Promotions

Big news coming out of Emresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL) during their annual Christmas break. Everything started when Salvador "Chavo" Lutteroth Jr. retired as promoter leaving his nephew Paco Alonso (grandson of Salvador Lutteroth) to take over. Alonso made great waves immediately by mending fences with Francisco Flores and Ray Mendoza who had left in 1975 to form Lucha Libre Internacional (later called UWA). EMLL and UWA will be united under one banner as Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). CMLL also pulled out of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and no longer recognizes their champions. This new era deserves a new legacy, and the NWA is now in our past.…

March 1st, 1985 Palais des Sports, Sherbrooke, QC -Fatu (w/Eddy "The Brain" Creatchman) beat Sting in 8:15 -Richard "Le Magnifique" Charland (w/Frenchy Martin) beat NWA World 6-Men Tag Team Champion Owen Hart in 9:58 -Terry Taylor (w/Sherri Martel) beat The Missing Link in 6:56 -Sheik Ali (w/Eddy "The Brain" Creatchman) beat Bob Sweetan (w/Sherri Martel) in 9:21 -Luke Williams beat Baron Von Raschke in 11:24 -Alexis Smirnoff beat NWA World Tag Team Champion Raymond Rougeau in 15:06 NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Ric Flair beat Samu (w/Eddy "The Brain" Creatchman) by reverse decision in 15:09. Samu had originally won the match, following i…

WWF Wrestling Challenge Gorilla Monsoon & Bobby The Brain Heenan in studio Matches from St. Louis, MO – Kiel Auditorium Ron Bass w/ Jack Lanza defeated Bob Scott Blackjack Mulligan: I have had just about enough of Ron Bass and his good for nothing friend Jack Lanza. Lanza, you and I have been up and down the road together for a long time partner… but Ron Bass… son… you are doing for the whooping of a lifetime and I am going to give it to you! Tito Santana defeated Tony Zane Jimmy Hart: Baby what a great time it is to be part of the Hart Foundation! Tito Santana, I have got Brutus Beefcake all lined up for his big showdown with you in just a couple…

Clash of the Champions Raleigh, NC March 21, 1985 Dorton Arena Pre-Show Match Butcher & Mad Dog Vachon, Pedro Morales, Sam Houston & Thunderbolt Patterson defeated Mr. Fuji’s Clan: The Great Kokina, Toru Tanaka, Mr. Saito & Masters of Torture (w/ Mr. Fuji) in 11:53 after Sam Houston pinned MoT #2 with a running bulldog. We open tonight’s show, live on WTBS, with Tony Schiavone & Bob Caudle at ringside. We have David Crockett in one locker room and Johnny Weaver standing by in the other locker room. Tony welcomes us to the first Clash of the Champions broadcast. We go to David Crockett standing by with Adrian Street. David: Thank you…

NJPW Young Lions Cup Night One, March 8th, Tokyo Korakuen Hall Black Cat and Enrique Vera vs The Cobras This is my first time in Korakuen as part of the crew. You have to love the Korakuen crowds. Hard core fans. My kind of people. Black Cat and Enrique Vera are both under six feet tall, so the sight of Shunji Takano towering over them made them natural under-dogs. On the other hand, the hard core fans love Shunji’s brother George, AKA The Cobra, a lot. So, we got the strange spectacle of one member of a tag team being booed while the other was cheered. The Cobra took a great Quebradora Backbreaker from Vera for a near fall, but came back to win it with his Tombstone…

*** Due to my absence, I had to come up with a way to catch up to be on the same calendar with the rest of the territories. Here is a PWI magazine write-up covering the major matches and events leading into the very first NWA Clash of the Champions show on March 21, 1985. Hopefully this gives an idea of the stories and matches being built for the Clash of the Champions show. *** The National Wrestling Alliance has been a major part of professional wrestling for decades. Coming into 1985, there is major competition coming about all over the wrestling world. The USWA has been growing and holding strong in the south. The World Wrestling Federation has re-emerged from NY a…

