Cory's USWA

[Cory Olson]

Thanks to Dustin for the comments! I hope it does turn out to be an awesome match!

January 18, 2010
Card #233: Civic Coliseum in Knoxville

1) “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan pinned George South in the opener. Duggan pummeled South from pillar-to-post and scored the pin after a big clothesline. DUD

2) Buff Bagwell and Chris Candido beat Virgil and Johnny Rodz. This match had some history behind it, as Virgil was the semifinalist in the Battle Royal for the USWA Texas title shot at New Year’s Knockout VI[/color]. He tossed out “Buff Daddy”, but was soon after eliminated by “The Suicide Blonde”, who won the match. Bagwell and Candido showcased their double teaming skills, by keeping Virgil in the ring for several minutes. Bagwell and Candido attempted a double suplex on Virgil, but Virgil broke free and nailed both with some stiff rights, knocking legal man Candido out of the ring and allowing him to tag out to Rodz. “The Unpredictable One” came and delivered some big rights of his own. Candido fought back and executed the Blonde Bomb on Rodz, but pulled him up before the three-count in a mocking move. He and Bagwell double teamed Rodz some more, before Candido nailed a diving head butt to put Rodz down for the count. **½

3) Ivan Koloff made Brad Armstrong submit. “The Russian Bear” gave Armstrong a beating, even slipping in the use of the big chain he carries to the ring, while the referee’s view was blocked. Armstrong had his moments, even hitting a flying head scissors for a two-count. In the end, Koloff locked on his specialty—the Russian bear hug to force Armstrong to surrender. **¼

4) Ted DiBiase knocked out “Pretty Boy” Larry Sharpe. Sharpe had control early on and tried his hardest to score an upset. But DiBiase rallied back and put Sharpe down for the pin after his big knockout right hand. ½*

5) The Dream Team scored a dominant win over “Special Delivery” Jones and Cousin Luke. The Dream Team came to the ring first. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine took the microphone from Gary Michael Cappetta and said that the Knoxville fans were about to witness history, as they were going to witness the first appearance of the new best manager in the USWA. He stated that this man would lead him and Brutus Beefcake to the World Tag Team titles. He introduced their manager as New York City’s own—“Luscious” Johnny Valiant! The former USWA wrestler, who hasn’t competed in the USWA since 2006 and is the brother of World Tag Team champion “The Boogie Woogie Man” “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant, walked out in a shiny coat and with a cigar in mouth! He stood ringside in the corner of the team. The Dream Team looked more focused here, as they kept Jones in the ring the entire match. Beefcake hit the flying knee smash, but Luke made the save. Valentine came in, nailed Luke with an elbow, and tossed him out of the ring, taking him out of the match for the rest of the contest. Valentine later trapped Jones in the figure-four leglock and forced him to tap out. Valiant stood proudly with his team following their win. ¼*

6) USWA Texas champion “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton scored a quick win over “Jumping” Jim Brunzell. Eaton was aggressive in this one. He hit the Divorce Court, then went to the top and flew off with the Alabama Jam to score the pinfall. Eaton started off the New Year with a strong win and continues to impress. Although he has been primarily a tag team wrestler during his USWA tenure, he still is the longest reigning USWA Texas champion and has not been pinned or has not submitted in a singles bout since a December 2007 loss to former Southern Heavyweight and World Tag Team champion Giant Baba! DUD

7) Larry Zbyszko scored his second win over Antonino “Argentina” Rocca. Zbyszko was aggressive in the first few minutes. He hit a piledriver, but Rocca kicked out. He worked over Rocca’s back, hitting a backbreaker. He applied an abdominal stretch, punching Rocca’s back and even holding the ropes for leverage, while Paul Morton was focusing on Rocca. With the fans’ support, Rocca came back. He picked Zbyszko up in the Argentinian Backbreaker, but Zbyszko got a foot over the top rope. Zbyszko came back and hit another piledriver to score the pin. Bobby “The Brain” Heenan’s charge is on a roll so far in 2010! ***

8) Southern Heavyweight champion Johnny Valentine got an impressive victory over “Playboy” Buddy Rose. Rose, much like partner Larry Sharpe in his earlier match, attacked his opponent early on. He got Valentine down on the mat and came off the top rope three times with the Bombs Away, but Valentine still managed to kick out. Valentine battled back and blasted Rose with three Atomic Skullcrushers to score the pin. It was a quick, but action-packed match! *¾

