Thanks to Stu for the comments!April 24, 2017
Card #505: Earl Belle Community Center in Jonesboro1) “Dastardly” Danny Doring and The Amish RoadKill scored a dastardly win over S.D. and S.T. Jones by disqualification in the opener. “Special Delivery” and “Soul Train” controlled Doring for the first few minutes. Doring tagged to “The Angry Amish Warrior,” who worked over S.T. until the former bodyguard battled back with some combo punches. He tagged back to “Philadelphia’s Favorite Son,” who nailed RoadKill with the head butt. He covered RoadKill but Doring broke up the pin attempt. RoadKill recovered and hit the Barn Burner on S.D. then tagged Doring back into the bout. Doring immediately went up top and went for the Danaconda. S.D. rolled out of the way and Doring crashed hard. “Special Delivery” went for a cover but Doring kicked out. S.D. tagged back to “Soul Train” who ran after Doring. Doring scampered to his corner. RoadKill from the apron nailed S.T. with a low blow, which Tom Branch didn’t see due to the pile-up of wrestlers. S.T. dropped and Doring did a Dastardly Strut. He pulled S.T. off the mat and went to administer more punishment but before he could S.T. nailed him with a low blow of his own! Unfortunately for the Joneses, Branch did see that one and called for the bell after six minutes, giving the rulebreakers the win. The Jonesboro fans berated Doring and RoadKill for their tainted win! **¼
2) Bobby Shane scored a tainted pinfall on “Mr. USA” Tony Atlas. Shane seemed to be under directions from “The Mouth of The South” Jimmy Hart not only to defeat Atlas but also to hurt him prior to Atlas’ bout with fellow First Family of Wrestling member Harley Race at
Derby City Stampede. Shane loaded up his kneepad early in the bout and smashed Atlas with it, which dazed the powerhouse for much of the bout. Shane scored a near fall a few minutes into the bout with a reverse rolling cradle. Atlas made a comeback and managed to hit the press slam followed by the big splash. He covered Shane but Shane was near the ropes and got his foot on the bottom rope for a break. Atlas sent Shane into the corner and charged in at him with a flying splash. Shane got his loaded knee up and smashed “Mr. USA” in the face. Atlas dropped to the mat. Shane made cover and just to be more nefarious, put his feet on second ropes, and scored the pinfall after 10 minutes of action. Shane fulfilled Hart’s wishes in this one! **½
3) Former USWA World Heavyweight champion “The Russian Bear” Ivan Koloff returned after 5½ years and scored a dominant pin on Jake “The Milkman” Milliman. Koloff was accompanied by both his new manager Sir Oliver Humperdink and the man he will be teaming with, Mr. Saito. This was an impressive appearance by Koloff as he attacked Milliman right at the bell and worked him over. He sent the Nashville native into the ropes and caught him on the rebound with his new finisher—the Russian Sickle, which is a powerful clothesline. The Sickle was enough to put Milliman down for the three-count after 25 seconds! Koloff looked impressive in singles competition. How will he and the Japanese Olympian fare as a team? DUD (
NOTE: This was a two-move match!)
