Cory's USWA

[victoryroll84]

All caught up again and fantastic as always Cory

[neilybob]

another excellent show Cory.

[Cory Olson]

Thanks to Victory Roll and Neilybob for the comments!

January 22, 2018
Card #532: Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Coliseum in Evansville

1) “The Unpredictable” Johnny Rodz scored a win in the opener in short time, over Nacho Barrera. Barrera went after the New Yorker right at the bell but Rodz rallied back. He picked up Barrera and hit a shoulder breaker to score the pinfall in about two minutes! DUD

2) The Uptown Boys made short work of Kenny Shane and Johnny Dotson. Marty Jannetty worked over Shane and scored the pinfall in about a minute before Ric McCord or Dotson could tag into the match. Dotson attempted a pin save but was met with a dropkick from McCord! The new Uptown Boys continue to impress! DUD

3) Baron Von Raschke picked up a win over “Sodbuster” Kenny Jay. The “Clawmaster” dominated Jay. Jay managed to kick out of a pin attempt after two running knee smashes but got put down for the pin by the brain claw in about two minutes! DUD

4) Billy Gunn was victorious over “Pretty Boy” Larry Sharpe in about a minute. Sharpe was aggressive at the bell but Gunn rallied back and hit the Famouser to score the quick pin. Gunn looked impressive tonight as he looks forward to challenging “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson for the USWA Southern Heavyweight championship in the main event next week in Knoxville! DUD

5) “Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce picked up a huge win over “Superstar” Bill Dundee in an action-packed 18-minute match. Pearce gained the early advantage when Mr. Hughes grabbed Dundee’s ankle from the outside to distract him and allow Pearce to take control. Pearce hit a Last Ride lariat, as well as a swinging neckbreaker for near falls. He worked over the Aussie’s leg and tried for a figure-four leglock but Dundee made the ropes for a break. Dundee took control, got Pearce down on the mat, and hit a jumping knee drop for a two-count. He hit the Superstar Bomb a few moments later but Pearce was near enough to the ropes that he could get his foot on the bottom rope. Dundee tried for a sleeperhold and Pearce started to drop but managed to fall into the middle rope for a break. Dundee went up to the top again and came off with a flying fist drop, which is how he defeated Mad Dog Vachon in the Dog Collar Match at New Year’s Knockout XIV. Pearce ended up bleeding from the punch and Dundee went for a cover but Jim Cornette jumped up and distracted Scott Bowden. While Bowden was distracted, Hughes reached in and nailed Dundee with a big right hand. Pearce recovered first and regained control. He worked over the “Superstar” for a few minutes and hit the jumping piledriver to score the pinfall. As Pearce, Cornette, and Hughes returned to the locker room, Dundee recovered and stared down the three. “The Boogie Woogie Man” “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant came down to check on his partner. You can bet that Dundee will be out for revenge when he goes one-on-one with Hughes next week in Knoxville! ****

6) In a match-up of masked men, The Patriot picked up a huge win over former Southern champion Doctor X. X was aggressive at the start. He attempted the figure-four very early but the Patriot made the ropes. With the Evansville fans on his side, the Patriot rallied back, hitting both the Uncle Slam and the Patriot Missile for near falls. He hit a big standing dropkick, right to X’s face, which caused blood to stain his white mask. The Patriot stayed in control and hit a big atomic drop to score the pinfall after 12 minutes. It was a big win for the masked American! ***½

