[GCW Universe] World Wrestling Association

[snabbit888]

The Rockers getting their tag title shot. I like their odds. Not sure if they win this time, but should be a great showcase for them.

Tito with a nice win. He needs a new partner or Humperdink needs a singles for that feud to continue, methinks.

God I love Valiant. He's such 80s goodness. This feud makes me quite pleased. I can see Valiant making a great run at winning the battle royal.

Williams gets fined and didn't seem to take it very well. Do I smell foreshadowing?

Savage so good. You captured him very well. I am smelling a title unification match with Adams which should be fun. The Gentlemen's Club hitting on Elizabeth, Savage losing his goddamn mind. I love the possibilities.

Good win by Magnum. Still hard to predict who wins the cage match.

Lawler! And heel King Lawler too. I'm a big fan of that pickup.

I love what you did with Williams in the main event. That is the edge Dr. Death needed. He was lacking something and there it is. I can see him being a sleeper for the battle royal.

[vertigo]

May 16, 1986 - WWA Prime Time Wrestling
(Taped May 6, 1986 at Studio 2 in San Francisco, CA)

We are just one day away from perhaps the biggest event in WWA’s history; Parade of Champions! Tony Schiavone and Ken Resnick are in the booth with the rundown. Tonight we have lots of great wrestling action including a gigantic six-man tag team match you won’t want to miss. Also, we will get words from “Rowdy” Roddy Piper about challenging for the WWA Heavyweight Championship inside the Steel Cage! But right now we have a special guest...

“THE AMERICAN DREAM” IS COMING TO VEGAS

Dusty Rhodes stepped into the booth to talk about Parade of Champions. He said Howard Beauchamp put a stipulation on the Heavyweight Title Match that says when that match goes on, “The Dream” is banned from the building along with Mr. T and Paul Orndorff. He said he understands the stip and he wants to see a fair fight as much as everyone else. However, knowing the type of people Piper & Orndorff are, they probably think they can get to Magnum before the Cage Match. Perhaps do a number on him in the parking lot of the Thomas & Mack Center or in the dressing room. Rhodes says he can guarantee nothing like that is going to happen because he will be at Parade of Champions. Not only to watch Magnum’s back, but for one night only, Rhodes has worked out a deal to participate in the Battle Royal! The fans pop huge for that announcement. He says he’s entering to keep Orndorff in his sights, as well as take care of some unfinished business with Terry Funk.

1. "Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant vs. Alvin Cazaes

Valiant was having a good time at the expense of Alvin. He was shuckin’ and jivin’ throughout the match in between wrestling moves before eventually turning the light’s out on his opponent.

Jimmy Valiant made Alvin Cazaes submit to the Sleeperhold in 0:05:44.
Rating: **

You can believe Valiant will be all business tomorrow night when he steps into the ring with 19 other guys, including his rival One Man Gang.

Tony Schiavone was in the midst of hyping more about Parade of Champions when he was interrupted by Jim Cornette & The Midnight Express. Cornette did a lot of whining, mostly about Brad Armstrong & Terry Taylor getting opportunities they never deserved and how “Sweet” Stan & “Beautiful” Bobby are god’s gift to professional wrestling. He ended the promo by saying Brad & Terry would just be an afterthought after The Midnight Express mop the Thomas & Mack Center with them tomorrow night.

2. Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs. Ken Massey

Roberts took his time throughout the match, making sure Massey suffered through every hold and slam Roberts was giving him. When Roberts finished toying with Massey he spiked him with the DDT for the win.

Jake Roberts defeated Ken Massey with the DDT in 0:07:34.
Rating: **

Ken Resnick had plans of interviewing Roberts in the ring after the match but once Roberts let his pet snake out of the bag and draped it across Jobber, Resnick simply chucked the microphone and ran. While the snake slithered around him, Roberts cut a promo on Randy Savage and the United States Championship that sent chills down the spines of everyone in attendance. He spoke softly, often directing his comments at the snake. The message was simple; no one survives the DDT, not even “The Macho Man”.

3. The Rockers vs. Guy Lambert & Bill Tabb

Michaels & Jannetty were in tip-top form as everything they did was perfectly executed. Their acrobatic high flying maneuvers had jaws and panties dropping throughout the studio on their way to a victory.

The Rockers (Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels) defeated Guy Lambert & Bill Tabb when Michaels pinned Lambert after The Rocker-plex in 0:05:11.
Rating: ** 1/2

The Rockers have the biggest opportunity of their young careers when they challenge The House of Humperdink for the Tag Team titles tomorrow night in Las Vegas.

JERRY “THE KING” LAWLER HOLDS COURT IN STUDIO 2

Tony Schiavone welcomed Jerry Lawler who was dressed in full royal regalia. He had a smirk on his face while the fans boo’d him. “The King has arrived in San Francisco to take his throne.” More boos. Lawler said WWA’s Parade would be a travesty without a King and he expects a red carpet to be rolled out for him when he arrives at the Thomas & Mack Center. Schiavone comments that King Tonga, a noble islander with royal heritage, is actually scheduled to wrestle next. Lawler calls Schiavone an idiot and says it takes a king to know one and that King Tonga is NOT a true King. He asked if people even live in Tonga and how many? 10? 11? If it’s more than that then inbreeding is a bigger problem in Tonga than he originally thought. King Tonga was on his way to the ring when he overheard the comments and confronted Lawler. They exchanged words before Lawler backed away. When Tonga turned to walk to the ring Lawler gave him a cheapshot and did a number on him at ringside. Lawler, pleased with himself, left the studio while shouting he would finish this in Las Vegas.

