Cory's USWA

[Cory Olson]

July 11, 2008
Card #174: Community Center in Cookeville, TN

1) The card started off with a bang, as Brad Armstrong scored only his second win of his USWA tenure, as he scored a big upset over Magnificent Muraco! The Georgian hit a nice body press off the second turnbuckle after Muraco had whipped him in. After some nice fast-paced offense, Muraco blasted Armstrong with an illegal taped thumb to the throat which he calls the Asiatic Spike. But with the crowd behind him, Armstrong came back and hit a Russian leg sweep out of nowhere. He floated over into a cover, but Capt. Lou Albano put Muraco’s foot on the bottom rope. Suddenly “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka came from the locker room and chased the manager around the ring. Armstrong locked on an abdominal stretch, then rolled Muraco back into a lateral guillotine pinning combination and pinned Muraco to score the big win! Albano and Muraco were irate at the loss, but Armstrong was ecstatic, as he celebrated with Snuka and the fans at ringside. **

2) New USWA Texas champion “Playboy” Buddy Rose and “Dastardly” Danny Doring scored an impressive win over George South and Larry Sharpe. South and Rose locked up early on, as South looked like he wanted to get another pinfall on the Texas champ. But Rose and Doring were able to keep Sharpe in the ring for the majority of the bout. Rose scored the pin on Sharpe after a nice dropkick, while Doring held South at bay. ½*

3) In a battle of two fan favorites, Bobo Brazil pinned “The Birdman” Koko B. Ware. Brazil put Ware down for the 1-2-3 after one of his Coco Butts. In a show of sportsmanship, Brazil helped Koko to his feet after the bell and shook hands with him. ¼*

4) World Tag Team champions The Midnight Express defeated Cousin Luke and S.D. Jones in a non-title bout. Jim Cornette was extra antsy in this bout, tripping up both Luke and “Special Delivery” at different times throughout the bout. “Loverboy” Dennis Condrey swept Jones’s legs in the corner and put his feet on the ropes for a pin, but the hillbilly jumped in and blasted Condrey with a head butt to break up the pin. Jones got up and nailed one of his own head butts and went for a cover, but Condrey kicked out. The champs tagged in and out and regained the advantage, hitting the Double Goozle, then the Rocket Launcher a few minutes later to put Luke down for the count. ***¼

5) An injured Buff Bagwell, still sporting a mask to protect his broken orbital bone, scored a big win over “The Boogie Woogie Man” “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant. Bagwell was relentlessly, pounding on Valiant from the opening bell. He worked Valiant’s neck, using the double arm DDT and two swinging neckbreakers for two near falls. He executed two Buff. Blockbusters, one of which busted Valiant open, but Valiant still wouldn’t go down. The crowd was behind “The Boogie Woogie Man” and he fought back and locked on a sleeper, but Buff made the ropes. Bagwell fought back and hit a scoop slam, then went for a cover and positioned himself near the ropes, so he could add some leverage. The trick worked as Bagwell got the three-count. Valiant was irate at the sneaky win. **¾

6) The Sheik used his vile tactics to pin Danny Hodge. Hodge was fired up and angry, probably after being robbed of the Texas title last week. He hit an Oklahoma side roll early on, but Sheik was too close to the ropes. Sheik came back after a brawl outside the ring. He locked on the Camel Clutch, but Hodge made the ropes. Sheik hit a stomp to the face off the second turnbuckle, then Abdullah Farouk jumped up on the apron to distract Frank Morrell. It was a setup as Sheik unleashed a huge fireball on Hodge. Hodge hit the mat immediately. Sheik went for a cover and Morrell turned around to count the easy three. Dick Hutton immediately jumped in to aid Hodge. Hodge suffered no major burns from the blast. **¼

7) The Dream Team reunited to score a win over long-time rivals The Killer Bees. Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake showed that they still work well together, tagging in and out frequently in the opening minutes and working over “Jumping” Jim Brunzell. But Brunzell tagged out to B. Brian Blair and The Bees hit the Bee Sting for a near fall. Beefcake came back and charged at Blair in the corner with his flying knee smash. He connected, but Blair was knocked into Paul Neighbors. With Neighbors down, all four men ended up in the ring. Jerry Calhoun came down to take over duties and restored order. Brunzell locked Beefcake in a figure-four leglock, but “The Hammer” jumped in and dropped an elbow on Brunzell to save his partner from submitting to his own finisher. Beefcake came back and blasted Blair with his studded armband. Valentine tagged in and came off with a sledge on Blair, while Beefcake held him. Valentine applied his figure-four and it looked like Blair would tap, but at the last second, he rolled over to reverse the pressure. Valentine quickly got to the ropes. “The Hammer” caught Blair with a shoulder breaker and got the pinfall, making Capt. Lou Albano a very happy man. ****

8) It was another battle of Capt. Lou’s men and their opponents from Independence Day Bash, as Southern Heavyweight champion Killer Kowalski defeated Yukon Eric in a bloody brawl. It was a bad night for the referees, as Jerry Calhoun got in the middle of a collision in the corner early on. But Calhoun showed his fortitude and recovered after a few minutes. Kowalski spent the match, bloodying where Eric’s ear used to be, coming off the second rope with stomps and hitting the Bombs Away three times. But Eric fought back, dying to score a win over his rival. He locked Kowalski in a bear hug for over two minutes and weakened the big man, but Kowalski eventually broke out with some punches. Eric got Kowalski up in the Kodiak Krunch, but Kowalski managed to drape his foot over the top rope, breaking the move. Eric came off the top rope with a huge splash, but only got a two-count. Kowalski came back and locked on another face claw, but Eric threw him off, head-first into the turnbuckle, busting Kowalski open. Kowalski went to the floor, and Capt. Lou Albano distracted Calhoun. Eric followed and smacked Eric with a steel chair, right on his wounded ear. Kowalski threw Eric back in the ring and locked on the face claw again. Having lost so much blood, Eric was weakened and Kowalski was able to pin him. Albano was happy, as it was a good night for his men, other than Magnificent Muraco’s embarrassment! *****

