LastStopTour

TONIGHT! TONIGHT! TONIGHT! International Pro Wrestling 8-7-1988 Conway High School Conway, Arkansas Home of the Wampus Cats A Monday night as IPW comes to a town near you, bringing the best in wrestling action! Buddy Lee hosts the evening of exciting wrestling action! Match #1 Shawn Baxter versus The Ninja w/Oliver Humperdink, Lock & Luna Baxter gets the better of the masked man in black until Humperdink and his "ladies" get involved. The referee calls for the bell and the disqualification. Despite picking up the win, Baxter takes a beating afterwards Match #2 Ken Jugan versus Cowboy Tony Falk Jugan holds his own for a while until Tony turns it up a notch and simply outwrestles his opponent. Jugan is finished off with a swinging neckbreaker. Match # 3 The Renestos versus Reno Riggins & Johnny Weiss New partner for the former Tag Title Contender but finds himself on the losing end when Weiss is isolated and worked over. The Renestos with the pinfall for the win continue to make their case for getting the shot at Tojo and the New Guinea Headhunter. Intermission. Buddy Lee thanks everyone for coming and while there is no rundown of upcoming house shows, he tells the fans to stay tuned in the coming weeks for more dates! Match #4 IPW Tag Team Title Match Tojo Yamamoto and the New Guinea Headhunter (C) versus Plowboy Frazier & Bruno Bruno is isolated and takes a licking. He also keeps on ticking allowing the big Plowboy to clear house. With Frazier finally getting in, the match becomes a lot less one-sided and more competitive. Plowboy squashes the Head Hunter in the corner before launching Bruno from the top rope for the splash and the 1! 2! 3! We have new Tag Team Champs! Buddy Lee thanks everyone for coming out and that IPW will return to Conway!

Solid card at Bash at the Beach. New place and Shane Douglas is already The Franchise. At least he kicks things off with a win.

Looks like you have things all hammered out which is a good thing. Just the pieces mentioned put you well on the path to National recognition.

The joke's on Busick. He might be 100% but Larry's always 110%! He's done it before, he'll do it again to Nick Busick. The only thing said after their match will be "NEXT!" as Larry asks for his next opponent. I'm thinking Brian Adias might have let things go to his head but he may prove us all wrong if he continues on his winning ways. Lanny Poffo might be smart and he might be a talented wrestler but I'm thinking he doesn't have what it takes to take the title off of Nikita.