4. King Tonga vs. Gustavo Mendoza

Tonga, the competitor he is, rolled into the ring in no condition to wrestle but urged the referee to start the match. Mendoza started where Lawler left off but he couldn’t maintain the advantage. When Tonga recovered he let out some aggression on Mendoza before putting him away.

King Tonga defeated Gustavo Mendoza via pinfall in 0:04:28.
Rating: -3/4*

Tonga will surely be looking for revenge against Lawler in Las Vegas where both will compete in the Battle Royal.

Vince McMahon was on location in Vegas to conduct a couple of interviews. First he talked to current Tag Team Champions, Bill Eadie & Rick Rude along with their manager Sir Oliver Humperdink. Eadie did most of the talking, saying they look forward to disfiguring The Rockers’ pretty boy faces. Rude chimed in something about a Rude Awakening before being distracted and led off camera by a couple of beautiful women. Humperdink put over his tag team while grabbing three shots from one of the waitress’s serving trays. He offered Vince and Eadie a shot but they both just stared at him. Humperdink shrugged his shoulders and walked off followed by Eadie. Vince commented that the victory celebration has apparently already started for the House of Humperdink.

Vince then walked over to a bar where Roddy Piper was seated. Piper was solemn but intense. He spoke with an odd sense of calmness but there was no disputing that he was focused on Magnum T.A. and the Heavyweight Title Steel Cage Match. As Piper spoke more, he became more irritated to the point that he grabbed the beer bottle he was drinking from and smashed it into his own forehead. The bar quieted to a hush as people stopped what they were doing and watched Piper. With blood and beer pouring down his face, Piper said the only way Magnum leaves Las Vegas with the Heavyweight title is over his dead body!

[Main Event]
5. The Gentlemen’s Club vs. Kevin Von Erich, Billy Jack Haynes (w/Missy Hyatt), and “Macho Man” Randy Savage (w/Elizabeth)

The personalities were a bit much for one match here in our main event. Between TGC’s antics towards the fans during their entrance, to Von Erich and Haynes bickering constantly, to Savage’s over-the-top persona the referee had his hands full before the match even began. Missy Hyatt and Elizabeth were NOT going to get along and that was very clear when Hyatt tried to bully Liz at ringside right after the match began. Savage hopped out and put his finger in Missy’s face telling her to back off. This caused Billy Jack to confront Savage, leaving Von Erich alone in the ring. That’s when TGC jumped Von Erich. Haynes and Savage were oblivious to it until Missy finally got Haynes’ attention and told him to help Kevin. With mayhem in the ring, JAKE ROBERTS saw an opportunity to attack Savage outside the ring. After a giving Savage a short-arm clothesline, Roberts retreated but once Savage recovered his priority was no longer the match but to get his hands on Jake Roberts. He ran away from ringside followed by Elizabeth leaving a 2-on-3 situation for his partners.

Von Erich took a fairly good beating before making the hot tag to Haynes. Haynes bumped all three “gentlemen” around looking to take home a win for the good guys. Then he looked over and saw Missy Hyatt tending to Von Erich, rubbing on his neck and asking if he was okay. Haynes totally lost focus of what he was doing and turned his attnetion and ire towards Missy and Von Erich. This gave Adams the chance roll him up and get the victory.

The Gentlemen's Club (Chris Adams, The Hustler and The Playboy) defeated Randy Savage, Billy Jack Haynes and Kevin Von Erich when Adams pinned Haynes after a schoolboy cradle in 0:09:53.
Rating: * 1/2

TGC celebrated their as if they had just won the lottery. The Playboy and The Hustler tried grinding up on a few females at ringside but they awkwardly moved back a few rows to avoid them. Meanwhile, Haynes and Missy argued in the ring; Haynes telling Missy she’s getting too comfortable with Von Erich while Missy was pissed that Haynes lost ANOTHER match. When Haynes backed Missy into the corner Von Erich got in Haynes’ face. Tempers were at a boiling point as we went off the air!

Circuit Information:

Tomorrow night, live from Las Vegas, the Parade of Champions! This card is huge and it’s a can’t-miss event! Then tune in, right here next week, same time and place, for fallout from the event and a lot of great pro wrestling action!

5/17/86 - PARADE OF CHAMPIONS - The Thomas & Mack Center - Las Vegas, NV

WWA HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP STEEL CAGE MATCH (Dusty Rhodes, Mr. T, and Paul Orndorff banned from the building) - Magnum T.A. (c) vs. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper
WEST COAST CHAMPIONSHIP - “Gentleman” Chris Adams (c) vs. Kevin Von Erich
UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP - “Macho Man” Randy Savage (c) vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts
The Midnight Express vs. Brad Armstrong & “Terrific” Terry Taylor
20-MAN BATTLE ROYAL: Terry Funk, The Playboy, The Hustler, “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, “Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant, Tito Santana, One Man Gang, Jerry “The King” Lawler, “Dr. Death” Steve Williams, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, and more TBA

[snabbit888]

I love that 1980s wrestling logic. Dusty Rhodes is "unsigned" but there all the fucking time. That is a perfect example of classic wrestling. I don't see him not getting involved in the main event.

Jimmy Valiant for World champ.