7) In an amazing back-and-forth bout, former Southern Heavyweight champion “Exotic” Adrian Street scored a pinfall out of nowhere on former Mid-America Heavyweight champion Brian Armstrong. Street worked on Armstrong’s leg in the opening minutes, attempting an early submission with the London Bridge Leglock. Armstrong took control and caught Street in a sleeper a few minutes later but the British glam rocker scrambled to the ropes. Street caught “The Road Dogg” in a submission of his own with the Cobra Clutch but Armstrong also made the ropes. Street took Armstrong down with the crucifix but Armstrong managed to kick out at 2¾. Street dropped an elbow right across Armstrong’s nose, which busted him open but he still managed to kick out of a pin attempt. Armstrong sidestepped a clothesline and dropped Street throat-first onto the middle rope. He then hit a rope straddle and went for a cover but the two-time former Southern champ kicked out. Armstrong hit the pump handle slam but Street kicked out. Seeing his man in trouble, Jim Cornette jumped up on the ring with his tennis racquet in hand, while Mr. Hughes distracted Paul Morton on the other side of the ring. He swung at Armstrong, who saw it coming and ducked, and Cornette ended up nailing Street! Street was now wearing the “crimson mask” as well and looked in trouble. A few minutes later, “The Road Dogg” hit a second pump handle slam and made a cover but Street got a foot on the bottom rope at the last possible second. Armstrong stayed in control and went for a boot to the midsection of a bent over “Exotic One.” Street dodged the kick and rolled up Armstrong with a schoolboy. He hooked the tights and scored the pinfall after 20 minutes of an amazing match. Street was worn out but emerged the victor, which made Cornette a happy man! ****¾

8) The House of Humperdink’s team of Ivan Koloff and Mr. Saito was victorious over Eddie and Doug Gilbert. The first few minutes were back-and-forth with frequent tags by both teams. Koloff and Saito trapped Doug in the ring a few minutes into the bout and wore him down. Doug kicked out of the Japanese Olympian’s Oriental leg sweep, as well as a falling face slam from “The Russian Bear.” Saito went for a sleeper. Doug started to drop, as Scott Bowden checked his arm. It dropped twice but Doug popped up on the third attempt. Before he could fight free, Saito dragged him to the House of Humperdink’s corner and tagged Koloff. Saito whipped Doug into the ropes and Koloff caught him on the rebound with the Russian Sickle. Saito stopped “Hot Stuff” from a save, while Koloff scored the pinfall after 10 minutes. This duo continues to impress! **½

9) The feud between “The Boogie Woogie Man” “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant and “Classy” Freddie Blassie continued, with Valiant getting a disqualification win in about three minutes. The action was wild from the start. Blassie got the upper hand and trapped Valiant in the corner. He bit “Handsome” Jimmy twice right on the forehead. Joe Wheeler warned Blassie about his actions so Blassie responded by shoving Wheeler to the mat. Wheeler was hurt but had enough wherewithal to call for the bell and disqualify “The King of Men.” Blassie continued his onslaught after the bell and the Tolos Brothers came to join him. Before they could strike, “Superstar” Bill Dundee, recovered from his earlier match, came sprinting out with a steel chair in hand. Not wanting to risk injury before their main event championship bout, the Toloses retreated just as quickly as they showed up, and Blassie joined them as well! Dundee helped “Boogie Woogie” back to the locker room. (The Flying Redheads were not in attendance, since they were not booked to wrestle on this card.) DUD

10) After the pre-main event intermission, The Tolos Brothers were back in the arena for the main event. They challenged The Heavenly Bodies for the USWA World Tag Team titles in a rematch from last month in Cookeville, TN. In their first meeting, the Toloses controlled much of the match and it looked like they would take home the gold. But Jim Cornette’s attempted interference, led to Chris Tolos grabbing his tennis racquet and using it on Chris Candido, which got the challengers disqualified.