February 1st, 1985 Centre Paul-Sauvé, Montréal -Moondog Spot beat Rip Oliver (w/Sherri Martel) in 13:13 -Rocky Johnson beat Bob Sweetan (w/Sherri Martel) in 13:38 -Nick Bockwinkel squashed Moondog Rex in 4:39 -Dennis Condrey (w/Jim Cornette) beat Richard "Le Magnifique" Charland (w/Frenchy Martin) in 17:30 -NWA World 6-Men Tag Team Champion Keith Hart fight Alexis Smirnoff to a double countout at 4:56. Smirnoff beat up outside Hart after the match by ramming his head on the ring post and then spat on the Canadian flag that Keith Hart brought with him at ringside, as well as draping him with the Soviet flag. Submission Match: Nord the Barbarian (w/…

New Japan Pro Wrestling is proud to announce the first-round match-ups for out International Tag Team Wrestling Festival, which will take place from February 3rd through 27th, at various arenas throughout Japan. All first and second round match-ups will be contested in best two out of three fashion. The Semi-finals and Finals will be held on the 25th and 27th in Tokyo. The winner of the Tournament will be crowned the first-ever IWGP Tag Team Champions, The Guerreros (CCW) vs Canek and Dos Caras (NJPW) Tatsumi Fujinami and Kengo Kimura (NJPW) vs The Strongbows (CCW) ​The Caribbean Connection (Lutte Int.) vs The Hart Foundation (WWF) The Rock n Roll Express (…

January 1, 1985 Charlotte, NC Charlotte Coliseum Thunderbolt Patterson defeated Salvatore Bellomo One Man Gang defeated 2 Cold Scorpio The Moondogs defeated Mad Dog & Butcher Vachon NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship Match The Hart Brothers © defeated Mr. Wrestling II & The Grapplers (w/ Paul Jones) to retain the titles. Sweet Ebony Diamond & “Superstar” Billy Graham defeated “Crazy” Luke Graham & Italian Stallion NWA Television Championship Match Tully Blanchard © (w/ JJ Dillon) defeated Johnny Weaver to retain the title. NWA United States Championship Match Magnum TA © defeated Ray Stevens (w/ JJ Dillon) to retain the title. …

AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN/TSN for February 1st Mike Rotundo & Steven Regal vs. The Varsity Club This match has been in the works for some time, with Rotundo wanting to make Luger and Steiner pay for their harassment of him and their bullying of the AWA rookies. Regal was very keen to start off the match but Rotundo told him to let him take the lead. For a while , Rotundo's considerable technical skills kept him one step ahead of his huge opponents, but their size and athletic ability started to wear down the handsome young competitor. It was while Rotundo was doing his best to block a suplex attempt by Steiner that Regal, eager to get in the match and hel…

WWF Wrestling Challenge Gorilla Monsoon & Bobby The Brain Heenan in studio Matches from Hamburg, PA – The Fieldhouse Greg Valentine w/ Jimmy Hart defeated Johnny Rivera -A nice showcase for Valentine. We get an inset from Tito who says he is going to settle the score tonight with Valentine and win the King of the Ring!! *COMMERCIAL* KING OF THE RING EVENT CENTER Mean Gene: Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the WWF Event Center, I am Gene Okerlund. Fans we are just hours away from the King of the Ring and it is going to be one of the most exciting WWF events of all time as we will see the top eight men in professional wrestling go afte…

AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN/TSN for January 4th The Can/Am Express vs. Lex Luger & Rick Steiner These two incredibly fit young rookies were introduced as being from University of Miami and University of Michigan, respectively, for their AWA debut match. They were also accompanied by a curvaceous blonde woman in a cheerleader uniform who was apparently named Missy Hyatt. These two muscular young men were clearly out to make a big impression as the started off by charging over to the opposing corner and brutally elbowsmashing Phil Lafon off the apron. They then proceded to toss Tom Zenk all over the ring, Steiner in particular throwing some nasty suplexes th…

