TEW '07 - Georgia Championship Wrestling (D.O.T.T. mod)

[JonInMiddleGA]

I guess this was bound to happen sooner or later. I've played with the Death of the Territories mod some in the past, put the game aside for quite a while & recently picked back up with a freestyle game with a modern real world mod and have been spending a lot of time with that.

Now, with '08 tempting me but not tempting me enough yet, I get a notion to take a more serious crack at another D.O.T.T. career.

If you've seen past threads in the dynasty forum from me you probably know already that I'm largely a results & universe guy, so don't expect any long-winded posts where I try to channel the spirit of Stan Lane for a promo. If you know the era then you can likely picture the scenes in your head far better than I could conjure them up anyway. If you don't know the era then I'm not sure how much fun this universe is going to be for you. But maybe there'll be at least a few people who get a kick out of seeing some familiar names pop up, sometimes in some unusual places no doubt.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Georgia Championship Wrestling Overview
I start with $250,000 in the bank and a challenging schedule: A weekly 90 minute TV show, a weekly "Stars of GCW On Tour" show, and a larger show at the end of the month. There's a reasonable amount of talent on hand but with the exception of color commentator Freddy Miller and referee Ronnie West it's all working under PPA contracts. The challenge is likely to be keeping everybody happy with enough work without busting the bank.

Popularity
I start at C in the Southeast, C+ in the Great Lakes, and E everywhere else in the US. I've got an E- in Ontario and F's in the rest of Canada. The rest of the world we begin at F-.

Because of the interest levl in the Great Lakes we begin the game as one of four Cult level promotions in the U.S., along with the WWF (B prestige), Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (C+ prestige), and the American Wrestling Association (C prestige).

Titles
A total of five belts, three regular and two tournament titles. All are currently vacant since most of the recent champions have moved on to other promotions.
1) National Heavyweight - Main Event Title with 80 prestige. Most recent holders are Larry Zbyszko, Killer Tim Brooks, and Tommy Rich.
2) National Tag Team - Main Event Title with 70 prestige. Most recent holders are Afa & Sika, Michael Hayes & Terry Gordy, and Super Destroyer and Big John Studd.
3) National Television - Midcard Title with 65 prestige. Most recent holders are Steve Keirn, Kevin Sullivan, and Steve Olsonoski.
4) The Cadillac Cup - Main Event Singles Tournament Title with 85 prestige. Not held since 1977 when Thunderbolt Patterson became the only winner. We'll likely officially retire this one.
5) Omni Thanksgiving Tag Team - Main Event Tournament Titles with 85 prestige. The Moondogs Rex & Spot won last year, the Armstrongs (Bob & Brad) the year before.

[JonInMiddleGA]

The Roster

Non-wrestlers
Road Agent (2)
1)My user character -- I'm not going to be much help back there I'm afraid.
2)Mr Wrestling Tim Woods -- $1400 p.a. for 12 months.
His body is worn down but his mind is still sharp. With plenty of respect and a strong understanding of the basics, we hope he'll improve his ability to translate psychology to younger workers. A locker room leader.

Announcer (1)
1)Gordon Solie - $1900 p.a. for 12 months. The Dean of Wrestling Announcers, a master with the mic, revered by everyone, and a great help putting matches together too. But he also has strong ties to the CWF down in the Sunshine State, will we be able to keep him down the road?

Color Commentator(1)
1)Freddy Miller - $3000 written for 10.5 months A nice fellow who can talk and is more than serviceable as an announcer.

Referees (2)
1)Scrappy McGowen - $1200 p.a. for 9 months. B+ referee who could double as a road agent in a pinch (C- respect, C psychology)
2)Ronnie West - $1500 written for 18 months. A locker room leader with C+ ref skill that can also double as a road agent and probably will.

Authority Figure/Owner (1)
1)Jim Barnett - $1200 p.a. for 6.75 months. A manipulative guy with some charisma and respect. Not much purpose I can see except giving me orders and signing my paycheck.

Manager (1)
1)Paul Ellering - $800 p.a. for 7.25 months. Can talk the hind legs off a donkey. But will I be able to put up with his free spirit ways & politicking in the back?

Active Wrestlers
Main Event (5) - Not the easiest bunch to get along with but enough talent to get away with it.

1)Buzz Sawyer - $1400 p.a. for 9 months. 25 year old Heel brawler that could be an even bigger asset if he weren't a selfish pain in the butt.
2)Larry Zbyszko - $1400 p.a. for 9.75 months. 29 year old Heel that will be a real asset if his selfishness doesn't get in the way.
3)Mr. Wrestling II - $1400 p.a. for 18 months. 46 year old Face technician with popularity around the country, especially in the South East.
4)Ole Anderson - $1400 p.a. for 9 months. 40 year old Face brawler who would be better as a heel, but I need him as a favorite ... for now. A bitter politician with a lot of influence in the back.
5)Stan Hansen - $1800 p.a. for 12.25 months. 33 year old Face brawler. Loyal to AJPW but willing to work for us when he can.

Upper Midcard (5) - A decent enough group that can be a handful at the bar and the hotel.

1)Paul Orndorff - $1000 p.a. for 9 months. 32 year old Face that could climb into the main quite easily.
2)Ronnie Garvin - $800 p.a. for 9 months. 38 year old Face brawler who wishes he was better than he actually is.
3)The Iron Sheik - $1000 p.a. for 12 months. 43 year old Heel who will have to keep his free spirit in check.
4)The Spoiler - $1000 p.a. for 9 months. 43 year old Heel who is also popular in Canada.
5)Tommy Rich - $1000 p.a. for 12 months. 26 year old Face brawler that might be a big part of our future ... if he'll stay out of trouble.

Midcard (8) - With some tweaking this might be the strongest part of the roster.
1)Brett Wayne - $800 p.a. for 9 months. 24 year old Face brawler who is a major pain in the butt. Not half the worker his brother is.
2)Bruno Sammartino, Jr - $500 p.a. for 9 months. 22 year old Face that lacks the skills to go with the name.
3)Bullet Bob Armstrong - $800 p.a. for 3.5 months. 43 year old Face brawler that is only known in the South East. Staple of our midcard.
4)Jake Roberts - $800 p.a. for 9 months. 27 year old Heel brawler with personality to spare. Probably ought to have his own full-time road agent.
5)Les Thornton - $600 p.a. for 6.5 months. 35 year old Heel technician that is a master chain wrestler.
6)Pez Whatley - $350 p.a. for 9 months. 25 year old Heel lightweight that might get more work than his talent dictates because he still comes cheap.
7)Road Warrior Animal - $800 p.a. for 9 months. 23 year old Heel brawler that looks like a star in the making but still green.
8)Road Warrior Hawk - $800 p.a. for 9 months. 25 year old Heel brawler that's a future star if he doesn't alienate everyone around him.

Lower Midcard (4) - A group that really needs to be upgraded.
1)Brad Armstrong - $100 p.a. for 10.25 months. 21 year old Face lightweight who will likely team up with his dad.
2)Italian Stallion - $350 p.a. for 9 months. 27 year old Face who is easy to get along with but doesn't have much else going for him.
3)Joe Lightfoot - $350 p.a. for 9 months. 26 year old Face who belongs further down the card.
4)Rick McGraw - $350 p.a. for 9 months. 23 year old Face cruiserweight who wants to suceed but may not have the skills to reach the top.

Opener (3) - Will work for food.
1)Mike Starbuck - $100 p.a. for 9 months. 27 year old Face that shows up for work on time.
2)Pat Rose - $100 p.a. for 9 months. 22 year old Heel suited only for looking up at the lights.
3)Tim Horner - $100 p.a. for 18 months. 24 year old Face super junior that may have some hidden talent but might have style issues with the rest of the roster.

Enhancement Talent (1) - Walks, chews gum, occasionally at the same time.
1)Randy Barber - $100 p.a. for 5.5. months - 26 year old Face who can take a licking. He doesn't tick much, but he can take a licking nonetheless.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Rest of the World
There are 28 other promotions of note around the world, and we seem to have some sort of relationship with most of them.

United States
1)World Wrestling Federation (WWF) - Cult with B prestige - at war
2)Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (MACW) - Cult with C+ prestige - working agreement
3)American Wrestling Association (AWA) - Cult with C prestige
4)Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) - Regional with D+ prestige - working agreement
5)World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) - Regional with D prestige - hostile
6)Mid-South Wrestling (MSW) - Regional with D prestige - working agreement
7)Central States (CSTATE) - Regional with D prestige - working agreement
8)World Wrestling Council (WWC) - Regional with E+ prestige
9)Southwest Championship Wrestling (SWCW) - Regional with E+ prestige - working agreement
10)Pacific Northwest (PNW) - Regional with E+ prestige - working agreement
11)Championship Wrestling Association (CWA) - Regional with E+ prestige - working agreement
12)Houston Championship Wrestling (HCW) - Small with E prestige - working agreement
13)Southeastern Championship Wrestling (SECW) - Small with F+ prestige - working agreement
14)International Championship Wrestling (ICW) - Small with F+ prestige
15)World Wrestling Association (WWA) - Small with F+ prestige
16)Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW) - Regional with F prestige

Canada
1)Maple Leaf Wrestling (MLW) - Regional with D- prestige
2)Calgary Stampede Wrestling (CSW) - Regional with E+ prestige
3)International Wrestling Montreal (IWM) - Regional with E+ prestige - non-agression
4)Atlanta Grand Prix Wrestling (AGPW) - Regional with E prestige
5)All-Star Wrestling (ASW) - Small with F+ prestige - non-agression

Mexico
1)Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) - Cult with C prestige
2)Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) - Regional with E prestige

Japan
1)All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) - Regional with C prestige
2)New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) - Regional with C prestige
3)All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling (AJWP) - Small with E- prestige

UK
1)Joint Promotions (JP) - Cult with D prestige
2)All Star Wrestling UK - (ASWUK) - Regional with E prestige

[JonInMiddleGA]

Monday Week 1, April 1983

The first thing we have to do is figure out what we want to do. Even with the economy (B-) and the wrestling industry (E-) currently rising in the U.S., I'm scared silly about the financial end of things while running three shows a week. Granted, it's simple enough to do away with the weekly shows on the road but I know we can make progress faster with them than without them.

And of all the neighbors to have, why does it have to be Mid-Atlantic? They've got the roster I'd like to have, and even though we've got a working agreement with them I don't like having someone with higher prestige sitting so close to me. Just too easy for my talent to draw their attention, and if I use their guys to my advantage then I'm also improving their situation at the same time. I'm actually less worried about the WWF in spite of their even higher prestige and being at war with them. As for the other current member of "The Big Four" in the States, I suspect that we'll join the other two in picking the AWA clean over time. And as if there wasn't enough problem with MACW already, sitting on my other border is Dusty & CWF down in the sunshine state. It's bad enough that I end up sharing Solie with them, but the same push pull exists over talent with them too and they wouldn't need much of an improvement to reach the same level we're at.

I've got a roster that seems to be half prima donnas and half backyarders. The latter is a lot easier to deal with than the former I'm afraid and there's likely to be some surprising changes because of that. There's nobody, and I mean nobody (well, except maybe for Solie) that I'm willing to put up with too much crap from, especially not when there's so many workers with similar skill sets available.

And goals & guidelines from Barnett haven't even hit my desk yet.