9) Frank Gotch gained a measure of revenge, bloodying up “Ravishing” Rick Rude and scoring a submission win. Rude hit two Rude Awakenings throughout the bout, but Gotch kicked out each time. Gotch applied the Gotch Toehold, but Bobby Heenan distracted Frank Morrell. Rude went for a top rope knee drop. Gotch saw it coming and rolled out of the way. Rude hit his knee hard and Gotch took advantage, immediately applying a rolling knee bar. Rude tried another top rope move later on, coming off with a double sledge. Gotch again sidestepped the move and caught Rude coming off, grabbing him in a guillotine choke. He took Rude down to the mat in the hold and with the “Ravishing One’s” face pouring blood, he tapped out. ***½

10) The main event was a huge six-man tag team match. World Heavyweight champion Ed “Strangler” Lewis, Rikidozan, and Lewis’ next challenger Dan “The Beast” Severn teamed up to battle The “Intelligent, Sensational” Destroyer, The Masked Superstar, and King Kong Bundy. Naturally Bobby “The Brain” Heenan was out to accompany Superstar, Bundy, and Destroyer. Dick Hutton came out to accompany Lewis, Rikidozan, and Severn, since Severn was in the match. Rikidozan and Destroyer started off against each other, but once the Japanese superstar got the advantage, he tagged out to Lewis. The Heenan Family (and associate) team worked over the World champ. Superstar applied his Cobra Hold, but couldn’t make Lewis submit. Destroyer tagged in and went for the figure-four. Yet Lewis again made the ropes. Lewis came back and took down Destroyer with a bear hug and leg trip and floated into a pin cover with a half nelson, but Destroyer lifted his shoulder. “The Beast” came in for the first time and went to work on Destroyer. The “Intelligent, Sensational One” scrambled to his corner and tagged out to Superstar, whom Severn defeated last week at the Bash. Superstar blocked a belly to belly suplex with a head butt. The masked man went up to the top rope and came off with a flying body press. Severn caught Superstar and looked ready to slam him, but Destroyer snuck in, while Frank Morrell’s attention was diverted, and clipped Severn’s leg. Superstar fell on top and Destroyer and Bundy charged Lewis and Rikidozan in their corner knocking them to the arena floor. Just like that, Superstar scored a surprise pinfall on Severn after just a few minutes. Destroyer and The Heenan Family congregated in the aisle way and celebrated their victory. Lewis and Rikidozan helped Severn to his feet. Frank Gotch came down and encouraged Severn, then shook hands with the World champ, apparently trying to convince him to join Team RPW. **

[Cory Olson]

Hope everyone at Galacticon is enjoying the weekend!

Bobby “The Brain” Heenan was interviewed by Lance Russell on the July 12 edition of USWA Championship Wrestling. Heenan announced that four-time USWA World Heavyweight champion Nick Bockwinkel recently contacted him about returning to ring action. The manager stated that Bockwinkel has been cautious about coming back too soon, as that caused Bockwinkel more problems with his concussions. “The Brain” said that Bill Apter will interview Bock from his Beverly Hills mansion this coming week and that interview will air on Championship Wrestling next week.

The Civic Coliseum in Knoxville will host a huge night of USWA wrestling action on July 18!
• In a big tag team rematch, “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka and “The Boogie Woogie Man” “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant will take on The Killer B’s. The odd duo of Snuka and Valiant defeated The B’s on June in Memphis, but Buff Bagwell scored a singles win over “Handsome” Jimmy last week. Will it be Capt. Lou Albano’s B’s or the bizarre team of the “Superfly” and “The Boogie Woogie Man” who will get the win?
• Another big tag team match will take place as former World Tag Team champions The Masked Superstar and King Kong Bundy will battle The Killer Bees. These teams have had some great battles in 2008. The Heenan Family team got the win last time on May 9 in a five-star bout in Chattanooga. This will definitely be a big challenge for The Bees, who have struggled lately, and especially for “Jumping” Jim Brunzell one week before he challenges Killer Kowalski for the Southern Heavyweight title. Superstar is coming off a big pinfall win on Dan Severn in the six-man tag team main event. Will it be The Bees or Superstar and Bundy who achieve victory?
• Frank Gotch looks to gain revenge for another tainted loss, as he locks up with The “Intelligent, Sensational” Destroyer. The masked man scored a submission win on Gotch on June 20, after blasting Gotch’s leg with a steel chair. Will Gotch even the score in Knoxville?
• Southern Heavyweight champion Killer Kowalski faces the Syrian madman The Sheik in what will surely be a wild brawl. Each man holds a disqualification victory over the other. Will a decisive winner come out of this match?
• Dan “The Beast” Severn will take on another Heenan Family member “Ravishing” Rick Rude. Severn is fuming about losing to The Masked Superstar, due to Destroyer’s sneaky tactics. “The Beast” is hoping to gain a big win in his first meeting with Rude, prior to challenging for the USWA World Heavyweight title on August 15.
• “Playboy” Buddy Rose just can’t seem to get enough gold! The Texas champ and “Dastardly” Danny Doring will challenge The Midnight Express for the USWA World Tag Team titles in the main event. This is definitely an interesting match-up. Rose and Doring are undefeated, but many fans feel they are getting ahead of themselves, in challenging a team the caliber of The Midnights. It will be interesting to see Jim Cornette and/or “Sensational” Sherri Martel’s involvement in this one!
All this, plus Yukon Eric takes on Magnificent Muraco. The Team RPW duo of Dick Hutton and Danny Hodge, and Greg “The Hammer” Valentine in action!