This match started like last month’s, where the Canadian brothers brutalized the Bodies. John hit a standing knee drop on Tom Prichard in the first few minutes for a near fall and later scored another near fall on Candido with the flying knee drop. John took the fight to the floor and rammed “The Suicide Blonde’s” head into the ring post. He almost got a countout victory but with Mr. Hughes’s help, Candido got back into the ring by the count of nine. Dr. Tom tagged back in a few moments later but got double teamed by the challengers. John hit the flying knee drop again but Cornette distracted Paul Morton from what might have been a three-count. Prichard took over in a brawl outside the ring with Chris and hit a jumping knee drop of his own for a near fall. A few minutes later, Candido and John were the legal men, when Candido surprised John with a running neckbreaker for a near fall. The two were battling in the corner when John swept Candido’s legs and went for a pin with his feet on the second ropes. Morton did not see the illegal leverage, nor did he see “The Louisville Slugger” reach in and jab John in the legs with the tennis racquet, stopping the pin attempt! Candido recovered and tagged to “The Doctor of Desire,” who got John down on the mat and hit another knee drop for a two-count. Chris tagged back in and briefly took control but Prichard made a blind tag to Candido, which allowed the Bodies to ambush Chris and wear him down. The champs hit the Prima Donna Plunge but John broke up the pin attempt. A few minutes later, John and Prichard were the legal men, when John gained control. He tossed Prichard out of the ring, right near the announcers’ table. Prichard grabbed one of the World Tag Team title belts. John came through the ropes to grab him but got clocked in the head with the belt! Unfortunately for the champions, Morton saw this and called for the bell. The Toloses got the win via disqualification but did not leave Evansville the champions after a wild 18-minute match! (With retaining the titles, the Bodies now have nine defenses and are in sole possession of the second greatest number of World Tag Team title defenses. With one more defense, they will be in a three-way tie for first, with Nick Bockwinkel and Ray Stevens’ first reign and Mr. Fuji and Mr. Saito’s reign!) ****

[TTX]

Cool to see Patriot and Street win.

[victoryroll84]

Road Dog had one heck of a match with Adrian Street good stuff!

Your USWA is always a fantastic read Cory

[Cory Olson]

Thanks to Troy and Victory Roll for the comments!

Highlights from USWA Championship Wrestling on 1-27:
• Commissioner Teddy Long announced some more matches for the February 12 return to the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis!
o The former USWA commissioner will be in action when “Bullet” Bob Armstrong battles Jim Cornette’s bodyguard Mr. Hughes! Give Armstrong credit; he’s taking on some tough competition in his return to in-ring action. Can he beat the big man?
o Another one of Jim Cornette’s men will be in action when former Southern Heavyweight champion “Exotic” Adrian Street faces “Superstar” Bill Dundee! Dundee almost won the Southern title from Street in November in Gore Springs but interference from Mr. Hughes led to a countout win for Street. Dundee will be getting another Southern title in the near future but he would love a decisive victory over the former Southern champ first!
o Another big tag team match will take place on this card when The Tolos Brothers battle The Uptown Boys! John and Chris Tolos put Tommy Rogers out of action with an arm injury back in December in this same arena. Ric McCord and Marty Jannetty will be out for revenge!
• The commissioner also announced that the Tolos Brothers will receive a rematch for the USWA World Tag Team titles against The Heavenly Bodies. That title bout will be the main event on February 19 at the Tupelo Sports Arena!

The USWA returns to the Civic Coliseum in Knoxville on January 29!
• “The Boogie Woogie Man” “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant continues his wars with Freddie Blassie and the Toloses. This week, he will take on John Tolos, one-on-one! Tolos was the survivor in the Battlezone Match at New Year’s Knockout XIV in Nashville when Valiant got DQ’d for using a steel chair. Can Valiant get the win this week?
• Hugh Morrus returns to action when he goes for revenge against Doug Gilbert! Gilbert gave Morrus a piledriver on a chair after their match on December 31, putting him out of action for a few weeks. Morrus is already a man possessed and will be extra focused on defeating Gilbert. Can he do so or will Doug give Morrus his first loss?
• “Superstar” Bill Dundee wants revenge as well, as he will face Mr. Hughes! Hughes has now interfered in two of Dundee’s matches, most recently last week’s bout in Evansville against “Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce. Can the Aussie topple Jim Cornette’s powerful bodyguard?
• Two men with a lot of animosity will battle for the first time in a singles match when former USWA World champions “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert and “The Russian Bear” Ivan Koloff go one-on-one! The history between these two dating back to 2011 has been documented here. Which grappler will triumph in this epic meeting?
• The new World Heavyweight champion will also be on this card when Harley Race faces Tommy Gilbert in a non-title bout! The Gilbert patriarch has come the closest to defeating Race since his return to the USWA this past March, in two separate bouts. A win here would not only give Gilbert credit for Race’s first loss but also a future World title shot. Can he finally do it or will the champ find a way to win again?
• In a non-title tag team grudge match, the World Tag Team champions The Heavenly Bodies will tangle once again with Brad and Brian Armstrong! The Armstrongs have taken it to the Bodies several times in the past and would love not only to defeat them but also get another shot at the belts. Will the Georgian brothers defeat Jim Cornette’s men?
• The main event will be for the USWA Southern Heavyweight championship, as two-time champion “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson will make his first defense of his second reign when he faces Billy Gunn! Gunn earned this shot by pinning then-champion “Exotic” Adrian Street in an eight-man tag team Elimination Match back in November in Knoxville. He is a two-time former World Tag Team champion but would love to win his first singles title. His last shot at the Southern title was in this same arena 11 months ago against then-champion “Exotic” Adrian Street in Street’s first defense of his first reign. Danielson has a variety of moves and techniques he can use to defeat his larger challenger. With both superstars being fan favorites, it will be interesting to see if they can keep the action clean and to see whom the fans will support. Can Danielson retain or will Gunn win the gold?

