dawho5

Great way to lead into Halloween, with the Army seemingly thriving despite the best efforts of Lawler, Idol and Lars. Morton and Gibson have their work cut out for them, but they play the underdog role so well. The Grahams appear to be a force for good, but I wonder if they won't overstep their bounds once the Army is defeated and end up on the wrong side of things. I'm guessing I know which Graham will be leading that charge if it happens.

If you aren't sure on how to write a match for somebody either keep it the way you did or youtube it enough to figure out what they can do and how you want to package it. Good first effort though, the tournament is a nice way to restart the promotion and give new direction.

Yeah just do what you can. Trying to do too much ends up leaving it dead for a while.

There's no way Nash and Hogan were going to let Goldberg be anything but a midcard guy squashing "vanilla midgets" and leaving them alone. They knew he was something big and the only way they were going anywhere near Goldberg was to kill his heat.

I like that both organizations have weekly highlight shows that put the spotlight on some great feuds that a lot of people would eat up, but just wouldn't be able to see otherwise. Seems like it would have changed the way wrestling worked in a lot of ways though. It would be much harder to bring people in in a different role somewhere else after a dastardly heel run that got national TV.

I like the Stud Stable getting a lot of gold. Gives Rich and Cook somebody to chase for a while. I wonder who the next tag team to challenge the Heavenly Bodies will be since Gibson and Horner can't tag. Seems like your hottest feud is still the Armstrongs vs. the Fire Gang.

Eaton winning in his hometown after insulting it is great. What a dick. Janetty and Scott Armstrong seem like they'd be an enjoyable "young lion" type team for a while. Whatever happened to Denis Goulet working in the AWA?

October 27th, 1983, Arena Dave-Keon, Rouyn Noranda, QC (3,500, sellout) Joel Deaton defeated Etienne Bergeron with a big boot Louis Laurence & Tony Ricco defeated the Marcus Brothers with a wishbone snap/half crab combo on Joe Marcus Canadian International Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express defeated the Gerrard Brothers with a second rope powerslam/running leg drop combo Tony Parisi defeated Dan Johnson with a flying senton Armand Rougeau defeated Steve Regal Mad Dog Lefebvre, Gilles Poisson & Goldie Rogers defeated the Invaders & Dave Kochen with a Rogers neckbreaker after dropping Kochen throat-first over the ropes Gino Brito defeated Hurricane Kamiguchi with a figure four The Can Ams & Rene Goulet defeated Quebec TV Tag Champions The Tongan Terrors & Stonehead Ishimoto with a Lafon Canadian Rocky buster on Ishimoto October 28th, 1983 Palais des Sports, Val d'Or, QC (3,504, sellout) Joel Deaton defeated Alex Gerrard with a big boot Jim Brunzell defeated Bob Marcus with a dropkick Randy Rose defeated Tim Gerrard with a second rope powerslam Louis Laurence defeated Dan Johnson with a half crab Quebec Heavyweight Champion Richard Charland defeated Tony Ricco to retain his title Goldie Rogers & Steve Regal defeated Tony Parisi & Dave Kochen with a Rogers neckbreaker after dropping Kochen over the top rope Dennis Condrey & Earth and Sky defeated Gino Brito, Armand Rougeau & Rene Goulet with an Ishimoto loaded headbutt to Goulet The Invaders defeated Mad Dog Lefebvre & Gilles Poisson in a war that saw all four bleed and both Invaders with ripped masks

