calgary on Dec. 3, 1983. TNT WRESTLING TITLES: AWA TNT TITLE (Formerly the Southern Heavyweight Championship) Nick Bockwinkle: defeated Jerry Lawler : November 24, 1983: Memphis TNT Television Title: Tommy Rich defeated Dream Machine on January 4, 1984 to become first TNT Television Champion AWA Southern Tag Team Championship Fabulous Ones: Defeated the Bruise Brothers on November 16th in Memphis. 7th title reign for the Fab Ones AWA SUPERSTARS OF WRESTLING TITLES AWA NATIONAL TITLE : AWA NATIONAL TAG TEAM TITLE AWA SUPERSTATION Television Title:

Current Rosters and Free Agent List PROMOTERS: VERNE GAGNE & STU HART BOOKER: Kevinmcfl 1. Hulk Hogan 2. Bret Hart 3. Randy Savage 4. Curt Hennig 5. Jim Neidhart 6. Animal 7. Hawk 8. Jimmy Garvin 9. Ali Bey (Turk) 10. Bad News Allen 11. Al Perez 12. Hiro Saito 13. Jos Leduc 14. Jonathan Boyd 15. Luke Williams 16. Butch Miller 17. Ken Patera 18. Jerry Blackwell 19. Eddie Gilbert 20. Keith Hart 21. Bruce Hart 22. Davey Boy Smith 23. Dynamite Kid 24. King Kong Bundy 25. Rick Rude 26. Crusher 27. Bobby Fulton 28. Steve Regal 29. Lanny Poffo 30. Tommy Rogers 31. Roger Smith 32. King Konga 33. Porkchop Cash 34. Norvell Austin 35. Greg Gagne 36. Mongolian Stomper 37. Tom Zenk 38. Brad Rheingans 39. Superstar Graham 40. Rick Martel Managers: 1. Bobby Heenan 2. Sheik Adnan Al Kaissey 3. Paul Ellering 4. Precious PROMOTERS: Jerry Jarrett & Joe BLanchard BOOKER: SPALDONI 1. Jerry Lawler 2. Nick Bockwinkle 3. Terry Funk 4. Stan Hansen 5. Stan Lane 6. Steve Keirn 7. Bob Sweetan 8. Randy Colley 9. Leo Burke 10. Austin Idol 11. Tully Blanchard 12. Sweet Brown Sugar 13. Koko Ware 14. Don Bass 15. Phil Hickerson 16. Tommy Rich 17. Tony Atlas 18. David Schultz 19. Billy Robinson 20. Ken Wayne 21 Danny Davis. 22. Hercules Ayala 23. Harley Race 24. Bruiser Brody 25. Jumbo Tsurata 26. Scott Ferris 27. Bill Howard 28. Honky Tonk Man 29. Adrian Street 30. Cocoa Samoa 31. Ivan Putski 32. Cuban Assassin 33. Wahoo McDaniel 34. Dream Machine 35. Terry Gibbs 36. Mando Guerrero 37. Hector Guerrero 38. Rick McGraw 39. Mike Shaw MANAGERS 1. Johnny Valiant 2. Jimmy Hart 3. Miss Linda PROMOTER: DON OWEN BOOKER: Rainmakertv 1. Billy Jack 2. Playboy Buddy Rose 3. Cobra 4. Chris Adams 5. Adrian Adonis 6. Bob Orton 7. Blackjack Mulligan 8. Kareem Muhummad 9. Elijah Akeem 10. Ron Garvin 11. Ricky Morton 12. Robert Gibson 13. Abdullah the Butcher 14. Eric Embry 15. Killer Tim Brooks 16. Larry Zbysko 17. Matt Borne 18. The Spoiler 19. Hillbilly Jim 20. Mad Dog Vachon 21. Goldie Rogers 22. Gama Singh 23. Ron Starr 24. Jimmy Valiant 25. Bobby Jaggers 26. Buck Zumhofe 27. Mike Sharpe 28. Mr. Hito 29. Tony Anthony 30. Rip Oliver 31. Al Madril 32. Brian Adias 33. Stan Stasiak 34. Roddy Piper 35. Jesse Barr 36. Jules Strongbow 37. Brett Sawyer 38. Baron Von Raschke 39. Timothy Flowers 40. Scot McGhee PROMOTER: Jim Barnett BOOKER: Captain Redneck 1. Buzz Sawyer 2. Chief Joe LIghtfoot 3. Pez Whaltey 4. Iron Sheik 5. Bob Roop 6. Dick Murdoch 7. Mr. Wrestling II 8. Tito Santana 9. Paul Orndorff 10. Ole Anderson 11. Arn Anderson 12. Ivan Koloff 13. Brian Blair 14. Jake Roberts 15. Jesse Barr 16. Butch Reed, 17. Johnny Rich 18. David Sammartino 19. Pat Rose 20. Scott Irwnin 21. Bill Irwin. 22. Ray Candy 23. Masked Superstar 24. Les Thorton, 25. Ted Dibiase 26. Brad Armstrong 27. Chick Donovan 28. Mike Miller 29. Ken Lucas 30. Terry Daniels 31. Scott Casey 32. Tio 33. Timothy Flowers 34. Sifi Afi 35. Tapu 36. Bugsy McGraw 37. Chris Markoff 38.Korstia Korchenko 39. Ken Timbs 40.Angelo Poffo OPEN PROMOTION: MAKE US AN AN OFFER! Mid-South?, World Class, Mid Atlantic. Florida or even the WWF. Maybe a combo? We listen to all ideas. FREE AGENT LIST Art Crews Athol Foley Johnny Wilhoit Mark Batten El Santo Negro MS-1 Tojo Yamoto Blackjack Lanza Don Kolov JR Foley Ninja Warrior Francisco Flores Buddy Moreno Juan Reynosa Kurt Von Hess KY Wakamatsu, Rick Renslow Ciclon Negro Mark Ragin Maseo Ito Hubert Gallant Tommy Gilbert Randy Webber Jake Millman Jimmy Doo Norman Charles III Sonny Two Rivers Roger Kirby Loch Ness Monster Dave Morgan Larry Hennig Danny Babich Dick the Bruiser John Quinn Steve O Phil Lafluer WORLD CHAMPION BOOKINGS AWA WORLD TITLE: All Star: Jan 8,14, 15, 20,22 TNT: Jan 23 AWA TAG TITLE All Star: Jan 8,14, 15, 20,22, 29 Feb: 5, 17, 19, 25,26 TNT: Jan 23