Still, we've got at least one area of the roster that needs to be addressed ASAP and we make a few phone calls to try to shore up the bottom half of the heel roster.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Tuesday Week 1, April 1983
We awake to an early phone call from Jim Barnett, who has some instructions:

Critical Goal #1 - We must not fall in size over the next year.

Goal #2 - We're blocked from signing any wrestler with less than B- grade in resilience.

The first goal doesn't bother me much, I wasn't planning on doing that anyway. The second goal however ... so much for my phone call to Rick Hunter to help shore up the heel undercard. Also puts the kibosh on my plan to bring Lars Anderson to team with Ole, among other things. I make another call, just trying to get a little more help in here.

Elsewhere ... Houston Championship Wrestling & AJPW Women both rise to regional promotions ... Mid-Atlantic sells out the Myrtle Beach Center as 10,000 watch Mike Rotundo & Jerry Brisco defeat Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood to win the Crockett Cup (Show rating C-) ... The Spoiler wins the AGPW International HW Title by defeating Leo Burke at the Moncton Theatre in the Maritimes. On the same show, Kendo Nagasaki won the AGPW US HW Title by beating Hubert Gallant ... Southeastern Championship wrestling cuts eight names from their roster including our own Pat Rose. We might take a look at one or two of these guys for future filler ... Down in Mexico the UWA also trims their roster, cutting 8 young talents including Rey Mysterio, Negro Casas, and Octagon ...

[JonInMiddleGA]

Wednesday Week 1, April 1983
Nobody has returned my calls yet, so not much going on around here except getting ready for tomorrow night's tour show.

Some interesting things around the world last night though. Terry Funk loses an afternoon TV taping match for AJPW and then proceeds to win three times in one night to claim the Champions Carnival Title. ... Down in Florida, the strange Purple Haze wins the Florida HW Title by defeating Scott McGhee. On the same show, our own Jake Roberts defeated Rufus R. Jones to win the Florida Bahamas Title ... Up in Michigan, Chris Markoff beat Dick the Bruiser to claim the WWA Heavyweight Title ...In Calgary, The Bulldogs (Dynamite Kid & Davey Boy Smith) took the Stampede International Tag Team belts from Duke Myers & Kerry Brown. ... Jerry Jarrett's CWA visited Sarasota last night and Jesse Barr left with Koko B. Ware's Mid-America HW Title while Jerry Lawler defended the AWA Int'l belt against Moondog Rex.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thursday Week 1, April 1983

Still no call backs from the talent we're looking at, so we'll go tonight with what we've got.

A few interesting cards around last night though, including another sell-out (2,000 in Sarasota, FL) for Mid-Atlantic to see Private Jim Nelson & Ken Timbs defeat Angelo Mosca, Jr & Kelly Kiniski for the MA Tag Team Titles, as well as Steamboat & Youngblood defending the NWA World Tag Team Titles against Roddy Piper & Dory Funk, Jr. Nelson previously held the same title on two occasions with former partner Don Kernodle who is now working for the WWE ... World Class also had a big crowd (10k) last night in Denton, TX and they weren't disappointed. Kerry Von Erich won the WCCW Texas HW Title from Jimmy Garvin while The Freebirds Gordy & Hayes defended their American Tag Team Titles against Kevin & Mike Von Erich. ... 5000 showed up in Minnesota for the AWA Road Tour, watching AWA World HW Champion Nick Bockwinkel defend against Hulk Hogan and the High Flyers (Gagne & Brunzell) retain their World Tag Titles by beating David Schults and a recently heel turned Mike Graham. ... In Arkansas, our own Mr. Wrestling II teamed with Tiger Conway, Jr to retain the Mid-South Tag Team titles against Ted DiBiase & Mr. Olympia, while our Tim Horner lost to Steve Williams in the curtain jerker.

We did complete one small order of business before heading to the show, reaching a working agreement with All Japan Pro Wrestling. Most of their roster is fiercely loyal to them anyway so there's little risk of this being something we'll regret any time soon. Might be good for us down the road when we need some fresh faces & could provide useful experience for some of our guys to boot.

Stars of GCW On Tour ! -- Decatur (IL) Civic Center - Attendance 1,563
I figure if we're going on tour, we might as well see how well we travel, visiting the region where we have the second most popularity.

Results ... coming up later

[BYU 14]

Sweet, this will be enjoyable! Georgia was far and away my favorite territory and I have dabbled in DOTT dynasties here before. It will be interesting comparing how things unfold in your world to the way they did in mine.

I lost my TBS show fairly early in my last GCW dynasty and it hurt, hopefully you can keep the ratings up and Turner happy.

[condors]

good luck, I will be reading

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thursday Week 1, April 1983 (continued)

Stars of GCW On Tour ! -- Decatur (IL) Civic Center - Attendance 1,563

I figure if we're going on tour, we might as well see how well we travel, visiting the region where we have the second most popularity.

Pre-show incident Best Dressed Contest (5 minutes C+)
An impromptu incident before the show officially begins, as an arriving Paul Orndorff catches the eye of Larry Zbyszko, who offers some verbal abuse about his wardrobe. Orndorff, knowing which way the wind usually blows, challenges Larry to let the crowd show who they think looks better in their street clothes. Zbyszko agrees, and soon regrets it as the fans vote Orndorff the winner by their applause.

Paul celebrates his victory by saluting the fans, unaware of Zbyszko charging from behind, and gets leveled by a big knee. Orndorff falls hard to the mat with an audible scream of pain, but before he even hits, Zbyszko is upon him with a whirlwind of kicks and punches. As the fans unleash a swarm of debris into the ring, Zbyszko shreds the coat off of Orndorff's back before making a hasty retreat up the aisles.

Later, as the show officially begins Gordon Solie tries to talk to the Road Warriors before their match. The duo glares at him for a few seconds, then stalk silently toward the ring, leaving a perplexed Solie shrugging his shoulders. 3 minutes (C)
Road Warrior Animal is developing better performance skills.

Road Warriors d. Brett Wayne & Joe Lightfoot in 5:40 (D) when Hawk pinned Lightfoot after a Hangman's Neckbreaker.
Joe Lightfoot seemed off his game tonight. The announcing quality lifted the match. The colour commentary gave the match a boost. Road Warrior Animal is improving in Performance skills. Road Warrior Hawk is improving in Rumble skills.

Ellering hypes his team - 3 minutes (C)
Paul Ellering comes to the announce table at ringside with his charges in tow, hyping his duo as the second coming of Death. Road Warrior Animal is developing better performance skills.

Ronnie Garvin d. Pat Rose in 5:40 (C-) by pinfall with a Hands of Stone Punch.
Gordon was joined at ringside by Larry Z. The announcing quality lifted the match. The colour commentary gave the match a boost. Ronnie Garvin came out of the match looking good.

Solie talks to Wildfire, Jake the Snake interrupts 4 minutes (D)
The spotlight turns to the announcer's podium where Gordon Solie brings out Tommy Rich, seeking the blonde favorite's thoughts about the vacant title situation. Suddenly, Jake Roberts strolls onto the set and begins vehemently arguing with Rich over his chances to win any title after their match tonight. The segment wasn't very good to begin with, and this crowd really turned against it. Tommy Rich is developing better performance skills. Gordon Solie is improving at acting.

Tommy Rich d. Jake Roberts in 11:36 (C+) with a Vertical Splash. Tommy Rich seemed off his game tonight. The announcing quality lifted the match. Jake Roberts is improving in Rumble skills.

Larry taunts both Orndorff & Rich 4 minutes (C)
Larry Zbyszko cuts a vicious promo taunting both the Tommy Rich and Paul Orndorff relentlessly. The 6 for the National HW Title storyline has continued with this segment.

Larry d. Orndorff in 14:14 (B-) by pinfall after a Shoulder Breaker. The announcing quality lifted the match. This match lifted the crowd. Paul Orndorff is improving in Technical skills.

Final Show Rating: C+
This show can be considered a success, it should have increased our popularity

[BYU 14]

A nice mix with Rich, Zbyszko and Orndorff in the hunt for the Belt. Should be a great storyline.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Friday Week 1, April 1983
So maybe it wasn't anything spectacular but we learned a few things, including not to send Rich & Roberts into an angle together. We also started to get some idea about how much the crowd will tolerate the use of the same worker in long angles & matches on the same night (they seemed fine with it, at least if it's the right guy). We also managed, with some careful planning to limit costs, to make a small profit (up $5,958) on the night even with a crowd that was disturbingly sub-par compared to what other promotions have been drawing this week.

Plenty of action all over the place last night, starting overseas where New Japan had Kuniaki Kobayashi win the vacant WWF Junior Heavyweight Title (apparently licensed to them) at an afternoon TV taping only to see Tiger Mask claim the same belt a few hours later at their second show of the day. ... The WWF drew a capacity crowd of 10,000 at the Niagara (NY) Convention Center to see Bob Backlund defend his WWF Heavyweight Title against Ray Stevens ... Central States TV Title changed hands in St. Joseph (MO) as Jerry Oates defeated Mark Romero ... World Class visited Iowa and drew a sell out crowd of 2,000 as Terry Gordy defeated Kerry Von Erich in the main event and Kevin Von Erich defended the American HW Title against The Great Kabuki. ... Big Time Wrestling ran before a full house as well, where Dr. Tom Prichard defeated Dean Malenko for the PNW TV Title ... ICW ran in Jacksonville where our Pez Whatley won their TV Title by defeating Sonny Rogers.

We also make the first additions to our roster, signing a PPA deal with veteran heel brawler Len Denton (9 months, $875 p.a.). He'll probably never get past the midcard here but we're hoping he'll provide some experience & depth while jobbing to our stars. We also reach a PPA agreement with Eric Embry (9 months, $700 p.a.), with similar hopes for some midcard depth. Both currently work for SWCW.

[molson]

This kicks ass, I'll be reading

[JonInMiddleGA]

Saturday Week 1, April 1983

We start the day with another addition to the roster, this time a face midcarder in veteran Rick Hunter (9 months, $625 p.a.), allowed to do so in spite of his low resilience since we had already called him with an offer before the restriction was put into place. Not sure yet whether he'll work unmasked or as The Gladiator.

Plenty of action in the wrestling world to talk about while we get ready for tonight's ninety minute TV show. Former San Francisco promoter Roy Shire has joined Paul Boesch in Houston as head booker. ... Mid-Atlantic had a successful show in Michigan as Ric Flair pinned Jos Leduc to retain the NWA World Title and Wahoo McDaniel defeated Ivan Koloff ... Our Paul Ellering will be picking up frequent flyer miles having signed a per appearance deal to manage for AJPW's women's promotion ... Hector Guerrero won the SWCW Junior Heavyweight Title from Buddy Moreno in Austin, TX ... Mid South worked Joplin, MO where Mr. Olympia defeated Iron Mike Sharpe for their TV title. Mr. Wrestling II & Buddy Landell lost to Dirty Dick Murdoch & Kamala in the main event, overshadowed somewhat by Ted DiBiase taking the North American belt from The Junkyard Dog in the match prior ... Maple Leaf Wrestling in Toronto has added Adrian Adonis to their roster, which sorely needed some youth near the top of the card to work against Raymond Rougeau ... Closer to home, Puerto Rico's WWC slipped into our backyard and drew 300 people in Macon, GA where Abdullah the Butcher & Bruiser Brody won the WWC World Tag Titles from Carlos Colon & Invader #1.