International Wrestling, October 28th, 1983 (Taped October 26th, 1983, Earl Armstrong Arena, Ottawa, ON) 3,500 fans, sellout Opening Matches 0:00 - 16:00 The opening montage leads to a shot of the ring with Alex and Tim Gerrard awaiting their opponents. Jacques, Sr. welcomes the fans to another great night of International Wrestling as the Can Am Express, getting a good pop, come out of the back. Jacques, Sr. has confidence that the Can Am express will find their confidence again after suffering a big loss on October 1st. The Can Am Express vs. The Gerrard Brothers Brunzell and Lafon are again dominant, runing over the Gerrards with very little time for either of the brothers to get in any offense. Alex Gerrard falls victim to the dropkick/cobra clutch combination. Phil Lafon over Alex Gerrard by submission with a cobra clutch following a Brunzell dropkick 4:33 Jacques, Sr. likes the aggression and teamwork shown by Lafon and Brunzell after such a tough loss. The camera cuts from the Can Ams leaving the ring after playing to the crowd a bit to Jacques, Sr., who runs down the rest of the show. The crowd starts cheering and the camera cuts to Louis Laurence making his entrance. Laurence slaps more than a few hands on his way to the ring and Jacques, Sr. is happy to see Laurence paying attention to his fans. The crowd immediately starts booing as Dan Johnson, Laurence’s opponent for tonight, comes out to the ring with Quebec Heavyweight Champion Richard Charland in tow. Charland is making a big show out of taunting Laurence with the belt, allowing Johnson to attack before the bell from behind. Louis Laurence vs. Dan Johnson Charland is removed from ringside almost immediately by referee Pierre Bertrand, but the damage has been done. Johnson works on Laurence’s back after the surprise attack, keeing control of the fiery Laurence with a surfboard and a chinlock while seated on his back. Laurence comes firing back with right hands and starts kicking at Johnson’s left leg before taking him down and going to work on the same leg. Johnson goes to the eyes to stop Laurence and again works over Laurence’s back between brawling, but Laurence again fires up. Johnson goes back to the eyes and sends Laurence off the ropes only to barely escape a Laurence crossbody at two. Laurence hits a few elbows before firing Johnson off the opposite ropes, tripping him up with a drop toe hold and grabbing a half crab for the submission victory. Louis Laurence by submission with a half crab 8:28 Jacques, Sr. is impressed with Laurence’s ability to make a comeback. He reminds the fans that tonights main event is Gino Brito and Tony Parisi taking on the Tongan Terrors as we go to commercial. Commercial Break 16:00 - 25:30 Jacques, Sr. is in the ring with Goldie Rogers when we return from break. Rogers is angrily pacing back and forth. Jacques, Sr.: You look a little upset this evening, Mr. Rogers. Rogers: Listen up, Jack! (Rougeau is clearly irritated, which brings a smile to Rogers’ face.) Oh, you liked that didn’t you darlin’? I saw that little smile. You see, Jack, a lot of ‘em pretend they don’t like me, but in the end they can’t resist. Jacques, Sr.: I’m sure that’s what you’re here to talk about. Rogers: This is my time, Jack, so why don’t you let me decide what to do with it? Now last night, just across the river, Tony Ricco cost me big against Dave Kochen. It seems to me there are some familiar faces in the crowd tonight. Most of the ones i recognize seemed pretty damn happy that Ricco got in my way. Jacques, Sr.: To be fair, Mr. Rogers, Tony Ricco simply stopped Steve Regal from interfering in your one-on-one match with Dave Kochen. Rogers: Oh, is that how it went? I remember this fine lookin’ woman behind you being horrified that her man, Goldie Rogers, got cheated. (Rogers points out a different woman in the front row.) Looks like your husband sprung for the good tickets tonight, not four rows back. Don’t worry darlin’, tonight you won’t be disappointed. Tonight you get a front row seat to me putting Tony Ricco in his place. Jacques, Sr. shakes his head as he leaves the ring, Rogers intently looking back at the entrance curtain. Tony Ricco comes out to a good pop. Jacques, Sr. is proud of Ricco for his actions the night before and hopes the young man can stop an angry Goldie Rogers. Tony Ricco vs. Goldie Rogers Rogers stays close to his corner at the bell, prompting Ricco to an aggressive rush. Rogers catches Ricco with a drop toe hold that bounces the youngster’s head off the first turnbuckle. Both women Rogers addressed