LastStopTour

I thought Nikita might win the tournament to get the shot at Bad News Brown. Maybe not the hardest path to the title but he did have to face three in a night and came out victorious. I'm thinking Bad News is on borrowed time now.

International Pro Wrestling 5-28-1988 Pine Bluff Convention Center Pine Bluff, Arkansas From the Monday (5-29) Arkansas Democrat-Gazette ...

TONIGHT! TONIGHT! TONIGHT! International Pro Wrestling 5-27-1988 Greene County Fair Grounds Paragould, Arkansas A Saturday night wrestling at the Greene County Fair Grounds Pavillion, bringing the best in wrestling action! Hosts Buddy Lee and Bert Prentice welcome everyone to the show, promising exciting wrestling action! Match #1 Brandy Mae versus Prissy Purcell Brandy Mae with the roll through and roll up for the win. Match #2 Cowboy Tony versus Ken Jugan Newcomer to the area but not new to the fans, "Cowboy Tony" is able to ride off into the sunset with the victory following a bulldog. Match # 3 Mountain Lou & Johnny Weiss versus the Renestos Tim and Tom Jr. in their tag debut in IPW, knock off a little ring rust before pinning Weiss following a double drop kick. Intermission. Buddy Lee and Bert Prentice thank everyone for coming out this evening and wish everyone a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. Match #4 Jamie Dundee & Bruno Spazzinsky w/Dark Journey versus The Arkansas Terrors. The feud continues only with Dark Journey in the opposite corner. A good fiercely contested battle, it was DJ's interference that was the difference. While trying to hit Dundee, she missed and hit one of the Terrors, putting him out like a light. Bomb's Away! Dundee hooks a leg and gets the win. Buddy Lee and Bert Prentice wish everyone a safe trip home after promising that IPW will return to Paragould! A Happy Memorial Day Weekend to all!

IPW drops Caveman Broda and picks up Tony Falk.

I think the '88 fans in Nebraska would be a little overwhelmed by all the foreigners and different styles of wrestling than what they are used to. Ten years in the future is another story. That said, I think guys like Rhodes, the Road Warriors, Steamboat and Savage are even more appreciated. Liking your take on Jake Roberts. The dark and mysterious message sets him apart from the rest. Does it mean anything or is it just a bunch of drug fueled gobbledygook? Last minute change of the Savage/Steamboat match reeks of a fix. Savage maybe does have someone behind the scenes against him.