It seems the winds of change in the professional wrestling industry are blowing harder and harder. Ever since Roy Shire left the wrestling business in 1981 and Mike LeBell left Hollywood Wrestling earlier this year, the AWA has taken over northern California and especially San Francisco and the legendary Cow Palace. This left Don Owen up in Portland completely isolated from his other NWA buddies. He has struggle to attract major talent in the last few months and many have headed for stronger territories. According to the rumor mill, Billy Jack Hayes, Playboy Buddy Rose and Rip Oliver have one foot out the door if Owen can't promise them bigger gates. Verne Gagne who seems to always have one ear to the floor has also heard these rumors. He could just offer Owen's stars a contract but he wants more. He wants everything! Again, this is only a rumor but Verne and Don have been said to be behind closed doors. What will this mean for the wrestling industry. If Pacific Northwest very joined the AWA, Verne would have a stranglehold on almost all wrestling west off the Mississippi and with his recent TV deals, expansion seems to be the way to go. Hold on to your hats and keep reading the wild and bumpy ride of Pro Wrestling and the growth of cable TV as we hit the New Year.... 1984

The Dawn of War It appears that Vince McMahon’s road to controlling the wrestling industry has some real competition and it is coming from Verne Gagne and the American Wrestling Association. It all started with a phone call between Jerry Jarrett and Verne following the NWA quarterly meeting in March of 1983. Jerry informed Verne that Vince was threatening once again to break away and start his own national promotion and everyone in the room knew had the money to do it. Jarrett’s other concern and the real reason he called Gagne was that he felt that the NWA would never break away from their territory system as each owner was too pigheaded to see the forest through the trees. The original deal between Jarrett and Gagne to have Memphis break away from the NWA and join the AWA hinged on one big factor; Verne must sign Hulk Hogan to a long- term contract. Verne and Jarrett both loved the sport of wrestling but while Verne wanted to focus on the technical side, Jerry knew that in a large national promotion where you only visited major venues once or twice a month, Hogan’s schtick would be way over in every market. This required Verne to do two things. First, he had to agree to give Hogan the best merchandising deal ever handed out in the pro wrestling. This was the only way Verne could compete with the contract being offered by Vince McMahon and his money. Verne also allowed Hogan to go to Japan numerous times a year to pad his pockets with a whole lot of Yen. The contract extension for Hogan in 1983 means that Stanley Blackburn never entered the ring on April 24th, 1983 in Minneapolis. This was the night that Hulk Hogan had defeated Nick Bockwinkle for the AWA World title. In real life, AWA President, Stanley Blackburn entered the ring and reversed the decision saying that Hulk Hogan had thrown Nick Bockwinkle over the top rope and was therefore disqualified. In our version of wrestling history, Hulk Hogan is still the AWA World champion as we enter 1984. The next phone call by Verne was to Joe Blanchard of Southwest Championship Wrestling. Southwest had a great working relationship with the AWA and recognized their World Champion. Verne knew that SWCW was a key to the AWA succeeding and Vince not controlling the whole enchilada. The reason for this is that Southwest worked out a deal with the USA Network and was being seen across the United States on cable television each and every Saturday morning. Word was that Vince wanted this spot and the USA Network was intrigued as it would give them some major viewership in major east coast markets. While Joe and Verne were okay business men, Jerry Jarrett was a genius. Just look at his 17,000 square foot mansion outside of Memphis and you can see he is the one small time market who made it big. Jarrett had pitched an idea to Verne who was to relay it to Joe. TNT Wrestling…. Texas and Tennessee! TNT would combine Memphis and Southwest but with a name like TNT it would not have a regional feel. Combining some of the huge names from Southwest with the likes