Thanks for the comments and support Troy, Markyhitch and Bri. I should also note that joebreakdown and Kat Rana had front row seats for the World of Sport show and got to see the epic title win for Exotic Adrian Street Coming up next is LOW All-Star Wrestling action which will be followed by a three show tour for Kings Road United in Japan. I hope you enjoy the show...LOW All-Star Wrestling (Episode 85) - WMC-TV5 Studios - Memphis, TN (Card #1261)Announcers: Lance Russell & Dave BrownNewswire:
“Holla, Holla!”
Those were the words heard at the top of the broadcast as Lance Russell welcomed in newly appointed LOW Commissioner Theodore R. “Teddy” Long. It was revealed that Long has replaced Charlie Cox as the commissioner of LOW via a 5-4 vote in favor of Long, after he had challenged Cox for the position at a Board of Directors meeting at LOW headquarters in New York, NY. Russell congratulated Long on his big win and threw it to a brief video of Cox wishing Long the best of luck in his new position and thanking everyone in LOW for the many years he spent in the pivotal role as commissioner. Long addressed a number of issues that he has already looked into and made the following major announcements:
* He brought up three newly crowned major champions in LOW World Heavyweight champion “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers, LOW World tag team champions the Midnight Express (“Loverboy” Dennis Condrey & “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton) and LOW International Heavyweight champion Exotic Adrian Street. He congratulated all four men on winning championships but said that under his watch no champion will be able to rest on their laurels. He announced that three direct rematches with the former champions will take place on the big upcoming Capitol Wrestling Alliance card at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY (Card #1265). Rogers will face “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, the Midnight Express will face the Rock n’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) and Street will face the “Million $ Man” Ted Dibiase.
* He said that he will be at the MSG card as the special guest of PWI Editor Bill Apter in a live Apter’s Corner where the location of WrestleCade 13 will be announced along with the now traditional announcement of the PWI Invitational Cup Tournament. The eleventh annual PWI Invitational Cup Tournament, which concludes during WrestleCade weekend, will begin with qualifying matches throughout LOW leading up to the big weekend. The qualifying matches will feature a wide array of stars including two new major stars signed to LOW – the “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith and Big Van Vader! He said that both Smith, who has signed with World of Sport, and Vader, who has signed with the CWA, will pose serious threats to their competition. Russell agreed and said that on today’s broadcast they would get their first taste of Vader who is scheduled for individual competition. Long added that all of the qualifying matches would be announced at MSG.
* Regarding the recent incident where Stan Hansen and Bruiser Brody teamed up to injure Hacksaw Jim Duggan in the CWA, Long said that due to Hansen not being under a CWA contract he was being fined a large sum of money for his involvement. He said that Brody has been released from his contract by the CWA but that for the time being he is contracted to Kings Road United in Japan as that promotion has agreed to put up a $50,000 bond and will be held responsible should Brody, or Hansen for that matter, show up in any other LOW territory unannounced. Russell noted how dangerous those two men are and that the wrestlers in KRU, where they are set for the upcoming tour, had better be prepared for a real war.
* Long concluded by announcing his first official matchmaking act in LOW – a Fatal Four Way Match for the LOW Tex-Arkana Television title, Playa! Long said that the main event on ASW would be newly crowned champion Juan Francisco de Coronado defending the belt in a single fall match against three former champions – The Mountie, The Patriot and “A Double” Austin Aries.