[Cory Olson]

July 18, 2008
Card #175: Civic Coliseum in Knoxville

1) Brad Armstrong scored his second victory in as many weeks, pinning George South. Armstrong got a big pop from the Knoxville crowd when he entered, most likely due to his big win over Magnificent Muraco last week in Cookeville. Armstrong caught South in an abdominal stretch. The Georgian used this move, turned into a lateral guillotine, to defeat Muraco. This time he kept the move upright and forced South to submit. ¼*

2) Greg Valentine scored a quick submission win over Larry Sharpe. “The Hammer” clipped Sharpe’s leg almost right away and applied the figure-four leglock to force the tap in less than a minute. Valentine has been very impressive as of late and tonight was no different. DUD

3) Magnificent Muraco scored a much needed win over Yukon Eric. The Hawaiian attempted to lift Eric for the Hawaiian Hammer early on, but couldn’t quite get the Alaskan up. Muraco utilized his Asiatic Spike several times through the bout, and Eric was eventually coughing up blood. Eric got a close count at one point, as Muraco attempted to shoulder tackle him, but he just bounced off the big Eric. Eric got Muraco up for the Kodiak Krunch, but Muraco grabbed the ropes. Muraco regained the advantage after a brawl outside the ring and interestingly enough got Eric up in an over-the-shoulder backbreaker—his own Kodiak Krunch finisher. Muraco forced Eric into submission. Capt. Lou Albano was definitely pleased with the results of this bout. ***½

4) Dick Hutton and Danny Hodge defeated Cousin Luke and S.D. Jones. Hodge hit a sunset flip on Luke, which defeated the hillbilly in their Texas title bout last month. But this time Luke kicked out. However Hodge took advantage and followed up right away with the Oklahoma side roll to get the win. *

5) “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka and “The Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant scored another hard fought win over The Killer B’s. The fan favorites kept Brutus Beefcake in the ring for the first few minutes. Snuka hit a Superfly Leap on Beefcake, but Buff Bagwell broke up the pin attempt. “Handsome” Jimmy went to the top rope, but got shoved off by Bagwell, which allowed Beefcake to recover and tag out. Bagwell immediately came off the second turnbuckle with the Buff Blockbuster, but Valiant kicked out. The B’s double teamed “The Boogie Woogie Man” for several minutes, until Valiant made the hot tag. Bagwell worked over the “Superfly” and hit a scoop slam, which brought him victory over Valiant last week, but Valiant stopped that pin attempt. Magnificent Muraco came back out and stood next to Capt. Lou Albano. “Boogie Woogie” came back in and hit one of his famed wind-up elbows on Bagwell. Albano jumped up on the ring apron to distract Tommy Gilbert, while Valiant made a cover. Meanwhile Muraco snuck in and blasted Valiant with an Asiatic Spike. Snuka yelled at Muraco from the other side of the ring, but stayed in his corner, encouraging his partner. Both Valiant and Bagwell were weakened, but managed to get to their feet. Valiant somehow rallied back and rocked “Buff Daddy” with punches. He tagged out to the “Superfly”, who immediately went up to the top rope and came off with a flying body press on Bagwell. He went for the cover and scored the pin. Snuka and Valiant glared at Albano, The B’s, and Muraco from inside the ring, celebrating that they got the win, despite Muraco’s interference. ***¾

6) Former World Tag Team champions The Masked Superstar and King Kong Bundy defeated The Killer Bees. B. Brian Blair and “Jumping” Jim Brunzell rallied back after taking a beating early on. The actually kept the big Bundy in the ring for a while, as Blair locked was able to turn him over into a Boston Crab, but couldn’t hold him as the big man powered his way to the ropes. The Bees hit a Bee Sting on Bundy and Brunzell went for a cover, but again Bundy got out of it. Superstar came in and was worked over too, but took over after a brawl outside the ring with “Jumping” Jim. He tagged out to Bundy, and with Brunzell in one corner of the ring, whipped his own partner into Brunzell, giving Bundy added momentum for his Avalanche. Bundy made the cover and scored the 1-2-3…4-5. **½

7) Frank Gotch gained revenge for another tainted victory, forcing The “Intelligent, Sensational” Destroyer into submission. Interestingly enough, even though both men utilize leg submission finishers, both focused on the other man’s arm in the opening minutes, trading different armbar variations. Throughout most of the match, Gotch had control. He used his crossface and bar arm on a few occasions and even drew blood from Destroyer’s mask with the crossface. The masked man got to the ropes after a Gotch Toehold, and later after a rolling kneebar, but a second kneebar would bring about a tap and give Gotch a needed win. **¾

8) From a good wrestling match, to an all-out brawl! The Sheik used his sneaky tactics to score a non-title win over Southern Heavyweight champion Killer Kowalski. The Syrian madman used his sharp object in the first minute of the bout, jabbing away at Kowalski. The champ fought back and locked on a stomach claw, but Sheik managed to roll into the ropes. The bout went in and out of the ring. Abdullah Farouk jumped Capt. Lou Albano from behind and the two managers went at it at ringside, with the Captain gaining the upper hand. With Paul Morton’s attention turned to the dueling managers, Sheik took advantage and unleashed a huge fireball at Kowalski. Kowalski hit the mat and writhed in pain. Sheik jumped on Kowalski and applied the Camel Clutch, digging his fingers into the burnt flesh. Morton turned around to see the hold applied and checked on Kowalski. The pain was too much for the Southern champ and he submitted to the hold. This was actually Kowalski’s first pin or submission loss in singles action, since returning to the USWA this year. *½