of Jerry Lawler and Nick Bockwinkle, who has been in Memphis ever since losing to Hogan in 1983, would make TNT one hot AWA show each and every week. Joe Blanchard loved the idea and so did the USA Network Executives who signed a long-term deal with Verne Gagne. TNT Wrestling will be airing each week starting in January of 1984. The other reason USA Network agreed to stay with the AWA and not go to Vince was another of Jerry Jarrett’s good ideas. “We only asked for 30% of what the WWF wanted from USA. We understood that we were not making much on our TV broadcasts at the time but as long as Vince’s product not being seen on national tv, he was not going to dominate the industry. Now all we had to do was put on a product that the fans loved and we would be the brand FOREVER! Since that original phone conversation with Jarrett back in March of 83, Verne has completely bought in to the idea that cable is the way to go. Taking a page out of Georgia Championship Wrestling and Fred Barnett, Verne looked to the new superstations of cable tv. WTBS has done wonders for Georgia as it has allowed him to move into places like West Virginia, Ohio and Michigan. These are three states that Gagne had hoped would someday become AWA but now he sees that as an uphill battle; all because of Ted Turner. So, what does Verne do? He turns to WGN, a superstation based in Chicago. Chicago, along with the Twin Cities has long been an AWA stronghold and if he could secure air time on this channel, he could lock up the third largest market in the county and bring in money that could rival Vince in, NY. Verne, once again, offers a major network a contract they can’t resist. He gives away some money in the deal for longevity as he knows McMahon is running out of cable options. Verne next turns to Stampede Wrestling and Stu Hart based out of Calgary. Gagne has already been running shows in Winnipeg and his AWA Major League show is shown across Canada on TV station CKND and syndicated across the country. Verne now wants to convince Hart that it is okay to jump ship and come to the AWA. In talks with Stu, Verne promises to keep his boys, Brett, Keith and Bruce over and to add a Light Heavyweight title and to bring in Stampede’s North American title as the second major title in the AWA. As luck or lack of luck would have it, the action was so hot on December 2, 1983 in the Ogden Auditorium in Calgary, a riot broke out as Bad News Allen turned on his teammates, the Stomper and Jeff Gouldie. After piledriving Gouldie on the concrete floor, Bad News Allen took the microphone and told everyone that he wished that his attack on Gouldie led to his death. This caused the crowd to erupt in anger and several injuries were reported. After this, Stu Hart was suspended from promoting events in Calgary. Without Calgary, Hart and Stampede was dead so it! Verne again calls Stu and offers him a small share of the AWA for his promotion. Hart is still reluctant until Verne gives him one more little nugget. For this bit of information, everyone will have to tune into WGN and All-Star Wrestling each and every week. Verne was on fire now, and once again took to the phones. He contacted both ESPN and TSN, the Canadian equivalent of ESPN, looking to make a deal. ESPN originally wanted a weekly show but Gagne felt that the way ESPN was looking to promote the AWA was a little too stuffy and came across with a boxing style feel so Verne went with WGN for the weekly show. He offered ESPN and TSN something bigger; 6 major cards with all the true stars facing each other. ESPN and TSN salivated at the idea of cheap, live, prime time shows that could see the likes of Hulk Hogan vs Jerry Lawler. Verne also gave ESPN and TSN all the rights to run the shows as often as they liked in reruns but he retained the video rights! Verne saw his audience growing and growing and for the first time, he thought that he might actually succeed in going national. We will see. Hopefully you enjoy Dawn of War and thanks to my partner in this project; Spaldoni. Any questions pm either one of us.

Great work as always! Enjoyed seeing Brisco still with Landell. Hope JYD can find himself at home. Perfect was to move forward as we all know what is coming to TA. This sets up Dr. Death as Nikita's new challenge and then you can move forward in 1987.