All these bouts, plus King Kong Bundy battles Hillbilly Jim! As well as The Uptown Boys in action, and the return of Greg “The Hammer” Valentine!

[victoryroll84]

Looking forward to seeing the results between Bullet Bob vs. Mr. Hughes

And the Hammer back in the USWA?....sign me up Sir!

[Pariah]

Some truly excellent stuff lined up, sir... I'm especially stoked for Danielson vs. Gunn... What a match that would've been with both men in their prime... Top notch athletes, without a doubt!

[cruefan68]

Greg Valentine returning to the USWA is big news, as was Harley Race continuing his undefeated run and capturing the USWA World Heavyweight title.

As always, the action in the USWA is hard to beat. Looking forward to Knoxville!

[Cory Olson]

Thanks to Victory Roll, Pariah, and Crue Fan for the comments!

January 29, 2018
Card #533: Civic Coliseum in Knoxville

1) King Kong Bundy was triumphant in a big opener over Hillbilly Jim. Bundy tried to use Jim’s finisher—the bear hug in the first few minutes to gain an early submission. It looked like he might but Jim rallied back and broke the hold with an ear clap. Jim dazed Bundy with two head butts and then tried for his own bear hug but Bundy broke it with an eye rake. Bundy sent Jim into the ropes and went for a clothesline but Jim ducked, then rebounded with a big boot to the face, which knocked down the New Jersey giant. Jim bounced off the ropes with a leg drop and went for a cover but Bundy kicked out. Jim whipped Bundy into the ropes but Bundy surprised him with a shoulder tackle. Bundy sent Jim into the corner and hit the Atlantic City Avalanche. He made a cover but Jim got a foot on the bottom rope. Bundy stayed on the offensive and hit a second Avalanche to put Jim down for the five-count after 12 minutes. Jimmy Hart was very happy with Bundy’s win! **¾

2) The Uptown Boys defeated George South and the masked Pink Panther. For their third match in a row, the Uptown Boys kept one opponent (South, in this case) in the ring for the entire match. Marty Jannetty wore South down and then tagged in McCord. McCord kept up the attack and scored the pinfall in about three minutes with the flying body press! The Uptown Boys look ready to take on the Toloses on February 12 in Memphis! DUD

3) Greg “The Hammer” Valentine returned to the USWA after seven years and made short work of Jim Powers. Valentine was accompanied by his new manager Jimmy Hart, as well as his new tag team partner Ray “The Crippler” Stevens. Valentine brutalized Powers right at the bell. He slammed him hard to the mat and stomped on his leg. He then clamped on the figure-four leglock in the center of the ring and forced Powers to tap out in about 40 seconds. It was an impressive win for the former Texas champion and five-time World Tag Team champion. It will be interesting to see how the team of Valentine and Stevens fares in the USWA! DUD (NOTE: This was a three-move match!)