Pre-taping Match A distracted Tim Renesto defeated Johnny Weiss. International Pro Wrestling Excited Voiceover: You are watching International Pro Wrestling from the KAIT Channel 8 television studios! Wrestling action whizzes by quickly over music, showing the stars of International Pro Wresting. Drop kick here, monkey flip there, big swinging neck breaker there. When the music comes to a stop, the camera pans the studio and the loud studio audience ready for some wrestling action! Buddy Lee and Bert Prentice welcome everyone to International Pro Wrestling's exciting "Power Half Hour! They talk about a great weekend of wrestling action on this Memorial Day weekend. Tonight! Tonight! Tonight! IPW rolls into the Greene County Fair Grounds in Paragould! A Sunday matinee at the Pine Bluff Convention Center in Pine Bluff and Monday night, IPW invades the ASU Armory in Jonesboro! Catch all the wrestling action and the stars of IPW! Our hosts have been joined by Jamie Dundee and Bruno Spazzinsky. They talk about the previous two weeks of video tape of Dark Journey down on the farm. They understand she is in the studio today ... Jamie calls for DJ to come on out but gets no response. He says she's a little shy but she'll come out ... OR ... he'll have to send her back to Comissioner Red Tyler to let him deal with her. Dark Journey reluctantly comes out to whistles and catcalls along with a smattering of boos in a pair of overalls ... not the usual attire for DJ. Bruno tells her to be proud of it because a lot of people right in the audience will leave here and get back to work on the farm. Jamie twirls her around for all to see and she is not happy about it. Jamie has a match today against one of the Terrors. Tonight, they have a tag match against her former team and on Sunday, they have a mixed tag match against the Terrors and Prissie Purcell. Bert wants to know who is wrestling with them and Jamie proudly announces Dark Journey will be in their corner ... WHAT?!?!?! This comes as a surprise to her but is told that comes with the territory! Monday night, Bruno tags with Plowboy Frazier to take on the Arkansas Terrors and Jamie takes on Brian Knighton! Busy, busy week for the boys! Buddy Lee throws it to a commercial! x-x-x-x-x COMMERCIAL BREAK x-x-x-x-x We go to the ring for our first match ... Match #1 Jamie Dundee w/Bruno & Dark Journey versus Arkansas Terror #1 Dark Journey is kept in check here by Bruno, so no worries for Jamie there against the masked man. Evenly matched, both men nearly pull of pinfalls before a scramble finds Jamie dodging out of a corner. Running bulldog flattens the masked man before the Bombs Away lands! Jamie Dundee picks up the win. After a celebration with the fans, Jamie and Bruno pull DJ along to the back before our hosts are joined by Tom Renesto Jr. who wants to get in some time with his brother Tim. He's tried several times outside of the studio but only seems to catch him at any of the shows. Bert thinks that Tim has made it pretty clear he's not interested in being part of a tag team and that maybe Tom should look elsewhere for a partner ... there are quite a few good candidates here in IPW. Tom's not hearing it. The fans cheer as Tim comes out to join the trio. He says he's gone over this with Tom already. There's really not much more to say on the subject. Tom just asks him to hear him out. He noticed that Tim was distracted in his match before the program went to air. He's busy looking over his shoulder for that "boogie man" to show his face ... but if you noticed, there was no Zebra Kid. Last week, there was no Zebra Kid. The week before, no Zebra Kid. While he knows all about having unfinished business, if you have someone in your corner watching your back ... IF ... Zebra Kid shows up, two on one are much better odds and at the very least, you can concentrate on what you are doing in the ring. That's all I'm saying ... the two of us together is much stronger than you by yourself. If the Zebra Kid is out there and shows his face, WE'LL be ready for him ... you and me, just like old times. The two shake hands as Buddy Lee sends us to a commercial break! x-x-x-x-x COMMERCIAL BREAK x-x-x-x-x We return to the program with Bert and Buddy talking about the Renesto Brothers and Tom Jr. having thought this out. He is right, the two of them together is much stronger than Tim by himself. If this works out the way Tom wants it to, the tag division just found itself one team stronger! The two sell the matches for the long weekend of dates and times for the shows along with some of the match-ups the fans will get to see! A huge weekend of wrestling that you do not want to miss! Match #2 Tojo Yamamoto versus Ken Jugan The ring veteran goes right on the attack, neutralizing Jugan with an eye rake. He locks on a stomach claw and has Jugan screaming in pain. Only by reaching the ropes, he is able to get a reluctant break. Tojo opens up with chops before tossing Ken across the ring by his ears. A knee in the back for a chin lock with a sadistic look in his eye. He twists up Jugan but breaks the holds before Jugan can submit. Shot to the throat and a front kick before the Stomach Claw is back in place. Center of the ring and there is no escape leading to a submission. Tojo joins Buddy Lee and Bert to talk about the Best of Seven Series. All tied up at 1 apiece, Tojo and he New Guinea Head Hunter promise to go up 2-1 and show the first match was a fluke! The fans cheer as Buddy Lee and Bert Prentice with a big thank you and a reminder to join us next week for more International Pro Wrestling action!

Nice win for Brian Adias over a tough competitor in Pat Tanaka. I thought Tanaka who be the one to dethrone Adias as the toughest competition he's had to face. Not a good night for Scott Putski. Equally tough night for Duke Myers. His return might be a short lived one with Tony Atlas on his case, doing Greg Gagne's dirty work.

Nice seeing Wahoo getting the win. The two trading victories keeps it fresh and the fans wanting more as it continues to escalate. Guitar playing man coming to the NWA. Not going to look at rosters to figure out who it is. Will let it play as a surprise. You would think Kazmeier and Kamala would be perfect opponents.