Dave Brown: “Lance, that was indeed some huge news regarding Teddy Long taking over as the LOW commissioner and we wish him nothing but the best. As Teddy mentioned we have a huge main event four-way battle for the LOW Tex-Arkana Television title with Juan Francisco de Coronado defending against three former television champions. In addition to that, we have a trios match to open things up involving Mike Quackenbush and his Wrestling Is Fun troupe along with The Sheepherders in tag team action and the official LOW debut of Big Van Vader. That should be something to see along with a very special edition of Piper’s Pit and Roddy Piper will have Bobby Heenan and Sir Oliver Humperdink as his guests. With that let’s throw it over to WIF ring announcer Gavin Loudspeaker to kick off today’s action”…
Talking Points:
* Piper’s Pit with Bobby Heenan & Sir Oliver Humperdink:
“Rowdy” Roddy Piper, who recently joined the CWA along with his bodyguard “The Ace” Cowboy Bob Orton, was in studio serving as the moderator for a joint interview between CWA manager Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and GAW manager Sir Oliver Humperdink in a special edition of Piper’s Pit. Three men who are at no loss for words quickly complimented each other for their various nefarious actions over the years drawing jeers from the studio audience. Piper said that while he appreciates managers, he has no need for one himself as he can handle his own business but said that others can certainly benefit from managerial guidance. Heenan quipped that there is no manager, including himself, with a wit as quick as the “Hot Rod” prompting Piper to agree saying “that’s why they call you The Brain!”
Getting down to business, Piper turned to Humperdink and said that there was major news to reveal in that Humperdink has officially traded the contracts of Nick Bockwinkel & Ray “The Crippler” Stevens to Heenan, reuniting the original Heenan Family. Piper said that adding Bockwinkel and Stevens to Andre the Giant, Big John Studd and the “King of Wrestling” Bobby Shane was going to make Heenan the most powerful manager in the all of LOW. Heenan said while that was true there is much more to the arrangement. He said that the trade also involves him and Humperdink trading places. Heenan said that he will now manage Bockwinkel and Stevens, his most trusted clients, in Golden Age Wrestling while Humperdink will now move to the CWA handling the affairs of Andre, Studd and “The King”. Piper couldn’t believe his ears and asked Heenan why he would give up managing Andre of all things. Heenan smirked and said he had done all he could for Andre, but he refused to listen so now it will be up to Humperdink to reign the giant in. Humperdink said it would not be a problem and that he was ready for the challenge. Piper thanked both men for breaking the big news on his show and said he looked forward to what they have in store.
* Abdullah Farouk:
Lance Russell was joined by CWA manager Abdullah Farouk at the announce desk. Russell thanked him for being in studio and Farouk said it was not like him to travel to a place like Memphis, but he had an important announcement. Farouk said that he has a great stable of men noting that The Sheik, one of the most decorated champions in the history of LOW, and the Dream Team (Brutus Beefcake & Greg “The Hammer” Valentine) are the cream of the crop. Russell agreed that they are a talented group prompting Farouk to say “at least someone in Memphis has a brain” drawing jeers from the studio audience. Farouk said that Bobby Heenan and Sir Oliver Humperdink weren’t the only ones to have a major announcement and introduced his newest client – Donovan Dijak. Farouk said that he searched far and wide to add a rising star to his accomplished assemblage of talent and that Dijak fit the bill. He vowed that Dijak will become “the talk of the business” and that once his opponents in the CWA feel the pain they will be scrambling for safety. Russell said that Dijak is indeed an impressive physical specimen and that everyone looks forward to seeing what he can do.
* Mildred Burke:
PWI Editor Bill Apter appeared in a taped interview with former Ring Angels champion Mildred Burke from the magazine offices in Blue Bell, PA. Apter congratulated her on being the longest reigning Ring Angels champion, enduring thirteen title defenses before losing the belt to Sherri Martel. He asked what was next for her in LOW and Burke said that while she was proud to have held that championship for so long, she has another true love besides competing and that is training. She revealed that KRU founder Rikidozan, who helped form the Ring Angels division along with Sumie Sakai, called her and asked her to take on the dual role of active wrestler and trainer of the division which she happily accepted. She said that she will be cutting back some on her in-ring schedule and was proud to reveal that four women she has been training with – Sakai, Karen Q, Tomoka Nakagawa, and Shayna Baszler – would be featured on the upcoming KRU tour. She noted that Baszler, who had a lengthy run in SHIMMER, is really hungry and could be a very viable challenger for Ring Angels champion Jazz in the future.