9) Dan Severn scored a big pinfall over Rick Rude. “The Beast” went for the wakigatame in the opening minutes, but the “Ravishing One” had the move scouted and scrambled to the ropes. Rude hit two Rude Awakenings, after attacking Severn’s neck, but Severn scored great strength and fortitude in kicking out both times. It looked like Rude would submit to another wakigatame, but he just made the ropes. Severn caught Rude with a head and arm throw (the same move with which he defeated The Sheik for the Southern Heavyweight championship). The move was effective here, as he was able to pin Rude’s shoulders to the mat. ***

10) The Midnight Express put the USWA World Tag Team titles on the line in the main event against the undefeated duo of Texas champ “Playboy” Buddy Rose and “Dastardly” Danny Doring. In the pre-match introductions, Jim Cornette, in introducing his team, naturally insulted the challengers and “Sensational” Sherri Martel, saying that he wasn’t sure who “wore the pants” out of those three. The challengers looked impressive, keeping “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton in the ring for the first few minutes. Doring hit his Danaconda—the same as Eaton’s Alabama Jam, and went for a cover, but only got two. Rose tagged in and hit three Bombs Aways on Eaton, busting him open. “Loverboy” Dennis Condrey saved his partner after the second attempt, and then Cornette jumped up on the ring apron after the third. Sherri went after Cornette and pulled him off the apron, then Cornette threatened to smack her with the tennis racket! In the midst of this chaos, Eaton recovered and tagged out to Condrey. Condrey hit two face-first leg sweeps on Doring, but the Pepper Pike, OH native managed to kick out. Eaton came back in and The Midnights hit the Double Goozle. Rose came in to try and help Doring, but Paul Morton cut him off and ordered Rose back to his corner. This allowed the champs to double team Doring even longer! Cornette tripped Doring from the outside, which allowed Eaton to roll him into a small package, but Sherri got up on the other side of the ring and distracted Morton. Doring was busted open by one of Eaton’s famous right hands. It looked like the “Dastardly One” was down and out. Eaton came off the ropes and attempted a spinning neckbreaker, but Doring slipped out of it. He booted Eaton in the stomach and hit the Bareback out of nowhere. Doring went for the cover and got the shocking pinfall! Cornette had an amazed look on his face! Sherri jumped in the ring and squealed in delight, as her men held up the World Tag Team titles! Buddy Rose is now the first man to hold three different USWA championships—World Heavyweight, Texas, and World Tag Team. (He is the second man to hold two titles simultaneously. The first was Frank Gotch who held the Southern Heavyweight title and World Tag Team titles with Dick Hutton at the same time in 2007.) ***¾

[Cory Olson]

Highlights from USWA Championship Wrestling on July 19:
• Bill Apter traveled to Beverly Hills for a special interview with four-time USWA World Heavyweight champion Nick Bockwinkel. Bockwinkel informed Apter that after suffering a series of concussions, he wanted to be very cautious about returning to the ring too soon, thus he has sat out of action for all of 2008. He feels that after recuperating and training the last few months, he is ready to come back. Apter asked Bockwinkel if he is hoping to win his fifth World championship. Bockwinkel responded by saying that that is the ultimate goal of each and every wrestler. He said that he is not expecting to get a title shot in his first bout back, but he will take on any USWA wrestler, old and new, and will prove his superior wrestling skills to earn another championship opportunity. Apter asked Bockwinkel when fans can expect him back in the ring. Bock said he hasn’t decided on a date yet, but he will be ringside on August 15 in Lexington for World Heavyweight title bout between champion Ed “Strangler” Lewis and Dan “The Beast” Severn.
• Lance Russell interviewed the new USWA World Tag Team champions, “Dastardly” Danny Doring and Texas champ “Playboy” Buddy Rose, along with “Sensational” Sherri Martel. The trio came in with bottles of champagne. Martel was ecstatic about her men holding the Tag titles. She said it was her inspiration and her men’s talents that brought them success. Doring gloated about scoring the pinfall, saying that he didn’t even have to hook the leg to get the 1-2-3! Rose naturally bragged about being a double champion and the first man in USWA history to hold three championships. Russell asked if Rose is going to go for the “Grand Slam” and challenge for the Southern Heavyweight title. The “Playboy” said that he plans to down the line, but for right now his focus is on holding the two championships and figuring out where to spend his hard earned money.
• Killer Kowalski has certainly made his share of enemies in the USWA. His longest-term rival Yukon Eric has challenged him to another bout on August 15 in Lexington. Eric has asked the Southern Heavyweight champ for a Lumberjack Match! The big Alaskan is very anxious to get a one-on-one pinfall or submission victory over Kowalski in a USWA ring. He feels confident that he can win this bout, that Eric has vowed if he loses, he will leave the USWA for at least one year! Kowalski and Capt. Lou Albano accepted Eric’s challenge later in the show, and called him foolish for risking his USWA career against Kowalski.
• Lance Russell announced that “The Man Who Made Milwaukee Famous” The Crusher will be competing in the USWA! “Da” Crusher will make his debut on August 22 at the annual card from the Nashville Fairgrounds.