TAMPA, FLORIDA 2/7/1982 From the beautiful Sportatorium just outside of downtown Tampa, welcome to Southern States Wrestling. I am Gordon Solie and what a show we have for you tonight but first we have to talk about what happened last week at the Omni. It was an amazing night of wrestling as we get three new champions. First, we saw the Buzz Sawyer become the SSW first ever Young Guns Champion. Much more on that later. We also Tommy “Wildfire” Rich defeat the Masked Superstar for the Appalachian Champion and finally, Big John Studd and Don Muraco did win the SSW Tag Titles from the Brisco brothers. As Gordon is talking, JJ Dillion leads Ric Flair and the new tag champs to the interview area, Gordon Solie: Well Mr. Dillion. You must be proud of your team for defeating the legendary Jack & Jerry Brisco. JJ Dillion: Proud is not the word I was thinking of. The Triad is the best in the world and they did exactly what I expected of them. Gordon Solie: Well fair enough but along those lines, then you must be disappointed that Ric Flair did not defeat Mr. Wrestling II for the SSW title! JJ Dillion: I am furious. I am sick to my stomach. I mean I thought this was a reputable company but after three weeks here, it is obvious I was mistaken. I mean Mr. Wrestling II just out and out cheated and nothing was done about it. Everyone knows that Ric Flair is 10 times better then Mr. Wrestling II. Gordon Solie: I beg to differ sir. I was at the Omni and saw Mr. Wrestling II pin Ric Flair in the center of the ring. A fuming Ric Flair demands that they play the video tape. Flair, with an eye gouge, reminds us all of just how dirty he can be. From here on out, it is one dirty move after another. As Dillion distracts the ref, Flair actually gets a chair and cracks it over the back of Mr. Wrestling II. Wrestling II rolls out of the ring and it is here that we get a bit of confusion. It seemed like Wrestling II rolled under the ring for a few moments. As he came back to the apron, he caught Flair with a shoulder block to the gut and then hit a sunset flip and got the three count. Dillion and Flair where in shock but all of the Southern States fan favorites rushed the ring to congratulate II. Dusty, Wildfire, Orndorff, Windham. They were all there and they carried Wrestling II out to a thunderous ovation. When the video is over Solie seems satisfied that the victory for Wrestling II was legit but JJ Dillion points out that when Mr. Wrestling II’s friends rushed out to the ring Magnum T.A. was not there but when they walked back to the locker room, T.A. was in the center of the celebration. Gordon Solie: I am sorry sir, I don’t get your point. JJ Dillion: My point is that Magnum T.A. was under the ring and when Mr. Wrestling II rolled out and under the ring for a few seconds, it was Magnum T.A. who came back out as a second masked wrestler! Gordon Solie with a questioning look on his face doesn’t want to admit it but he knows the Triad might have something. Solie just pushed them off and moves on to our first match of the day. MATCH: Brad & Bob Armstrong defeat Ricky Harris & Jesse James COMMERCIAL MATCH: SSW YOUNG GUNS TITLE MATCH Buzz Sawyer vs Tom Prichard The first thing we notice is that Kevin Sullivan accompanies Buzz Sawyer to the ring. As for the match, Buzz Sawyer was as aggressive as we have ever seen him. Every time Prichard got something going, Sullivan berated Sawyer to the point that he was like a caged animal that had just been let loose. The match game to an end when Sawyer hit the powerslam on Prichard. The post-match interview starts with Solie showing us the video how Sullivan turned on Mike Graham in the Omni and then later, how he helped Buzz Sawyer defeat Barry Windham to become the SSW Young Guns Champion. Gordon Solie: I must say Mr. Sullivan that your tactics last week in the Omni not only shocked me but confused me. You swore week after week how you were to help aid Mike Graham and now this? Kevin Sullivan: Ahhhh Gawdon. I just love it when a plan comes togethah. Both Graham and Windham did not know what hit them. Gordon Solie: If your plan was to attack two men who have shown nothing but class throughout the careers … Kevin Sullivan: I will leave you with this… the sins of the fathah are now the sins of the sins. Gordon Solie: I think we are going to need more then that. I mean you two beat Mike Graham and Barry Windham so badly that they couldn’t be her. Kevin Sullivan: The sins of the fathah are now the sins of the son. Sullivan and Sawyer walk off as Gordon let’s us know he is really not satisfied with that answer. MATCH: Kendo Nagasaki vs Raul Mata This Asian man with a painted face and wild haircut comes to the ring swinging a kendo stick. The fans were actually nervous here as he was so different from what they are used to. Once the match started, Nagasaki used a punch of nerve holds and different types of kicks to keep his opponent down. When Mata was worn ou, Nagasaki spins aroud and shoots a mythical green mist into the air. The fans actually were heard with their ohhs as they jumped back in their seats. Mata staggered to his feet… Wham… A perfectly placed Superkick and Mata is