Pre-taping Match Cowboy Tony Falk beat 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! The House of Humperdink is in the house! The ladies growl at the audience before Humperdink yanks on their chains to pull them in. Oliver goes on a rant about Shawn Baxter who just like his father, the Wrestling Pro, was and is a cheater! Humperdink, the superior wrestler, demands a match right here next week! The fans cheer when Baxter makes his way out. Baxter says that men like Humperdink can say whatever they want about him because we all know who the better wrestler is. The fans have seen it with their own eyes when Baxter pinned him for the 1! 2! 3! And they've seen exactly who the cheater is. What Baxter won't stand for is when Oliver Humperdink, hiding behind two women, says something about his father! You want a match next week, Humperdink? YOU GOT IT! Buddy Lee throws it to a commercial! x-x-x-x-x COMMERCIAL BREAK x-x-x-x-x Back from the break and Buddy Lee talks about our first match with the Renestos who feel they deserve to slide into the slot as the new #1 Contenders to Tojo Yamamoto and the New Guinea Head Hunter. However, former contender Reno Riggins whose partner was injured feels that he deserves the rematch with a new partner. Tom Renesto Jr. feels that he and his brother have been largely ignored ... Match #1 The Renestos versus Reno Riggins & Ken Jugan. Hard hitting back and forth between the two teams that starts to break down as time goes on with Riggins and Jugan obviously not on the same page while their opponents work like a well oiled machine. Jugan gets isolated before being put away with a double suplex. After the match, Renesto Jr, and Riggins have words before throwing hands which requires the referee and Tim Renesto to jump in and pull the pair apart. 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 Buddy Lee having been joined by Bill and Jamie Dundee, Jackie Fargo, Cowboy Tony Falk and Dark Journey. Bill starts talking about Plowboy Frazier making a big mistake. He says Jamie wants to wrestle here, he's all for it but no way a father is going to stand back and let someone else dictate what his son can and can not do or who he can wrestle with. Thanks to his friends, they told him what's going on here ... NOW, Bill is going to send the Plowboy back to the fields! The fans cheer loudly and Buddy Lee sends us to the ring. Match #2 Plowboy Frazier & Bruno versus Bill & Jamie Dundee w/Jackie Fargo, Cowboy Tony & Dark Journey Bill and the Plowboy start things off and get right to it. Back and forth they go, hitting each other. Bill with the first pin attempt when he school boys Frazier who has a few words for Dark Journey outside the ring. 1! 2! Plowboy kicks out. Frazier comes back and " Big Man's" Dundee, squashing him in the corner several times. A helping hand from Cowboy Tony pulling Bill to the outside to catch his breath has Frazier complaining. Bill comes back, dancing around Frazier like a boxer, peppering him with shots while the referee warns him. Frazier wobbles but wraps his arms around Dundee when he steps in closer. He's got him in the bear hug but is close enough to the corner for Bill to tag in Jamie. The referee forces a break and a tired Plowboy Frazier heads back to his corner for a tag. The former partners circle one another looking for an opening. With a nod, the two throw themselves back against the ropes and both shoot forward ... RIGHT INTO EACH OTHER ... DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE! JAMIE DUNDEE GOES DOWN! BRUNO GOES DOWN! The referee starts his count! 1! 2! 3! Plowboy Frazier and Bill Dundee from their corners urge their seconds to get back up! 4! 5! 6! Jackie Fargo is screaming for Jamie to get to his feet! 7! Cowboy Tony from his knees implores Jamie to get up! 8! Dark Journey, with a smirk on her face, shakes her head! 9! The fans screaming for them to get up! 10! DING! DING! DING! The referee calls for the bell having counted both men out! Bill Dundee charges into the ring. Plowboy Frazier charges into the ring. Once again, we have chaos and pandemonium in the ring with everyone trying to keep Bill Dundee and Plowboy Frazier apart! Buddy Lee with a big thank you and a reminder to join us next week for more International Pro Wrestling action!

IPW: Heard it Through the Grapevine - Bad News Let's start with the bad news and get it out of the way. Word out of the IPW locker room is that things have gotten so bad in the office that Rip Tyler, the IPW Commissioner, has not only left IPW but has left the state as well and headed home to Alabama. Tyler. who ran World Organization Wrestling just a year ago before the IPW enterprise, might be going home to dust off and reboot the WOW. Oliver Humperdink (and the ladies) who is chummy with Tyler might be joining him as the WOW promoted shows in Mississippi, Alabama and Humperdink's home state of Florida. - Good? While Memphis star Bill Dundee's Arkansas dates have been a positive for the promotion, house show dates beyond the next two weeks have been cancelled. Dundee's IPW tour was reduced to just two dates for television and shows later that evening. Word is that Bill wanted more dates to work with son Jamie, but the recent Memphis restructuring and shake up kept wrestling stars closer to home. - Ghost in the Machine, Part 2 The missing Bert Prentice's whereabouts have been found! The super promoter has been involved in talks in Memphis., along with Memphis Legend Jackie Fargo. Will he or they wind up on the Super Station? - Ulterior Motives? Jackie Fargo's appearance in IPW has been questioned as to what his motives might have been. Has he been trying to drum up some business to bring wrestlers back to the Memphis area or was it simply to be booked? His ties to a good portion of the roster that has passed through the Mempho territory might speak to the former rather than the latter. - From Bad to Worse In the things couldn't get worse department, it appears that television station KAIT Channel 8 in Jonesboro has severed ties with the wrestling promotion at the end of August. Saturday tapings for the 5th, 12th and 18th appear to be the final live tapings with whatever's to come following that is anyone's guess. No one is speaking about it from either side though several wrestlers were notified in advance to find bookings elsewhere following those dates.

Calhoun for me, Morrell for you works for me.

Memphis and I both have referee Jerry Calhoun on our roster.

Oops! My bad.

IPW signs Crash Holly.