Next up for us is this afternoon's TV taping at the Atlanta Civic Center.

[SirFozzie]

Damn. Wish I coulda seen that. Abby and Brody vs Carlos Colon and the Invader? Betcha it was one hell of a wild brawl.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Damn. Wish I coulda seen that. Abby and Brody vs Carlos Colon and the Invader? Betcha it was one hell of a wild brawl.

It's a wonder any of them are still alive at this point. I'm actually a couple of cards ahead of what's been posted here so far (hopefully I can stay that way too, keeps the dynasty moving even if I slow down a bit), here's what those guys have been doing just in the first three weeks of the game.

Abby -- works for both WWC & NJPW, between them he's worked six matches in 17 days, facing Colon 1x single & 1x tag, Pedro Morales 1x in singles, Hulk Hogan 2x in tag, Inoki 1x in tag, and Hercules Ayala 1x in tag. Currently Abby is B+ fatigue with no physical stat higher than C+

Brody -- works for WWC, NJPW, and CSTATE. Has worked 9 matches in 17 days, including facing Colon 2x singles & 1x tag, Terry Funk 1x singles, Stan Hansen 1x singles, Giant Baba 1x singles, and Scott Irwin 1x singles. Currently Brody is B fatigue & C- two of four physical condition stats.

Colon is only working for WWC so he's in a little better shape despite facing Brody 2x singles & 1x tag plus Abby 1x singles & 1x tag.

Invader #1 (Jose Gonzales) is working for both WWC & the WWF, 6 matches in 17 days with opponents including Brody, Abby, Hercules Ayala, and Ivan Putski.

Both of them are in the B-/C+ rang on physical condition stats.

[SirFozzie]

Apparently, some of my wrestling friends have visited the ribs place that Abby owns, and they serve some of the best ribs in the south.

He apparently has so many grooves in his forehead and skull from his wrestling days, that you can stick various items into his forehead lengthwise and have them stay there (I've heard it done with Casino Chips and quarters.

God only knows how he's lived to be 71 (just turned 71 last month), and according to Wikipedia he's going to wrestle one more match tommorrow night in Puerto Rico

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Apparently, some of my wrestling friends have visited the ribs place that Abby owns, and they serve some of the best ribs in the south.

Eh, it's pretty good, but the fun (for me at least) was knowing it's his place & that he's actively involved in it, etc. moreso than the food. Meat was good, sauce was okay.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Saturday Week 1, April 1983 (con’t)

Georgia Championship Wrestling (TV)
90 minutes at the Atlanta Civic Center with 4,759 in attendance

Pre-show
Tim Horner defeated Italian Stallion in 5:58 (E) by pinfall with a Bridging Roll-Up.

Pez Whatley hypes himself talking to Freddy Miller – 2 minutes (D)
The segment wasn't very good to begin with, and this crowd really turned against it.

Brad Armstrong defeated Mike Starbuck in 5:34 (D-) by pinfall with a Side Russian Leg Sweep. Brad Armstrong and Mike Starbuck have great chemistry, and it showed in their performances. The announcing quality lifted the match. The colour commentary gave the match a boost. This match brought the crowd's mood down. Mike Starbuck is improving in Flying skills.

Rick Hunter hypes himself talking to Gordon – 2 minutes (D)
Rick Hunter is developing better performance skills.

Cameras rolling and cue Gordon …

Jake Roberts defeated Thunderbolt Patterson in 7:23 (C) by pinfall with a DDT. Jake Roberts and Thunderbolt Patterson don't seem to click, and it made for an awkward bout. The announcing quality lifted the match. Jake Roberts is improving in Performance skills. Thunderbolt Patterson is improving in Performance skills.

Hansen Sawyer angle (B-) – 5 minutes - Stan Hansen is walking backstage, turns a corner, and bumps into Buzz Sawyer. Sawyer says something that Hansen doesn't like, and they start arguing. After some heated words, Sawyer challenges Hansen to meet him in the ring for a match. The 6 for the National HW Title storyline has continued with this segment. Buzz Sawyer is developing better performance skills.

Rick Hunter defeated Les Thornton in 7:55 (C) by pinfall with a Russian Legsweep. The announcing quality lifted the match.

Wrestling II talks to Gordon, Ellering interrupts – 4 minutes (B) The cameras head to the announcer's podium where Gordon Solie brings out Mr. Wrestling II. Mr. Solie begins to question Mr. Wrestling II about the recent arrival of the Road Warriors and the vacant tag team titles, to which Wrestling II talks about not being afraid of anybody anyway. Suddenly, Paul Ellering strolls onto the set and begins arguing with Wrestling II, telling him if he was smart enough he'd be afraid for his career.
Mr. Wrestling II is improving at acting.

Len Denton defeated Ronnie Garvin in 9:43 (C+) by pinfall after using a pair of brass knucks. The match suffered because there was not enough selling shown. The announcing quality lifted the match. The fans were really turned off by the finish to the match. Len Denton is improving in Rumble skills.

Ole Anderson talks to Gordon - 4 minutes (B-) Ole Anderson cuts a promo hyping up his skills and desire to be a champion.

Ole Anderson defeated Pez Whatley in 11:26 (C) by pinfall with an Anderson Running Knee. Pez Whatley was visibly tiring toward the end. Ole Anderson and Pez Whatley don't seem to click, and it made for an awkward bout. The announcing quality lifted the match.

Paul Ellering hypes upcoming match – 5 minutes (C+) Paul Ellering cut a promo Animal & Hawk's upcoming tag team match against Mr. Wrestling and Mr. Wrestling II. The 4 top partners for Tag Titles storyline has continued with this segment. The 4 second partners for tag titles storyline has continued with this segment. Road Warrior Animal is developing better performance skills.

Mr. Wrestling I and II defeated The Road Warriors in 9:39 (C-) when Paul Ellering's interference attempt backfired & failed to prevent Mr. Wrestling II pinning Animal by pinfall while using the ropes for leverage. Earlier in the match Ellering attacked Wrestling II from the ring apron. Road Warrior Animal was really off his game tonight. Road Warrior Animal was visibly tiring toward the end. Road Warrior Hawk was visibly tiring toward the end. The match suffered because there was not enough selling shown. The announcing quality lifted the match. The fans were really turned off by the finish to the match. Mr. Wrestling II looked excellent out there. The 4 top partners for Tag Titles storyline has continued with this match. The 4 second partners for tag titles storyline has continued with this match.

Stan Hansen drew with Buzz Sawyer in 13:38 (D+) following a double count out. The finish to the match didn't go down well at all, the fans hated it. The 6 for the National HW Title storyline has continued with this match. Stan Hansen is improving in Rumble skills.

Final Show Rating: C- This show can be considered a success, it should have increased our popularity.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sunday Week 1, April 1983

If that was a success, I’d hate to see what a failure feels like the next morning. It could have been a very nice show, and should have been, if I hadn’t screwed up the finishes to the two biggest matches of the night. At least we managed to make a little money on the show, about $17,000 in profit. We took a small hit to our popularity in both the South East and the Great Lakes but improved in all the other U.S. regions (except Puerto Rico). Live & learn, live & learn.

The rumor mill says that Jerry Lawler has turned down an offer from the WWF, that Bret Hart turned down an offer from Maple Leaf Wrestling, and that both Bull Nakano & Devil Masami turned down an offer from GLOW in order to focus on AJPW’s women’s promotion, which also announced the signing of Susan Sexton.

A couple of other talents had different reactions to recent overtures though. Freebird Michael Hayes has reportedly accepted a per appearance deal from the WWF and Bobby Heenan said yes to an offer to work for HCW in addition to his job with the AWA.

Since we didn’t use him last night, Bullet Bob Armstrong tagged with Super Olympia in the main event of SECW’s show in Sarasota, beating The Flame & Jimmy Golden. The show was good enough to help the promotion rise to the regional level & they’ll be looking to increase the size of their roster soon.

Speaking of the old marine, we’re negotiating an extension with him but haven’t come to terms yet. We also failed to find a suitable agreement with Dirty White Boy Tony Anthony, unwilling to pay him the $1050 per appearance he was looking for. Might be for the best if his regular tag team partner Len Denton continues to perform as well in singles action as he did in his debut last night. If not, we’ll find someone cheaper to pair him with.

We also make a few more phone calls, hoping to find some reasonably priced improvements for the roster, including one bit of addition by subtraction as we call in Italian Stallion to release him from his agreement since we do not plan to use him any longer.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Monday Week 2, April 1983

Taking a look at the TV ratings for various wrestling shows for the past week
GCW on TBS posted a 2.22, peaking in the second half hour at 2.38
WWF on US Synd Small I posted a 1.50
AWA on US Small Synd II posted a 1.41
Mid-Atlantic on Local TV posted a 0.74
WCCW Local-Mid South posted a 0.54
CWF on Local-SE posted a 0.32
SWCW on USA posted a 0.20
Mid-South on Local II posted a 0.18
Big Time Wrestling on Local-NW posted a 0.12
WWC on WAPA/Puerto Rico posted a 0.12
CWA All-Stars on WMC posted a 0.10
GLOW on US Small Syn III posted a 0.09
Wrestling at the Chase (CENT) on Local MW II posted a 0.04
SECW on Local SE II posted a 0.00
ICW All-Stars on WTVQ posted a 0.00
HCW on Local – Mid South III posted a 0.00
CWA on Local – Grt Lks III posted a 0.00
---------------
Puroresu Chukei (AJPW) on Nippon TV posted a 1.52
World Pro Wrestling (NJPW) on ASAHI posted a 1.41
CMLL on Telemundo posted a 1.27
Ringside Wrestling (MLW) on TV Canada East posted a 0.91
ITV World of Sport on ITV posted a 0.63
IWM on Local Quebec posted a 0.39
Stampede Wrestling on TV Canada West posted a 0.30

Today’s news includes … MSW star Ted DiBiase turning down offers from both the WWF and the AWA, Tully Blanchard remaining loyal to SWCW and turning down the WWF & MLW … In Vancouver, Al Tomko signs some non-wrestler help, reaching deals with Gene Okerland, Killer Kowalski, and Eddie Creatchman … Candi Devine signs with AJW … Mid-Atlantic watches as Roddy Piper signs with the WWF .. Speaking of which, they ran in New England last night as Don Muraco retain the Intercontinental Title with a win over Tony Atlas, Michael Hayes also debuted with a time limit draw vs Jules Strongbow … CWF goes up to Spartanburg, SC where Purple Haze defeated Dusty Rhodes while Jake Roberts partnered with Kevin Sullivan but lost to Barry Windham & Ron Bass … In Quebec, our Pez Whatley retained his ICW TV Title with a win over Lanny Poffo.