out! Gordon Solie: Now that was very, very eerie and impressives. This Nagasaki fellow looks to be double tough. COMMERCIAL Match King Kong Mosca defeats Tommy Wright by submission with the Full Nelson At the interview desk, King Kong Mosca’s focus is still fully on Paul Orndorff. We find out that their match ended in a DCO as the two men brawled all over the arena floor. Angelo Mosca: I have been in this business a long time and won a lot of matches. I have won so many matches that they don’t even matter to me anymore. What does matter is not letting punks like Orndorff think they are in the same league as me. Next time Orndorff, I am going to put you in the Full Nelson and bend you like a pretzel until you break! Gordon Solie: Well okay then. Match: Sweet Brown Sugar defeats Cyclone Negro with the Missile Dropkick Gordon Solie can’t stop talking about how much the crowd loves SBS and how athletic he is. After the match, Sugar does a nice job of interacting with the fans and does a quick interview. COMMERCIAL Before our next match, Gary Hart and Jimmy Garvin come out to the interview desk where we find out that the Iron Sheik has been called back to Tehran, Iran for a while but will soon return as dangerous as ever. The crowd cheered to no end when they heard he was gone and even Gordon Solie seemed pleased. Gary Hart explains that the Iron Sheik comes from royalty and needed to tend to some very important business but that he gave Gary Hart a large gift of money to go out and build his stable. Hart says that he will be gone for a while as he is going to travel the world to find the best wrestlers money can buy. Solie wants to know what that means for Jimmy Garvin. Gary Hart: Don’t worry Mr. Solie. Jimmy and I have discussed this and we have put a plan in place to help guide him right to the top. In fact, I believe that he is next in line for a shot at the Appalachian title held by that Mama’s Boy Tommy Rich. I fully expected when I return that Jimmy Garvin will be the champ. In fact, I am so sure of it, I have gotten Jimmy a present in advanced for winning the title. Jimmy Garvin: A present for me! Oh I can’t wait. Gary Hart: Yes indeed Jimmy. I very Precious present! Jimmy Hart: Really what is it? Gary Hart: well it is in this box to our left. Please be careful as you open it as I did say it is Precious. As Jimmy Hart opens the box we find a beautiful blonde women. Gary Hart: Now isn’t she Precious. She is my gift to you to help you as I am away. Gordon Solie: Ohh brother. Now I have seen everything. Commercial The segment begins with an interview with the new Appalachian Champion Tommy Rich where he responds to Jimmy Garvin’s challenge by letting him know that he is ready and time and any place. Match: Brian Blair defeats Dale Veasey with the Top Rope Elbow Drop When the match was over, Dory Funk Jr. comes to the interview desk with his Gulf States title around his waist but his neck in a brace. We find out it was from the 3 piledrivers he received from Dusty Rhodes last week in the Omni. Dory Funk Jr.: I told you Dusty Rhodes! I told you there was no way you could beat me. You picked me and dropped me on my head 3 times but you never got the three count. Gordon Solie: Well I will give you that Mr. Funk. You are one double tough wrestler but I did her that you are out of action for a while. Dory Funk Jr.: I will tell you that doctors said I should not wrestle again but I will be back real soon. I also wanted to know that there are many Texans who are sick to their stomachs at what Dusty did to me. In fact, if Dusty Rhodes has the guts he should come out here and see for himself. The crowd explodes as Rhodes comes out. Dusty Rhodes: Let me tell you sumthin Dory Funk. I got to give it to you baaaby. I thought I had the title but you held on just long enough. The problem for you is that every time you look in the mirroe and see that brace it will remind you you can’t beat me. Now you say there are people in Texas who are mad at the American Dream. Come on baaaby. I am from West Texas and their aint no one who would mind seeing you out of the industry! Wham! From out of nowhere Dusty Rhodes is attacked by a 6’6 cowboy who is like a house afire. Gordon Solie: Oh my…. That’s is David VonErich and he is really taking it the American Dream. The attack goes on for quite sometime and the crowd is in shock as nobody has handled Dusty like this. Eventually the calvary comes out and Dory and David head for the locker room. Match: Magnum T.A. defeats Iron Mike Sharpe with the Belly to Belly Suplaaaay A nice win here for the youngster but as soon as he gets the pin, JJ Dillion leads the Triad out and they start to go to town on T.A. Big John Studd, Don Muraco and the Nature Boy each get a few shots in but Mr. Wrestling II and Hacksaw Butch Reed are not far behing. Wrestling II squares off with Flair while T.A. and Reed are battling it out with the SSW Tag champs. In the end, the fan favorites are in control of the ring and the heels are frustrated on the floor! Gordon Solie: What a night of wrestling this was. So many questions left unanswered but we are out of time. So long from the Sunshine State!