4) King Kong Bundy picked up a hard-fought win against Colt “Boom Boom” Cabana. As the bell sounded, Bundy mocked Cabana, not taking him seriously as an opponent. Cabana didn’t appreciate that and attacked Bundy aggressively, hitting a flying hip attack. Bundy cut him off and used his size and strength to wear down Cabana. He slammed Cabana hard with a body slam and went for a cover but the host of The Art of Wrestling kicked out. Bundy tossed Cabana out of the ring. Cabana climbed back up on the ring apron. The New Jersey giant went to grab him but Cabana cut him off with a punch to the face. Cabana came back into the ring and nailed Bundy with a folding Thesz Press and went right into the cover but Bundy kicked out. Cabana attempted to go for the Chicago Crab but couldn’t turn the 446-pounder. Bundy rallied back and hit a backbreaker. He picked Cabana off the mat and sent him into the corner and nailed him with the Atlantic City Avalanche. Cabana collapsed to the mat and Bundy covered him to score the pin, demanding the five-count for good measure. Jimmy Hart was very pleased with Bundy’s win! **¾
5) Billy Black Lyons scored a big win in singles over “Superstar” Bill Dundee. Lyons was accompanied by his tag team partner and Dundee’s opponent at Derby City Stampede, Doctor X. (X sported a nice suit tonight.) Lyons had the initial advantage but Dundee surprised him with a sunset flip for a near fall. The Aussie grappler blasted Lyons with a dropkick, knocking him out of the ring. Lyons was almost counted out but with X’s help, beat the count. Lyons took control a few minutes later. He worked over Dundee’s leg. He knocked him out of the ring and distracted Tommy Marlin, while Doctor X attacked Dundee’s leg. X walked away from the “Superstar” as Marlin turned around. Marlin began to count Dundee out but with the fans supporting him, he got back in by the count of nine. As Dundee got back in, Lyons hit him with a cross hiplock and went for a pin but Dundee kicked out. Lyons worked over Dundee some more and went for a submission with the X-cellent sleeperhold. Dundee started to drop. Suddenly, his tag team partner the World Heavyweight champion “The Boogie Woogie Man” “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant showed up at ringside. Valiant still can’t say much, due to his trachea injury. But his appearance fired up the Jonesboro fans and he started slapping the ring apron. Dundee battled to his feet and fought out of the sleeper. Lyons maintained control and hit an atomic drop for a two-count. X ambushed the World champion from behind with a forearm smash. Valiant turned around and responded to the Doctor with some big roundhouse punches. The two battled back to the locker room, while the match went on. Dundee and Lyons battled back-and-forth. Lyons continued the onslaught on Dundee’s injured leg, using dropkicks to the knee. He got Dundee down on the mat and clamped on the figure-four leglock. Dundee fought hard for the ropes but ultimately passed out. Lyons yelled at Marlin to count Dundee’s shoulders down. Marlin did and Lyons scored a big win after 14 minutes. One wonders how this will impact Dundee going into the match with Doctor X in Louisville! ***½
6) Harley Race dominated Hillbilly Jim and picked up a pinfall. Jim had some early advantage but Race took over and outwrestled him. He picked up the big Jim for a shoulder breaker about a minute in and scored a two-count. He clamped on an Indian Deathlock and held Jim down for about 45 seconds before Jim managed to grab the ropes for a break. Race maintained control and hit a side backbreaker to score the pinfall in about three minutes. The First Family of Wrestling member remains undefeated and will have a big match with Tony Atlas at
Derby City Stampede! ½*
7) Brad and Brian Armstrong picked up a big win over Chris Candido and Dan “The Beast” Severn after 22 minutes of action! The Jonesboro fans berated Candido, Severn, and Jim Cornette for Candido and Southern Heavyweight champion “Exotic” Adrian Street’s attack on “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson last week in Nashville. The Armstrongs had the early advantage against Candido for the first few minutes. Candido surprised “The Road Dogg” with a running neckbreaker out of nowhere for a near fall. Both men were hurt and both managed to tag their partners. Brad struck first with fast-paced offense. He hit the Russian leg sweep and went for a cover. Candido had come in for a save but Brian came out to counter him. Tom Branch saw Brian first and warned him to get back to the Armstrongs’ corner. With Branch’s attention diverted, Candido hopped up to the second turnbuckle and came off with a leg drop to the back of Brad’s neck. He then quickly turned Brad onto his back and put Severn on top, then returned to his corner. Branch turned around to count “The Beast’s” pinfall but Brad kicked out. Severn himself was still dazed and