The Sailors & Soldiers Memorial Coliseum in Evansville hosts a big card of USWA action on July 25!
• Since “Jumping” Jim Brunzell will be in the main event of this card, B. Brian Blair has enlisted the help of Brad Armstrong to battle The Killer B’s. Capt. Lou Albano is hoping not only that his men defeat Blair, but embarrass Armstrong for scoring an upset on Magnificent Muraco. Albano also announced that Buff Bagwell will have a surprise for the fans. What could it be?
• Another of the Captain’s men, Greg “The Hammer” Valentine will take on “The Boogie Woogie Man” “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant. Valentine continues to be on a roll, but can he put down the popular boy from New York City?
• Bobo Brazil takes on The Sheik in another wild bout! Brazil got the pin on Sheik at Independence Day Bash. Can he do it again? Sheik has been using his fireballs with more frequency as of late. Will Bobo feel the burn?
• Rikidozan takes on The “Intelligent, Sensational” Destroyer. This feud has heated up with Destroyer, Masked Superstar, and King Kong Bundy injuring Giant Baba at the Bash. Who will walk out the winner here?
• In another rematch from the Bash, Dan “The Beast” Severn takes on The Masked Superstar. Severn got the win at the Bash, but Superstar scored a pin on Severn in the six-man tag team main event two weeks ago. Severn is looking for another win prior to challenging for the World Heavyweight title. This should be an exciting match!
• The main event will be for the USWA Southern Heavyweight championship, as Killer Kowalski defends against “Jumping” Jim Brunzell. Brunzell eliminated the champ in the ten-man tag team Elimination Match at the Bash. Can the Killer Bee win his first USWA title or will Kowalski stop him?
Plus “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka battle “Ravishing” Rick Rude. Also Magnificent Muraco in action, as well as the new World Tag Team champions “Dastardly” Danny Doring and Texas champ “Playboy” Buddy Rose!

[Cory Olson]

July 25, 2008
Card #176: Sailors & Soldiers Memorial Coliseum in Evansville

1) Former World Tag Team champions The Midnight Express got a victory in the opener over Dick Hutton and Danny Hodge. Hodge started off strong against “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton, but “Loverboy” Dennis Condrey came in and take over. He dropped Hodge on the arena floor with his face-first leg sweep. Hodge barely beat the count back in. The Midnights hit a Midnight Massacre on Hodge, but Hodge kicked out. The new World Tag Team champions “Playboy” Buddy Rose and “Dastardly” Danny Doring, along with “Sensational” Sherri Martel came out midway through the bout and watched from the aisle, most likely scouting potential challengers. Hutton came back in and worked over Condrey. Hodge tagged back in, but got busted open by a Double Goozle. Hodge came off the second rope with a vertical body press, but Condrey caught him and dropped him throat-first across the top rope. “Loverboy” Dennis hit the face-first leg sweep and went for a cover, but Hutton made the save. A few minutes later The Midnights hit a second Midnight Massacre on Hodge and scored the pinfall. Jim Cornette stood in the ring with his team and bragged to Rose, Doring, and Sherri that the Midnights would soon win the belts for a third time. ***½

2) Magnificent Muraco scored a quick pinfall over George South. It took Muraco only a few minutes to put South down after a Hawaiian Hammer. DUD

3) New World Tag Team champions “Dastardly” Danny Doring and Texas champ “Playboy” Buddy Rose defeated Cousin Luke and “Special Delivery” Jones. Rivals Luke and Rose went at it for a few minutes, which saw Luke hit a Hillbilly Drop on the “Playboy”. Luke went for a cover, but Rose kicked out. Doring came in and hit Luke with the Bareback, which won him and Rose the belts last week. The hillbilly managed to roll out of the ring before a pin attempt could be made. The champs fought back and showed their double teaming skills that they have developed in the short time together. Doring hit the Danaconda on Jones, but Luke broke up the pin attempt. After a G-Spot Sweep, Doring hit a second Danaconda to get the pin. **

4) The “makeshift” tag team of B. Brian Blair and Brad Armstrong scored somewhat of an upset win over The Killer B’s. Buff Bagwell’s big “surprise” for the Evansville fans turned out to be that his face has healed from his broken orbital bone. “Buff Daddy” came to the ring in his mask, but removed it before the bout began. This was a great back-and-forth tag team match. For their first time teaming together, Blair and Armstrong worked very well. Sam Platania went down after Armstrong reversed a whip into the corner and Brutus Beefcake crashed into him. With Platania out of commission, all four men ended up in and out of the ring. Kevin Christian ran down to take over Platania’s duties. The B’s trapped Blair in the corner and choked him with the tag rope, while Christian tried to get Armstrong back to his own corner. The B’s later worked over Armstrong, but the popular Georgian hit a Russian leg sweep on Bagwell out of nowhere. Armstrong went for a cover, but fellow Georgian Bagwell managed to kick out. Armstrong made the hot tag to Blair and the Bee went to work on “Buff Daddy”. Blair clamped on the sleeper. Beefcake jumped in, but Armstrong cut him off with a dropkick. Capt. Lou Albano jumped on the apron, but Armstrong dropkicked him as well. Bagwell looked close to the ropes, but Blair released the sleeper and shoved Buff into the turnbuckle, busting him open. In a great move, when Buff rebounded off the turnbuckle, Blair caught him in the sleeper again and drug him back to the center of the ring. This time there would be no escape as the sleeper put Bagwell out. ****

5) Rick Rude defeated Jimmy Snuka. It was a bad night for the USWA officials, as Tom Branch went down in the opening minutes, after “Superfly” accidentally blasted him with a chop. While Bobby “The Brain” Heenan was trying to revive Branch, the battle continued. Rude came off the top rope with a double sledge, but Snuka cut him off with a big chop, which sent Rude head over heels to the mat. Magnificent Muraco and Capt. Lou Albano came down to ringside. Muraco jumped in and blasted Snuka with a clothesline. He threw Snuka to the floor, then followed up by smashing him into the ring post. Just as quickly, Muraco and Albano returned to the locker room. Rude hit two Rude Awakenings while Branch was still recuperating. Branch finally came to and Heenan yelled that Snuka should be disqualified for hitting Branch, but the bout continued. Rude hit a big clothesline and went for a cover, but “Superfly” managed to kick out. The “Ravishing One” hit another Rude Awakening and got the pinfall. Snuka looked infuriated at the loss, and especially at Muraco’s involvement. **½