9) Diamond Dallas Page and The Crusher defeated The Hennigs in a hard-fought match. The Hennigs actually held off their attack until the opening bell, perhaps wanting to show they could beat the popular team in a “fair” match. Curt hit the Hennig Plex on DDP early on, but Page was close to the ropes and got a foot on the bottom rope for the break. Rivals Larry “The Axe” and The Crusher were in the ring together. Larry got Crusher down and hit a big splash off the second rope. The Hennigs double teamed Crusher for a while, hitting a double Axe. Page came back, but was double teamed as well. He took over against Larry outside the ring, tossed him back in, then immediately hit a Diamond Cutter. Curt made the save for his dad. Crusher tagged in and hit the Crusher Bolo, but Larry got a foot on the bottom rope. Crusher had him locked in the bear hug and looked to have the big man out and weakened. Curt came in, but Scott Bowden cut him off. Meanwhile, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan jumped in the ring and pulled his own man near the ropes. He exited the ring and yelled at Bowden to pay attention. Bowden saw Larry in the ropes and called for a break. Crusher went after Heenan momentarily outside the ring, but then turned his attention back to the ring. It was a back-and-forth tag battle, with both members of both teams tagging in. In the end, Page got the advantage on “The Axe”, hitting a swinging neckbreaker, and then the Diamond Cutter for a second time to score the pin on the big man. ****

10) The main event was for the USWA World Tag Team titles. Champions “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka and “The Boogie Woogie Man” “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant put the gold on the line against The Heavenly Bodies. During the pre-main event introductions, Jim Cornette, in introducing his own men as he usually does, introduced them as the “next USWA World Tag Team” champions. The champs didn’t like this one bit and started off a house of fire against the challengers. It took a trip up from outside the ring by Cornette on Valiant for Dr. Tom Prichard to take over. Paul Morton momentarily was knocked down. As “The Boogie Woogie Man” checked on him, “Sweet” Stan Lane rolled him up for a near fall. Valiant later caught Lane in his sleeper, but Prichard made a save and allowed Lane to recover. The Bodies double teamed the “Superfly” hitting the Flapjack on the Fijian warrior. The champs later double teamed Lane, hitting a double back elbow. The bout spilled to the floor. Cornette attacked Valiant from behind, while Morton was tied up by Snuka and Prichard in the ring. The attack dazed Valiant. Lane grabbed one of the World Tag Team title belts from the announcers’ table and attempted to smash Valiant with it, but “Handsome” Jimmy intercepted it, grabbed, and clocked Lane with it. Unfortunately Morton saw this act by “Boogie Woogie” and called for the bell, giving the challengers the win by disqualification. Fans were not happy by this. Although the champs still had the belts, they were not satisfied in losing, as they watched Cornette and The Bodies return to the locker room, celebrating like they had actually become champs! ***¼

[du5tin]

Yet another solid card from you, Cory.

I love how you play Valiant.

[hollywoodlyn]

Great card Cory, knew the Johnny V manager situation was coming. I look forward to see how you play him as a knowledgable student of his brother.

[Deleted]

SOLID fed and very good read as always Corey.
When's Partners going to make an impact in the USWA? So many great guys like MAGNUM T.A., TERRY GORDY and NIGEL.

[Vegas]

Jan 23, 2010 5:55:25 GMT -5 @kevinb said:

SOLID fed and very good read as always Corey.
When's Partners going to make an impact in the USWA? So many great guys like MAGNUM T.A., TERRY GORDY and NIGEL.

Since Grey mentioned Legends Partners,

I'd personally really be interested to see how Brian Kendrick (who I signed ) and Paul London do in the USWA!

[Cory Olson]

Thanks to Dustin, Lyn, Kevin, and Mr. V. for the comments!

Kevin and Vegas, it will probably a little while before some of the bigger names from Legends Partners debut. But one wrestler will debut in about two cards!

I will have the Championship Wrestling update posted, hopefully, this weekend. Thanks for continuing to read!