Standard Jim Cornette which is not a bad thing.

Haha. I enjoy that you forgot to make an edit on the Roberts' match write up and still refer to Massey as "Jobber." Either way, Savage vs. Roberts is money.

Jesus... panties were dropping? What a disaster for the cleaning crew.

Tonga is a perfect foil for Lawler's first feud. Nobility vs. the Tongan Monster. I can see Haku just murdering Lawler but the King finding a way to escape.

House of Humperdink seems to be overlooking the Rockers, which I think could mean we're getting new tag champs.

And Piper is insane. New World champ is my prediction.

That was about the expected result from the main event. The Gentlemen's Club is ridiculous, but you can't argue that they're a well-oiled (literally, unfortunately) machine. The face team was never going to coexist long enough to handle that.

C'mon, Parade!

[rey619]

I'd wish you guys would post more often. It's so great. And I forget everything that has happened since last time. Sort of like reading the Game of Thrones novels.

[snabbit888]

Haha. We're trying. Real life is a bastard some times but we're working on it. I have 2 TVs in the hole to post. I dunno what Russ is doing.

[vertigo]

May 17, 1986 - WWA presents Parade of Champions
From the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV

1. [WWA West Coast Championship Match]
Kevin Von Erich vs. “Gentleman” Chris Adams (c)

We’re kicking things off with the first of five Championship matches. Kevin Von Erich was given this rematch after his first encounter with Adams ended in controversy. The Gentlemen’s Club were up to their usual prematch antics which included oiling one another up and finding creative ways to thrusts their pelvises at the fans. The Playboy took it too far when he tried rubbing oil on the back of referee Dave Hebner’s neck and earned himself and The Hustler an ejection from ringside. With no distractions, Von Erich could stay focused on Adams and went right to work. Adams’ actual abilities are sometimes forgotten because of his obnoxious behavior but he can certainly fend for himself between the ropes. This was one hell of an opener that saw two evenly matched wrestlers giving everything they had to leave a Champion. The finish saw Kevin attempt a monkey flip out of the corner but Adams blocked it and Kevin crashed to the mat. Adams covered Kevin and put his feet up on the ropes for added leverage making it impossible for Kevin to kick out.

Chris Adams pinned Kevin Von Erich in 0:13:17.
Rating: **** 1/4
(Chris Adams retained the WWA West Coast Title.)

Missy Hyatt then ran to the ring and started explaining to referee Hebner that Adams cheated. Adams confronted her, first about the accusations and then just why she was out here. When his mannerisms became aggressive Kevin stepped in and walloped Adams which got a great pop from the crowd. But that changed when The Playboy & The Hustler showed up and nailed Kevin from behind. The Gentlemen’s Club then set their sights on Missy but when BILLY JACK HAYNES hit the ring they scattered. Billy Jack wasted no time scolding Missy and forcing her to leave. She pouted and pleaded saying she was only doing what was right before finally leaving. As she and Billy Jack walked back up the aisle, TGC slid back in the ring and put the boots to Kevin. Missy pleaded with her boyfriend to help Kevin. He hesitated before returning and fighting off TGC. Kevin recovered, joined Haynes in the fight, and together they sent all three Gentlemen out of the ring. Missy was pleased but Billy Jack and Kevin were still standoffish. Billy Jack and Missy left together but not before Missy gave Kevin a playful wink and smile behind Billy Jack’s back.

2. The Midnight Express (w/Jim Cornette) vs. “Bullet” Bob Armstrong & “Terrific” Terry Taylor

Before the match Jim Cornette cut a promo saying “in typical Armstrong fashion and no surprise to The Midnight Express, Brad has backed out of the match.” He continued talking, saying Armstrongs were a disgrace to wrestling, so on and so forth. He was a bit surprised to see that Brad’s father was the replacement, but eventually mocked him calling him a dinosaur and asking Taylor if this was the best he could find. Well, “Bullet” had heard enough and popped Cornette. A brawl began the match with Taylor & “Bullet” sending the Midnight’s powdering on the floor. As the match progressed, Cornette struggled giving any instruction to his team because of the punch from earlier but Eaton & Lane are perfectly capable of taking over and keeping control of match without Cornette’s help. Taylor & Bob did well for themselves but as a team they’re no where near the caliber of The Midnight Express who were able to pick up the hard fought match.

The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane) defeated Bob Armstrong and Terry Taylor when S. Lane pinned Taylor in 0:15:08.
Rating: ** 1/4
(Brad Armstrong no-showed.)

When The Midnight Express came to WWA they made it clear they want the Tag Team Titles and they look to continue on their track after the big win tonight. Cornette was already heard lobbying for a title shot as soon as he came back to the dressing room.

3. [TNMLL Heavyweight Championship Match]
El Canek (c) vs. Perro Aguayo

Both El Canek and Perro Aguayo are huge wrestling stars, better known as luchadors in their native country Mexico, and have had numerous battles in the past over the coveted TNMLL Heavyweight title. They brought their feud to WWA as a special attraction match for Parade of Champions. The fans were introduced to lucha libre, a style of wrestling that is much different than what they’re used to seeing and it was a welcomed change of pace. The masked El Canek fought with determination and flare while Aguayo preferred to cut corners when he could in an effort to become the new Champion. In the end, after a finishing sequence that involved a number of back and forth pin attempts, Canek was able to keep Aguayo’s shoulders down to retain the gold.