WWF on Tour 1-2 / 1-4 Providence, RI - Civic Center Bangor, ME – Auditorium Columbus, OH - Ohio Center The Killer Bees defeated Tonga & Haku The Barbarian defeated Sam Houston David Sammartino defeated Sonny King Jake Roberts defeated Bart Sawyer Andre the Giant & Tonga Atlas defeated Roddy Piper & Bob Orton MAIN EVENT WWF CHAMPIONSHIP Hulk Hogan © defeated King Kong Bundy w/ Bobby Heenan WWF on Tour 1-2 / 1-4 Elizabeth, NJ - Dunn Recreation Center Waterville, ME – Civic Center Wildwood, NJ - Convention Hall The Hart Foundation w/ Jimmy Hart defeated Pez Whatley & Steve Simpson Brutus Beefcake w/ Jimmy Hart defeated SD Jones Jack Mulli…

January 4th, 1985 Centre Paul-Sauvé, Montréal Mini event to kick off the New Year's festivities in Montreal -Richard "Le Magnifique" Charland (w/Frenchy Martin) beat Bobby Fulton (w/Tommy Rogers) in 7:34 Street Fight: The Sensationals (Billy Robinson/Doug Somers, w/Sherri Martel) beat the Zambuie Express (w/Eddy "The Brain" Creatchman) in 12:35

Wow. No internet. It's hard to explain just how much harder life in Japan is without easy access to information in English. I'm *way* more reliant on Yuka now, it's a huge change in the power dynamics of our relationship. Fortunately Doria-mon pops in from time to time. Generally, he's a pretty big help. He gave Yuka a doll that gives good advice, and that's been a real life-saver as we adjust to life in Tokyo in 1985. The relationship between Yuka and Doria-mon has been a little strained the last couple of days, mainly because she keeps trying to feed him dorayaki (a kind of pancake stuffed with sweet bean paste) which he doesn't seem to care for. "I am a completely…

December 5, 1984 Greenville, SC Memorial Auditorium Salvatore Bellomo defeated Steve Lombardi in 9:20. The Grappler’s defeated Swede Hanson & Dennis Stamp in 6:57. Blackjack Mulligan defeated Rene Goulet in 8:00. Mr. Wrestling II (w/ Paul Jones) defeated Sweet Ebony Diamond in 11:02. NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship Match The Hart Brothers © defeated The Moondogs (w/ Sir Oliver Humperdink) in 14:39. “Superstar” Billy Graham and Killer Khan (w/ Sir Oliver Humperdink) went to a Double-DQ in 6:12. The Great Kokina defeated Kendall Windham in 4:14. NWA World Tag Team Champions The Fantastics, NWA United States Champion Magnum TA &…

AWA show at the Saddledome, Calgary, Dec. 1st The Cuban Commandos vs. The Latin Lovers Cruz pinned Morrow after El Volantin Great Gama Singh vs. Ed Wiskowski Wiskowski won with the face first piledriver “Crusher” Jerry Blackwell vs. Rip Oliver Blackwell got the victory with an Avalanche in the corner Bad News Allen vs. Da Crusher Bad News won with the Bad News Blaster Paul Orndorff vs. Bob Roop Orndorff pinned Roop after a Piledriver AWA World Tag Title match : The Road Warriors © vs. Buzz Sawyer & Dave Schultz The Road Warriors won by DQ after Sawyer attacked them with a chain Curt Hennig vs. Eddie Gilbert H…

Debut show - January 5, 1985 MEMPHIS WRESTLING TV Tapings: Jan. 5, 1985 Opening segment: Lance Russell makes announcement of Monday show at Mid-South Coliseum, featuring show-opening 20-man battle royal to determine the top two contenders to be named the first Southern Heavyweight Champion. Those two contenders will battle in Monday’s main event for the title. Russell is interrupted by Paul Ellering, who cuts a quick promo saying he will have a major impact on the winner of the title. Commercial Match: Jerry Lawler def. Aaron Holt with piledriver in 3:59 Announcers note that Lawler is the “King of Memphis,” a legend in the business and is definitely …

Steve nervously tugged on his neck tie with all the subtlety of a hand grenade. With the sweat dampening his collar he looked around the dated motif in this deep southern office. As he looked around his mind went from wondering if it was hot in the office or if this was nerves. For that matter maybe they turned the heat up on purpose. Watch the interviewees squirm, some sort of sick appetizer before they got to the main course of verbally ripped unqualified guys like Steve apart in the meeting. How did he even know this was a serious interview? It could be Candid Camera or something similar. Those random, fleeting thoughts replaced with a shot of confidence. Looking …

