Thanks for the comments Graymar and Bookerbill. I have just finished card number 967 so number 1000 gets one step closer. How many feds on the boards have reached 1000 so far? I think Tom's GWF fed has so I am curious who else has achieved it. I can't belive I am close to getting there, it's crazy to think about but I wouldn't trade this dice rolling fun for anything. Snuka vs. Valentine in a cage? The LOW Board of directors will be taking that under advisement and we will see if Mr. Snuka will get his well deserved rematch. Next up is a huge show from MSG which includes some big announcements including the location for WrestleCade X, hope you enjoy the action...LOW Northern Wrestling Corporation - Madison Square Garden - New York, NY (Card #967)1)
Stevie Richards defeated Savage-T:
Dancin’ Stevie Richards, the leader of the Blue World Order, was in singles action taking on Savage-T, accompanied by valet KJ Hill, who was appearing courtesy of LOW All-Star Wrestling. Richards was in control early including trapping Savage-T in the Rat Trap. Savage-T made a nice comeback including hitting the Vertibreaker for a big near fall. He also stunned Richards with a superkick but Dancin’ Stevie responded with a Stevie-T to regain control. A short time later it was Richards hitting the Sitout Facebuster to score the pin.
2)
Cowboy Bob Orton defeated Sam Houston:
The unbeaten Sam Houston, a popular young star out of Waco, TX, had a tough task here as he took on the veteran “Ace” Cowboy Bob Orton. The experienced Orton had control of the match for a good stretch battering Houston with forearms and elbows. After an aborted dropkick by Orton it was Houston going for a whip into the ropes but Orton countered with a cradle hold for a two count. It seemed as if Orton was one step ahead the whole way and he took over hitting his patented Superplex to score the pin. Houston showed some fight but Orton had his number here and picked up a solid win.
3)
George Steele defeated Blue Meanie:
The popular Blue Meanie from Pepperland, the other half of the Blue World Order, took on the truly unpredictable George “The Animal” Steele who was accompanied by his manager Fred Blassie. It has been a while since Blassie was in the corner of Steele and the brawler from Detroit, MI, looked to be in rare form. He tried to attack the Meanie at ringside before the bell but that backfired. The Meanie impressed early trading blows with Steele but it didn’t take long for “The Animal” to take over on offense. He bit, scratched and clawed at the Meanie before hoisting him up into the Flying Hammerlock for a submission chance. The weight of the Meanie seemed to be too much so Steele dropped him to the mat. The Meanie began battling back and hit a neckbreaker but it wasn’t enough to get the win. Steele recovered and assaulted the Meanie with a foreign object before nailing him with a Headbutt to score the pin.
4)
Dick Hutton & Ilio DiPaolo defeated The Sheepherders:
The popular combination of Dick Hutton & Ilio DiPaolo took on The Sheepherders (Butch Miller & Luke Williams) out of New Zealand who had their flag bearer Ken Done in their corner. The Sheepherders jumped Hutton and DiPaolo during the ring introductions and got off to a strong start. They hit the Double Gutbuster on Hutton with Williams going for the pin but he kicked out before the three count. Hutton bounced back with a scoop slam and press on Miller but he kicked out with authority. A tag was made to DiPaolo and the Italian star looked to reverse the momentum. The Sheepherders then went for the Running Knee Smash but DiPaolo got out of the way causing Miller and Williams to collide. The crowd cheered that and Hutton and DiPaolo began mounting a strong offensive. When The Sheepherders were able to regain control it was Miller going for a deathjump but Hutton rolled out of the way. DiPaolo then ran in to cut off Williams as Hutton executed an Oklahoma Side Roll on Miller to score the pin. The crowd cheered wildly for the victory buy Hutton and DiPaolo over the feared team of The Sheepherders.
5)
Sabu defeated Killer Kowalski:
Manager Bill Alfonso led the “Homicidal, Suicidal and Genocidal” Sabu to the ring for this important showdown with Killer Kowalski. The aptly named Killer billed from Windsor, Ontario, Canada, was without his manager Captain Lou Albano who is on the road with Greg Valentine, the LOW International Heavyweight champion. Kowalski got off to an aggressive start and nearly pinned Sabu after hitting the bombs away knee drop. Sabu then caught Kowalski with a huracanrana that nearly resulted in a flash pin. Sabu then took the match to the outside where Kowalski took over and was nearly disqualified for another aggressive attack. Sabu hung in there with Kowalski and after a deathjump attack he locked on the Camel Clutch in center ring. Kowalski tried to break out of the punishing hold but Sabu cinched it on as Alfonso furiously blew his whistle at ringside. The referee checked intently and got no final response from Kowalski and he called for the bell giving Sabu the victory via submission. The crowd erupted in cheers as Sabu picked up one of the biggest singles wins in his LOW career by defeating Kowalski.