El Canek pinned Perro Aguayo with the Canek Press in 0:14:54.
Rating: ** 3/4
[El Canek retained the TNMLL Heavyweight Championship.]

The crowd seemed appreciative of El Canek, who showed his gratitude by waving to the fans and shaking as many hands as he could while leaving ringside. A couple of other luchadors are competing later tonight in the Battle Royal and there is potential for more new faces from Mexico to appear in WWA in the future.

4. [WWA Tag Team Championship Match]
The Rockers vs. The House of Humperdink (c) (w/Sir Oliver Humperdink)

The House of Humperdink won the Tag Team titles just two months ago in Fresno. Not only did the win not go over well with the fans but it was overshadowed by the spiked piledriver they gave Hector Guerrero, sending him out of WWA indefinitely. They’re a force to be reckoned with for sure but things have been a bit shaky in the stable for quite sometime. Humperdink is constantly badgering his team, Rude believes he’s the star of the group, and Eadie feels like he does all the work. They had some trouble getting things together in the early parts of this match and The Rockers, who are possibly the most exciting tag team in wrestling, took full advantage of the situation cutting the ring in half and controlling their opponents. Once Eadie was able to swing the advantage back in HOH’s favor with a powerslam, they took pleasure in brutalizing Michaels. But whatever they tried they couldn’t keep Michaels down for a pinfall and Sir Oliver was livid about it. Michaels finally made the tag to Jannetty who was a total house of fire when he got in and bounced Eadie all over. Rude was knocked off the ring apron by a dropkick and The Rockers saw an opportunity to go for The Rocker-plex. As Michaels climbed to the top rope to get into position for the move, Sir Oliver hopped onto the ring apron and pulled his leg out, crotching Michaels on the turnbuckle! The referee didn’t see the action but Jannetty did and he confronted Oliver. The referee was in between them trying to get Oliver off the ring apron when Rude slid a foreign object in to Eadie. But before Eadie could use it TITO SANTANA slid in the ring and leveled him with a right hand that made Eadie drop the weapon and forget what day of the week it was. Santana went after Oliver who dropped off the ring apron and hid behind Rick Rude. As Santana and Jannetty held Rude and Oliver at bay at ringside Michaels came off the top rope with a fantastic flying dropkick that was enough to get the win!

The Rockers (Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels) defeated The House of Humperdink (Bill Eadie and Rick Rude) when Michaels pinned Eadie after a flying dropkick in 0:18:58.
Rating: *** 3/4
(The Rockers won the WWA Tag Team Titles.)

Your winners and NEW WWA Tag Team Champions, The Rockers! Santana celebrated with Michaels & Jannetty who were quite emotional about the win. Meanwhile The House of Humperdink struggled to make sense of what just happened.

5. [20-Man Battle Royal]
“The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, The Moondogs (Rex and Spot), “Dr. Death” Steve Williams, The Gentlemen’s Club (The Playboy and The Hustler), “Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant, Sheepherder Luke, The Libyan, “Bullet” Bob Armstrong, Billy Jack Haynes, Fishman, Jack Victory, Tito Santana, King Tonga, Blue Demon, Jerry “The King” Lawler, “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, One Man Gang, and Terry Funk

It was time for the Battle Royal and brother, this thing was loaded! Dusty Rhodes was the last participant to hit in the ring and once he was in it was on. There were some new faces in there; luchadors Blue Demon and Fishman were easily identifiable by their masks as were the team of The Moondogs, Rex & Spot, who looked very rugged with their beards and ripped jeans. This was also the highly anticipated in ring debut of Jerry “The King" Lawler.

x Rex threw out Bob Armstrong in 0:01:52

An early and somewhat surprising elimination saw Jack Victory dump out Sheepherder Luke. It looks like their friendship is out the window.

x Victory threw out Luke after an elbowsmash in 0:03:12
x Blue Demon threw out The Libyan in 0:04:00
x Santana threw out Rex in 0:04:14
x Santana threw out Spot in 0:04:14
x Fishman threw out Haynes in 0:05:26

When Billy Jack Haynes was eliminated Missy Hyatt was very disappointed and she let him know it. The two of them argued all the way to the curtain and beyond.

x Valiant threw out Fishman in 0:06:22
x Playboy and Hustler threw out S. Williams in 0:08:01

A double team effort by The Playboy & The Hustler sent “Dr. Death” over the ropes but he hung on. As he dangled it did appear that his feet touched the floor. As he pulled himself onto the ring apron and attempted to get back in, officials informed him he indeed been eliminated. Williams argued that his feet never touched and that the officials must be blind. He was being forced to leave but not before shoving both Dave Hebner and Bill Alfonso to the ground in anger.

x One Man Gang threw out Victory in 0:09:56
x Rhodes threw out Hustler after a back suplex in 0:10:18
x One Man Gang threw out Blue Demon in 0:11:34

One Man Gang, being the largest wrestler in the match, was doing well for himself. Many tried to lift him over the top rope but no one even came close to eliminating him. Not until he and “Boogie Woogie Man” finally met up. They exchanged punches but Gang’s hands were heavier and he sent Valiant back into the ropes. With elimination on his mind he wound up for another shot that would send Boogie out but Boogie ducked it and landed a stiff roundhouse right that knocked Gang off balance and it was Gang that tumbled over the top!