[Cory Olson]

The January 23 edition of USWA Championship Wrestling was definitely a newsworthy episode!
• The Crusher announced who his four selected lumberjacks would be for his return match against Nick Bockwinkel for the USWA World Heavyweight title on February 8 at the Mid-South Coliseum. He said that he had asked his allies Diamond Dallas Page and Antonino “Argentina” Rocca, as well as current World Tag Team champions “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka and “The Boogie Woogie Man” “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant to be at ringside. “Da” Crusher said he trusts that these four men will make sure the match stays in the ring, whether it’s himself or the champ who goes to the floor.
• Later in the episode, the USWA World champ responded by announcing his choices. To little surprise, he stated that fellow Heenan Family members Larry Zbyszko and The Hennigs will be at ringside. Lance Russell asked if that meant Bobby “The Brain” Heenan would be the fourth lumberjack. The manager said that while he would be honored to help out, he didn’t want to risk getting injured by wrestlers getting thrown out of the ring or lumberjack wrestlers trying to keep order. The manager said he will sit at ringside with Russell and Dave Brown, but that he had made a deal with the USWA’s newest manager “Luscious” Johnny Valiant, for Greg “The Hammer” Valentine to serve as the champ’s fourth choice. Heenan stated that Valentine gave The Hennigs quite the challenge in a tag team match in December and they respect him as a wrestler. They trust he will do “the right thing” and serve as an impartial lumberjack.
• Speaking of Greg Valentine, he, Brutus Beefcake, and their new manager Johnny Valiant were interviewed during the program. Bill Apter asked Johnny V. what made him want to return to the USWA as a manager. Valiant stated that he had been wrestling around the world, including teaming with the third Valiant brother “Gentleman” Jerry. He recently suffered a back injury and needed to take some time off. He had been keeping up on his brother Jimmy, whom he labeled the “black sheep” of the Valiant family. He called Jimmy an embarrassment to the Valiant name, stating that at Valiant family gatherings, he’s a “goof” and a “slob”, always getting food in his big beard! The “Luscious One” stated that since he couldn’t currently compete, he wanted to have a team that could defeat his brother and “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka and become a respectable tag team to hold the USWA gold! With his knowledge of “The Boogie Woogie Man”, he can lead Valentine and Beefcake to the championship!
• Speaking of these two tag teams, they will meet in a non-title match on February 8 at the Mid-South Coliseum.
• “The Russian Bear” Ivan Koloff reiterated how more international wrestlers would be joining him in the USWA in 2010. He stated that one man, a fellow Russian wrestler, will be debuting on February 8 in Memphis. Boris Zhukov will debut at the Mid-South Coliseum! Koloff said this Russian despises Americans as much as he does and wants to join Koloff in his conquest of the USWA!
• It was announced that as a result of their disqualification victory over the World Tag Team champions this past Monday, The Heavenly Bodies will get a rematch against Jimmy Snuka and Jimmy Valiant on February 15 in the main event at the Bell Expo Center at the USWA’s first card in Belton, TX! Cornette was, not surprisingly, bragging about his team’s victory and labeling them the “next World Tag Team champions”.

The USWA comes back to the Sailors & Soldiers Memorial Coliseum in Evansville on January 25!
• Brad Armstrong continues his goal of trying to run Jim Cornette and The Heavenly Bodies out of the USWA. This time he’ll team up with “Special Delivery” Jones. S.D. has gotten his share of upset wins in the past. Can he and Armstrong upset The Bodies?
• Before he gets a rematch for the World Heavyweight title, The Crusher will take on of the lumberjacks and his rival Larry “The Axe” Hennig. Even though Crusher and Diamond Dallas Page got a big victory over The Hennigs, “The Man Who Made Milwaukee Famous” has yet to beat the elderly Hennig by pinfall or submission. Can he finally do it in Evansville?
• Speaking of DDP, he will face Ed “Strangler” Lewis in a rematch from Tupelo. Page shocked the world with his quick victory over the three-time World champ. Each man now holds a victory over the other, so this will be the “rubber match”. Who will come out the winner?
• The World Heavyweight champion Nick Bockwinkel will be in non-title action, taking on Antonino “Argentina” Rocca. Much like The Crusher-Larry Hennig battle, this will see one of the competitors in the upcoming Lumberjack Match face one of the lumberjacks. More than that, Rocca will be looking for a win over the World champ after a bit of slump lately. He has beaten Bockwinkel in 2009. Can he do it again in the New Year?
• The main event will be a big rematch for the USWA Southern Heavyweight championship, as champ Johnny Valentine will defend against former champ and the man he beat for the belt, Curt Hennig! The singles bouts between these two have been physical encounters. Can Hennig regain the gold or will Valentine retain?
All this plus “Tiger Man” John Pesek, The Dream Team, Chris Candido, and more in action!