6)
Apter’s Corner with LOW Commissioner Charlie Cox:
One of the most anticipated moments of the LOW calendar year is when LOW Commissioner Charlie Cox joins PWI Editor Bill Apter for a live edition of Apter’s Corner at MSG. The reason being is that it means major announcements are forthcoming, most notably the location for WrestleCade being announced. Apter welcomed Cox into the ring and without further ado the commissioner took the mic and made the highly anticipated announcement. He said that a number of cities, including New York, had put in bids to host WrestleCade X but that this year the event would be taking place in Houston, TX, at the world famous Astrodome (Card #1000). The 55,000 seat venue, which was originally built for the Houston Astros and opened in 1965, has often been called the “Eighth Wonder of the World”. Cox said that LOW has their own “Eight Wonder of the World” in the undefeated Andre the Giant and that he had no doubt that Andre would be a key part of the big event.
The crowd cheered the announcements by Cox who then handed the mic back to Apter to make his own special announcement. The PWI Editor was proud to announce that once again Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine and LOW would be presenting what will now be the eighth annual PWI Invitational Cup Tournament. He then told the crowd to watch the video board as the qualifying matches involving the thirty-two participants would be revealed:
Fred Blassie (NWC) vs. Don Muraco (SWA) (Card #970 in Sheffield, England)
King Kong Bundy (AWE) vs. John Tolos (PCW) (Card #971 in Memphis, TN – LOW All-Star Wrestling broadcast)
Jim Londos (GWA) vs. Antonio Inoki (Kings Road United) (Card #973 in Landover, MD)
Ed “Strangler” Lewis (Free Agent) vs. Frank Gotch (NWC) (Card #974 in Norfolk, VA)
Angelo “King Kong” Mosca (SWA) vs. Angelo Poffo (AWE) (Card #975 in St. Louis, MO)
Dan Severn (AWE) vs. “Million $ Man” Ted Dibiase (GWA) (Card #976 in Phoenix, AZ)
The Destroyer (Kings Road United) vs. The Crusher (Free Agent) (Card #976 in Phoenix, AZ)
Cowboy Bob Orton (NWC) vs. Magnum T.A. (SWA) (Card #977 in Glasgow, Scotland)
Mike Graham (SWA) vs. Ox Baker (SWA) (Card #980 in Washington, D.C.)
Bob Roop (GWA) vs. Killer Kowalski (NWC) (Card #980 in Washington, D.C.)
Tracy Smothers (SWA) vs. John Pesek (AWE) (Card #983 in Miami, FL)
Curt Hennig (PCW) vs. Tyler Black (GWA) (Card #984 in Detroit, MI)
Sabu (NWC) vs. Blackjack Mulligan (SWA) (Card #984 in Detroit, MI)
Larry Zbyszko (AWE) vs. Don Leo Jonathan (PCW) (Card #986 in San Diego, CA)
2 Cold Scorpio (GWA) vs. Gorgeous George (NWC) (Card #987 in Mexico City, Mexico)
Jon Moxley (GWA) vs. The Mountie (PCW) (Card #987 in Mexico City, Mexico)
Cox took over again and announced that the qualifying participants will meet in the first and second rounds of the tournament during WrestleCade weekend at Reunion Arena in Dallas, TX (Card #997) and at the Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston, TX (Card #998). The final match will follow tradition and take place at WrestleCade X at the Astrodome. In addition he announced that the IWA will be a major part of WrestleCade X weekend as they present a card titled Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers at the Beaumont Civic Center in Beaumont, TX (Card #999). All of the announcements were met with great cheering by the crowd and both Cox and Apter thanked them for their loyalty to LOW. Cox then had one final announcement to make and noted that major changes among the territorial promotions could be taking place in LOW in the new year and that any concrete announcement on that would be forthcoming.
7)
Frank Gotch defeated Gorgeous George:
Two men who are involved in the qualifying round for the eighth annual PWI Invitational Cup Tournament squared off as Frank Gotch took on Gorgeous George. Valet Cherie Dupre accompanied George to the ring spraying the perfume atomizer as per his instructions. He grabbed the mic from ring announcer Gary Michael Cappetta and claimed that he “smelled bad” and ordered Dupre to spray him but Gotch decked the “Human Orchid” before that could happen. Cappetta and Dupre then quickly bailed out of the ring as the referee called for the bell. Gotch took the measure of George early and scored a two count after hitting the Iowa backdrop. He also worked the guillotine choke and crossface and arm bar looking to gain a submission. Dupre interfered at one point by tripping up Gotch allowing George to strike quickly with the rolling hiplock. George relied on Dupre for interference again which turned the tide but Gotch was able to fight off defeat. The finish saw Gotch strike with another Iowa backdrop before trapping George in the Gotch Toehold for a submission victory. George clutched his leg in pain and rolled out of the ring as Gotch, the inaugural LOW World Heavyweight champion, soaked in the cheers of an appreciative crowd.