x Valiant threw out One Man Gang after a roundhouse right in 0:11:43
x Santana threw out Playboy after a gutwrench suplex in 0:12:12
x Orndorff threw out Valiant in 0:15:30
x Orndorff threw out Santana in 0:16:52

For a guy who isn’t even fully contracted in WWA, Dusty Rhodes has some bitter enemies. He had his hands full trying to fight off both Paul Orndorff and Terry Funk throughout the entire match. Finally, with Funk off in a corner taking some punishment from King Tonga, he could focus his effort on Orndorff. With only 5 guys remaining, Dusty had room to get moving and he was able to find that flurry of jabs and a bionic elbow to daze Orndorff and eliminate him.

x Rhodes threw out Orndorff in 0:18:04

Lawler called out King Tonga last night on Prime Time Wrestling and it’s safe to say that Tonga took exception to the disrespectful remarks. Once we were down to four, Tonga kept his focus on Lawler while Funk and Rhodes tore into each other. Lawler is new to WWA but he’s not new to professional wrestling and he has a reputation of doing whatever it takes to win. He couldn’t catch a breather as Tonga wailed on him but when he saw the opening for an eye gouge he went right for it. Tonga had to retreat to recover. In that moment Lawler caught a glimpse of Rhodes and Funk both teetering on the ropes trying to eliminate one another. Lawler bursted towards them and dumped both out!

x Lawler threw out T. Funk in 0:20:57
x Lawler threw out Rhodes in 0:20:58

It was as if Rhodes and Funk didn’t know they were eliminated because when they both hit the floor, they got right up and started fighting again. Orndorff, who still hadn't left ringside, joined the fight and started laying into Rhodes. It took every official at ringside to try to pull them apart. As the melee proceeded outside, Tonga snuck up behind Lawler and threw him over the top rope! Lawler clearly touched the floor but none of the referees were around to make it official. Tonga celebrated in the ring, thinking he had won, when Lawler slid back in, grabbed a handful of hair and tights and tossed Tonga clear over the top rope right at the feet of the referees.

x Lawler threw out Tonga in 0:23:54

[20 Man Battle Royal]
Jerry Lawler won a 20-man Battle Royal:
Rating: ** 1/2

An absolutely ridiculous ending to the match! Rhodes and Funk were finally separated and taken to the back. Lawler celebrated his win in the center of the ring, first smiling a lot and the just shouting despicable things at the fans. Something tells me Tonga won’t just accept this travesty of justice.

6. [United States Championship Match]
Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage (c) (w/Elizabeth)

Two incredibly different personalities and styles were set to collide. Elizabeth looked like a nervous wreck standing outside with Jake’s snake bag in plain sight. More than once Savage hopped outside of the ring and redirected Elizabeth to a different area at ringside. Jake would taunt Liz any chance he had, just being a super weird creep. These antics enraged Savage but that’s exactly what Jake wanted. Jake took the first wave of punishment until Savage made a mistake. Then Jake was all over him, methodically working over the Macho Man. The United States Championship is a rather prestigious title and Jake would have loved to leave Las Vegas with it but it wasn’t meant to be tonight. Macho Man mounted a comeback that Jake couldn’t withstand. The beginning of the end was a flying double axe handle off the top rope and the nail in Jake’s coffin was the Flying Elbowdrop.

Randy Savage pinned Jake Roberts with the Flying Elbowdrop in 0:10:06.
Rating: ***
[Randy Savage retained the United States Championship.]

Savage only took a moment to have his hand raised after he was given his United States title. Even with Jake nearly unconscious, just knowing a massive python is a few feet away is unsettling. Savage wasn’t taking any risks and he and Liz walked back up the aisle quickly.

7. [WWA Heavyweight Championship Steel Cage Match]
“Rowdy” Roddy Piper vs. Magnum T.A. (c)

It was time for the match everyone was looking forward to. As the Cage was being constructed around the ring there was a buzz in the crowd. Excitement was in the air. The challenger, Roddy Piper came to the ring accompanied by Paul Orndorff. Magnum T.A., with the Heavyweight title around his waist, was accompanied by Dusty Rhodes. The stipulation states that Rhodes and Orndorff are banned from ringside and before the match would begin they were both escorted by security through the crowd and right out the front door of the Thomas & Mack Center.

There was an intense staredown in the ring as the Cage door was locked with both Magnum and Piper inside. No referee in the cage  as the only way to win this match is to be the first man to escape. When the bell sounded they rushed each other and the fight was on! Magnum won out early as his punches seemed to be a little less erratic and more accurate where they landed. It wasn’t long before Piper was feeling his own blood running down his face. However, Piper was able to turn things around and slam Magnum head first into the Cage! The blow split Magnum wide open and he was bleeding much worse than Piper. Like a shark that smells blood Piper went for the kill. He did everything he could to lay out Magnum but every time he tried to escape the cage, Magnum would stop him. Magnum’s entire career has been defined by his heart and determination and we were seeing just why he is the WWA Heavyweight Champion. Magnum reached deep down to find his second wind and with the fans pumping adrenaline through his body Magnum fought back. He bounced Piper off every cage wall before attempting to scale it and climb out. Magnum was near the top when Piper recovered and yanked him back in. Piper now with nothing left in the tank, dropped to his knees and practically army crawled towards the cage door. The door was open and Piper was halfway out when Magnum grabbed ahold of his leg and pulled him back in. In the process, Piper grabbed the ring canvas to try to stop from being dragged but all he did was peel the canvas back exposing the wooden beams. Magnum pulled Piper to his feet away from the beams and executed the Belly-to-Belly Suplex! Piper was done for and Magnum was free to climb out. As he started climbing, the exposed wooden beams began popping up! Someone was under the ring and they were kicking at the beams to move them. Magnum was so focused on climbing the cage that he didn’t notice a furry boot kicking through the beams, followed by none other than BRUISER BRODY climbing up from underneath the ring and entering the cage!! Brody reached up and pulled Magnum down. Magnum took a nasty bump and was completely defenseless against Brody. Brody began stomping the hell out of him before mounting him and raining down punches. A groggy Piper only watched for a second before rushing out of the Cage door!