We extended our agreement with Bullet Bob Armstrong, although it unfortunately retained the existing creative control clause and upped his pay to $1050 per appearance, but it does keep him on hand through the end of the year now. We also completed termination proceedings with Italian Stallion and wish him luck in his future endeavors.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Tuesday Week 2, April 1983
HCW ran in Asheville, NC (att 142) last night where Gino Hernandez & Jim Duggan took the HCW Tag belts from Super Destroyer & Matt Borne, and Marty Lunde won the Nationwide Title from Chavo Guerrero. … ASW-UK sells out a show (att. 300) in Aberdeen where Steve Wright took the British Lt Hvywgt Title from Fit Finlay … AGPW was back in The Maritimes as The Spoiler retained his Int’l HW Title with a win over Leo Burke … Our own Rick McGraw lost to Captain Ed George on the undercard of the WWA show in Fremont, CA …

The bigger news was made outside the ring however, as the WWF signed AWA talents Hulk Hogan and Jesse Ventura. Maple Leaf Wrestling in turn signed Sgt Slaughter to add some punch to their thin roster … Debbie Combs reached an agreement with ASW … Dory Funk, Jr remains loyal to AJPW and turns down offers from HCW and SECW

Wednesday Week 2, April 1983
AJPW ran a small show in Chubu where Mighty Inoue & Dory Funk, Jr teamed to win the All Asia Tag Team Titles from Ishikawa & Sato. In the main event Stan Hansen defeated Umanosuke Ueda … In Calgary, Davey Boy Smith took the British Commonwealth Mid-Hvywt Title from Dan Davis on television (but nobody watched) … In Scotland, JP-UK fans saw Blondie Barrett take the British Heavy Middleweight belt from Alan Kilby … CWF traveled up to Illinois for a show where Jake Roberts defended his Florida Bahamas Title against Scott McGhee and The Professional (aka Les Thornton) defeated Mike Rotundo to claim the Florida Television Title … Both SWCW and Calgary Stampede are being threatened with cancellation of their TV shows if ratings don’t improve soon

Meanwhile we’re still awaiting responses from four workers that we’ve contacted about the possibility of coming into GCW. There’s nobody that we “have” to have at the moment but a few guys that we’d like to add to the mix nonetheless.

Thursday Week 2, April 1983
Plenty of news to digest while we get ready for tonight’s road show. New champions aplenty after last night including: Terry Gordy taking the WCCW Texas HW Title from Kerry Von Erich, Dutch Savage taking the PNW HW Title from Sheik Abdullah Ali Hassan, in the UWA Canek took the WWF World Lt HW Title from Villano III, Leo Burke took the AGPW Int’l HW Title from The Spoiler, and Greg Gagne won the vacant AWA Television Title.

Mid-Atlantic traveled west to Phoenix and put on a C-minus show before 783 fans, Wahoo McDaniel beat Terry Funk in the main event … World Class also ran in Phoenix, a D+ show in front of 1,000 with David Von Erich & Sweet Brown Sugar beating The Freebirds (Hayes & Roberts) in the main event … The AWA Road Tour drew 2,000 in Canton, Ohio as Nick Bockwinkel defended his world title against Hulk Hogan … World Wrestling Council ran in New York in front of 300, Carlos Colon defended his Universal HW Title against Bruiser Brody … Mid-South Wrestling went to Orlando as Ted DiBiase defended their N.A. Hvywt belt against JYD and Mr. Wrestling II paired with Butch Reed in a losing effort versus Kamala & Dirty Dick Murdoch.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thursday Week 2, April 1983 (con’t)

Stars of GCW On Tour ! – Tulsa, OK High School - Attendance 300 (sold out)

Pre-show
Tim Horner talks to Freddy Miller – 2 mins (F+) Such a weak segment really bombed with the crowd.

Paul Ellering defeated Tim Horner in 5:31 (E) by pinfall, illegally using the ropes for leverage. The announcing quality lifted the match. The colour commentary gave the match a boost. The fans were really turned off by the finish to the match. This match brought the crowd's mood down.

Paul Ellering hypes Road Warrior Animal – 4 minutes (D-) Precious Paul hypes his client as the second coming of pestilence. The segment wasn't very good to begin with, and this crowd really turned against it.

Main Show
Bullet Bob Armstrong defeated Road Warrior Animal in 5:45 (C) by pinfall with a Piledriver. The announcing quality lifted the match. Bullet Bob Armstrong is improving in Rumble skills.

Larry Zbyszko hypes himself – 4 minutes (D) The segment wasn't very good to begin with, and this crowd really turned against it.

Larry Zbyszko defeated Randy Barber in 5:34 (D) by pinfall with a Shoulder Breaker. The announcing quality lifted the match. The colour commentary gave the match a boost. Larry Zbyszko looked good out there. Randy Barber is improving in Performance skills.

Wildfire Tommy Rich talks to Gordon Solie – 4 minutes (D) The segment wasn't very good to begin with, and this crowd really turned against it. Tommy Rich is developing better performance skills.

Paul Orndorff defeated The Iron Sheik in 10:47 (C+) by pinfall with a Piledriver. The match suffered because of the lack of selling on display. The announcing quality lifted the match.

The Spoiler had an interview hyping his upcoming singles match with Tommy Rich. – 4 mins (D) The segment wasn't very good to begin with, and this crowd really turned against it. The 6 for the National HW Title storyline has continued with this segment.

Tommy Rich defeated The Spoiler in 11:57 (B-) by pinfall with a elbow drop.
The announcing quality lifted the match. The 6 for the National HW Title storyline has continued with this match.

Final Show Rating: C
This show can be considered a success, it should have increased our popularity

[JonInMiddleGA]

Friday Week 2, April 1983
If I didn’t know better, I’d think the crowd in Tulsa didn’t like us very much. Every time we opened our mouths the crowd got restless. I think the problem was a general lack of overness for our roster in the area, which will just be something that has to get better over time. Thank goodness for Wildfire & Jardine, they saved the show with a heck of a main event. Given how they bailed us out, I’m more concerned today with the fact that we lost about $9,000 running the show. Even though we’re still on the positive side of the ledge for the month we can’t do that very often, that’s for sure.

While we were doing our thing, so was the competition.

The WWF ran In Your Neighborhood at the Toledo Rec Center (att. 2,000 sold out), a D+ show with recently signed Roddy Piper teaming with Rocky Johnson to defeat Don Kernodle & Big John Studd in the main event … WCCW ran Monroe, LA (att. 5,000 sold out) with Freebirds Hayes & Gordy beating David & Kerry Von Erich in the main event of a solid C rated show … Overseas, Hulk Hogan defeated Antonio Inoki in the NJPW main event of a small show in Chubu … Maple Leaf Wrestling had a title change in Ontario, as Tiger Jeet Singh claimed the Canadian Hvywt Title by beating Angelo Mosca. They have to hope the change helps, as they’re facing the loss of the weekly TV show if ratings don’t improve soon … The World Wrestling Association also ran Monroe, LA last night, with the most notable moment being an injury to our Rick McGraw. He’ll be working through biceps tendonitis. …

And this morning, our phone started ringing suddenly. First the bad news, as promising youngster Bret Hart declined our offer to work here, opting to remain focused on efforts with Calgary Stampede.

And then the good news.

First, versatile lightweight Chic Cullen agrees to visit the States on a regular basis, on a 9 month, $525 p.a. deal. He’ll bolster our midcard almost certainly.

Next, Cullen will likely have a traveling companion, as promising 24 year old lightweight tough guy Dave “Fit” Finlay agreed to a 9 month deal for just $150 per appearance. I think it’s a real bargain, a downright steal in fact, as he’s more talented than more than half our roster already.
If we can get him over with the U.S. fans, he might find himself rising quickly through the ranks.

And to cap off what turned out to be a pretty darned good morning, we come to an agreement with a veteran that I believe will fit into our roster very well: 42 year old brawler Adrian Street. Already known in the South East from his work with the CWF, The Exotic One might find himself with a high profile in a hurry if his style meshes with our top guys as well as I think it will. Even at $1,100 p.a. he should become a mainstay for at least the next 9 months as he’s still cheaper than most of our main eventers.


Saturday Week 2, April 1983
We release Rick McGraw from his contract, figuring that we weren’t going to use him while he was injured and probably weren’t going to be using him after he healed either.

I initially planned to go ahead & release Bruno Sammartino, Jr before today’s show as well, then after letting him know I wanted to talk with him I changed my mind, figuring to job him out to one of the newcomers before cutting him loose. And then he comes in griping about how long it’s been since he was used on a show. Against my better judgement (and after counting to ten not once but twice) I decide to stick with my new original plan. He wants to be “used”? I think I can arrange that.

The other person who stopped by to not so subtly hint that they’re getting antsy was a surprise: Jim Barnett. Now exactly what am I supposed to do when the guy who signs my paycheck makes it clear he’d like something to do? Well duh, I try to figure out something he can do without making a mess of it. I’ll let him handle one of the matches tonight as a road agent & see if that satisfies his itch to be important. If so, great, otherwise I’ll figure out a way to give him a couple of minutes of face time next week.

[BYU 14]

Good move bringing in Sweet, he was so underrated as a wrestler. Too bad Hansen is in an angle, would be great to see him and the Exotic one go at it.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Saturday Week 2, April 1983, (con't)

Georgia Championship Wrestling (TV) – 90 minutes at the Municipal Auditorium, Columbus, GA Coliseum with 4,124 in attendance

Pre-show

Dave Finlay introduces himself & insults the crowd – 3 minutes (F)
Such a weak segment really bombed with the crowd.

Joe Lightfoot d. Pat Rose in 4:40 by pinfall with a Victory Roll. (D-)
The announcing quality lifted the match. The colour commentary gave the match a boost. This match brought the crowd's mood down.

Len Denton talks in-ring with Gordon Solie – 3 minutes (D)
The segment wasn't very good to begin with, and this crowd really turned against it. Len Denton is developing better performance skills.


TV Taping

Mr. Wrestling II d. Les Thornton in 9:42 by pinfall with a Million Dollar Knee Lift. (B)
The match suffered because of the lack of selling on display. This match lifted the crowd.

Wrestling II praises Stan Hansen and makes mention of how glad he is that Hansen is in the area. – 5 minutes (B-)

Dave Finlay d. Bruno Sammartino, Jr in 5:36 by pinfall with a Rolling Fireman's Carry Slam. (D-)
The announcing quality lifted the match. The colour commentary gave the match a boost. This match brought the crowd's mood down. Bruno Sammartino Jr. is improving in Performance skills.

Pez Whatley goes for some cheap heat and delivers a wicked promo in which he insults the humanoids in the audience. – 3 minutes (E+)
The segment wasn't very good to begin with, and this crowd really turned against it.

Pez Whatley d. Tim Horner in 5:44 by pinfall with a Flying Willie Headbutt. (D) The announcing quality lifted the match. The colour commentary gave the match a boost.

Jake Roberts cuts a promo hyping himself up – 4 minutes(C+)

Eric Embry d. Brett Wayne in 10:30 by pinfall with a Piledriver. (D-) Eric Embry and Brett Wayne just don't click at all, and it showed in their performances. The announcing quality lifted the match. The colour commentary gave the match a boost. This match brought the crowd's mood down. Eric Embry is improving in Flying skills. Brett Wayne is improving in Performance skills.

Ole Anderson hypes his upcoming match against Buzz Sawyer – 3 minutes (B)

Stan Hansen d. Len Denton in 12:16 by pinfall with The Lariat. (B-) This match lifted the crowd.

Hansen cuts a post-match promo on Buzz Sawyer & the vacant title - 5 minutes (B) The 6 for the National HW Title storyline has continued with this segment.