earlier are treated a a Rogers hip grinding before the arrogant Canadian goes to work on Ricco’s neck. Ricco makes several attempts at a comeback, but Rogers cuts him off with brutal efficiency. When Ricco finally does land a barrage of punches to Rogers’ face, Rogers is quick to bail out of the ring. Ricco follows as closely as he can, but gets caught with a boot to the gut. Ricco reverses a whip into the railing and sends Rogers into the crowd with a big running right hand. Back in the ring Ricco misses a dropkick and Rogers immediately begins stomping away at Ricco’s head and neck. He picks the youngster up and drops him throat-first over the top rope, finishing Ricco off with a neckbreaker. Goldie Rogers by pinfall with a neckbreaker 7:16 Steve Regal comes sprinting out post-match and the two heels double team Ricco until Dave Kochen comes running to ringside with a chair and clears both Rogers and Regal out. Jacques, Sr. hopes Ricco is okay after the attack to his neck and is relieved that Kochen made the save. Commercial Break 25:30 - 34:00 Kochen is still in the ring when we come back from commercial, Ricco recovering as Kochen holds off Regal and Rogers. Jacques, Sr. Informs the fans that during the break he was told that Regal and Kochen will be wrestling in an impromptu match right now. Kochen hands head referee Adrian Desbois the chair after Regal gets into the ring. Dave Kochen vs. Steve Regal Kochen grabs an early headlock only to be shot into the ropes and tripped by Rogers. Regal bounces off the ropes for some kind of attack but gets tripped by Ricco. Regal still manages to get an armbar on Kochen, who is busy glaring at Rogers. Desbois has had enough and sends both Rogers and Ricco to the back. While Desbois is distracted Regal uses the hair to pull Kochen to the ground and land a few punches. Regal continues on the arm of Kochen, who comes firing back with rights. Regal tries going to the eyes, but Kochen punches right through that. Regal starts choking Kochen whle standing, releasing with one hand and pulling him down to the mat by the hair. Desbois gives Regal a stern lecture before the American again starts working on Kochen’s arm. Finally Kochen makes his comeback stick and finishes Regal off with an abdominal stretch after a slam and a vertical suplex. Dave Kochen by submission with an abdominal stretch 7:41 Jacques, Sr. congratulates Kochen on an impressive win. He knows the issue still needs to be settled with Rogers, given the vicious nature of their conflict. Commercial Break 34:00 - 47:30 We return from commercial to a shot of the ring, the crowd bursting into cheers when the Invaders and Armand Rougeau emerge from the curtain. Jacques, Sr. talks about thw wild brawl that ended the show last week between the Invaders and Lefebvre/Poisson with Goulet and Kamiguchi involved. Mad Dog Lefebvre, Gilles Poisson, Hurricane Kamiguchi and Eddie Creatchman come out to boos, Creatchman getting all kinds of garbage thrown his way. Jacques, Sr. is hopeful after the last few weeks that the Invaders and his son can come out on top. The Invaders & Armand Rougeau vs. Mad Dog Lefebvre, Gilles Poisson & Hurricane Kamiguchi Armand and Kamiguchi start out, Armand taking it to the masked Japanese wrestler and getting the Invaders involved with some quick tags. Invader 1 is the victim of several clubs to the upper back by an interfering Poisson to turn things in the heels favor. Invader 1 gets worked over, Lefebvre and Poisson cutting him off multiple times before he tags in Invader 3, who sends Poisson out of the ring with a dropkick and lays into Lefebvre with right hands. Poisson yanks Invader 3 out of the ring by the legs and the two brawl on the floor, Lefebvre joining in. Invader 1 runs across the ring to join the fracas and Armand makes a beeline for Kamiguchi. Kamiguchi drops off the apron only to eat Rougeau’s boots as the youngster slides under the ropes. The six men brawl around ringside, referee Andre Roy reaching a ten count and disqualifying both teams. Both teams were counted out 11:33 Jacques, Sr. tells the fans that we have to go to commercial as the six men continue to brawl around ringside, Invader 1 bashing Lefebvre’s head into the table right in front of Jacques, Sr. Commercial Break & Upcoming Events 47:30 - 65:00 We come back from commercial to the backstage interview area, where Eddie Creatchman and Canadian International Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express are standing. The Midnights have their newly won gold around their waists. Creatchman