[Cory Olson]

January 25, 2010
Card #234: Sailors & Soldiers Memorial Coliseum in Evansville

1) Ted DiBiase and Steve “Dr. Death” Williams got a strong win in the opener against Virgil and Johnny Rodz. The popular duo of DiBiase and Williams showed great tag team work, keeping DiBiase’s former bodyguard Virgil in the ring the entire match. Virgil put up a good fight, but couldn’t make the tag to Rodz. He managed to get to the ropes, while locked in DiBiase’s figure-four, but was later busted open by DiBiase’s big knockout punch. DiBiase and Williams hit a double football tackle, then “Dr. Death” executed the Oklahoma Stampede to put Virgil down for the pin. *

2) Ivan Koloff got a disqualification win over Cousin Luke. The hillbilly pounded away on “The Russian Bear” from the opening bell, but Koloff battled back. He took the bout to the floor. Koloff grabbed his chains, as Sam Platania warned him. Koloff walked over to Luke, but got clocked by Luke’s “lucky” horseshoe. Unluckily for Luke, Platania saw this and called for the bell. Luke seemed delighted at having used his weapon first, even though it meant a loss! DUD

3) Chris Candido was victorious in singles competition, pinning George South. Candido showcased his aerial skills in this bout, doing a somersault plancha to the floor on South, as well as hitting a top rope leg drop for a near fall. He used another top rope maneuver—the diving head butt to score the pin. The same move also brought him and Buff Bagwell a win in tag team competition last week. Moves like those could bring Candido the USWA Texas title in a few weeks! DUD

4) “Tiger Man” John Pesek defeated Candido’s partner Buff Bagwell by countout. Bagwell got the advantage in the opening minutes, using dirty tactics to take over. He hit the Buff Blockbuster early on, but Pesek kicked out. Pesek fought back, using dirty tactics himself, but primarily using his wrestling skills. He focused the attack on Bagwell’s arm, using the double hammerlock. Bagwell got to the ropes on the Tiger Man Toehold. Pesek locked on a lateral press keylock, which brought him victory against Antonino “Argentina” Rocca two weeks ago, but Bagwell survived the hold. Bagwell came back and hit another Blockbuster, but again Pesek kicked out. The fight spilled to the floor. Bagwell had Pesek up against the ring post, choking him. Pesek broke free and whipped Bagwell into the ring post, right on the right arm he had worked on. Pesek rolled back in the ring in time to get a countout win. Fans cheered Pesek, as he has gained followers with his strong wins, and they don’t like “Buff Daddy’s” arrogance! ***

5) The Dream Team beat The Killer Bees. The Dream Team looked very focused here against the former World Tag Team champions. New manager “Luscious” Johnny Valiant got physically involved, throwing some punches at “Jumping” Jim Brunzell outside the ring. The Dream Team kept Brunzell in for several minutes, until he finally made the hot tag to B. Brian Blair. Blair came in a house of fire against Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, but made a mistake in telegraphing a back body drop. This allowed Valentine to grab him and hit a piledriver for a near fall. Valentine tagged out to Beefcake. The Dream Team performed a great double team maneuver, with Beefcake pressing Blair up above his head, Valentine quickly coming off the top rope with a double sledge to Blair’s back, and then Beefcake slamming Blair down into a backbreaker. Beefcake made a cover and scored the pin. They were impressive against former champs, but how will they do against the current champs in a couple of weeks in Memphis? **¼