Buzz Sawyer d. Ole Anderson in 13:50 by pinfall with a Running Powerslam. (B-) This match lifted the crowd. Ole Anderson is improving in Rumble skills.

Final Show Rating: B-
This show can be considered a success, it should have increased our popularity.

[condors]

B- nice show kutgw!

I really like your top 10 guys


If you don't mind when you do your updates from other promotions could you include Billy Superstar Graham he was my favorite wrestler back in the day and I am always interested what happens to him in dott mods as the world evolves.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by condors

B- nice show kutgw!

Thanks. It's fun, but a real change of pace from the rapid fire three shows a week freestyle no pressure career I've been playing for the past couple of months. A lot harder, since there's a lot more decisions than "do I want this guy?" which is what that one had become.

If you don't mind when you do your updates from other promotions could you include Billy Superstar Graham he was my favorite wrestler back in the day and I am always interested what happens to him in dott mods as the world evolves.

No problem. SBG is an occasional wrestler for the WWF at this point and through the dates I've posted so far he's worked two matches. A (D) win over Sal Bellomo at an In Your Neighborhood show and a (D) double DQ against Charlie Fulton at their second IYN show of the month. A rematch between the two is booked for their end of the month show.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sunday Week 2, April 1983
Now THAT was a show. The top of the roster really delivered, now if we could just get a little more out of the middle of the roster we’d be cooking with gas. Even turned a profit last night, about $9,000 or so, which will help cover our outings in other regions.

One thing that’s becoming more & more clear with every passing show is that regional popularity is very important to the success of a segment, especially where angles are concerned. Even our better workers outside the ring just don’t get the reaction from a crowd that isn’t partial to them, and so-so guys on the mic get killed if they aren’t already over.

The most obvious solution would be to cherry pick certain workers for certain regions but the problem become keeping a bloated roster happy. In the short term, I’ve increased our expected match ratio to 80% without objection from Mr. Barnett, hopefully reducing the number of angles needed will help with the problem.

Elsewhere last night SECW (bizarrely) ran in Fremont, CA in front of 137 people (D-) Since he wasn’t booked for us, Bullet Bob Armstrong made the trip and defeated Jimmy Golden … The CWA visited Tampa for a sold out (2,000) D+ show that included The Bruise Brothers (Troy Graham & Porkchop Cash) defeating Phil Hickerson and The Spoiler (not ours, the other one).

Maple Leaf Wrestling made overtures to both Ted DiBiase & Jerry Lawler only to be rejected …. Jaguar Yokota reportedly turned down an offer to tour with GLOW … Tully Blanchard remains loyal to SWCW, turning down an offer from the AWA … SECW gets some considerable help in the office and backstage, signing veteran booker George Scott

Monday Week 3, April 1983
The day off gives us a chance to take care of one small piece of business, the release of Bruno Sammartino, Jr. from his PPA contract. Just nothing else for him to do here that I could see, especially not at $500 p.a.

The WWE ran in Fresno last night (C-) with Hulk Hogan teaming with Andre the Giant to defeat the Wild Samoans … The CWF sold out (2000) in Tampa (C) with Kevin Sullivan defeating Dusty Rhodes in the main event. Jake Roberts also worked the show, losing to Ray Candy, same result for Les Thornton (as The Professional) against Ron Bass … Although not on hand for their show in Quebec last night, Maple Leaf Wrestling has signed Ricky Steamboat to a p.a. deal, while ICW star Randy Savage & HCW’s Gino Hernandez are the latest to reject their offer … Both the WWA and ICW are being warned that their TV shows are in jeopardy if ratings don’t improve soon.

Speaking of television, here’s the ratings from the past week:
GCW on TBS posted a 2.36, peaking in the second half hour at 2.54 (up 0.14)
WWF on US Synd Small I posted a 1.52 (up 0.02)
AWA on US Small Synd II posted a 1.31 (down 0.10)
Mid-Atlantic on Local TV posted a 0.67 (down 0.07)
WCCW Local-Mid South posted a 0.62 (up 0.08)
CWF on Local-SE posted a 0.50 (up 0.18)
SWCW on USA posted a 0.34 (up 0.14)
Mid-South on Local II posted a 0.25 (up 0.07)
WWC on WAPA/Puerto Rico posted a 0.14 (up 0.02)
Big Time Wrestling on Local-NW posted a 0.12 (same)
CWA All-Stars on WMC posted a 0.11 (up 0.01)
GLOW on US Small Syn III posted a 0.09 (same)
Wrestling at the Chase (CENT) on Local MW II posted a 0.07 (up 0.03)
SECW on Local SE II posted a 0.00 (same)
ICW All-Stars on WTVQ posted a 0.00 (same)
HCW on Local – Mid South III posted a 0.00 (same)
CWA on Local – Grt Lks III posted a 0.00 (same)

Puroresu Chukei (AJPW) on Nippon TV posted a 1.54 (up 0.02)
World Pro Wrestling (NJPW) on ASAHI posted a 1.51 (up 0.10)
CMLL on Telemundo posted a 1.44 (up 0.17)
Ringside Wrestling (MLW) on TV Canada East posted a 0.93 (up 0.02)
ITV World of Sport on ITV posted a 0.59 (down 0.04)
IWM on Local Quebec posted a 0.37 (down 0.02)
Stampede Wrestling on TV Canada West posted a 0.29 (down 0.01)

[SirFozzie]

I'm trying to imagine Jaguar Yokota wrestling in GLOW. And failing miserably

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

I'm trying to imagine Jaguar Yokota wrestling in GLOW. And failing miserably

I'm curious to see what happens when them when they begin their tour & actually start running shows next month (apparently their weekly TV show is airing highlights of their "previous" tour at the moment).

In addition to the roster they start with, they've made five signings so far (I'm a couple of weeks ahead in game time vs what's posted here): Luna & Vivian Vachon, Judy Martin, Klondyke Kate, and Rhonda "Monster Ripper" Singh.

That brings their roster to: 8 main eventers (both Vachons, Tammy Jones, Mt Fiji, California Doll, Tina Ferrari, Matilda the Hun, and Ashley Cartier), 8 upper midcarders, 12 midcarders, 6 lower mids, 4 openers, and 1 enhancement talent, for a total of 39 workers. For a regional promotion with only E- popularity anywhere outside the South West, I'm not sure how their touring schedule will work out financially.

[BYU 14]

Holy smokes, Graham going to a double DQ against one of my favorite Georgia Jobbers Charlie Fulton.....The Superstar has fallen on hard times indeed.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Tuesday Week 3, April 1983
Reality hits the AWA today as both Hulk Hogan and Jesse Ventura officially depart for the WWF. … Maple Leaf Wrestling continues to try to beef up their roster, adding Bad News Brown from Calgary Stampede … Leo Burke retained his AGPW Int’l HW Title with a win over the Cuban Assassin, The Spoiler picked up a win over Stephen Petipas on the same show … Over in the UK, Mal Sanders defeated Mighty John Quinn to capture the ASWUK Championship while Steve Wright took the British Lt Hvywt belt back from Fit Finlay

Since I hate to miss an opportunity to kick someone when they’re down, I make a couple of long distance calls in their general direction myself. Seems only appropriate since I’ve been told that they’ve contacted both Buzz Sawyer and Larry Zbyszko. Larry came to let me know he was considering their offer and accidentally let it slip about Buzz in the same conversation. We also place a couple of calls into the Tennessee area codes to see who might be interested in getting a little more work.

Wednesday Week 3, April 1983
Six phone calls out and not a single decent conversation out of any of them yet. I’m not expecting, nor even hoping really, that all six people we’ve called will be interesting in spending some time in GCW. But you’d think that at least one of them might jump at the chance. Jump? They haven’t even crawled in the direction of the chance by accident yet.

Nine promotions ran shows last night, so there’s plenty of odds & ends today. AJPW television featured Umanosuke Ueda taking the TV title from Genichiro Tenryu … The AWA held their big show for the month, with Nick Bockwinkel & The High Flyers retaining their respective titles … SWCW came to Atlanta (bastards) for a show (D+) that included a win for The Grapplers (Len Denton & Tony Anthony) over Bobby Jaggers & Kelly Kiniski … Barry Windham & Ron Bass won the CWF Florida Tag Team titles at a house show (D) down in Puerto Rico, where Terry Allen & Ray Candy teamed to defeat Adrian Street & The Professional (Les Thornton) and Jake Roberts teamed with Kevin Sullivan to win over Scott McGhee & Mike Rotundo …

Thursday Week 3, April 1983
Getting ready for tonight’s tour show, checking to see what happened elsewhere last night.
MACW ran a successful (C) show down in Sarasota with Ric Flair again defending the NWA World Title against Jos Leduc … The AWA did some nice work (C) out in Phoenix where Nick Bockwinkel defended their World Title against Wahoo McDaniel … WCCW drew 5,000 to their show (D) in Wichita Falls where Freebirds Hayes & Gordy defended their tag titles against Kerry & Mike Von Erich, Iceman Parsons retained their TV belt beating Magic Dragon, and Kevin Von Erich hung on to the American Hvywt belt with a win over Buddy Jack Roberts … Mid-South Wrestling ran in Virginia with Mr. Wrestling II teaming with Junkyard Dog to beat Mike Sharpe & Kendo Nagasaki … In Puerto Rico Carlos Colon again defended his Universal belt with a win over Bruiser Brody … And from Japan we hear that AJPW is under increasing pressure to improve the ratings of their weekly TV show or else.

And oh, I almost forgot, we did hear from one of the people we called.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thursday Week 3, April 1983 (con’t)
Stars of GCW On Tour ! – Indianapolis (IN) Center - Attendance 1,000 (sold out)

Pre-show action

Paul Orndorff talks to Freddy Miller – 3 minutes (C)
Standard hype segment.

Pez Whatley d. Joe Lightfoot in 6:26 by pinfall (D+) with a Flying Willie Headbutt. Pez Whatley and Joe Lightfoot have pretty good chemistry, and it lifted the match. The announcing quality lifted the match. The colour commentary gave the match a boost.

Pez Whatley talks to Gordon – 3 minutes (E)
The segment wasn't very good to begin with, and this crowd really turned against it.

Main card

Stan Hansen d. Jake Roberts in 11:54 (B) by pinfall with The Lariat. Stan Hansen and Jake Roberts have great chemistry, and it showed in their performances. The match suffered because there was not enough selling shown. The match deserved better colour commentary. This match lifted the crowd.

Stan Hansen promo about Zbyszko and vacant title – 5 minutes (B-)
The 6 for the National HW Title storyline has continued with this segment.

Dave Finlay d. Brad Armstrong in 5:58 (E+) by pinfall with an Inverted Piledriver. The announcing quality lifted the match. The colour commentary gave the match a boost. This match brought the crowd's mood down. Brad Armstrong is improving in Performance skills.

Ole Anderson promo with Gordon – 3 minutes (C+)

Paul Orndorff d. Len Denton in 6:53 (C+) by pinfall with a Forearm Clothesline. The announcing quality lifted the match. Paul Orndorff is improving in Performance skills.

Zbyszko blasts Hansen – 5 minutes (C+)
The 6 for the National HW Title storyline has continued with this segment.

Larry Zbyszko d. Ole Anderson in 13:48 (C+) by pinfall with a Shoulder Breaker. The announcing quality lifted the match. Ole Anderson is improving in Technical skills.