walks over and picks up the microphone with no Jacques, Sr. in sight. Creatchman: The last two weeks the IWA has seen fit to make matches involving the Midnight Express after it was very clearly stated that these men will not be wrestling on TV. You see, Frank Valois and his cronies are unhappy that their favorites, the Rougeaus, are not champions and have decided to take it out on us. We had nothing to do with Jacques and Raymond’s injuries. I can’t say I’m sorry to see them gone, but neither I nor the Midnight Express had a hand in either of them getting hurt. The Midnight Express was not ready for a match two weeks ago when we got blindsided with the Dino Bravo six man tag. I think that Dennis and Randy, under the circumstances, handled themselves very well. Creatchman stops and shakes hands with both Condrey and Rose. Creatchman: As for this blindsiding us with matches, I have been in contact with my lawyers. We will not be subject to the people who run the IWA playing favorites! I expect the same kind of treatment the Rougeaus got for the Midnight Express! Randy and Dennis are far better champions than those hotheads could ever be! They will go down as the greatest tag champions in the history of the IWA before they are done. And if the fans don’t stop throwing garbage we will start boycotting TV altogether. These men deserve your respect and they will have it! The camera cuts back to Jacques, Sr. at the announce tale, who shakes his head. He cannot believe Creatchman’s claims about not injuring his sons and wonders where Creatchman, Condrey and Rose got the idea that champions didn’t have to wrestle on TV. The camera cuts to Gino Brito and Tony Parisi making their entrance to a big pop. Jacques, Sr. hopes that these two can capture the TV titles from the Tongan Terrors. The TV Tag Title holders, the Tongan Terrors, stalk down to the ring with Lou Albano making sure as many people as possible in the arena see the belts around their waists. Jacques, Sr. admits that Albano’s monsters are very impressive in the ring. Gino Brito & Tony Parisi vs. Quebec Television Tag Team Champions The Tongan Terrors in a title match (15 minute time limit) Brito comes out hot against both Tongans, holding his own. King Tonga catches Brito with a big chop to the neck that allows the Terrors to double team the veteran. Brito fights off the double team after a short while and tags Parisi. Parisi tries working over Tonga John with punches and a dropkick, but the big Tongan avoids the dropkick and the Tongan wrestlers start working over Parisi. Parisi hits a dropkick on King Tonga later on, only to have Tonga John stomp on his back as he tries to get to his feet. Tonga John continues the assault after being tagged in, but Parisi rolls him up with a sunset flip for a two. John stomps away on Parisi and tags King Tonga. The King hits a few martial arts kicks, but Parisi catches one and trips up King Tonga. Albano distracts head referee Adrian Desbois while Parisi tags Brito, causing Brito to be escorted back to his corner. The King catches Parisi with a savate kick after allowing John to tag himself in, Tonga John climbing to the top. Brito is able to cause John to stumble on the top rope before King Tonga knocks him off the apron. Parisi avoids the flying headbutt, but can’t make the tag as Brito and King Tonga are brawling on the floor. Tonga John hits a few big chops before sending Parisi to the ropes and missing a big boot, Parisi catching John with a crossbody on the return for a nearfall. King Tonga crashes the ring to give his team a two on one advantage that is short-lived when Brito comes charging in to Parisi’s aid. The ring clears with under thirty seconds left in the match and Tonga John hits his running big boot only for Brito to break up the pin at the last moment. All four men are in th ring when the bell sounds and the 15 minute time limit is up. The teams go to a draw 15:00 Jacques, Sr. begrudgingly gives Albano and his team credit for being able to put a hurting on the team of Brito and Parisi and almost get a win, even if Albano had to distract the referee in order to do it. We are out of time for tonight’s show, but be sure to tune in next week when Dino Bravo will again be at the show! Dark Matches Pre-Show Quebec Heavyweight Champion Richard Charand defeated Joe Marcus with a piledriver Post-Show Stonehead Ishimoto defeated Rene Goulet with a loaded headbutt after a Creatchman distraction, Hurricane Kamiguchi ran in for a post-match attack but Armand Rougeau was quick to follow, resulting in a brawl