December 1st, 1984 Centre Paul-Sauvé, Montréal -NWA International TV Champion Mad Dog Lefebvre (w/Frenchy Martin) beat Denis Goulet in 9:50 -Sika beat The Missing Link in 9:44 -NWA International Tag Team Champion Doug Somers (w/Sherri Martel) beat Gino Brito in 10:02

WWF Wrestling Challenge Gorilla Monsoon & Bobby The Brain Heenan in studio Matches from Hamburg, PA – The Fieldhouse The Briscoe Brothers defeated Johnny Rodz & Omar Atlas -Jack and Jerry really look good this week. Heenan and Monsoon put them over as a team and talk about the big showdown with the Funks in Madison Square Garden. We see Jack and Jerry lock in a pair of figure four leg locks for the submissions. *COMMERCIAL* -Mean Gene putting over the big announcement of Hogan vs Bock and if Hogan will sign the contract for Loser Leaves for One Year! Gene also puts over the big tag team Texas Tornado tag match with the Briscoes and…

December 25, 1984 Starrcade 1984 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum Tony Schiavone and Bob Caudle welcome us to this closed circuit event! We are LIVE all around North America, from Greensboro, North Carolina inside the Greensboro Coliseum! We have NINE matches for you here tonight. We are going to start off tonight’s event with the first of our SEVEN title matches. The NWA United States Tag Team Championships are on the line! NWA United States Tag Team Championship One fall match with a 45-minute time limit. Referee: Earl Hebner Barry & Kendall Windham (w/ Blackjack Mulligan) vs {24 Karat} Pat Patterson & Ray Stevens © (w/ James J. Dillon) Last minute …

November 1, 1984 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum Mad Dog & Butcher Vachon defeated Dusty Wolfe & Steve Lombardi Larry Zbyszko defeated Ray Apollo Great Kokina (w/ Mr. Fuji) defeated Pete Sanchez NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Title Match The Hart Brothers defeated Mr. Pogo, Mr. Saito & Toru Tanaka (w/ Mr. Fuji) NWA World Tag Team Title Match Texas Tornado Rules The Fantastic’s defeated The Grappler’s to retain the titles Mr. Wrestling II defeated Pedro Morales NWA United States Championship Match Magnum TA defeated Killer Khan (w/ Sir Oliver Humperdink) via DQ to retain the title. 24-Karat: NWA World Champion Ric Flair, NWA Telev…

AWA All-Star Wrestling on ESPN and TSN for Nov. 2nd Keiichi Yamada vs. Paul Diamond Diamond came to the ring accompanied not just by his Badd Company partner Pat Tanaka, but also by Steven Regal and Mike Rotunda, the other members of the Young Lions. They didn’t seem so much interested in the match itself, as they spent the duration of it patrolling around ringside, eyes open for any possible interference by Lord Humongous. The man in the hockey mask did not make an appearance, but the action in the ring was fast paced, with both men going all out until Diamond ducked his head at the wrong time and Yamada hit a brainbuster to get the victory. The Young Lions su…

November 2nd, 1984 Centre Paul-Sauvé, Montréal -International TV Champion Mad Dog Lefebvre (w/Frenchy Martin) beat Charlie Cook in 12:42 -The Zambuie Express (w/Eddy "The Brain" Creatchman) beat Buzz Tyler & Pete Doherty in 12:40 -George "The Animal" Steele (w/Frenchy Martin) beat International Tag Team Champion Doug Somers (w/Sherri Martel) in 16:29 -Carlos Colon beat Dennis Condrey (w/Jim Cornette) in 15:52 Guest Referee - Maurice Richard: Rusher Kimura beat Justice Dubois in 10:12 -Sika beat Greg Valentine in 8:37 -Dino Bravo beat Gilles Poisson in 15:56 International Heavyweight Championship: Rick Martel beat Butch Miller in 30:54…