Final Show Rating: C+ This show can be considered a success, it should have increase our popularity

[JonInMiddleGA]

Friday Week 3, April 1983

Hard to complain after last night. Turned a small profit, left the crowd happy & wanting more. Could have been better of course, if we had replaced the one dud match with something better but that kept cost down as intended and we learned something useful if we need to bump up a short show rating in the future.

But if I were to decide to complain then it would definitely be about Buzz Sawyer’s failure to show up as expected. And I could be even more upset about the fact he didn’t bother to call & tell anyone anything concerning his absence.

Plenty going on elsewhere naturally, including a well received show in Tohoku for NJPW where Riki Chosyu defeated Tiger Mask to retain the WWF Int’l Hvywt Title. Earlier in the day a similar showing for their TV taping highlighted by Antonio Inoki’s win over Hulk Hogan. … The WWF runs an okay show (C-) in Ithaca, NY with Bob Backlund (over Ray Stevens), The Wild Samoans (over Ivan Putski & Tito Santana), and Don Muraco (over Tony Garea) all making successful title defenses. Also, Superstar Billy Graham defeated Frankie Williams … MLW taped their weekly TV show with Raymond Rougeau over Adrian Adonis as the main event … Wrestling at the Chase for CSTATE headlined by Bruiser Brody defeating Roger Kirby … WCCW goes up to the Bronx with Terry Gordy over David Von Erich in the main event before a sold out crowd of 300 … More dire warnings for MLW that if their TV ratings don’t improve soon they’ll be facing cancellation.

Saturday Week 3, April 1983
Both Larry Zbyszko and Buzz Sawyer agree to p.p.a. deals with the AWA, however both have assured us that GCW will remain their top priority.

Much as I hated to, had to turn down the opportunity to bring in Mr. Saito (asking $1200 p.a.) and Steve Keirn (asking $1075 p.a.). I would have liked to have them but it was impossible to justify long commitments at those prices for guys who would have been no more than the top of our midcard right now. We might work out something for Keirn with CWF for a short visit sometime down the road though.

Elsewhere last night, MACW drew 1,000 in Beaumont, TX to watch Ric Flair retain the NWA World Title against Terry Funk … The AWA took what might have been an ill-advised trip out to the North West, drawing just 714 to watch Baron Von Raschke & Wahoo McDaniel defeated Nick Bockwinkel & Ken Patera … Manny Fernandez & Scott Casey teamed to win the SWCW main event over Tully Blanchard & Adrian Adonis before an equally small crowd in the North West … Mid-South Wrestling ventured to the same area as Ted DiBiase defended his N.A. Hvywt Title with a win over Mr. Wrestling II and Tim Horner defeated Magnum T.A. … The WWC came stateside to Chandler, AZ with Abdullah the Butcher & Bruiser Brody winning a tag team main event over Carlos Colon & Invader I to retain their Tag Team titles. … AJPW television featured Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsruta defending their Int’l Tag Team Titles with a win over Stan Hansen & Mighty Inoue.

Before we head out for tonight’s TV taping, Ronnie Garvin pokes his head in to make sure he’s scheduled. I assure him that he’ll be working tonight … and make a mental note to make sure he does.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Saturday Week 3, April 1983 (con’t)
Georgia Championship Wrestling (TV) – 90 minutes at the Atlanta Civic Center with 4,517 in attendance

Pre-show

Rick Hunter talks to Gordon about upcoming match – 3 min(C)
Rick Hunter is developing better performance skills.

Les Thornton d. Randy Barber in 5:32 by pinfall with a Brainbuster (C-)
The colour commentary gave the match a boost. Les Thornton looked good out there.

Tommy Rich hypes upcoming match with Buzz Sawyer – 3 minutes (D)
The 6 for the National HW Title storyline has continued with this segment.

TV Taping
Larry Zbyszko argues with Paul Orndorff about vacant titles and life in general and they decide to take it to the ring. – 3 minutes (B-)

Larry Zbyszko d. Paul Orndorff in 12:19 by pinfall with a Shoulder Breaker. (B-)
The match suffered because there was not enough selling shown. The announcing quality lifted the match. This match lifted the crowd.

Promo video of Road Warrior Hawk showing his “training” regiment, which mostly consisted of smashing things. – 3 minutes (C+)

Chic Cullen d. Dave Finlay in 5:40 by submission. (D)
The announcing quality lifted the match. The colour commentary gave the match a boost.

Paul Ellering comes out & replaces Freddy Miller, interrupting his upcoming events spiel – 4 minutes (C+)

The Spoiler d. Ronnie Garvin in 7:53 by pinfall with a Tightrope Clawhold. (C-)
Ronnie Garvin and The Spoiler just don't click at all, and it showed in their performances. The match suffered because of the lack of selling on display. The announcing quality lifted the match. The 6 for the National HW Title storyline has continued with this match.

The Spoiler messes with a fan on the way out, security finally clears a path – 3 minutes (C+)

Rick Hunter d. Road Warrior Hawk in 6:06 by pinfall with an Inverted Suplex. (C)
The match suffered because there was not enough selling shown. The announcing quality lifted the match. Rick Hunter is improving in Rumble skills.

Solie hypes upcoming main event – 3 minutes (B)
The 6 for the National HW Title storyline has continued with this segment.

Adrian Street d. Bullet Bob Armstrong in 11:46 by pinfall with a Crucifix Cradle. (B)

Street cuts a promo, explaining that “I’m in love with me”. – 4 minutes (D+)
The segment wasn't very good to begin with, and this crowd really turned against it.

Tommy Rich d. Buzz Sawyer in 13:41 by pinfall with an exploder suplex. (B+)
The match deserved better colour commentary. The 6 for the National HW Title storyline has continued with this match. This match lifted the crowd. Tommy Rich is improving in Rumble skills.


Final Show Rating: B
This show can be considered a success, it should have increased our popularity.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sunday Week 3, April 1983

Happy as a pig in slop about last night’s show. Kind of wishing I had saved some of that for a later date actually, but I’m not going to complain one bit. The crowd was hot from the get go and even when things weren’t great, they didn’t turn on the show as a whole.

While the Exotic One may not have gone over with the crowd, I believe that the more they get to know him the more they’ll like him … err, hate him. You know what I mean.

Elsewhere last night, The CWF held their Battle For the Belts card (D+) in Baton Rouge, where all their champs retained, including Purple Haze who defeated Blackjack Mulligan & kept the Florida Hvywt Title. Also on the show, Jake Roberts defended his Bahamas Title with a win over Mike Graham. … The WWC remained stateside, visiting the North West to showcase Carlos Colon defending his Universal Heavyweight belt with a win over Bruiser Brody … The CWA ran in Orange County (VA) (D-) with The Fabulous Ones (Keirn & Lane) beating Austin Idol & Moondog Rex to keep their Southern Tag Team Titles … SECW traveled to the North West with The Midnight Express (Dennis Condrey & Randy Rose) defeating Brad Armstrong and his brother Scott.

Our approach to AWA midcarder Brad Rheingans was rejected as he wishes to focus his attention there. We actually heard back from Bobby Heenan about coming to work here but we found his asking price of $2,650 per appearance to be one of the easiest decisions we’ve ever made. Umm, thanks but no thanks.

Real-world interruption:
Adrian Street, just one example of why he’s one of the great characters in wrestling history
YouTube - "Exotic" Adrian Street - "I'm In Love With Me"

[BYU 14]

Street is definitely one of the most underrated entertainers from the territory era. By all accounts a legit tough guy as well, who not many guys would even think about messing with.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Monday Week 4, April 1983

As expected, David Von Erich turned down an offer to come to work here, opting to remain focused on WCCW. We shouldn’t feel too bad, he also reportedly turned down Maple Leaf Wrestling as well, one of the few guys to do so as they continue to try to become a major player. They further strengthened their roster this week, reaching p.a. agreements with current WWF World Champion Bob Backlund, NWA U.S. Champion Greg Valentine, and recent WCCW Texas Hvywt Champion Jimmy Garvin. They’ll join other recent signees Ricky Steamboat, Sgt. Slaughter, and Adrian Adonis to form one of the biggest name rosters in the business, much less in Canada.

Last night, the WWF ran in Lewiston, ME (C-) with Pedro Morales defeating Jimmy Snuka in the main event … The CWF took Wrestling From Florida on the road to Joplin, MO (D+) where the Purple Haze defended his Florida Title successfully against Blackjack Mulligan. Also on the show, Adrian Street lost to Outlaw Ron Bass … The Sportatorium in Dallas was at capacity (2,000) for a visit by MSW (C), a strong show that included Ted DiBiase defending his North American Hvywt Title with a win over Mr. Olympia, Kendo Nagasaki over Tim Horner, and Junkyard Dog teaming with Mr. Wrestling II to defeat King Kong Bundy & Wild Bill Irwin.

Looking to bolster our heel options toward the bottom of the card, we put out a few feelers to some reasonable solid but unremarkable workers to see if someone might be wiling to work cheap. We took one step in that direction with a quick call to Mid-Atlantic, who agreed to trade Mike Starbuck for Masa Fuchi on a three appearance deal. Both have admitted that if push ever came to shove, they’ll accept a booking for them ahead of us (which is what I really wanted to find out with this deal).

Taking a look at the TV ratings for various wrestling shows for the past week …
GCW on TBS posted a 2.49, peaking in the second half hour at 2.66 (up 0.13)
WWF on US Synd Small I posted a 1.50 (down 0.02)
AWA on US Small Synd II posted a 1.37 (up 0.06)
Mid-Atlantic on Local TV posted a 0.75 (up 0.08)
WCCW Local-Mid South posted a 0.55 (down 0.07)
SWCW on USA posted a 0.32 (down 0.04)
CWF Wrestling from Florida on Local-SE posted a 0.29 (down 0.21)
Mid-South on Local II posted a 0.17 (down 0.08)
WWC on WAPA/Puerto Rico posted a 0.12 (down 0.02)
Big Time Wrestling on Local-NW posted a 0.12 (same)
CWA All-Stars on WMC posted a 0.10 (down 0.01)
GLOW on US Small Syn III posted a 0.09 (same)
Wrestling at the Chase (CENT) on Local MW II posted a 0.07 (same)
SECW on Local SE II posted a 0.00 (same)
ICW All-Stars on WTVQ posted a 0.00 (same)
HCW on Local – Mid South III posted a 0.00 (same)
CWA on Local – Grt Lks III posted a 0.00 (same)

Puroresu Chukei (AJPW) on Nippon TV posted a 1.52 (down 0.02)
World Pro Wrestling (NJPW) on ASAHI posted a 1.49 (down 0.02)
CMLL on Telemundo posted a 1.24 (down 0.20)
Ringside Wrestling (MLW) on TV Canada East posted a 0.91 (down 0.02)
ITV World of Sport on ITV posted a 0.58 (down 0.01)
IWM on Local Quebec posted a 0.39 (up 0.02)
Stampede Wrestling on TV Canada West posted a 0.30 (up 0.01)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Tuesday Week 4, April 1983
Still preparing for a three show week, culminating with our larger End-of-Month Show on Sunday. I’ve been busy on the phone, looking to maybe strengthen us for the months to come, still trying to find the right mix while keeping the budget reasonable.