Roddy Piper defeated Magnum T.A. by escaping the cage in 0:27:52.
Rating: *** 3/4
(Roddy Piper won the WWA Heavyweight Title.)
[Bruiser Brody interfered against Magnum T.A..]

Here is your winner… and NEW WWA Heavyweight Champion… “ROWDY” RODDY PIPER!

A bloodied Roddy Piper had his hand raised and awarded the championship at ringside. Between Piper becoming the champion and the assault taking place in the ring, the Thomas & Mack Center was at a near riot level! Piper honestly looked like he had no idea what was going on. Meanwhile, Brody was doing a number on Magnum inside the Cage! It wasn’t long before the fans parted like the Red Sea giving DUSTY RHODES a path to the ring. As Dusty approached the cage door, Brody readied himself for a fight. But at the same time a number of wrestlers ran to the ring. This must have been too many for Brody because he climbed out of the cage as Dusty and others entered. Brody hopped a guardrail and exited through an area restricted to the fans. What in the world is going on?!

Card Rating: *** 1/2
Wrestling Observer’s Match of the Night: [West Coast Championship Match] Kevin Von Erich vs. “Gentleman” Chris Adams (c)

Circuit Information:

We have NEW Tag Team Champions, The Rockers, and a NEW Heavyweight Champion Roddy Piper! This event will go down in the record book as a history making night of wrestling. Join us next week on Prime Time Wrestling because not only will we get updates about all the happening from tonight, but Jerry “The King” Lawler, Terry Funk, and The Midnight Express are scheduled to compete. And just signed, The House of Humperdink will take on Terry Taylor & Brad Armstrong in our main event! Don’t miss it!

UPCOMING EVENTS

6/??/86 - Cow Palace - San Francisco, CA

[snabbit888]

Here we go! Let's see if POC is a game changer or just another sign that GCW is infinitely superior!

That was a helluva match to kick off the show. A great showcase for Adams and Von Erich, and I think it especially puts Adams on the map. A breakout performance for him which is great as I think he has a date with Savage in his future. Missy Hyatt continues to be awesome in her slow turn. I think she still ultimately ends up with Adams, but it's been a fun ride so far.

Brad Armstrong picked an awful time not to show up. He could have had a breakout performance, but instead he decided he had better places to be. Either way, good win for the Midnight Express, who seem like being on a crash course with the Rockers. And I welcome this.

You had mentioned wanting to get some lucha talent, and tonight was a good start. I used to do showcase matches like this from time to time and have gotten away from it since. Nice to see a little love for Canek and Aguayo.

That is a great debut for Lawler. The battle royal had a lot of good stuff and furthered a lot of feuds. But Lawler winning, especially in the way he did, is a fantastic way to usher him in. What a slimeball, and thus, what a treat. Also, Boogie Woogie Man 4 life.

Still a little unsure about the official status of the US Title in regards to being an official WWA title, but a good platform for him. Would have liked to have felt like Roberts was a bit more competitive, but he's an easy character to make dastardly. I think we could get a good little run in a food against Savage.

Not only was the main event awesome with the crowning of a new World champion, but BRUISER BRODY. I had an okay run with him, but admittedly I could have done much more. I'm super excited to see what he'll do with you in the last couple years of his life. The way he debuted was cool too. It remains to be seen if he is in cahoots with Piper or if he simply has a vendetta against Magnum. Perhaps it could both. Either way, new era to WWA, baby.

[rey619]

I absolutely dig the love triangle between von Erich, Hyatt and Haynes. It's gold, and it's absolutely better to write about the aftermath more than the match itself. Too bad about the no-show. And too bad that TNM doesn't allow re-booking when these things happen. Bob taking the fall would have been the best in this case.

Interesting that you chose to bring in a Mexican title match. Anyone up to take over TNMLL in the universe?

Popular win by the Rockers. Everything seems set for Rockers vs Midnight Express now.

Tempers continue to flare with Missy/Haynes. Dr. Death shouldn't be too happy with that decision. "I'm blind, I'm deaf, I wanna be a ref". Oooh.. Rhodes and Funk will be golden. Great debut by Lawler! This should continue his program with Tonga.

Savage wins, but this one shouldn't be over yet. This feud was golden in real life, should be golden here too.

I think Piper as champ makes sense with the influx of high level talent you have coming in now. Brody coming in was great too. I don't know why Brody attacked Magnum, but I'll guess we'll find out!

Great show!

[vertigo]

Thanks Rey. TNMLL is the hottest thing going in Mexico in 1986!

Pulling the trigger on Piper was something I went back and forth on a lot. I did consider where my roster is now compared to a year ago, and how WWA is growing to a national level.