Quick Results:
1) Wrestling Is Fun: Vin Gerard, Pinkie Sanchez & Jakob Hammermeier defeated Mike Quackenbush, Mister ZERO & Boomer Hatfield
(Jakob Hammermeier pinned Mike Quackenbush – “Guten Nacht!”, a sit-out hangman’s neckbreaker)
2) The French Angel defeated Battle Kat
(Submission – Bearhug)
3) The Sheepherders (Butch Miller & Luke Williams) defeated Double-X (Mr. X & Mr. X II)
(Luke Williams pinned Mr. X – Running Knee Smash)
4) Big Van Vader defeated Ron Hutchison
(Pinfall – Released Power Bomb)
5) Scott Casey defeated Johnny Rodz
(Submission – Sleeper Hold)
6) LOW Tex-Arkana Television Title – Fatal Four Way Match: The Patriot defeated Juan Francisco de Coronado, The Mountie and Austin Aries to win the title
(The Patriot pinned Juan Francisco de Coronado – Standing Dropkick)
Show Highlights:
“Lightning” Mike Quackenbush was joined by Mister ZERO and rookie Boomer Hatfield in taking on the rudos trio of Vin Gerard, Pinkie Sanchez & Jakob Hammermeier in trios action under the Wrestling Is Fun banner. This match kicked off the show and featured a mix of action and entertainment, highlighted by senior referee Bryce Remsburg jumping in on a dance contest and showing everyone up. Things broke down at the end as the rudos trio rallied to win with Hammermeier using his neck tie to choke out Quackenbush before pinning him with the “Guten Nacht!”. It was a tough loss for Quackenbush who stopped by the announce desk post-match and said that whether he wins or loses he will continue to build the WIF brand throughout LOW.
The French Angel, who has left World of Sport to sign a contract with Golden Age Wrestling, overcame a strong offensive from Battle Kat to pick up an impressive win. Battle Kat, newly signed to ASW after competing in Kings Road United, almost picked up an upset early on but The Angel reversed the momentum. After an assault on the outside, The French Angel picked up the win via submission with a Bearhug.
The Sheepherders (Butch Miller & Luke Williams) from WOS dominated Double-X (Mr. X & Mr. X II) en route to a victory. This one was over quickly when Williams pinned Mr. X after the tandem Running Knee Smash maneuver.
Big Van Vader had a monstrous debut making quick work of veteran journeyman Ron Hutchison. It only took a few moves before Vader delivered the Released Power Bomb to score the pin. The imposing star from the Rocky Mountains called Lance Russell over to ringside afterward and said that he is going to run roughshod over the CWA and then it will be “Vader Time” in the PWI Invitational Cup Tournament.
The popular “Cowboy” Scott Casey of PCW took on the always tough “Unpredictable” Johnny Rodz in what was a highly competitive match. Rodz survived some near fall attempts before Casey caught him in the Sleeper Hold to score a submission victory.
The television main event was a single fall Fatal Four Way Match with Juan Francisco de Coronado (ECW) defending the LOW Tex-Arkana Television title against three former champions in The Mountie (PCW), The Patriot (ACW) and “A Double” Austin Aries (IWA). Aries came to ringside with his manager Percy Pringle III but new LOW Commissioner Teddy Long came out and ordered him to the back in order to have a fair match between the four men. Pringle said that he didn’t have to answer to Long but the manager was promptly escorted off by security much to the dismay of Aries. Also conspicuous by her absence was Sherri Martel, who manages The Mountie as part of SSA, Inc. in PCW. This was an incredible match filled with near falls across the board as all four men came close to winning it. The finishing sequence saw The Patriot nail Coronado with a Standing Dropkick and press to score the pin as The Mountie battled Aries at ringside. The Patriot became a two-time LOW Tex-Arkana Television champion as a result and he was joined in celebration by Marcus Alexander Bagwell, his tag team partner in Stars n’ Stripes, as Bagwell recently signed a contract with ACW reuniting the team in LOW after a long absence.
LOW All-Star Wrestling Top 10 Rankings:
1) S.D. Jones
2) Timber
3) Jim Powers
4) Larry Sharpe
5) Battle Kat
6) Lanny Poffo
7) Johnny Rodz
8) Ron Hutchison
9) Bruiser Costa
10) George South
* current champions not included in rankings