Houston Championship Wrestling rewarded one of the up & coming stars of the business last night at their month-end event (D+), as Gino Hernandez won the HCW Universal Title from Kamala. … The vacant AGPW Tag Team Titles were won by The Cuban Commandos (Gerry Morrow & The Cuban Assassin) who defeated Hubert Gallant & Pierre Lefebvre. Also on the show (D+) Leo Burke retained the AGPW Int’l Hvywt Title by defeating The Spoiler … Across the pond, ASWUK ran in Nottingham (C) and saw Mark Rocco defend his World Heavy-Middleweight belt against Mal Sanders while Steve Wright defeated Chic Cullen to retain the British Lt Hvywt strap

Wednesday Week 4, April 1983
Why is it so difficult for people to pick up the phone & return calls? Don’t people know I’m trying to build something special here and they should be happy to be considered for a role in that. Honored? I’d settle for some common courtesy. I’ve got one ace in the hole for Sunday (or Saturday if I get restless) but I’d like to have something else to look forward to next month too.

Lots of TV tapings around the world last night, starting in Japan where AJPW ran their weekly Puroresu Chukei with Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody teaming to beat Terry Funk & Harley Race. … In Manitoba, CSW’s main event saw Leo Burke defeat Jim Neidhart … In the UK, Joint Promotions touring show featured Johnny Saint’s successful defense of his World Lightweight Title against Tony Walsh … In Sarasota, CWF tag champs Windham & Bass defended against Haze & Sullivan. The show (C-) also included Bob Roop over Adrian Street and Leroy Brown over The Professional (aka Les Thornton) … The American CWA ran in Tampa as Jerry Lawler retained the Int’l Title with a win over Moondog Rex … CWA Europe headlined with Otto Wanz defeating Axel Dieter to keep the CWA World Hvywt belt … Amidst rumors of financial problems, the WWA visited Bridgeport, CT where Chris Markoff kept hold on their Hvywt Title by defeating Steve Regal

Thursday Week 4, April 1983
We get a couple of callbacks before heading out to our road show tonight. Playboy Doug Somers hasn’t been hungry long enough apparently, or else he’s been hungry so long that it’s made him a little lightheaded. We quickly end the conversation when he asks for $450 p.a. and doesn’t intend to budge. No problem, neither do I.

We have a different reaction to the exact same price for Emilio Charles, Jr. He’s just what we’re looking for at the moment, a versatile heel that shouldn’t be a drag on our shows while doing a j-o-b. I’m a little concerned about his non-existent English but hopefully he’ll manage to pick up some along the way.

Last night, Mid-Atlantic ran before a full house in Richmond (C) with Wahoo McDaniel going over Ivan Koloff in the main event … WCCW sold out Huntsville, TX (C-) to see David & Kerry Von Erich defeat The Great Kabuki & Buddy Roberts in the main event … The AWA sold out Toledo (C) as Nick Bockwinkel defended the AWA World Title against Baron Von Raschke. Also on the show, Ken Patera & Larry Zbyszko teamed to beat Buzz Sawyer & Jim Brunzell. … Mid South Wrestling went out to Fremont, CA with Ted DiBiase retaining his N.A. Hvywt Title by beating Mr. Wrestling II. Also on the card Buddy Landell d. Tim Horner … The WWC was back home in Puerto Rico for Carlos Colon to defeat Bruiser Brody and Abdullah the Butcher d. Pedro Morales … SECW visited Macon, GA (D+) where Bob Armstrong defeated The Flame to retain the SE Hvywt Title. Brad Armstrong & his brother Scott lost again to The Midnight Express

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thursday Week 4, April 1983 (con’t)
Stars of GCW On Tour ! – Norman (OK) Field House - Attendance 419

Pre-show

Eric Embry talks to Gordon Solie – 2 minutes (D-)
The segment wasn't very good to begin with, and this crowd really turned against it.

Pat Rose d. Mike Starbuck in 6:27 (E-) by pinfall with a Corner Bulldog.
The announcing quality lifted the match. The colour commentary gave the match a boost. This match brought the crowd's mood down.

Mr. Wrestling I & II talk to Freddy Miller – 4 minutes (C+)
Freddy Miller is improving at acting.

Regular Show

Stan Hansen d. The Iron Sheik in 7:48 (B-) by pinfall with The Lariat.
The match suffered because there was not enough selling shown. Stan Hansen is improving in Technical skills.

Hansen cuts a promo about Larry Zbyszko – 4 minutes (B)
The 6 for the National HW Title storyline has continued with this segment.

Ole Anderson d. Eric Embry in 5:57 (C) by pinfall with an Anderson Running Knee.
The announcing quality lifted the match.

The Spoiler hypes his upcoming match – 4 minutes (C)

The Spoiler d. Mr. Wrestling I in 11:46 (C) by pinfall with a Tightrope Clawhold.
Mr. Wrestling was visibly tiring toward the end. The match suffered because there was not enough selling shown. The announcing quality lifted the match. The Spoiler is improving in Technical skills.

Gordon Solie introduces newest member of GCW, Terry Gordy – 4 minutes (C+)

Terry Gordy d. Mr. Wrestling II in 14:04 (B) by pinfall with a Powerbomb.
The announcing quality lifted the match. This match lifted the crowd.

Final Show Rating: B-
This show can be considered a success, it should have increased our popularity.

[BYU 14]

Thats a stacked card for an area you are trying to build in, it will be interesting to see how much more you draw when you go back there.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Friday Week 4, April 1983
Nice job last night, and although I hated sticking Wrestling II with a loss, the GCW debut of Terry Gordy needed something big and it did not disappoint. It was hard to sit on his signing for even a week, so we pulled the trigger tonight & got pretty much exactly what we were hoping for. On the downside, Johnny Walker is feeling the strain of working so much lately so we’ll give him Saturday off in hopes that he’ll be in better shape for Sunday’s End of the Month Spectacular.

CMLL ran in Phoenix last night, with Lizmark claiming the vacant NWA Middleweight Title by beating El Satanico … In the UK, ITV featured Johnny Saint defeating Jim Breaks … NJPW’s World Pro TV show saw Riki Chosu defeat Andre the Giant to retain the WWF International Hvywt Title. Later that night at their regular weekly house show, Tatsumi Fujinami would take the title from Choshu … Back here in the US, WCCW ran in Bessemer, AL with Michael Hayes over Sweet Brown Sugar in the main event … Wrestling at the Chase went to Rochester, MN, where Manny Fernandez beat Harley Race in the main event … MLW taped their Ringside Wrestling TV programme as Raymond Rougeau beat Adrian Adonis in the main event. Bad News Brown & Bob Backlund teamed up to win the vacant Canadian Open Tag Team belts over Singh & Slaughter … The WWF visited Pennsylvania (C) with Jimmy Snuka going over Hulk Hogan in the main event, The Wild Samoans retaining their Tag Team Titles with a win over Roddy Piper & Tony Atlas, and George Steele going to a double countout with Bruno Sammartino.

We had a conversation with Central States announcer Larry Matysik about coming on board to fill in if Gordon ever wanted a day off but his asking price of $1623 seemed a little high for the time being. Solie is just a little better at everything than Matysik, so although he’s quite good & could fill in as a road agent as well, we pass for now.


Saturday Week 4, April 1983
Problems in the back as a couple of the boys decide they don’t like each other much. Given all the free spirits running around here that’s not really a surprise. What was surprising were two workers involved, Chic Cullen and Rick Hunter, neither of whom we expected something like that from. We’ll keep an eye on it for now & see if they can coexist but with Hunter exceeding expectations thus far while Cullen was so-so in his debut, if we’re forced to make a choice it’ll be easy to decide who would become an ex-employee.

A couple of very difficult hiring decisions to make today. First, we get a positive reaction from The Missouri Mauler Larry Hamilton. He’s retired from the ring but is a respected locker room leader that could work in a variety of roles from road agent to color commentator to even working the odd dark match here & there to help some of the youngsters. Problem is, he wants $1565 p.a. with a $782 downside. The latter doesn’t bother me since I wouldn’t be hiring him to not use him. The part I’m having a hard time swallowing is his cost per appearance. As much as I’d like to have him sitting in the gorilla position (especially with this locker room), I’ve got to say “not at this time”.

The next conversation is with referee Dave Hebner. A solid official who would be a good addition but I can’t justify his $900 p.a. asking price, nor anything we might reasonably negotiate. Would be great if money were no object but we’re not in that situation at this point so I have to say no thanks.

In other news as we prepare for our first back to back shows … It’s being reported that TV ASAHI has issued a stark warning to NJPW that if the ratings for their show World Pro Wrestling don’t improve quickly the show will be pulled from the lineup. … The AWA ran in St. Joe’s, MO last night (C) with Larry Zbyszko & Ken Patera defeating Baron Von Raschke & Nick Bockwinkel in a tag team main event. Also on the show Greg Gagne retained his AWA TV Title by beating Buzz Sawyer … Harley Race was the standout of AJPW’s King’s Road show in Kyushu but also looking good was Stan Hansen with a victory over Giant Baba … For MACW Ric Flair defeated Greg Valentine to retain the NWA World Hywt Title. On the opposite end of the card Dick Slater easily pinned Mike Starbuck … Mid-South traveled to Wisconsin for Ted DiBiase to retain his North American Title against Mr. Wrestling II, while down the card Terry Taylor went to a double count out with Tim Horner … The WWF went down to Puerto Rico for the big month end show, headlined by Bob Backlund defeating Afa to retain the WWF Hvywt Title. Superstar Billy Graham claimed the upper hand over Charlie Fulton, winning their match here after a double DQ earlier in the month. … And speaking of P.R., the WWC was in the Great Lakes where Hercules Ayala defeated Bob Sweetan in the main event of an unusual show that did not include mainstays Carlos Colon, Bruiser Brody, or Abdullah the Butcher.

NEXT UP: Our final TV show of the month, leading up to our End of the Month Spectacular

[JonInMiddleGA]

Saturday Week 4, April 1983 (con’t)
Georgia Championship Wrestling (TV) – 90 minutes at the Akron Civic Center with 2,000 in attendance


Pre-show
Larry Zbyskzo d. Mike Starbuck in 6:04 (C-) by pinfall with a Shoulder Breaker.
The colour commentary from Tommy Rich joining Freddy Miller gave the match a boost. Larry Zbyszko looked good out there. Mike Starbuck is improving in Performance skills.

Paul Orndorff talks to Freddy Miller about the possibility of him getting a shot at the vacant TV title. – 3 mins (D-)
The segment wasn't very good to begin with, and this crowd really turned against it.

TV Taping
Les Thornton d. Chic Cullen in 6:19 (C+) by pinfall with a Brainbuster.
The announcing quality lifted the match.

Buzz Sawyer attacks Tommy Rich while Wildfire is talking to Gordon about tomorrow night’s big show & his shot at the NWA National Heavyweight Title – 3 minutes (C+)
The 6 for the National HW Title storyline has continued with this segment. Tommy Rich is developing better performance skills. Buzz Sawyer is developing better performance skills.

Emilio Charles, Jr. d. Joe Lightfoot in 6:07 (D) by pinfall after using a foreign object.
Emilio Charles Jr. and Joe Lightfoot have great chemistry, and it showed in their performances. The announcing quality lifted the match. The colour commentary gave the match a boost. The fans were really turned off by the finish to the match.