As a fan of Cheetah Kid/Rocco Rock, I am loving this title run. As noted previously, the West Coast has the best and most competitive Junior division and the fact that he has beaten some of the best guys in the business for the next near 20 years is fantastic.

Some of my predictions fell short. Still, good show with lots of action.

Good go home show before WrestleFest that did exactly what it needed to do by drumming up last minute interest for Chicago. Yup, looks like a really stacked show which I believe will see the change of several titles.

Larry Z is the man! He knows what's up and what's up next is Nick Busick. Busick's already felt the wrath of Larry, get ready to go down once again. Gerry Morrow was very accepting of Norvell Austin's explanation. Not an ounce of doubt or hesitation from the COO. Is he in cahoots with Austin or is he just stupid? Johnny and Davey Rich reuniting is interesting but under the circumstances, I see trouble on the horizon as Davey doesn't sound so interested in redeeming the Rich name. Stubbs is out, Dream Machine is in and Gary Young is okay with it. I think Stubbs got the better of the deal here despite the beatdown.

Pre-taping Match Ken Jugan defeated the Masked Star. 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! A lone Buddy Lee welcomes everyone to International Pro Wrestling's exciting "Power Half Hour. The fans cheer and whistle for the Memphis star come to Arkansas followed by Jackie Fargo and Tony Falk. The smiling Dundee waves and waits for the cheers to die down before talking. He says he's been hearing some things from friends Jackie and Tony going on here in Arkansas. He doesn't like funny business but that's what he's been hearing. UH OH! HERE COMES PLOWBOY FRAZIER AND HE DOESN'T LOOK ALL THAT HAPPY! Dundee says this is just the guy he wants to see. He pokes Plowboy in the chest and wants to know what's this he's hearing Jackie and Tony about the "Big Boy" not allowing Bruno to continue working with his son Jamie? Jamie suddenly not good enough? Sure seemed good enough when Plowboy and Bruno came to the house to eat and brother, let me tell you ... this man can eat! When Plowboy came to Dundee to train Bruno, the Dundee name was good enough then ... Plowboy tells Bill that he should get back in his car and head right back to Memphis and not stop until he's across the Arkansas border! This business is between him and Jamie ... Bill cuts him off and tells Plowboy if it's about Jamie, it's about him, too! If Bill wants to make it his business, then maybe he wants to get in the ring and settle it! Bill Dundee is steamed and is being held back by Jackie Fargo and Tony Falk as Bruno, Jamie and Dark Journey come out from the back to pull the two apart. Buddy Lee throws it to a commercial! x-x-x-x-x COMMERCIAL BREAK x-x-x-x-x Back from the break and Buddy Lee talks about the opening segment and the two men needing to be pulled apart before sending it to the ring! Match #1 Brian Knighton w/Bill Ash versus Johnny Weiss A lot of delaying with Knighton and Ash talking before jumping his opponent from behind. One sided match helped along by Bill Ash who trips up Weiss to break up any momentum and end the evening with a DDT. The two leave the ring happy with their work. Plowboy Frazier is back out and still not too happy. He talks about people needing to mind their own business. Jamie Dundee is a grown man, came to Arkansas on his own and has made decisions. He doesn't need Bill coming in and sticking his nose into things after getting "news" from Fargo and Falk! Buddy Lee asks if that applies to Bruno as well? The hard stare ends the questioning real quick and Bill Dundee marching out again ends the interview. Bill tells Frazier if he has something to say, he should say to his face. The two body up and start yelling at one another while jostling for position with Buddy Lee getting out of the way. Here comes Jamie Dundee, Bruno, Dark Journey, Jackie Fargo and Tony Falk again to pull the pair apart 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 Buddy Lee having been joined by Commissioner Rip Tyler. With a restrained Plowboy and Bill Dundee being held apart, Tyler talks about already having a match already signed but when Plowboy Frazier and Bill Dundee demand something, you take notice. The fans cheer when Rip says that match will be on next week's program ... IF YOU BOYS WANT TO IRON OUT YOUR DIFFERENCES IN THE RING, BILL DUNDEE VERSUS PLOWBOY FRAZIER IS RIGHT NOW!!! The fans cheer loudly and Buddy Lee sends us to the ring. Match #2 Plowboy Frazier versus Bill Dundee Lots of jawing pre-match before the hard hitting starts and despite the obvious size difference, Bill Dundee holds his own against the behemoth. Buddy Lee is joined by Jackie Fargo, Tony Falk, Jamie Dundee, Bruno and Dark Journey. All the talk is about how this IS NOT how Jamie and Bruno wanted things. Part of the reason they came to Arkansas was to get away from all the meddling. Now, they have Jackie Fargo and Tony Falk who just have the boys' best interests at heart ratting them out. Bill Dundee over reacted! Plowboy Frazier over reacted! Bill works the arm but Frazier shrugs him off, sending him across the ring but on the return, Bill slides to the outside through Plowboy's legs. Bill takes a breather, pointing at his head while Frazier yells down at him for "being yellow". A few insults back and forth before Bill gets back inside and the two start trading shots. Having seen enough, Jamie and Bruno hit the ring and do their best to pull the two apart. Ref calls for the bell as Fargo calls for some help from the back to get them apart. Several wrestlers make their way out and we have pandemonium when Plowboy and Bill Dundee start swinging to try to get at one another. Buddy Lee with a big thank you and a reminder to join us next week for more International Pro Wrestling action!