The Cheetah Kid keeps on rolling on. Doesn't matter who is in front of him, CK wins, wins, wins. With perhaps the top Junior division that could legitimately see the title being swapped every single night because of it's depth, the fact that Cheetah keeps winning is a testament to him having that "something" Have to give Lou Perez props for not only hanging with Dan Severn but being able to take him down. How is he rewarded? A quick trip to the FA list! For shame!

International Pro Wrestling 5-20-1988 West Memphis High School West Memphis, Arkansas Home of the Blue Devils Saturday night as IPW comes to a town near you, bringing the best in wrestling action! Hosts Buddy Lee and Bert Prentice welcome everyone to the show, promising exciting wrestling action! Match #1 Jamie Dundee and Bruno Spazzinsky w/Dark Journey versus the Arkansas Terrors. First match with Dark Journey in the face corner and not with the men across the ring from her. Dundee and Spazzinsky have been on a roll as of late and things go their way here, too. The only ones not loving it are Dark Journey and the Terrors. Quick turn as Dark Journey trips up Bruno who is then pinned, putting the Terrors back in the win column. After the match, Bruno gives Dark Journey and earful as she pleads innocense before being led away. Match #2 Johnny Weiss versus Plowboy Frazier. David and Goliath but this time, Goliath wins. After the match, Pat Rose joins our hosts and talks about Bill Ash and taking his title from him. A hot headed Brian Knighton storms out from the back and can't believe that Rose is out here running his mouth about beating Bill Ash when he's got a match tonight against him. Rose doesn't seem to taken aback by Knighton's rant, telling him he's got plenty of time to beat Knighton tonight then move on and take the IPW Heavyweight title from Ash! Knighton jumps Rose from behind and pummels him before leading him towards the ring. After running him into the ringpost before throwing him in. Match # 3 Brian Knighton versus Pat Rose. Pat Rose takes a beating while Knighton gets cocky and jabbers with the booing fans. Knighton covers his ears and complains to the ref when the fans start chanting Rose's name. Rose sneaks in a school boy for a two count that surprises the youngster. Rose's turn to make a come back as he shows Knighton the error of his ways with right hands between the eyes. Clothesline takes him down and Rose covers for the near pinfall. Knighton calls for a time out but the ref explains there are NO time outs in wrestling ... RUNNING BULLDOG FLATTENS BRIAN KNIGHTON! 1! 2! 3! NOOOOOO!!!!! BRIAN KNIGHTON GETS A SHOULDER UP! Knighton crawls away but Rose is on him quickly ... Single leg Boston crab! Pat Rose locks it up and sits back. Knighton fights it and tries to crawl towards the ropes. No escape and Knighton has no recourse but to tap out or pass out. He chose to cry uncle. After the match, Pat Rose offered a hand to the defeated Knighton who simply walked away ... well, he limped away. Intermission. Buddy Lee and Bert Prentice are joined by Commisioner Rip Tyler. Tyler is very thankful for how things are going, thanks to all of IPW's wonderful fans. He promises bigger and better going forward with more stops in the surrounding area. He talks about titles and the ladies finally getting to wrestle, promising top women talent coming to Arkansas! Match #4 Tojo Yamamoto & The New Guinea Headhunter versus Reno Riggins & Dancing Wolf. This is the second match in their Best of Seven Series with Riggins and Wolf currently up at 1-0. This one is off and running before the bell, stiff as all get out that has a little bit of everything. The two teams go back and forth, blasting each other. Dancing Wolf gets busted open early when run into the ringpost. Ref bump proves to be disastrous when Tojo brings in the kendo stick and bludgeons the Indian with it, even digging it into Wolf's forehead. The Head Hunter takes a turn with his nerve hold while Tojo cuts off Riggins. The fans are beside themselves when Riggins and Wolf continue to take a beating. Riggins is tossed to the outside as the referee is dragged to the center of the ring and slapped to bring him around. Dancing Wolf is covered for the 1! 2! 3! TOJO YAMAMOTO AND THE NEW GUINEA HEAD HUNTER HAVE EVENED THE SERIES AT ONE WIN APIECE! THE FANS ARE NOT HAVING IT AND PELT THE RING WITH WHATEVER THEY HAVE AT HAND! Buddy Lee thanks everyone for sharing their Saturday evening here in West Memphis, Arkansas and to drive home safely!