6) The Heavenly Bodies scored a quick and cheap win over Brad Armstrong and S.D. Jones. Armstrong started off strong against “Sweet” Stan Lane. Dr. Tom Prichard snuck over to Armstrong’s own corner and pulled “Special Delivery” off the apron. Jones was ready to punch him, but Prichard struck first with brass knuckles, which knocked Jones out and kept him out of the match. Prichard returned to his corner, tagged in, and he and Lane hit the Flapjack. Prichard immediately followed up with a knucks punch for Armstrong, while Jim Cornette distracted Tom Branch. Prichard tossed the knucks to Lane to hide them and then made the cover to score the easy pin. DUD

7) The Crusher scored his first pinfall win in singles over Larry “The Axe” Hennig. Hennig survived several Crusher Bolos throughout the match. He used a steel chair outside the ring, while Bobby Heenan had Tommy Marlin’s attention diverted. Hennig hit The Axe, but Crusher kicked out. Hennig knocked Crusher into the ropes with a forearm, but Crusher rebounded and immediately blasted him with the Bolo! He made a cover, but “The Brain” was again distracting the ref. Crusher hit another Bolo a few minutes later to score the pin. The crowd went crazy at Crusher’s big win! Heenan jumped in the ring with a chair to try and ambush Crusher, but Crusher blasted him with a Bolo and sent “The Weasel” flying. Crusher then proceeded to stomp Hennig, smash him in the stomach with the chair, and locked on a stomach claw, angry at the problems Hennig and The Heenan Family had caused him in recent months. The other Heenan Family members came to ringside. Crusher released the claw and grabbed the chair that Heenan had had, threatening to take them out. He left the ring with the chair, allowing the Family to check on Hennig. They helped him to his feet and had to help him back to the locker room. ***

8) Diamond Dallas Page scored his second win over Ed “Strangler” Lewis. This match wasn’t as quick as the last one. Lewis worked over Page, outwrestling him and trying to wear him out. He locked on a full nelson, but Page got to the ropes. Lewis attempted a double leg, but missed and hit the turnbuckle, then rolled to the floor for a breather. He beat the count back in, but got immediately hit with a Diamond Cutter. Page covered Lewis, but the “Strangler” got a foot on the ropes. Page hit a top rope clothesline, then another Cutter, but Lewis somehow managed to kick out. DDP hit a third Cutter and finally scored the pin. He helped Lewis to his feet afterward and shook his hand in a show of sportsmanship. Lewis seemed frustrated with his loss. After having one of the best win-loss records in 2009, the “Strangler” starts off 2010 0-2. ***

9) USWA World Heavyweight champion Nick Bockwinkel got a submission victory over Antonino “Argentina” Rocca. This was a back-and-forth competitive match up, with the advantage changing hands several times. Rocca got Bockwinkel up in the Argentinian Backbreaker, but Bockwinkel got a foot on the top rope. Bockwinkel used the sleeper to try and put Rocca out, Rocca got to the ropes. The fans were behind Rocca and it apparently helped him regain control momentarily. Rocca went up to the rope, but Bockwinkel got to his feet and charged at the corner to try and knock Rocca off. “Argentina” saw him coming and leap frogged him. Bockwinkel immediately spun around and grabbed Rocca in the sleeper again. Rocca was caught off guard and fought his hardest, but went down to the hold. As Bockwinkel celebrated his win, Larry Zbyszko came to the ring. He proceeded to pick Rocca up and deliver a big karate kick. Zbyszko then lifted Rocca up in a piledriver position, while Bockwinkel went to the top rope. The champ leapt off and pushed Rocca’s feet down, executing a spike piledriver. Rocca lay motionless. Diamond Dallas Page and The Crusher ran down and ran Bockwinkel, Zbyszko, and Bobby Heenan off. Rocca had to be taken out of the arena on a stretcher. The Heenan Family apparently was giving some “payback” for Crusher’s earlier attack on Larry Hennig! ***¾