Oh my, the Blackjacks and the Midnights creating havoc on this show. Tastics seemed like they had all the momentum in the world going into the tourney. Wahoo took a pretty vicious beating when the Blackjacks turned and I wonder if he and the JYD don't have higher priorities than Ted right now. I love the messy nature of the show.

I like the focus on the tag division. Adding the Dellaserras and Whatley/King to the title picture is a good move. Lanny continues to come back to the right side of things, and it seems like Sardo is going to be a big deal. As far as the Pentagram goes, I imagine they will be coming back at an inopportune moment for somebody. Perhaps Lanny given the positioning of things? I like the half hour shows, keeps you very focused on what you're trying to accomplish without overdoing anything.

October 25th, 1983, Robert Guertin Centre, Gatineau, QC (4,000, sellout) Joel Deaton defeated Alex Gerrard with a big boot Louis Laurence defeated Tim Gerrard with a half crab Canadian International Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express defeated the Marcus Brothers with a suplex lift into a second rope powerslam The Can Am Express defeated Quebec Heavyweight Champion Richard Charland & Dan Johnson with a dropkick/cobra clutch combo on Johnson Dave Kochen defeated Goldie Rogers with an inside cradle after Ricco stopped Regal interference Earth and Sky & Steve Regal defeated Armand Rougeau, Rene Goulet & Tony Ricco with a Kamiguchi airplane spin Samoan drop on Ricco Gilles Poisson defeated Invader 3 by DQ when Lefebvre ran-in, Invader 1 made the save Albano promo about tomorrow night's title defense against Brito & Parisi in Ottawa Gino Brito, Tony Parisi & Invader 1 defeated Quebec TV Tag Team Champions The Tongan Terrors & Mad Dog Lefebvre with a Brito schoolboy on King Tonga, Poisson came charging out of the back as a six man brawl erupted, followed by Invader 3

I'm guessing goc just hasn't updated that in a while.

Yeah I had that Fujinami match ridiculous high on my 2000s vote. I think it was top 5. Mainly because of how great it was and the way it compared to all of the other 2000s Japan "tough guy" to borrow a phrase type wrestling. Nish is a guy I'm going to have to dig into more before my final ballot comes together because he seems like somebody I could be really high on as a whole.

October 24th, 1983, Paul Sauvé Arena, Montreal, QC (4,000, sellout) Joel Deaton defeated Bob Marcus with a big boot Dave Kochen defeated Joe Marcus with an abdominal stretch, Rogers & Regal attacked post match with Parisi making the save Quebec Heavyweight Champion Richard Charland & Dan Johnson defeated the Gerrard Brothers with a spike piledriver on Alex Gerrard The Can Am Express defeated Goldie Rogers & Steve Regal with a Brunzell figure four on Regal, Eddie Creatchman and the Midnights called out Can Ams on Saturday in Laval King Tonga defeated Tony Parisi with a thumb spike, Goldie Rogers came out and cut a promo on Parisi Mad Dog Lefebvre & Gilles Poisson defeated Louis Laurence & Tony Ricco, Armand Rougeau & Rene Goulet came out and challenged Lefebvre & Poisson to a six man match in Laval Randy Rose & Earth & Sky defeated Armand Rougeau, Rene Goulet & Invader 1 with an Ishimoto loaded headbutt on Invader 1, Eddie Creatchman cut a promo on the Invaders post-match on behalf of Earth & Sky, running down Rougeau Invader 3 defeated Tonga John with a schoolboy Gino Brito defeated Dennis Condrey by disqualification when the Tongan Terrors attacked, Parisi came out for the save but was outnumbered, the Can Am Express charges out to help clear the ring

That would require multiple Canadian promotions. I thought Milt Arvuskin was an announcer in Detroit.