That was part of the joke - just overalls and a t-shirt. Thought she was attractive as well.

The weekly banter between Lance and Dutch is some of the best in the league. JJ proves himself as a tough one but might not be all that smart a thing to do as 4 minutes in the Figure Four has to leave some kind of damage. Wondering if Slater throwing in the towel creates some problems between Dick and Jeff. Bill Dundee getting involved is a good thing. While there might not be a Jerry Lawler here, Bill has a long history in the area so seeing him front and center of a tag tournament is a good thing. Buddy has to grow eyes in the back of his head with Terry Gordy on his tail. Not someone I would want chasing after me, that's for sure.

Two weeks ago, I mentioned she was wearing an IPW t-shirt with the overalls and boots. Does that answer the question sufficiently?

Pro Wrestling Illustrated's ratings ...

Pre-taping Match Jamie Dundee and Bruno Spazzinsky defeated the Intern #1 and the Ninja. International Pro Wrestling Excited Voiceover: You are watching International Pro Wrestling from the KAIT Channel 8 television studios! Wrestling action whizzes by quickly over music, showing the stars of International Pro Wresting. Drop kick here, monkey flip there, big swinging neck breaker there. When the music comes to a stop, the camera pans the studio and the loud studio audience ready for some wrestling action! Buddy Lee and Bert Prentice welcome everyone to International Pro Wrestling's exciting "Power Half Hour! Our hosts have been joined by Jamie Dundee and Bruno Spazzinsky off their pre-show victory. Buddy Lee and Bert Prentice talk a little about the Boys victories of late before diving right into what's been going on with Dark Journey ... as luck would have it, we have more video down on the farm! ROLL THE TAPE! Dark Journey in her now dirty overalls complaining about being hungry to which the smiling Boys said she should have said something sooner! There is no lack of food on the farm ... all she has to do is get it! We get her chasing after chickens and them chasing after her as she screams for help. Jamie and Bruno can't help but laugh before telling her there is "easy pickins" in the hen house where we find her next trying to get eggs. While a few are cooperative, not all are as several chickens peck at her, making her shout out and threaten the hens ... END THE TAPE! The hosts chuckle while the audience cheers. Buddy Lee understands that Dark Journey will be in studio next week? Jamie says that she makes an awful farmer, so they had to get her out of there so the real farmers could get their work done. Buddy Lee throws it to a commercial! x-x-x-x-x COMMERCIAL BREAK x-x-x-x-x We go to the ring for our first match ... Match #1 Cuban Assassin versus Cody Michaels Michaels has had a successful run before running into the buzzsaw of the veteran Cuban Assassin. We get several USA chants throughout the match that fires up Michaels but in the end it is the Cuban Assassin with a foreign object that puts Michaels down. Luckily the referee was right on top of it calling for the bell and the disqualification! The Cuban Assassin with the stomping on the downed Michaels but The American to the rescue who runs off the man from Cuba to the fans' delight. The American helps Michaels to his feet and raises his arm in victory. After the match, Reno Riggins and Dancing Wolf join our hosts and talk about their Best of Seven Series against Tojo Yamamoto and the New Guinea Head Hunter. Being up 1-0, they are in the Driver's Seat and are just 3 short victories away from The Gold. Buddy Lee thinks it is a tough hill to climb against veterans like Tojo and the Head Hunter who have no problems blatantly attacking Riggins and Wolf with Tojo's kendo stick and whatever else they can get their hands on ... speaking of which ... HERE COME TOJO YAMAMOTO AND THE NEW GUINEA HEAD HUNTER! Tojo with the kendo stick hits both men and the Head Hunter jumps all over Dancing Wolf before applying the nerve claw. They leave both men lying before the face locker room clears to help Riggins and Wolf, running off the heels. Buddy Lee sends us to a commercial break! x-x-x-x-x COMMERCIAL BREAK x-x-x-x-x We return to the program with Bert and Buddy talking about what went on before the break and Reno Riggins and Dancing Wolf getting medical attention in the back. Bert wants to know how they are going to be tonight as they face Tojo and the New Guinea Head Hunter in West Memphis at West Memphis High School? That 1-0 record might be in jeopardy as the two teams face off! Buddy Lee and Bert are joined by Pat Rose on commentary for our next match against Bill Ash who wrestles in a non-title match against the White Shadow. Bert and Pat joke about Bill Ash keeping busy iin the ring against a whole host of "nobodies" rather than face Pat for the title. They talk about Pat getting a stiff challenge tonight against Brian Knighton in West Memphis. Rose puts over Knighton as a good competitor but no one and nothing is going to get in his way of the IPW Heavyweight Title! Match #2 Bil Ash versus the White Shadow Throw away match for Ash who outwrestles his opponent, easily controlling all of the action. Several near pinfalls but Ash pulls his opponent up each time to break the count which draws boos from the fans as well as Bert and Pat. Some jawing between Ash and Rose draws the champ to the ropes allowing the White Shadow to sneak in and roll up Ash for a 2 and 9/10ths of a count before the champ kicked out. The fans cheer the masked man as the more than surprised Ash can just sit there shocked. Pat Rose eggs the fans on to keep jeering the Champ. Getting down to business, Bill Ash gets serious and finishes his opponent off with the Arkansas Whiplash. The fans boo as the referee holds Ash's hand in the air before the IPW Champ yanks his arm away. Before leaving the ring, he has a few words with Pat Rose who makes a beeline for the ring, chasing Ash to the back ... The fans cheer as Buddy Lee and Bert Prentice with a big thank you and a reminder to join us next week for more International Pro Wrestling action!