10) The pre-main event intermission gave the fans a chance to settle down after all the carnage they had seen and allowed them to get focused on the rematch for the USWA Southern Heavyweight championship as Johnny Valentine defended against former champ Curt Hennig. The challenger, perhaps fighting for his father who was attacked earlier, seemed to have a counter for each of the champ’s moves. Valentine hit one Atomic Skullcrusher, but Hennig kicked out. Valentine had the advantage and knocked Hennig out of the ring. Bobby Heenan distracted Tom Branch and Hennig took advantage by smashing Valentine in the head with a steel chair. Hennig later blasted Valentine with a running knee smash and drew blood. The Crusher came down to ringside and was watching things, as “The Brain” looked nervous, having already felt Crusher’s wrath once. Hennig hit a big missile dropkick for a near fall. Valentine looked battered and beaten, but fought back. He whipped Hennig into the ropes and bent over for a back drop, but Hennig caught him in the Hennig Plex. He held Valentine’s shoulders down, but before Branch could count three, Crusher, out of nowhere came off the second rope with a knee drop to Hennig. Branch immediately called for the bell and awarded the match to Hennig by disqualification. Hennig rolled out of the ring and retreated to locker room with Heenan. Valentine got to his feet and once he realized what had happened shoved The Crusher, telling him he didn’t need his help. Crusher tried to calm him down, but Valentine wouldn’t listen, as he grabbed the Southern title belt and went to the locker room. Crusher followed him and talked to him. USWA cameras caught Crusher saying “I’ve got a deal for you.” The two walked to the back together, out of view of the cameras. (In an interesting coincidence, this was the third USWA main event in as many cards to end in a disqualification or countout, with the challenger(s) winning, but not winning the titles!) ***

[Deleted]

AWESOME card bro!!!

The Crusher versus Heenan war is definitely coming to a major head.
What kind of deal does he have for THE MAN Johnny Valentine?


Keep 'em coming............

[Cory Olson]

Thanks to Kevin for the comments! And Happy (belated) Birthday! Sorry I missed it!

After the wild events of this past Monday night’s card in Evansville, the January 30 edition of USWA Championship Wrestling had some big news!
• Early in the show, it was revealed that Larry “The Axe” Hennig had suffered broken ribs, due to the attack after his match with The Crusher. Hennig will be out of action for about two months. During an interview with The Heenan Family, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan stated that Crusher should be suspended and not receive his title rematch because of his actions. He stated that he knew the USWA Committee would not do anything about this, so the Family took matters into their hands and took out Antonino “Argentina” Rocca (more on that later in the report). He said that World champion Nick Bockwinkel would now be short one of his lumberjacks in his upcoming title defense. Since Heenan had made one deal with “Luscious” Johnny Valiant, he was making another and announced that Brutus Beefcake would join tag team partner Greg Valentine at ringside on February 8.
• Former Southern Heavyweight champion Antonino Rocca suffered a more severe injury at the hands of Nick Bockwinkel and Larry Zbyszko from the spike piledriver. Rocca suffered a broken neck and will be out of action indefinitely. The Crusher entered the studio to talk to Lance Russell. Russell asked Crusher what he meant in Evansville when he told current Southern champ Johnny Valentine he had a “deal” for him. Crusher said that after Rocca was attacked by the Heenan Family, he was taken out of the arena on a stretcher. Although he didn’t have the doctor’s report at the time, he had a feeling that Rocca was in serious trouble. He knew during the main event that he needed another lumberjack on his side for the 8th. He asked Valentine in the locker room at the Sailors and Soldiers Memorial Coliseum if Valentine would be his fourth lumberjack. “Da” Crusher mentioned that the two aren’t the best of friends, but he knows Valentine is not a fan of Bockwinkel and The Heenan Family either. Valentine entered the studio, with his bandaged up from his title defense against Curt Hennig. The Southern champ reiterated that he is not a fan of “The Man Who Made Milwaukee Famous”, but he is far from a fan of Nick Bockwinkel. Crusher stated that the other part of his deal was if he (Crusher) wins the belt at the Mid-South Coliseum, he will grant Valentine the first shot at the World Heavyweight championship. Valentine agreed to this and the two shook hands to seal the deal. So now we have both Valentines serving as lumberjacks, but each one chosen by a different combatant!
• In other news from this episode, another new wrestler will soon be entering the USWA rings, as Bryan Danielson will make his debut on February 15 at the Bell Expo Center in Bell, TX! Danielson has been making a name for himself in several wrestling promotions in the U.S. and Japan. He brings to the ring a unique offensive style, that ranges from great pure wrestling to high flying! It will be interesting to see what the "American Dragon" can accomplish in the USWA!

With this Monday being the USWA’s week off, tune in for next Saturday’s Championship Wrestling report and the preview for the huge February 8 card from the USWA’s home—the Mid-South Coliseum!