seemed unaware of what Candido had done. Brad managed to roll to the Armstrongs’ corner and tag Brian before Severn could mount too much offense. Brian struck quickly and managed to execute the pump handle slam on Severn. He made a cover but again Candido made a save, seeming frustrated that Severn hadn’t tagged him. The Armstrongs double teamed “The Beast” but Severn caught Brian in a front chancery and took him to his team’s corner. Candido yelled for a tag and Severn obliged. Candido came in and worked over Brian, telling Severn that’s how it was done. Cornette told his men to stay focused. Candido sent Brian into the ropes and then telegraphed an attempt at a back body drop. Brian gave him a kick to the chest, knocking him up against the ropes. Brian then struck “The Suicide Blonde” with a clothesline that sent him up-and-over the ropes and to the floor. Candido was almost counted out but with Severn’s help and Cornette’s encouragement, he made it back into the ring. The Armstrongs worked over Candido but the former Texas champion came back. He tagged Severn again and Severn tried to make Brad submit to a rear naked choke sleeper. Brad quickly scrambled for the ropes for a break. Severn controlled Brad for a few more minutes until Brad leap frogged him coming off the ropes. Severn spun around but he and Brad knocked heads and both went down. Branch put a count on them and Brad tagged his brother first. Severn recovered and surprised Brian with a single leg takedown and then showcased his mat wrestling skills. Candido gloated to the crowd about his partner’s accomplishments, while still holding the tag rope. He turned back to the action and as he did Severn tagged his hand. Branch ruled this was a legal tag and Candido came into the ring unprepared. He was upset at Severn for tagging him unaware and started yelling at him, as Severn returned to the apron. This allowed Brian to surprise Candido with a reverse rolling cradle, which sent Candido head-first into Severn! Severn fell to the arena floor while Brian went for the pin and got it. The Jonesboro fans popped big for this pin out of nowhere and the Armstrongs celebrated their huge win before getting an opportunity at
Derby City Stampede for a shot at the World Tag Team titles! As the Armstrongs returned to the locker room, Candido was outraged at Severn. Cornette stepped between the two and calmed them down before tempers got out of control! ***¾
8) In a first-time meeting, “The Gamesmaster” Kevin Sullivan scored a quick countout win over The Patriot. As the Patriot made his way to the ring, he was accompanied by Tommy Gilbert (sporting street clothes). The Patriot started off strong, hoping to get a quick win on the man who brought the Dark Patriot to the USWA. He hit the Patriot Missile early but Sullivan got a foot on the ropes. Sir Oliver Humperdink ran over and nailed Gilbert with his cane. Gilbert was hurt but had the strength to go after the manager. Meanwhile, Sullivan had recovered and knocked the Patriot out of the ring on the other side. Suddenly, the Dark Patriot appeared and delivered what appeared to be a loaded head butt to his rival, as Patriot was knocked out on the floor. As quickly as he had appeared, the “bogus” Patriot was gone once again out of the Earl Belle Community Center. Tommy Marlin saw the Patriot down on the floor, as did Gilbert. Gilbert went to help him but it was too late, as Marlin’s count hit 10 and he awarded the bout via countout to “The Gamesmaster” after only about four minutes of action. Humperdink risked his own safety to distract Gilbert and pull off the attack and his sinister plot worked, as he and Sullivan returned to the locker room. Gilbert was unaware of what had happened, as he helped the Patriot back to the locker room. ¼*
9) Mad Dog Vachon picked up a huge win, albeit by nefarious means, with a pinfall over World Heavyweight champion “The Boogie Woogie Man” “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant in a non-title match. Vachon charged Valiant right at the bell, wanting to get revenge for the World champion interfering in his match with “Superstar” Bill Dundee last month in Jackson. He hit two separate backbreakers for near falls. Valiant rallied back and hit the Boogie Woogie elbow drop. The Algerian brawler rolled out of the ring for a breather. Suddenly, Doctor X was back at ringside, consoling his ally. “Boogie Woogie” came out and threatened the masked man to stay out of the action. While Sam Platania warned X about this as well, he didn’t see that Vachon had grabbed his chain, wrapped it around his fist, and nailed the World champion in the stomach with it! He threw in another chain punch for good measure before quickly removing the chain. He tossed “Handsome” Jimmy back inside and hit two gutbusters to the injured stomach. He went for a cover but Jimmy kicked out. Vachon kept on the attack and hit the piledriver to score the big pinfall after seven minutes of action. “Superstar” Bill Dundee, still favoring an injured knee from his earlier loss to Vachon and X’s ally Billy Black Lyons, made his way to the ring as quickly as he could in his condition. He threatened X and Vachon to stay away, while he checked on his tag team partner. It was a big night of wins for X’s allies! **½