IPW sends the #1 pick in the draft to Memphis/Mid-South for their #3 pick in the first round.

Look like Paul Jones is back in business if his goal is to cause havoc throughout the NWA, maybe not so much with Kamala if his goal is to put gold around his waist. I think someone with some brains in their head who can actually take some direction is Jones best bet. I am assuming DeBeers and Morgan won the match, if not by pinning Pritchard at least by disqualification when Brody hit the ring with a chain. In any case, that is a pretty big win.

I have to say, this is one tightly written show. It ebbs and flows like it should without the need for a huge roster and focusses on a few while giving us the hierarchy to show the pecking order. Well played out characters and storylines that apparently cross territories in the case of Dirty Dick Slater and Tommy Rich. Really well done. The one surprise is Bill Dundee taking a backseat to Shane Douglas. I figured we would hear a little something from Bill without him being in the shadow of Jerry Lawler. Really good stuff here on my must read list.

Pre-taping Match In non-title action, Bil Ash made short work of Ken Jugan. International Pro Wrestling Excited Voiceover: You are watching International Pro Wrestling from the KAIT Channel 8 television studios! Wrestling action whizzes by quickly over music, showing the stars of International Pro Wresting. Drop kick here, monkey flip there, big swinging neck breaker there. When the music comes to a stop, the camera pans the studio and the loud studio audience ready for some wrestling action! Buddy Lee and Bert Prentice welcome everyone to International Pro Wrestling's exciting "Power Half Hour! Rip Tyler is out once again and apologizes for making this a regular habit but it is better news than last week's reason for coming out. He is here to announce the IPW's Tag Team Titles and how they are going to resolve finding our first champions. Unlike having a tournament as we did with the heavyweight title, we are going to start with the two most deserving teams, pitting Reno Riggins and partner Dancing Wolf against nemesis Tojo Yamamoto and the New Guinea Head Hunter ... in a Best of 7 Series of matches. No fluke wins to determine the champs here. With these two teams having been battling it out for the last two months, we are sure to have some great wrestling action! Getting this all started , we kick this off TODAY in our Main Event! The fans cheer as Tyler walks off. Buddy Lee and Bert talk about the announcement and two teams. Bert is very pro Reno and Dancing Wolf here and predicts they win the straps. Next on the agenda is Dark Journey and her "90 Days of Lockdown" with Jamie Dundee and Bruno Spazzinsky. Buddy Lee with the quick rundown of the past events leading up to last week and says we have actual videotape! Bert Prentice can't wait to see this! ROLL THE TAPE! We get several vehicles pull up to the end of a driveway out in the country. It is Dark Journey and an entourage along with a camera crew. The get the shot of the sign ... FRAZIER FARM. They are met by Jamie Dundee and Bruno Spazzinsky, both in overalls. No entourage needed, no suitcases or other gear needed ... they got everything Dark Journey needs! The camera guy can stay but everyone else has to go! Moving on, Dark Journey has changes from her expensive clothes into overalls and boots with an IPW t-shirt. NOW. she's ready. She is brought to a stable and handed a shovel and wheelbarrow. She complains about the smell but the boys laugh and tell her that's why she's here. They pull up chairs and watch her shovel away all the while complaining ... END THE TAPE! The hosts chuckle while the audience cheers at Dark Journey getting her comeuppence. Bert loves it and thinks this is a much better fate