6) Greg Valentine defeated “The Boogie Woogie Man” “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant in a wild bout. The referees may be going on strike after tonight, as for the third straight bout, an official went down. Kevin Christian went down after Valentine (apparently) accidentally smashed him with an back elbow smash. “The Hammer” took advantage and smashed Valiant’s legs into the ring post several times. This weakened Valiant and Valentine went for the figure-four leglock, but Christian was still down. Valiant’s partner “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka ran down and head butted Capt. Lou Albano. He then jumped in the ring and came off the second rope with a fist drop to Valentine, breaking the figure-four. Snuka and Valiant whipped Valentine into the ropes and executed a double chop. Magnificent Muraco came back down to ringside, but before he could attack, Snuka went after him, diving over the top rope and blasting Muraco with a plancha. The two brawled back to the locker room. By this time Christian had recovered. “The Hammer” controlled Valiant throughout the bout, even busting “Boogie” open after several chops to the chest, then a stiff chop to the face. Valentine went for the figure-four again. Valiant fought for the ropes, but with his legs weakened and blood running down his face, the former Southern champ was left with no choice but to tap out. ***

7) The Sheik came out the winner over Bobo Brazil by DQ. Brazil was in control early, going for a cover after a big body slam. But Sheik went to his best tactics—cheating—and pulled out his sharp object. He weakened Bobo and applied the Camel Clutch. When Bobo wouldn’t submit, Sheik brought out the object again and slipped it in for extra pain. But Brazil saw it coming and blocked the object. He broke out of the Clutch and threw Sheik off. The object fell out of Sheik’s hand and Bobo picked it up. Much like he did at the Independence Day Bash, Brazil used Sheik’s own object against, pounding away on him. Abdullah Farouk jumped on the apron and pointed it out to Tom Branch. Unfortunately Branch caught Brazil using the object. Unlike at the Bash, this was not a No-Disqualification match, so Branch had to call for the bell and disqualify Bobo. The Evansville fans were not happy about this and berated Sheik and Farouk as they fled to the dressing room. **¼

8) The Destroyer scored a big pinfall victory over Rikidozan. The “Intelligent, Sensational One” had a lot of control throughout this bout. He came off the second rope with a stomp to Rikidozan’s leg, then went for the figure-four leglock. Rikidozan was able to get the ropes. Destroyer came off the top rope with a Bombs Away and scored a somewhat surprising pinfall in a relatively short bout. As the masked man gloated over his win, Giant Baba made a surprising appearance, limping to the ring, and wearing a walking cast on his leg. Destroyer cut him off in the aisle, but Baba responded with a big chop to the chest. The Japanese giant threw Destroyer back into the ring, where Rikidozan had recovered. Baba and Rikidozan whipped Destroyer into the ropes and nailed him with a double chop. Baba then held Destroyer while Rikidozan blasted him across the chest with his famed chops. Several USWA officials, as well as Bobby Heenan, Rick Rude, and The Masked Superstar came down to ringside. It was determined that Destroyer had suffered a torn pectoral muscle. No word at this time on whether he will miss any ring time. **½

9) Masked Superstar and Bobby Heenan stayed in the ring for the next bout, which saw Superstar get a DQ win over Dan Severn. “The Beast” for whatever reason couldn’t get going in this one. Superstar did use some rough tactics on him, hitting the Superstar clothesline outside the ring, and then following up with two spinning neckbreakers in the ring. Severn managed to kick out. Superstar loaded his mask and delivered the head butt, which sent Severn to the floor. Dick Hutton noticed this and tried to inform Kevin Christian, but by that time Superstar had removed the object and given it back to “The Brain” at ringside. Superstar hit a third neckbreaker and went for a cover. Coach Hutton, infuriated by the breaking of the rules, jumped in the ring and nailed Superstar with a forearm. Naturally this gave Superstar the win by DQ. Superstar and Heenan left the ring the victors, while Severn and Hutton were angered by the results. ½*

10) Killer Kowalski put the Southern Heavyweight title on the line in the main event against the man who eliminated him from the 10-man tag team match at Independence Day Bash—“Jumping” Jim Brunzell. Brunzell started the match off a house of fire against Kowalski, working him over with fast-paced, high flying moves, knowing that was his first and perhaps only chance at the Southern gold. But the big champion came back and blasted Brunzell’s midsection with knee smashes, then went for a stomach claw. Brunzell quickly got to the ropes to break the hold. The champ came off the top rope with a Bombs Away, then grabbed Brunzell’s legs and delivered a giant swing, spinning the Bee around the ring several times. He dropped Brunzell, then himself dizzy, Kowalski fell on to Brunzell and was able to make a cover and score the pin to retain the Southern strap. **

[Cory Olson]

Highlights from USWA Championship Wrestling on July 26 and August 2:
• World Heavyweight champion Ed “Strangler” Lewis was interviewed by Bill Apter on the 7-26 episode. Apter put the champ in the hot seat and asked him what he thought about Team RPW’s offer to join them. Lewis said that he recognizes that this is a group of talented athletes and great pure wrestlers. The champ said he doesn’t like the idea of being “labeled” and branded as part of a group, but he considers it an honor to be invited to join such an elite unit. He said he will make a decision soon.
• Brad Armstrong announced that he and “The Birdman” Koko B. Ware will be teaming up in the USWA. Armstrong said that after his victory with B. Brian Blair over The Killer B’s, he is wishing to pursue tag team competition and see what heights he can reach. Since Ware’s partner “Special Delivery” Jones has been teaming more with Cousin Luke, Koko is excited to team with Armstrong.
• A huge main event was announced for August 29 at Engel Stadium in Chattanooga during the 8-2 edition. The USWA will end the summer with a huge Steel Cage Match, featuring Killer Kowalski defending the USWA Southern Heavyweight title against two-time former champ The Sheik! This will not only be the first time the Southern title has been up for grabs in a Cage Match, but it will also be the first one-on-one Cage Match up to this point in USWA history. After two disqualification endings, and the Sheik winning a non-title match due to the use of a fireball, as well as involvement by managers Capt. Lou Albano and Abdullah Farouk, the USWA Committee decided to put these two wild rulebreakers inside of a cage to hopefully try and settle the score!