[vertigo]

May 23, 1986 - WWA Prime Time Wrestling
(Taped May 6, 1986 at Studio 2 in San Francisco, CA)

Hot off the heals of an incredible Parade of Champions, Tony Schiavone is in the booth where he welcomes us to another exciting edition of Prime Time Wrestling. He does a quick rundown of what to expect tonight including a number of clips and backstage interviews from Parade of Champions and a main event matchup where Brad Armstrong & Terry Taylor will take on The House of Humperdink.

A brief clip of the final 3 minutes of the Parade of Champions Battle Royal is played. It includes the double elimination and ensuing brawl between Dusty Rhodes and Terry Funk as well as Jerry Lawler’s unnoticed elimination, reentry, and victory by last eliminating King Tonga.

1. Terry Funk vs. Todd Bradford

As is usually the case, Funk was so worked up by the time the bell rang that he found himself on the defensive. It looked like Bradford may be headed for the biggest win of his career but Funk was able to get it together, dish out some punishment, and secure the win.

Terry Funk made Todd Bradford submit to the Spinning Toe Hold in 0:05:34.
Rating: *

Schiavone sends it over to an interview taped after the main event of Parade of Champions. Vince McMahon enters a locker room where a bloody Magnum T.A. is sitting on a bench and Dusty Rhodes is pacing back and forth. McMahon doesn’t have to say anything before Rhodes speaks into the mic. He says that Piper has started a war and he won’t stand idly by any longer. It’s clear that Piper can’t fight for himself and now with Bruiser Brody in the mix, something has to be done. He says he thought he only had one fish to fry in Terry Funk but now he sees there’s an entire ocean to deal with and Magnum won’t be doing it alone anymore. Lastly he says he’s already been on the phone with Howard Beauchamp to get the paperwork in order because "The American Dream don’t plan on going anywhere for a long time!" Magnum then gets to his feet, glaring at the camera through the crimson mask, he speaks softly but with rage in his eyes. He says Roddy Piper has started a war and there is no war without casualties. Bruiser Brody has no idea what he has done and revenge is going to be slow and painful.

2. Sheepherder Luke vs. Jack Victory

The differences between Luke and Jack Victory have finally come to a head. Victory has apparently had enough of the badgering and bullying from Luke evidenced when he eliminated Luke from the Battle Royal last week. They brawled here on Prime Time Wrestling and it was Victory, with a bit of fan support, who was able to pick up the win.

Jack Victory pinned Sheepherder Luke after a powerslam in 0:06:24.
Rating: -* 3/4

Schiavone presents another taped interview from Parade of Champions. This time Vince McMahon is in a locker room with Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff following Piper’s win. Piper, too, has dried blood on his face but it’s a much different vibe here. It’s a celebration and Orndorff has the champagne. McMahon is trying to get a word in but it’s just a bunch of yelling and laughing! There is a ruckus off camera just before Bruiser Brody crashes the party! He storms into view carrying the door he seemingly just ripped off its hinges and tosses it to the side. Vince looks terrified! Piper & Orndorff have concerned looks on their faces before breaking out in laughter again! Brody starts stomping around the locker room like a madman, Orndorff is spraying champagne all over, and Vince can just hold the mic up for Piper as Piper exclaims “just when you think you have all the answers I change the questions!"

3. The Midnight Express w/Jim Cornette vs. Ron Rossi & Thunderfoot

As Eaton & Lane put on a clinic in the ring we saw an insert promo from the new WWA Tag Team Champions, The Rockers. They had the belts over their shoulders as they talked about their victory at Parade of Champions. They said The House of Humperdink are getting their rematch at the Cow Palace on June 7 but Eadie & Rude will go down again. That goes for any other team that challenges The Rockers because as Champions, they’re just getting started.

The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane) defeated Ron Rossi and Thunderfoot when S. Lane pinned Thunderfoot with the Veg-O-Matic in 0:05:36.
Rating: *

Jim Cornette and his team stopped by the booth for a few quick words about how great they are and how when the time comes, no matter who the Tag Team Champions are, the Midnight Express are going to roll right through them because they are the greatest tag team in professional wrestling!

Ken Resnick is in the back to get an interview from Tito Santana. Santana speaks about his role in the Tag Team Championship match at Parade of Champions and how Sir Oliver Humperdink and his men have cheated for far too long. It was about time they got what was coming to them and Tito couldn’t be happier for The Rockers. But Tito continues that he isn’t satisfied with how he performed in the Battle Royal. He gives credit to Paul Orndorff for eliminating him before challenging him to a singles match on Prime Time Wrestling next week.

4. Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. Denney Brown

A red carpet is rolled out to the ring by a couple of goons haplessly dressed in ill-fitted mid century garments. This is of course for the arrival and ring entrance of Jerry “The King” Lawler. The fans showered him with boos all the way down the carpet and all throughout the match. Lawler just irked them more as he dominated Denney Brown with a smile across his face the entire time.

Jerry Lawler pinned Denney Brown after a flying fistdrop in 0:05:18.
Rating: * 3/4

Lawler throws on his gown and crown and poses for the live audience who erupt with cheers when King Tonga slides into the ring! Lawler barely escapes, diving through the ropes and distancing himself from the ring. King Tonga notices Lawler dropped his crown and puts it on which sends Lawler into a tirade! Lawler grabs a microphone and tears into Tonga, calling him nothing but a homely islander who has no business claiming to be king of anything other than the dumpster behind the building. He said Tonga is a disgrace to anyone who has ever worn a crown and as far as he was concerned, King Tonga is just a primitive island wild man named HAKU who doesn’t deserve to walk on the same ground as the REAL King of wrestling, Jerry Lawler!