4) John Tolos picked up a huge win in singles competition by defeating two-time former World champion “The Boogie Woogie Man” “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant in about eight minutes. Tolos was vicious against “The Boy from New York City” at the opening bell, trying for submissions with a Boston Crab and a corkscrew. Valiant made the ropes on both attempts. Tolos went for the flying knee drop but missed and crashed hard. Valiant took over and blasted the Canadian with some roundhouse punches, knocking him down. Valiant went for a cover but only got a two-count. Valiant had control but got stopped short by a thumb to the throat. With Valiant down on the mat, Tolos delivered a standing knee drop, which busted open Valiant. Valiant got to his feet but Tolos hit a backbreaker for another near fall. Tolos opened up the cut more with another corkscrew. He choked Valiant over and over, breaking right before Tom Branch’s five-count. Valiant collapsed to the mat and Tolos hit the flying knee drop for good measure to score the pinfall after eight minutes. As Tolos got his hand raised, his brother Chris and “Classy” Freddie Blassie came into the arena in street clothes, since neither was scheduled to wrestle on this card. Blassie pulled Gary Michael Cappetta out of his chair and then brought the chair into the ring. He smashed Valiant in the head with it, as the Toloses held him down by the arms and the legs. He delivered several more shots until “Superstar” Bill Dundee and the Uptown Boys ran down to the ring with chairs of their own in hand and ran off the three! The fan favorites helped a bloodied “Boogie Woogie” to his feet. Valiant was very dazed and needed help back to the locker room. **½

5) Hugh Morrus returned from injury and gained some revenge with a pinfall victory over Doug Gilbert. These two had a physical back-and-forth bout. Morrus scored near falls after a power bomb and the No Laughing Matter. Gilbert got a foot on the ropes after the No Laughing Matter. Gilbert rallied back and hit the piledriver but Morrus got a foot under the bottom rope. Morrus regained control and hit a top rope elbow drop for another two-count. Morrus stayed in control and hit a spinebuster, then followed up with a second No Laughing Matter to score the pinfall after 16 minutes. Sir Oliver Humperdink was definitely pleased with Morrus’ win! ***¼

6) Mr. Hughes picked up a huge victory with a pinfall on “Superstar” Bill Dundee. Jim Cornette’s bodyguard was vicious in the first few minutes, hitting a released gut wrench, as well as the spike slam for near falls. Dundee fought back and took Hughes down with a flying body press off the top rope to score a two-count. The Aussie got the big man down on the mat and worked over his leg. He went for an Indian Deathlock and tried to get the submission. He held the move on for nearly a minute until Hughes powered his way to the ropes for a break. Dundee stayed in control and went up top again. He came off with another flying body press but Hughes was ready and caught him in midair, immediately hitting a power slam to score the pinfall after 14 minutes. “The Louisville Slugger” was very happy and impressed with his bodyguard’s win! **¾

7) In a first-time singles meeting, “The Russian Bear” Ivan Koloff scored a pinfall on “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert in about five minutes. Koloff attacked Gilbert right at the bell, not giving him much of a chance to get out of the gate. Gilbert had some offense but Koloff stayed largely in control. The fight went in-and-out of the ring several times. Gilbert kicked out of a double foot stomp (similar to Koloff’s fellow House of Humperdink ally Kevin Sullivan’s finisher), a Russian Hammer, and even the Russian Sickle. But a second Sickle would put “Hot Stuff” down for the three-count. ½*

8) World Heavyweight champion Harley Race was victorious over Tommy Gilbert via disqualification after 10 minutes of action in a non-title match. Gilbert looked like he might finally get a win over Race in the first few minutes, as he had Race stunned with some brawling punches, then caught him from behind with a back suplex for a near fall. Race rallied back and hit a backbreaker to score a two-count. Hit both the vertical suplex and the piledriver to score separate near falls. “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert, recovered from his loss to Ivan Koloff in the previous bout, made his way to ringside to cheer on his father. The support helped, as Tommy came fighting back. He slammed Race to the mat and then went up to the second rope. Jimmy Hart shoved Tommy from behind, causing him to land hard on his knee. Sam Platania missed Hart’s interference but the fans and Eddie saw it. Eddie came around and shoved Hart to the arena floor. Inside the ring, Race had recovered and went for an Indian Deathlock, working on the injured knee. Eddie, irate by what had transpired, stormed the ring and nailed the World champion with fists. Platania obviously saw this and called for the bell, disqualifying Tommy. Eddie knocked Race out of the ring and the champ and his manager quickly retreated. Eddie helped Tommy up and apologized for getting involved in the match. Tommy understood Eddie’s intentions, given Hart’s interference. ***