The USWA comes to the Rupp Arena in Lexington on August 15!
• A tag team war will be contested in two separate bouts. World Tag Team champion “Dastardly” Danny Doring will face Midnight Express member “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton, while Doring’s partner and USWA Texas champion “Playboy” Buddy Rose will collide with “Loverboy” Dennis Condrey. Will Jim Cornette’s team get the wins or will it be “Sensational” Sherri Martel’s men?
• A huge card has gotten ever bigger, as for the first time, Frank Gotch will do battle with former World Heavyweight champ Rikidozan! Experts say that while Rikidozan has respect for Gotch and Team RPW, he doesn’t like the idea of them trying to recruit his ally “Strangler” Lewis to join them. A victory for either man will definitely catapult them towards a title shot!
• Yukon Eric puts a lot on the line as he will take on Southern Heavyweight champ Killer Kowalski in a non-title Lumberjack Match. Remember fans, if Eric loses, he must leave the USWA for one year. On the 8-2 episode of Championship Wrestling, Eric announced to little surprise that his lumberjacks will be “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka, “The Boogie Woogie Man” “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant, and The Killer Bees. Kowalski will have fellow Capt. Lou Albano stable mates Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, Magnificent Muraco, and The Killer B’s watching out for him.
• The main event will be for the USWA World Heavyweight championship. Kentuckian Ed “Strangler” Lewis will defend the title against Dan “The Beast” Severn. This is an interesting match-up. Severn has about 35 pounds on Lewis. Both specialize in submission finishers—Lewis has the Strangler’s Headlock, while Severn has the wakigatame. Lewis has not lost a match via pinfall or submission in 2008. Who will walk out the champ and will the result sway Lewis’ decision about joining Team RPW?
All this plus The Masked Superstar and King Kong Bundy take on The Killer B’s. Bobo Brazil in action and the new team of Brad Armstrong and “The Birdman” Koko B. Ware.

[Cory Olson]

August 15, 2008
Card #177: Rupp Arena in Lexington

1) The new tag team of Brad Armstrong and “The Birdman” Koko B. Ware defeated George South and Larry Sharpe in their first bout together. South and Sharpe had the early advantage, as Sharpe scored two near falls on Armstrong after separate piledrivers. Armstrong would come back and later bust Sharpe open with a running knee lift. Armstrong and Ware were able to keep their opponents in the ring for long periods of time throughout the bout. “The Birdman” popped South with several fast-paced punches and South came up with a busted nose. Ware dropped South with the Ghostbuster for the 1-2-3. ***¼

2) In a rematch from the Independence Day Bash, Magnificent Muraco scored a pinfall victory over S.D. Jones. Muraco utilized his Asiatic Spike throughout this bout and eventually “Special Delivery” was coughing up blood as a result. Jones had some moments, but Muraco came back and put him down for the pin after a fourth Spike. **¼

3) “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton defeated World Tag Team champion “Dastardly” Danny Doring. This was a battle of top rope leg drops, as Eaton hit the Alabama Jam on three occasions and Doring hit the Danaconda once. Neither finisher could beat the other man, but a top rope elbow drop from Eaton would get the win. **½

4) The Killer Bees defeated the Team RPW Oklahomans of Dick Hutton and Danny Hodge. Hutton actually has history with The Bees, as he suffered a back injury from them in 2005, while Hutton was teaming with the then-“Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase. Hodge and Hutton started off in control in this one. Hodge got Blair with the Oklahoma side roll, but Blair managed to kick out. Hodge got “Jumping” Jim Brunzell grounded with a Boston Crab, but Brunzell made the ropes. Hutton tagged in but got hit with a Bee Sting, but managed to kick out. Hodge later came off the second turnbuckle with a sledge, but Blair intercepted him with a dropkick. Brunzell nailed a stiff dropkick right to Hutton’s face, which busted him open. Brunzell went for the cover, but Hutton kicked out. Hutton fought back, seeming angered by the blood flow. However he couldn’t maintain control and “Jumping” Jim hit a second dropkick to put Hutton down for the three. The Bees offered handshakes out of respect afterwards and the Oklahomans accepted. ***

5) USWA Texas and World Tag Team champion “Playboy” Buddy Rose evened the odds for his team, scoring a pinfall victory over “Loverboy” Dennis Condrey. Surprisingly for the second match of the evening, neither Jim Cornette nor “Sensational” Sherri Martel got involved much. Rose and Condrey went back-and-forth in this one. Condrey hit a face-first leg sweep for a two-count. Rose would pick up the win after the Bombs Away. **