NIce.... 1986 is now the Dawn of War

Ole Anderson starting hot here. Great promo guy with a little left in the tank. Can't wait to see where he goes in MACW

Looking forward to seeing where you go with Dibiase. He is so hot right now that I can see him being the top dog in the entire game. Good luck with MACW

SOUTHERN STATES WRESTLING NEWS JANUARY 1982: News: Ted Turner is ecstatic with his recent acquisition of Championship Wrestling from Florida and its subsequent merger with Georgia Championship Wrestling. As cable tv begins its boom, Turner hopes that Southern States Wrestling will attract viewers throughout the South and in turn keep viewers tuned in for Atlanta Brave games. If this works out well, Turner may check to see the cost of adding Continental Championship Wrestling into the fold. Gordon Solie has already said that he would be willing to expand his craft into Alabama! The first two major shows of Southern States Wrestling were big hits! The Bayfront Center in St. Pete drew a great crowd but it was nothing like the Omni! Turner decided to have all 5 titles on the line that night to really WOW the crowd. Those matches plus the TV shows on WTBS have SSW off to a great start. NWA The NWA has yet to officially recognize SSW as an official promotion but that seems like a for gone conclusion. Eddie Graham and Jim Barnett love the merger and have been said to working great together. Graham has been placed in control of the Gulf States Title while Barnett controls the Appalachian Title. Turner has entrusted another group of people who will control the angles around the SSW Heavyweight Title and the SSW Tag Title. Turner says he will not name these people at this time but the reason to do this was to limit the conflicts that could arise between Graham and Barnett. CONTRACTS: Matt Borne: The Southern States Board of Directors brought in Matt Borne for a 30 day contract and have decided not to renew it at this time. There is no denying that Borne is very talented and it shows as both the Mid-Atlantic and Pacific Northwest have already given him title runs but Southern States really brought in Borne to add some depth to their Young Guns tournament and now want to push their other youngsters including Barry Windham, Magnum T.A., Brad Armstrong and the current Young Guns Champion, Buzz Sawyer. RUMORS Dory Funk may have been really injured in the Omni and the SSW Board is unsure what to do with the Gulf States title. This also has SSW scrambling as to how to fill that roster spot. It is rumored that another promotion in the NWA is looking for some seasoning of one of its stars and might be willing to loan a budding superstar to SSW to help out in Dory’s absence. SSW/MACW AGREEEMEMT? Has some sort of talent exchange agreement been made between Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and SSW or is there just a battle for top talent. In recent weeks SSW has seen an influx of Mid-Atlantic talent like Ric Flair, Don Muraco, Big John Stud and Angelo Mosca while it is rumored that the Briscos will be spending some serious time in the Carolinas in the near future. Maybe MACW is trying to wedge its way into the SSW as it knowes Ted Turner’s WTBS television station could raise any promotion to the national level. What this means for the future of the NWA is anyone’s guess. The other possibility is that Eddie Graham and Jim Barnett realize that the other promotions do not have this mega tv advantage as their shows are only on locally. This would allow the SSW to use them as “cooling stations” where their stars can disappear to and then bring them back hotter then ever! Only time will tell but Fritz VonErich, Cowboy Bill Watts and Jerry Jarrett better pay close attention or they could all be left out in the dark as cable TV seems to be the straw that stirs the drink as far as the future of wrestling goes.