9) Brad and Brian Armstrong scored a huge non-title win over the World Tag Team champions and their rivals The Heavenly Bodies in an amazing match-up! While the Bodies were naturally accompanied by Jim Cornette and Mr. Hughes (fresh off his big win over Bill Dundee earlier on the card), the Armstrongs were accompanied by their father “Bullet” Bob. Brian and Tom Prichard started off the bout for their respective teams. Dr. Tom missed a charge into the corner in the opening minutes and Brian rolled him with up with a schoolboy for a near fall. The Armstrongs kept “The Doctor of Desire” in the ring for several minutes. Chris Candido finally tagged in about eight minutes into the match-up and the Bodies now trapped “The Road Dogg” in the ring. Brian took over on Prichard and hit the pump handle slam out of nowhere. Cornette jumped up on the ring apron to distract Tommy Marlin. Brad tagged back in but the Bodies worked him over, including executing the Prima Donna Plunge but Brad managed to kick out. Later, Brian hit the pump handle slam on Candido but Candido got a foot on the ropes for the break. Brad was back in a few minutes later but again the World Tag Team champs cut the ring in half on him, with Prichard hitting a slingshot suplex for a near fall and then went for an Armstrong specialty—the sleeper. Brad started to drop but made the ropes for a break. As Prichard released Brad and back up from Marlin’s warning, Candido nailed Brad with a big right hand, which busted him open. Prichard hit the Dr. Tom Bomb and went for a pin. “The Road Dogg” entered the ring for save but so did Candido. Marlin saw Candido first and went to warn him back to his corner. Brian nailed Prichard from behind with a knee smash. Both Prichard and Brad were down but got to their feet. Prichard went for a clothesline but Brad ducked, got behind him, and hit the Russian leg sweep. He turned into a cover and scored the pin after 26 minutes, while Brian stopped an intervening Candido with a clothesline! The Knoxville fans went wild, as Bob celebrated with his sons, while Cornette was outraged! ****½

10) The main event was for the USWA Southern Heavyweight championship. Current and two-time champion “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson was making his first defense of his second reign against Billy Gunn. Gunn earned this title shot by pinning then-Southern champion “Exotic” Adrian Street in an eight-man tag team Elimination Match back in November in this same arena. Gunn got a big ovation from the Knoxville fans, probably coming off of that elimination the last time he was here, and perhaps because the fans wanted to witness a title change. While Danielson was welcomed by the fans as well, the Knoxville fans slightly sided with Gunn tonight. Both men showed great respect for each other by shaking hands before the bell rang.

The action was fast-paced and hard-hitting in this one. Gunn hit two Famousers in the first three minutes of the bout and went for pin attempts but the champion kicked out. Gunn sent “Dragon” into the corner and went for a running splash but Danielson moved and Gunn’s head hit the metal hook connecting the turnbuckle to the ring post. Danielson took Gunn down to the mat in the LeBell Lock but Gunn managed to get to the ropes. Danielson went for another submission with the guillotine choke. Despite the dazed nature, Gunn had enough wherewithal to make it to the ropes again. Danielson stayed in control, going up to the top rope and hitting a missile dropkick, nailing Gunn right in the face. The champion kipped up and covered Gunn to score the pinfall and to retain the Southern title in about seven minutes. (This was the same move Danielson used to pin Chris Candido two weeks ago in Chattanooga.) After being handed his title belt by Tom Branch, Danielson checked on his opponent and helped him to his feet. He was the first to offer his hand to Gunn and despite the loss, Gunn accepted and then pointed to Danielson as the rightful winner! ***