6) The Masked Superstar and King Kong Bundy defeated The Killer B’s by DQ. Superstar hit a dreaded spinning neckbreaker on Buff Bagwell in the opening minutes, but Bagwell managed to get his foot on the bottom rope. The Heenan Family team hit a double Avalanche in the corner on Brutus Beefcake, but the San Francisco native was able to kick out when Superstar went for a cover. Beefcake fought back and wanting to make an impact for his team started choking Superstar on the middle rope. Frank Morrell warned Beefcake about the infraction, but Beefcake wouldn’t listen. Morrell put the five-count on him and Beefcake still didn’t release. This left Morrell no choice but to disqualify The B’s. Bobby “The Brain” Heenan yelled at Capt. Lou Albano for his man’s actions. After the bell the two teams started to brawl, but several officials quickly broke them up before actions escalated. **¼

7) Greg “The Hammer” Valentine defeated Bobo Brazil by DQ in a great bout. Valentine worked on Brazil’s legs during the bout, attempting the figure-four twice, but being unable to get a submission. Brazil fought hard, using the Coco Butt several times. At one point, Bobo had Valentine locked in a bear hug, and then blasted him with a Coco Butt while holding the hug. The Coco Butt bloodied up Valentine. With Valentine’s face a bloody mess, Bobo got fired up, trying to figure out a way to beat “The Hammer”. Brazil was punching away at Valentine in the corner. Jerry Calhoun warned Brazil about letting Valentine out. Brazil’s response to the warning was to blast Calhoun with a big hammer punch. Calhoun went down but had enough strength to call for the bell. Capt. Lou Alban pulled the bloodied Valentine out of the ring and helped him back to the locker room. Valentine was the winner, but sure didn’t look like one. Brazil seemed frustrated at losing his temper and costing himself the bout. ***¾

8) In a first time meeting, Rikidozan pinned Frank Gotch in a great wrestling bout. Dick Hutton actually stayed in the locker room for this one, to eliminate any doubts of “outside involvement”. Rikidozan and Gotch exchanged some great scientific wrestling moves in the first minutes of the bout. The fans were split on whom to support. Rikidozan threw Gotch down hard with a scoop slam on two separate occasions and went for covers both times. Although the slams were hard, they were not enough to put down the Iowan. Gotch applied the rolling knee bar and later got on the Gotch Toehold, but Rikidozan wouldn’t surrender. Gotch went for a double leg takedown, but Rikidozan blocked it and turned it into a piledriver for another near fall. It was Rikidozan’s thunderous chops that would bring him victory. The two greats shook hands afterward and showed no disrespect to one another. ***½

9) Yukon Eric came back from a bloody beating to defeat Southern Heavyweight champ Killer Kowalski in a Lumberjack Match and to remain in the USWA. Since the lumberjacks were in place, Capt. Lou Albano stayed in the locker room. Greg Valentine was heavily bandaged up from his earlier bout with Bobo Brazil. The Albano contingent worked well together, as two would distract Paul Neighbors while the other two would attack Eric outside the ring, before “helping” him back in. Buff Bagwell hit a modified Buff Blockbuster on the floor. Kowalski went for a cover back in the ring, but Eric kicked out. Bagwell later attacked Eric again and whipped him into Brutus Beefcake, who blasted him with a flying knee smash. Kowalski also went for the cover, but again Eric got out. Magnificent Muraco distracted Neighbors, while Valentine wrapped Eric’s legs around the ring post. Kowalski hit a Bombs Away in the ring, which busted Eric open. He later went for another Bombs Away, but missed. Eric picked him up in the Kodiak Krunch and held him up for over two minutes. The Southern champ weakened, but was able to get his foot over the top rope to break the hold. Kowalski came back and knocked Eric out of the ring. His stable mates swarmed Eric, but were soon cut off by The Killer Bees and Jimmy Valiant who had kept the rules up until this point in the match. While Neighbors tried to break up the brawling lumberjacks, the eighth lumberjack, “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka, slipped into the ring with a steel chair in hand. He smashed Kowalski across the head with it, then drug Eric over and placed him on top of Kowalski. Neighbors turned around to count the three! The crowd went wild at seeing Eric’s first one-on-one pin on his rival in a USWA ring. Eric’s allies held him up afterwards. Albano ran out from the back and was infuriated at the result. ****¼

10) Ed “Strangler” Lewis put the USWA World Heavyweight title on the line in his home state against Dan “The Beast” Severn in the main event. Before the competitors came to the ring, Nick Bockwinkel made his return. He and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan came to ringside and sat next to Lance Russell and Dave Brown. Dick Hutton did accompany the challenger to the ring for this match. The coach was sporting a bandage from his earlier tag team bout. Lewis had the early advantage, using his better agility to counter many of Severn’s holds. “The Beast” attempted a choke sleeper early on, but Lewis quickly got to the ropes. Lewis took over and wore down Severn with a full nelson. From there it was Headlock City. After attempting to pin Severn’s shoulders down, Lewis kept the pressure on and was able to get “The Beast” to tap out. Lewis helped Severn up to his feet afterwards and shook hands with Hutton and Severn. Frank Gotch came down and shook hands with Lewis as well. As Jerry Calhoun handed “Strangler” the belt, Lewis stared down Bockwinkel and Heenan at ringside. **

[bookerbill]

Awesome stuff Cory.

How long does it take you to play/write up a card?

[Cory Olson]

Aug 1, 2008 10:49:28 GMT -5 bookerbill said:

Awesome stuff Cory.

How long does it take you to play/write up a card?

Thanks, Bill. What I do typically is as I roll the match, I keep a Word document open and write down notes. I usually note everything that happens that would cause the wrestlers to accumulate fatigue tokens (pin attempts, "Add 1" moves, situations off the charts, etc.) When the match is completed, I write up the description that I put on here of that match right away, so as not to forget the important happenings.

At the end of the whole card, I then copy all of the results and paste them on here as soon as I can.

I'd say on average playing one card takes about two hours. Of course it varies, depending on how long the matches take.

[bookerbill]

Thanks Cory. Sounds like we have similar styles.

Bookerbill