Good point. I should have put that up in front of Armstrong and Super D

ATLANTA, GEORGIA JANUARY 30, 1982 Brad Armstrong defeats Gran Apollo with the Russian Legsweep Hacksaw Butch Reed & Sweet Brown Sugar defeats Ed Wiskoski & Cyclone Negro as they got Negro with High Flyin Power (SBW with a top rope missile dropkick followed by a Gorilla Press Slam by Reed) Bullet Bob Armstrong defeated the Super Destroyer as he blocked a Superplex and followed it up with the Georgia Jawbreaker Paul Orndorff and King Kong Mosca wrestled to a Double Count Out as these two basically brawled all over the arena. Kevin Sullivan & Mike Graham vs Jimmy Garvin & The Iron Sheik with Gary Hart: Even though there is a lot of technical talent in the ring, this was anything but. With Hart’s men being the best at bringing down the heat, the fans were on the edge of the seats cheering for Sullivan and Graham. With so many momentum changes, most of which were caused by Hart’s shenanigans, anything looked possible. After Hart hit the Sheik by mistake, Graham took control. After a few minutes, Mike was able to lock in the Figure 4 and the Sheik was in a world of trouble. Wham! The crowd is shocked as Kevin Sullivan has come in with the elbow drop to the head of Graham. Sullivan simple goes nuts and beats Mike Graham all over the ring. Hart’s men are shocked as they just stand by and watch. After a few minutes, Sullivan simply walks away. Not sure what to do, Hart tells the Sheik to lock in the Camel Clutch which he does. Graham is basically out on his feet and the ref calls for the bell as Hart’s men gain the victory. SOUTHERN STATES YOUNG GUNS CHAMPIONSHIP: Buzz Sawyer vs Barry Windham: The match begins with a handshake and ends in a war. These two youngsters are very even and we see many momentum changes. For their age, both seem like naturals as they are bumping and selling everything. All of a sudden, the boos reign down on the Omni as Kevin Sullivan comes to ringside. The crowd is still fuming over the last match but Sullivan could care less and he starts to coach Buzz Sawyer. Sawyer immediately turns nastier and more aggressive. Even these tactics can’t hold Windham down. Sullivan seemed to slip something to Sawyer at one point in the match but the ref didn’t notice it. As Windham pushes Sawyer to the corner to set him up for the Bulldog, Sullivan jumps up on the apron to distract the ref. Wham! Sawyer has clocked Windham with what appears to be a metal object. Windham goes down as Sullivan jumps down to the floor. Sawyer goes for the cover and gets the three count to become the first ever Southern States Wrestling Young Guns Champion. Mike Graham rushes the ring and the crowd goes nuts as he is all over Sullivan. Too bad for Mike, this only leads to a 2-1 attack and twice in 20 minutes he is beaten pretty badly. SOUTHERN STATES APPLACHIAN CHAMPIONSHIP: Masked Superstar vs Tommy “Wildfire” Rich: It only takes the crowd a few minutes to get over the last match as their pride and joy, Wildfire Rich, comes to the ring. Rich still has that right hand in a cast from the same match up two weeks at the Bayfront Center when the Super Destroyer helped the Masked Superstar load up that mask. This match follows much the same format. A few momentum changes allow us to see each wrestler’s talents. Wildfire once again takes over and again it seems like the Destroyer has helped the Superstar with that object in the match. Bullet Bob Armstrong comes down and is all over the Destroyer. As Superstar re-enters the ring, Wildfire out smarts him. Instead of throwing that right hand, Rich kicks Superstar in the gut and then rams Superstar and his loaded mask into the turnbuckle. Superstar is basically knocked out by this and stumbles backward. Rich goes for the cover and gets the win. The crowd goes wild as we get a new champion. SOUTHERN STATES GULF STATES CHAMPIONSHIP: Dory Funk Jr. vs Dusty Rhodes: A true matchup of two legends here and it is kind of odd. The fan favorite, Dusty Rhodes has little wrestling skill but can really duke it out while the heel is a tremendous technical wrestler. We get a bit of all of that in this match. Funk is in charge after about 25 minutes but Dusty starts to juke and jive and it is like he feels nothing Dory is doing to him. Wham! Dusty takes control. He is throwing big elbow after big elbow until Dory goes down. The crowd and Dusty think he has Dory down for the count but Dory kicks out at 2. Dusty stays on the attack but can’t gain the pinfall. Dusty hits a piledriver….2 count. Dory is in a bad way and Dusty hits another piledriver…. Somehow Dory gets his foot on the rope. Dusty and the crowd can’t believe it. A third piledriver by Dusty…. 1….2…. Ding Ding Ding. The bell rings as we get a 30 minute time limit draw. Dusty can’t believe it! Dory has retained the belt but needs some medical attention to get back to the locker room as he is carried out on a stretcher. SOUTHERN STATES TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Jack & Jerry Brisco vs Big John Studd & Don Muraco with JJ Dillion: The crowd is a bit nervous as Studd and Muraco might be the toughest team the Briscos have faced in a long time. The Briscos do everything they can here but it just seems that either the size of Studd or the power of Muraco or the questionable tactics of Dillion prevents them from gaining the victory. In the end, we see the match go a little bonzo gonzo as all four are in the ring. The ref ends up getting knocked down. Jack makes the mistake of looking at the fallen ref and this is all Studd needs as he scoops him up and tosses Brisco over the top rope and all the way to the metal railing separating the fans from the wrestlers. Jack seems down and out and Jerry takes a pretty good 2-1 beating. Muracco hits the Hawaiian Hammer and that is all she wrote. For the third time tonight, we have new champions. SOUTHERN STATES HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Mr. Wrestling II vs Ric Flair: Mr. Wrestling II is anything but intimidated by Ric Flair and he really takes it to the Nature Boy here for a while. Flair, with an eye gouge, reminds us all of just how dirty he can be. From here on out, it is one dirty move after another. As Dillion distracts the ref, Flair actually gets a chair and cracks it over the back of Mr. Wrestling II. Wrestling II rolls out of the ring and it is here that we get a bit of confusion. It seemed like Wrestling II rolled under the ring for a few moments. As he came back to the apron, he caught Flair with a shoulder block to the gut and then hit a sunset flip and got the three count. Dillion and Flair where in shock but all of the Southern States fan favorites rushed the ring to congratulate II. Dusty, Wildfire, Orndorff, Windham. They were all there and they carried Wrestling II out to a thunderous ovation.

Sorry to hear this. Lutte was such a great read.