for DJ than a simple 90 day suspension! He can't wait to see more of what they have in mind for Dark Journey. Buddy Lee throws it to a commercial! x-x-x-x-x COMMERCIAL BREAK x-x-x-x-x We go to the ring for our first match ... Match #1 Tom Renesto Jr. versus The American First match for this Renesto and we get a time limit draw that has both men shaking hands afterwards. After the match, Renesto joins our hosts and sings the praises the American's abilities but wants to talk about Rip Tyler's announcement at the start of the show. Renesto is looking forward to the series of matches but doesn't agree the best teams are involved, especially with him and his brother being left out of the mix. Bert reminds Junior that his brother appears to have unfinished business with the Zebra Kid. Renesto says the only think Tim needs to concern himself with is Tag Team gold! Buddy Lee sends us to a commercial break! x-x-x-x-x COMMERCIAL BREAK x-x-x-x-x We return to the program with Bert and Buddy talking about Tom Renesto Jr. and his desire to compete with his brother in the tag team division. Tim's answer sounded pretty convincing that he wasn't interested at this point. We will see how this plays out! Buddy Lee and Bert are joined by the young woman from last week. She greets the two as Brandy Mae. She was called in by Jamie Dundee who were having a "Pest Problem". She came in like an exterminator and took care of business. She talks about looking forward to getting into the ring and wrestling before joining our hosts on commentary. Match #2 Reno Riggins & Dancing Wolf versus Tojo Yamamoto & the New Guinea Head Hunter. First match in our Best of 7 Series for the IPW Tag Team Belts. Both teams come out guns blazing and ready to knock the other team "off the mountain". We get some talk about the Ladies wrestling with Brandy dropping names around the wrestling world and her ready to make her mark not only here in Arkansas but i nthe wrestling world as well. Riggins and Wolf with solid double teaming with their opponents countering with some iffy tactics. They go back and forth, trading near pin attempts that are either broken up or kicked out of. Riggins and Dancing Wolf knock the Head Hunter for a loop after he breaks out a nerve hold on Riggins. Tojo gets involved and whacks both Riggins and Dancing Wolf with his kendo stick right in front of the referee for the bell and disqualification loss, putting Riggins and Dancing Wolf up 1-0! The fans cheer as Buddy Lee and Bert Prentice with a big thank you and a reminder to join us next week for more International Pro Wrestling action!

Nice challenge from Oliver but Bad News Brown keeps rolling along. Raw deal for BJ Strong. Now he goes off into the sunset and Gagne's Gang can continue to terrorize the midcard.

I am sure the Texas Outlaws' opponents would prefer you calling them by their proper nom de guerre ... Enhancement Talent. Yeesh! There is a true art form to their position on the totem pole of the business. Never liked John Tatum, so I won't be unhappy when Eddie Gilbert and Missy stab him in the back unless of course, she runs away with Tatum. Are we seeing the Steiners coming together now that Hercules Hernandez stepped aside? They may be young but it is very easy to see the pair muscle their way through the tag division here.

Wahoo might be on his last legs but don't count him out just yet. The old veteran I am sure has a few tricks up his sleeves yet to counter whatever Lightfoot throws at him. The Nightmares, though on the smaller side, bring good Southern tag team rasslin to the territory. Looking for them to do well here.

Impressive display by El Canek to first throw Crusher Blackwell to the outside but to also military press Greg Gagne and throw him onto Blackwell. That is a feat of strength.