8)
Fred Blassie, Nikolai Volkoff, & Iron Sheik defeated Mil Mascaras, The Patriot, & Marcus Alexander Bagwell:
A big six-man tag team match saw freelance star Mil Mascaras, the “Man of 1,000 Masks”, team up with Stars & Stripes (The Patriot & Marcus Alexander Bagwell) to take on the “King of Men” Fred Blassie, Nikolai Volkoff, & Iron Sheik. The crowd was at a fever pitch during the ring introductions and during the early part of the bout when Mascaras and Blassie, both former holders of the LOW World Heavyweight title, exchanged offense. Blassie, who also serves as the manager of Volkoff and Sheik, was attempting to lead by example. That seemed to fuel his men who would take over on The Patriot for an extended stretch. The masked man took a terrible beating and wound up having his mask torn up and was left a bloody mess due to multiple bite attacks from Blassie. Volkoff nearly pinned him with the Backbreaker Drop at one point but The Patriot somehow kicked out. He was finally able to tag out and both Bagwell and Mascaras did an admirable job fighting basically two against three but then The Patriot tagged himself back in. The Iron Sheik took full advantage of the situation and leveled him with a kick with his loaded boot. That set up the finish as Blassie tagged in and nailed the bloody Patriot with the Southern Neckbreaker to score the pin.
9)
Chain Match: Bruiser Brody defeated Randy Savage:
The intense rivalry between freelance stars “Macho Man” Randy Savage and “King Kong” Bruiser Brody resulted in this Chain Match being signed. It was Savage that issued the challenge as an attempt to try and beat Brody at his own game by utilizing a chain. Brody came into the match with a big psychological advantage having just defeated Angelo & Lanny Poffo in a Handicap Match on an AWE card in Chicago, IL (Card #965). Savage had to be livid over that result and looked to avenge his father and brother in this match. The action kicked off before the bell sounded with Brody jumping Savage as the referee tried to attach the chain to his wrist. Brody was a whirlwind of activity early but it nearly cost him as he missed a corner charge and Savage cradled him with the chain scoring a two count. Savage mounted a nice offensive from there including hitting the flying axe handle from the top rope to the floor which resulted in another two count as the “Macho Man” rolled Brody back into the ring. The chain would come into play after that with both men getting in some stiff shots with the weapon. Savage busted Brody open and laid him out with the piledriver before coming off of the top rope with his trademark Flying Elbow Drop but somehow Brody kicked out just before the three count.
Brody was a bloody mess but he was not beaten and he began mounting a furious comeback. At one point he used the chain to tie Savage to the turnbuckle and battered him before executing a big boot to the face scoring a big near fall. Brody then used the chain to bludgeon Savage who was busted open as a result. The match was now taking a very sadistic turn as both men were bleeding badly and determined to do whatever it took to score the win. They battled to the outside several times and used the chain in torturous ways. Savage showed fierce determination in battling his larger foe but Brody scored with a piledriver to lay him out. Brody then delivered the Jumping Knee Drop and went for the pin but somehow Savage kicked out just before the three count. Brody then resorted to the unthinkable and wrapped a piece of the chain around his knee before hitting a second Jumping Knee Drop to score the pin. A stunning silence fell over the arena briefly before the capacity crowd cheered the efforts of both men who were laid out on the mat bleeding badly and in need of medical attention. Paramedics then rushed into the ring but a defiant Brody refused their help and staggered to the back under his own power. Savage had to be helped out of the ring but as he got to the floor he shoved the medics away and dropped against the guard rail. He would also refuse help and began walking to the back as the crowd cheered him on.
PWI Editor Bill Apter attempted to speak with both men after the match but they were unavailable for comment. LOW Commissioner Charlie Cox instead met up with Apter and explained that he had spoken to Savage who said that the war is far from over. He said that Brody had made things “personal” by getting Angelo and Lanny Poffo involved and that one day he would catch up with Brody again. Cox admitted that he was hesitant to sign another match between the two but the pressure from both sides may prevent that. Apter suggested that perhaps a “final meeting” was in order and Cox said that he was definitely taking that under consideration.
10)
LOW World Heavyweight title: Bobo Brazil© defeated Antonino Rocca to retain the title:
The main event had to follow a real war but perhaps was one of the most anticipated LOW World Heavyweight title matches in recent memory as Bobo Brazil put the title on the line against his good friend and sometimes tag team partner Antonino Rocca. Brazil, now a three-time holder of the LOW World Heavyweight title, faced a man in Rocca who held the belt over four years ago. To say that Rocca was ready would be an understatement and the capacity crowd was split in their support of the two men who shook hands before the referee signaled for the bell to start the match. Rocca got off to a quick start with face slap with his foot stunning Brazil and then drove the champion out of the ring with a flying head scissors. Rocca then went for a backdrop but Brazil countered with a headbutt to the shoulder followed by the Coco Butt scoring a two count. Brazil went on the offensive hitting the Bobo bodyslam and then drove Rocca to the outside after a big hammer punch. Things started to get more intense and the two wound up trading blows out on the floor. Rocca was nearly disqualified when he sent Brazil crashing head first into the ring post. Rocca then trapped Brazil in the bow and arrow and transitioned into a crushing body scissors. Brazil fought out of it and blasted Rocca with another Coco Butt for a near fall. The crowd was going crazy by this point as the two men engaged in a see-saw battle for the championship. The finish came when Brazil used the grinding hammerlock for a submission chance and then nailed Rocca with another Coco Butt to score the pin. It was a successful version three defense of the championship for Brazil which was capped off by the two men shaking hands and embracing to cheers from the crowd. Rocca then held up Brazil’s arm in victory paying tribute to his longtime friend.