10) The main event was a return bout for the USWA Southern Heavyweight championship. Current champion “Exotic” Adrian Street put the title on the line against “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson. These two have had some intense battles over the last four months. Danielson is the only wrestler to have scored a decisive win over Street and did so back in February in a non-title bout in Evansville by submission with the LeBell Lock. The victory earned Danielson his first ever Southern title shot a few weeks later in Memphis at the USWA’s 500th card. Danielson won that match again but by countout so Street retained the title. With a lot of momentum on Danielson’s, Street chose last week in Nashville not only to get involved in Danielson’s No-Disqualification Match with the champion’s ally Chris Candido but also help Candido severely injure Danielson’s back. Doctors said Danielson should take four months for the injure to heal but Jonesboro fans were not surprised when
“Flight of The Valkyries” came on the speakers and the challenger entered the Earl Belle Community Center. Danielson sported a heavy back brace (legally approved for competition by the USWA Committee and the Arkansas State Athletic Commission) and was very slow in making his way to the ring but had a look of determination on his face to fight his hardest, knowing the importance of a main event match for a USWA championship. Street, flanked by Jim Cornette and Dan “The Beast” Severn, entered next to
“Breakin’ Bones.” (Severn and Cornette seemed to have patched things up after Severn and Candido’s earlier loss to the Armstrongs.) The flamboyant champion seemed especially arrogant, knowing his opponent’s physical condition. Both men stared each other down from opposite corners as Gary Michael Cappetta made his pre-main event ring introductions.
The bell rang and both men came out slugging. Street gained the upper hand with some hard blows to the injured back. He caught Danielson in a back slide a minute into the match but the challenger kicked out. Street controlled the bout for the first several minutes. He caught Danielson with the crucifix but “Dragon” kicked out at 2¾. Street tried for a submission with the London Bridge Leglock. Although the maneuver worked on the challenger’s leg, the champion’s bridging also put pressure on the injured back. Danielson was in a lot of pain but managed to get to the ropes for a break. With the crown behind him, the challenger rallied back. He got Street down on his knees and then hit a series of roundhouse kicks with the crowd chanting along at each one. The “Exotic One” crumpled to the mat so Danielson tried for a pin but the champion kicked out. Danielson went for the LeBell Lock, which is how he beat Street back in February in Evansville. Street fought Danielson’s grip hard but the challenger finally cinched it in. Street was far from the ropes and desperate for a break, having tapped to the move once before in a non-title bout and not wanting to tap in a title bout. He managed to get his mouth up to Danielson’s grip and bite the challenger’s hands! Danielson released the hold but stayed in control, fueled up by Street’s actions. Desperate to try and take the title from his rival, Danielson took a high risk in going up to the top rope. He came off with a missile dropkick. Typically, “Dragon” follows this up with a nice kip-up but his back was in too much pain. He simply rolled on top of Street for a cover but the British glam rocker kicked out. Cornette was panicking at seeing Danielson compete so hard with an injury and knowing his man could lose the Southern title at any moment. Danielson and Street brawled outside the ring. Danielson rammed Street’s back into the announcers’ table, trying to injure his back in revenge. Tom Branch warned Danielson about his actions. Danielson tossed Street back inside. Street went to the corner but Danielson followed. He lifted Street on top of the ropes and then climbed up behind him. He executed a back superplex but ended up in pain himself from the high-risk maneuver. Branch started to count out both men but Street got to his feet by seven. He dropped an elbow on Danielson, then covered him to score the pinfall and retain the Southern title after 16 minutes of action! Cornette was ecstatic by the win. As Street held up his glammed-up title belt, Colt “Boom Boom” Cabana, recovered from his earlier bout, came down to check on Danielson and help him to the back. The Jonesboro fans were incredibly supportive of Danielson’s effort despite his injured back. ***½