Tommy Rich tells Jim Barnett he’ll risk his title shot in order to get a match against Buzz Sawyer tonight. Barnett hesitates & then agrees. 3 mins (C)
The 6 for the National HW Title storyline has continued with this segment. Jim Barnett is improving at acting.

Masa Fuchi d. Brett Wayne in 6:41 (D) by pinfall with a Backdrop Suplex.
The announcing quality lifted the match. The colour commentary gave the match a boost.

Mr Wrestling II talks with Freddy Miller about the high level of competition in Georgia Championship Wrestling – 4 mins (C)

Pez Whatley d. Brad Armstrong in 7:33 (E) by pinfall while using the ropes for leverage.
Brad Armstrong was visibly tiring toward the end. The announcing quality lifted the match. The colour commentary gave the match a boost. The fans were really turned off by the finish to the match. This match brought the crowd's mood down.

Self-hype promo from The Spoiler – 4 mins (D)
The segment wasn't very good to begin with, and this crowd really turned against it.

Rick Hunter d. Len Denton in 8:36 (C-) by pinfall with a Russian Legsweep.
Rick Hunter and Len Denton don't seem to click, and it made for an awkward bout. The announcing quality lifted the match. Len Denton is improving in Performance skills.

Larry Zbyszko cuts a promo, talking about the NWA National Heavyweight title as though he’s already won his match tomorrow night. His arrogance knows no bounds. – 4 mins (C+)

Paul Orndorff d. The Spoiler in 9:41 (C-) by pinfall with a Piledriver.
Paul Orndorff and The Spoiler don't seem to click, and it made for an awkward bout. The announcing quality lifted the match.

Tommy Rich d. Buzz Sawyer in 11:41 (B-) by pinfall with a Vertical Splash.
The 6 for the National HW Title storyline has continued with this match.

Final Show Rating: C
This show can be considered a success, it should have increased our popularity.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sunday Week 4, April 1983
Not really all that happy with yesterday’s TV, thank goodness for Rich & Sawyer pulling our bacon out of the fire. Sawyer wasn’t really happy about the outcome but I guess he’ll have to deal with it, same as the similar complaint from The Spoiler.

Elsewhere last night, Calgary Stampede has new tag team champions as Bruce & Bret Hart defeated Dynamite Kid & Davey Boy Smith to win the CSW Int’l belts. … In Iowa, WCCW held their big monthly blowout show (D) with The Freebirds defending their American tag titles against Kerry & Mike Von Erich while Kevin Von Erich retained the American Hvywt title with a win over Bill Irwin. Iceman King Parsons defended his TV title as well, beating Frank Dusek. … Bullet Bob Armstrong worked the SECW show up in Wisconsin, beating The Flame. One half of their tag team champs, Jimmy Golden, is expected to miss up to a month with a bicep problem that gave him trouble in his match against Wendell Cooley.

The Iron Sheik has received an offer from the AWA, no decision yet though.

Meanwhile we took a look at bringing in WCCW veteran Al Madrill since he’s no longer working for them but felt that his asking price of over $1,000 per show was simply too much. Also passed on WCCW referee James Beard, as nearly $2,000 per show for an official is just silly at this point. We will have one addition to the roster though, as we agree to terms with UK technician Mark Rocco. He’ll start near the bottom of our card at $525 per appearance but should be capable of some steady matches and help improve the skills of some of our faces while giving them wins. And who knows, if he gets over a bit he could move up the card, certainly a technical oriented tag team with Les Thornton might be an interesting prospect.

Mr. Wrestling II is still feeling the effects of his recent workload around the country, even though we gave him light duty yesterday with just a promo & some road agent work. Risky perhaps but we’ll still use him on the big show tonight. More troubling is that we’ve had to fine Buzz Sawyer for arriving late to yesterday’s tapings. Something has got to give with that boy if he doesn't get his out of the ring act together soon.

Next up: Our end of the month spectacular from the Atlanta Civic Center.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sunday Week 4, April 1983 (con’t)
Georgia Championship Wrestling EotM Spectacular – 2 hours at the Atlanta Civic Center with 3,294 in attendance


Pre-show
Thunderbolt Patterson tells Paul Ellering he needs a good old fashioned butt whooping – 3 mins (D)
The segment wasn't very good to begin with, and this crowd really turned against it.

Thunderbolt Patterson d. Paul Ellering in 6:25 (C-) by pinfall with a Clothesline.
Thunderbolt Patterson and Paul Ellering don't seem to click, and it made for an awkward bout. The announcing quality lifted the match. The colour commentary gave the match a boost. Paul Ellering is improving in Performance skills.

The Iron Sheik promises victory later tonight – 2 mins (C+)
The Iron Sheik is developing better performance skills.

Eric Embry & Dave Finlay d. Brad Armstrong & Mike Starbuck in 4:46 (D) when Eric Embry defeated Mike Starbuck by pinfall with a Piledriver.
The announcing quality lifted the match. The guest commentary from Stan Hansen gave the match a boost. Brad Armstrong is improving in Performance skills.

Main Show
The Iron Sheik d. Bullet Bob Armstrong in 5:43 (B-) by pinfall with a Loaded Boot Blast.
The announcing quality lifted the match

Ellering hypes his powerful team – 3 mins (C+)
The 4 top partners for Tag Titles storyline has continued with this segment. The 4 second partners for tag titles storyline has continued with this segment.

Mr Wrestling I & Mr Wrestling II d. Road Warriors Hawk & Animal in 7:28 (C-) when Mr. Wrestling II defeated Road Warrior Animal by pinfall with a Million Dollar Knee Lift. Mr. Wrestling I and II win the National Tag Team titles.
Road Warrior Animal was visibly tiring toward the end. Road Warrior Hawk was visibly tiring toward the end. The match suffered because there was not enough selling shown. The announcing quality lifted the match. Mr. Wrestling II looked good out there. The 4 top partners for Tag Titles storyline has continued with this match. The 4 second partners for tag titles storyline has continued with this match. Road Warrior Hawk is improving in Technical skills.

Mark Rocco d. Tim Horner in 6:11 (D) by pinfall with a Tombstone Piledriver.
The announcing quality lifted the match. The colour commentary gave the match a boost.

Adrian Street makes flamboyant entrance – 3 mins (C)

Adrian Street d. Ronnie Garvin in 9:13 (B-) by pinfall with a Crucifix Cradle.
Adrian Street and Ronnie Garvin have pretty good chemistry, and it lifted the match. The match suffered because of the lack of selling on display. This match lifted the crowd. Adrian Street is improving in Rumble skills.

Jake Roberts d. Paul Orndorff in 7:55 (B) by pinfall with The DDT.

Ole gets the mic, says he doesn’t just want to beat Buzz Sawyer, he wants to hurt him because he’s an annoying prima donna – 3 mins (B-)

Ole Anderson d. Buzz Sawyer in 11:38 (B-) by pinfall with an Anderson Running Knee.

Rick Hunter d. Pez Whatley in 9:50 (C+) by pinfall with an Inverted Suplex. Rick Hunter wins the National Television title.
The announcing quality lifted the match. Pez Whatley is improving in Technical skills.

Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy jaw at each other before the match, tobacco juice a-flyin’ – 3 mins (B-)

Stan Hansen d. Terry Gordy in 12:43 (B+) by submission with a Brazos Valley Backbreaker.
This match lifted the crowd. Stan Hansen is improving in Technical skills.

Zbyszko tells the crowd (and his opponent) that’s he’s already the champ & that this should be an easy title defense – 3 mins (C)

Larry Zbyszko d. Tommy Rich in 14:41 (A+) by pinfall with a Shoulder Breaker. Larry Zbyszko wins the National Heavyweight title.
[Larry Zbyszko seemed off his game tonight. The 6 for the National HW Title storyline has continued with this match. This match lifted the crowd.

Final Show Rating: B+
This show can be considered a success, it should have increased our popularity.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Monday Week 1, May 1983, (part one of four)

Dang that was good. What a fantastic finish on night that saw standout performances up & down the card. And with those warm fuzzies dominating my thoughts, I make the phone rounds & check in to see what other folks were doing while we were burning the house down in Atlanta.

The WWF ran a tiny venue in the Northwest where Sgt. Slaughter defeated Bob Backlund in the main event … CWF went up to New England with Windham & Bass defending their Florida Tag Team Titles successfully against Duncam & Kent in the main event, while The Professional (Les Thornton) lost to Ray Candy in the curtain jerker … CSW’s Wrestling at the Chase taping was on the road in Louisiana where Bob Brown & Buzz Tyler took the Tag Team titles from Robertson & Hernandez … Over in New Japan Tatsumi Fujinami defeated The Masked Superstar to retain the WWF Int’l Hvy belt, Tiger Mask defeated Dynamite Kid to retain his WWF Jr Hvywt title, but the bigger news might have been a fatigued Hulk Hogan coming away from the match with a vague injury known as Facet Syndrome, which he’ll be working through for now and a more serious spinal problem finally forcing main event Seiji Sakaguchi to take some time off, probably 3 months or so.

Also making the gossip mill today are several forthcoming retirements including Mae Young, Ricky Romero, and Bill Watts, who hands over the reins of Mid-South Wrestling to his son Joel.

As we usually do on Monday, let's take a look at the TV ratings for various wrestling shows for the past week …
GCW on TBS posted a 2.21, peaking in the 2nd half hour at 2.36 (down 0.28,our worst to date)
AWA on US Small Synd II posted a 1.61 (up 0.24 and into second place)
WWF on US Synd Small I posted a 1.51 (up 0.01)
Mid-Atlantic on Local TV posted a 0.75 (same)
WCCW Local-Mid South posted a 0.59 (up 0.04)
SWCW on USA posted a 0.34 (up 0.02)
CWF Wrestling from Florida on Local-SE posted a 0.30 (up 0.01)
Mid-South on Local II posted a 0.18 (up 0.01)
WWC on WAPA/Puerto Rico posted a 0.12 (same)
Big Time Wrestling on Local-NW posted a 0.12 (same)
CWA All-Stars on WMC posted a 0.09 (down 0.01)
GLOW on US Small Syn III posted a 0.09 (same)
Wrestling at the Chase (CENT) on Local MW II posted a 0.07 (same)
SECW on Local SE II posted a 0.00 (same)
ICW All-Stars on WTVQ posted a 0.00 (same)
HCW on Local – Mid South III posted a 0.00 (same)
CWA on Local – Grt Lks III posted a 0.00 (same)

World Pro Wrestling (NJPW) on ASAHI posted a 1.51 (up 0.02 and into 1st place)
Puroresu Chukei (AJPW) on Nippon TV posted a 1.50 (down 0.02)
CMLL on Telemundo posted a 1.25 (up 0.01)
Ringside Wrestling (MLW) on TV Canada East posted a 0.90 (down 0.01)
ITV World of Sport on ITV posted a 0.63 (up 0.05)
IWM on Local Quebec posted a 0.37 (down 0.02)
Stampede Wrestling on TV Canada West posted a 0.28 (down 0.02)

[Izulde]

Nice A+ match!

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Nice A+ match!

Thanks. Everything just lined up right for that one, although I wish Zbyszko hadn't have been off his game, maybe I could have gotten a A++

And alas ...