Sounds fine to me.

I'm with jdw on Kobashi. I hate a lot of his habits after 1995, perhaps earlier. But they guy has so much going for him that he's firmly at 23 or 24. I'm not sure who my Iverson (by comparison) would be, but I have seen enough Manami Toyota to know that she is not for me. Great highspots for sure, but the total package is missing for me.

Didn't see any of it until about 2007 in Ditch's poll. The style seems to have shifted to more of an epic juniors battle feel than lucharesu when it shows up in 2007-2009. It's a little overwrought for my tastes but there is stuff there that is worthwhile. Also, Sasuke still did crazy-ass dives that leave you wondering how he is still wrestling in 07. He is easily one of the craziest dudes ever to grace a wrestling ring when it comes to putting his body on the line. I love him for it and wonder if it's really worth that kind of sacrifice all at the same time.

Kobashi had a few moments where I thought he went too far on the fighting spirit no-sells. But the majority of the time he should have been selling he was knocking it out of the park generating sympathy. One thing I truly loved about this match was how Kobashi focused 99% of his offense on the neck and Taue did the same with Kobashi's back. The transitions were mostly right on the mark. Kobashi barely avoiding death three times was great, as was the HUGE reaction when Kobashi kicked out of the Dynamic bomb. Really, really tight match between these two with mostly the right amount of fighting between the big nearfalls and only a few no-selling spots.

What a great HemisFair show! Of course Tully is the headline here and with good reason. Great way to end the Dynasty. Ash getting his leg broken with the same hold he came here to break Welch's leg is great poetic justice. Mascaras taking out Lothario's hand and then the respect at the end of the battle royal was good stuff. Butch Reed is going to be the heel king of the South pretty soon. The Canadian gets some heat on Hamilton and maybe that feud will get a bit more time now that a lot of the major feuds have been finished. I mourn for the end of the Ash vs. Welch feud and the Dynasty vs. Fabs feud, but I get the feeling there is more to come.

But I think you do owe it to yourself to watch memphis wrestling. Six discs in and I am loving a lot of it. The "hide the foreign object" routines get tiresome, but the rest of the set is glorious.

Lots of stuff going on here for sure. I like how the Ladd/Lawler angle was furthered throughout the show, even when neither was on the screen. The addition of Reed AND JYD to this angle can only mean great things. The Wrecking Crew forming up was a nice addition to your already stacked tag team division. Barr isn't somebody I can claim to have seen much of, but he seems like a guy you have uses for. Superstar Graham is an interesting choice for Memphis and I can see him negating the Reed strength advantage. Idol needs a bigger role if you ask me, but it seems like he's on the way up. Jose Poffo was handled in a much more Lance manner this time and I would agree that the show would have been incredibly tense with the Ladd-Lawler stuff continually rearing it's ugly (in a great way) head.

Wow, feel-good show for sure in Milwaukee. Roadies finally get the belts off of the Bills and Parsons gets his revenge on Garvin. My guess is neither are done with their nemeses just yet though. Hogan in yet another great match, wondering if it is going to be Humongous or another of Robley's guys he sees next. The faces on the undercard all seemed to get one over on the heels also, I imagine the next show is going to have quite a few heel victories.

I love Zbysko complaining about having to defend the TV belt. Dory vs. Bock for the shot at the NWA title is all kinds of strange and interesting. Also, then you'd have Dillon managing a match opposite Bock, which is also a bit out of the ordinary. Dangerous by design is aiming rather high if they think they will get the best of the Guerreros.