TAMPA, FLORIDA 1/23/1982 From the beautiful Sportatorium just outside of downtown Tampa, welcome to Southern States Wrestling. I am Gordon Solie and what a show we have for you tonight. In just one week’s time, Southern States will be in the Omni in Atlanta, Georgia where we will see an amazing night of wrestling including 5 title matches! All eyes will be on the Triad and JJ Dillion. It was just three weeks ago when we saw a video tape of his men, Ric Flair, Big John Studd and Don Muraco, claim dominance in this sport. They have shown nothing less since arriving here and now have a chance to turn SSW upside down and take its two major titles. I would like to call in Mr. Wrestling II who is going to put his SSW Heavyweight Title on the line Mr. Wrestling II: Thank you Gordon. I agree with you in the fact that the Triad has caused some chaos around here in the last couple of weeks but let me make one thing clear to JJ Dillion and Ric Flair. I am not intimidated by you in the least. I have seen the Triad put a beating on some people around here but it is always when they have a numbers advantage. They have done nothing 1 on 1. Flair…. Dillion… I am ready for you. Pull any shenanigans and I will be ready for it. WE will be ready for it. Gordon Solie: What do you mean by WE? Mr. Wrestling II simply walks away. Solie just says “And there you have it” and takes us to the ring for our first match. MATCH Kevin Sullivan & Mike Graham defeat Chick Donovan & Ricky Harris as Sullivan hits a powerslam on Donovan A quick interview here as we are told again that Sullivan and Graham are on the same page and that they are ready for the Omni and Gary Hart’s team of the Iron Sheik and Jimmy Garvin. COMMERCIAL BREAK MATCH YOUNG GUNS TOURNAMENT SEMIFINAL Buzz Sawyer vs Brad Armstrong A great 8 minute match that saw it all. Speed, power and great wrestling skills. In the end, Sawyer was able to avoid the Russian Legsweep and stunned Armstrong with a cross body block. This allowed Sawyer to climb to the top rope and hit the Frog Splash for the win. MATCH YOUNG GUNS TOURNAMENT SEMIFINAL Magnum T.A. vs Barry Windham It is easy to see that both of these two wrestlers are going to be huge stars in the years to come. Tonight, Windham gets the win with the Bulldog but it was obvious as Gordon Solie said that if these two wrestled 100 times, they would each win 50. Windham and T.A. both show great sportsmanship as this one ended with a handshake. Solie really hypes up the finals of this tournament which we now know will pit Windham against Sawyer at the Omni next Saturday. COMMERCIAL BREAK MATCH Big John Studd & Don Muraco with JJ Dillion destroy Billy Spears & Mike Jackson Ric Flair joins the rest of the Triad at the interview desk where they are really confident in one week that they will hold both the SSW Heavyweight Title and the SSW Tag Title. When Flair was asked about the earlier comment by Mr. Wrestling II that they were all ready to fight the Triad, Flair simply said that even if the entire Southern States roster tried to stop the Triad, the would come up short. WHOOOOOOO! MATCH Tommy Rich & Paul Orndorff vs The Masked Superstar & King Kong Mosca A match with a lot of energy and used to hype up next week’s event at the Omni where Tommy Rich will face the Masked Superstar for the Appalachian Title and Orndorff will meet Mosca. In order not to give to much away, this was a pure brawl that ended in a DDQ as the ref completely lost control. After the commercial break, Wildfire and Orndorff were at the interview desk where Wildfire gives us one of his Fired Up speeches and Orndorff shows a combination of seriousness and anger as he explains what he is going to do to King Kong Mosca. COMMERCIAL BREAK MATCH Dusty Rhodes vs The Super Destroyer This main event match goes about 6 minutes and Dusty seems like he is on the verge of wining when all of a sudden Dory Funk hits the ring with a bull rope! Crack! Funk hits Dusty over and over again with that Bull Rope. Solie makes it clear that Funk is trying to make sure that the American Dream never makes it to the Omni for their Gulf States title match. Dusty is in a bad way when all of a sudden the crowd explodes as Ron Bass rushes the ring with his own Bull Rope and goes after Dory Funk. Funk hightails it back to the locker room as Bass goes to attend to Dusty. It takes a minute buy Dusty is up and grabs the house mic where in perfect Dusty Rhodes, he let’s everyone know what he is going to do to Dory Funk Jr. next week in the Omni! As Gordon Solie signs off from the Sunshine State, we get a promo of the great card in Atlanta. THE OMNI JANUARY 30th Brad Armstrong vs Gran Apollo Hacksaw Butch Reed & Sweet Brown Sugar vs Ed Wiskoski & Cyclone Negro Bullet Bob Armstrong vs the Super Destroyer Paul Orndorff vs King Kong Mosca Kevin Sullivan & Mike Graham vs Jimmy Garvin & The Iron Sheik with Gary Hart SOUTHERN STATES YOUNG GUNS CHAMPIONSHIP: Buzz Sawyer vs Barry Windham SOUTHERN STATES APPLACHIAN CHAMPIONSHIP: Masked Superstar vs Tommy “Wildfire” Rich SOUTHERN STATES GULF STATES CHAMPIONSHIP: Dory Funk Jr. vs Dusty Rhodes SOUTHERN STATES TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Jack & Jerry Brisco vs Big John Studd & Don Muraco with JJ Dillion: SOUTHERN STATES HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Mr. Wrestling II vs Ric Flair

Enjoyed the show on Saturday night. The first match was awsome and I would have been hooked for the rest of the night. My real question is how are you handling 3 different games and all of your feed back which doesn't miss a beat! Wow... such loyalty

I notice her that you really practice what you preach. Recently you were talking in one of the reviews about the finish is the key and wow you didn't dispappoint here. First, I thought Michaels would win the final but saw a chance for Mable with Mo on the outside. Next if there was to be interferene after the Chin Muis, I thought that it was going to be Mo but from the commentry seat comes Double J! Now I am so excited for Michales and JJ and then wham... another shocker with the Mable and Mo angle.