Agreed ... no reboot. Too much good stuff planned.

Not too shabby. Not that it really makes all that much difference in the writing but I would say that I would mark out even moreso to the pics.

Some of the later Tazmaniac looks didn't even have the face paint, just the long hair.

I am looking for a Tazmaniac head for you!

I don't think you started any shit. It was a simple comment that took on a life of it's own. As far as the rules go, despite thinking the rosters are too big, I really have no problems with them as they are. I will just run things my way within the framework of the ruleset being used. My little corner of the world doesn't need to be bigger than what I have out there since starting. Things are clean and efficiently run and for the most part a nice set of writers who are friendly. Can't really ask for anything more than that. The "What If" scenario of allowing those who died in real life to continue on raises other questions. Sure, if history played out differently and David Von Erich missed his plane and didn't make his Japan tour dates, would he have still died? Don't know. I guess it would be possible or would it have gone down a different road where he became World Champion, made more money and became a bigger "celebrity" in the wrestling world which might have made his life spiral even more out of control? With the Crash Holly and Shane Douglas examples becoming their better known/more popular gimmicks earlier, I think the writers really miss out on having a go at their earlier history. Holly as the Green Ghost or his Leprechaun gimmick would take him in a different direction. Douglas as a skater/surfer teamed with surfer Sandman puts him in a whole different light. Taz taken right to Taz misses out on the Tazmaniac and his Kid Krush days. Granted, there are some guys out there that can and did make an instant impact but not many of them.

Hold on now ... some of us are! I agree that most promotions around this time period, only used a handful of top talent supplimented by enhancement guys and lower tier fill-ins. Personally, I think the rosters are too big and top heavy but that is just me. On top of the large numbers, the added use of enhancement guys that don't count, make it even larger numbers of guys being used.

As far as retirement goes, it really is kind of a crapshoot because 2 sites are largely used to determine one's activity when they for the most part don't have every appearance listed. Some of those "retired" guys were working the Indies for years off the beaten track. In some cases, there were dozens if not hundreds of guys getting regular work in this ('88) time period who aren't on the Free Agent list.

Shhhhhhh ...

Enjoyed the update. We keep up with what has gone on as well as the newcomers and what to expect in the very near future.

Brian Adias with the win as expected as well as Nikita taking the title off Bad News Brown. Was pretty sure those two wins were going to happen. Chicky getting slapped by Loni Anderson should be an AWA highlight shown often. That would surely rile up Chicky. Was surprised by Poffo winning over Austin Idol. Not a huge fan of either guy, just didn't think Poffo had it in him. Larry Z being Larry Z does again. In the end, no one will remember who won the match, just that Larry is still the Mid-American champ and that is all that counts. Super show and a well deserved break. Enjoy it. I would have blown out of there when the ref hit the mat for the three count in the final match to beat both the traffic AND REO Speedwagon.