Tony Schiavone announces that right here next week, a special Piper’s Pit with Roddy Piper and special guest… “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes!!

5. [Main Event]
The House of Humperdink w/Sir Oliver Humperdink vs. “Terrific” Terry Taylor & Brad Armstrong

During the match, an insert promo taped earlier today with The House of Humperdink played. In it, Sir Oliver tore into his team calling them buffoons and saying they had better win the Tag Team Titles back from The Rockers at the Cow Palace or else! Back to action and Armstrong was rallying a comeback, knocking Eadie off the ring apron and honing in on Rick Rude for the finish. Sir Oliver instructed Eadie to get back in the ring but with a steel chair. Eadie obliged and waffled Armstrong across the back right in front of the referee.

Terry Taylor and Brad Armstrong defeated The House of Humperdink (Bill Eadie and Rick Rude) when Armstrong defeated Eadie by disqualification in 0:06:48.
Rating: ** 1/4

Terry Taylor jumped on Eadie before Rude nailed him from behind and hit him with Rude Awakening. Eadie then picked Armstrong back off the mat and applied the Cobra Clutch mercilessly. The blatant DQ and unnecessary assault after the match is clearly a message to The Rockers. A message The Rockers heard loud and clear because they stormed the ring and chased The House of Humperdink away. Sir Oliver was pleased with his teams actions as he told The Rockers they only have a few more weeks before they are completely destroyed by The House of Humperdink!

Circuit Information:

Join us next week for Piper’s Pit with “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, Tito Santana collides with “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff is singles action, and so much more!

6/7/86 - The Cow Palace - San Francisco, CA

WWA TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP - The Rockers (c) vs. The House of Humperdink

[snabbit888]

Crazy Funk is so awesome. And how great is it that we have literally 20 more years of him left?

And the worst kept secret in wrestling is revealed that Rhodes has signed with WWA. Glad to see he'll be fighting alongside Magnum TA officially. I think we get to see Piper/Rhodes and Magnum/Brody coming up, which I am excited for all around.

I don't think Sheepherder Luke or Jack Victory have a particularly strong future in WWA as it stands, but I guess as a singles Victory has more upside.

A broken door? Brody gives really weird gifts.

I expect The Rockers to reign as tag champs until I poach HBK from your roster. But until then, the matches with the Midnight Express should be money.

Tito needs that big singles feud. The stuff with Humperdink is clearly winding down, but him facing Orndorff could end up being very good stuff.

Ah, looks like we have the transition to Haku which is good. King Tonga just doesn't do it as a name. But Haku beating the piss out of Lawler will be fun. Lawler's over the top heel king stuff is going to be great too. Great pickup here and good first feud for him.

Dust on Piper's Pit? It's a trap, Dream!

Eadie/Rude didn't win the match, but they sure sent a clear message to the Rockers.

[vertigo]

May 30, 1986 - WWA Prime Time Wrestling
(Taped May 27, 1986 at Studio 2 in San Francisco, CA)

Hello everyone and welcome to Prime Time Wrestling! Tony Schiavone is in the booth and he excitedly runs down some of the action we’ll see tonight including the big main event when Tito Santana will battle “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff. Also, later in the program, a special Piper’s Pit with none other than “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes! Let’s get to the action.

1. The Gentlemen’s Club vs. The Moondogs

The Playboy & The Hustler were their usual obnoxious selves, harassing females in the front row ad nauseam. As for The Moondogs, the fans weren’t sure how to react at first but when they interrupted TGC’s ceremonial baby oiling with a series of haymakers the fans loved them! Rex & Spot debuted in the Las Vegas Battle Royal but this was their first official tag team match and they did not disappoint.

The Moondogs (Moondog Rex and Moondog Spot) defeated The Gentlemen's Club (The Hustler and The Playboy) when Spot pinned Playboy with the Running Splash in 0:10:16.
Rating: *

Vince McMahon was standing by outside of an office somewhere in Studio 2 with updates for upcoming events. He said just signed for the Cow Palace on June 6th, a pair of exciting singles matches as Jerry “The King” Lawler will take on the man he claims is no king at all - King Tonga! Also, the One Man Gang and “The Boogie Woogie Man” look to settle their feud in what is sure to be a volatile matchup. He added that we’ll get a small preview of the action because next week here on Prime Time Wrestling, Jimmy Valiant teams with King Tonga to battle the men they’re facing at the Cow Palace, Jerry Lawler & One Man Gang!

2. Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs. Ron Rossi

There’s no doubt Roberts isn’t pleased about losing the U.S. Title match in Las Vegas but he didn’t let it show here. He always has a look in his eye as if he’s looking into the future, thinking about his next move. That look was prevalent throughout this match as he went about his business, picking apart Rossi and beating him with the DDT.

Jake Roberts pinned Ron Rossi with the DDT in 0:03:33.
Rating: * 1/2

After the match Roberts took great pleasure letting his snake out of the bag and draping the gigantic python across Rossi.

3. The Midnight Express w/Jim Cornette vs. Gene Ligon & Bill Tabb

Jim Cornette joined Schiavone in the booth for commentary. Cornette dominated the conversation, basically saying The Midnight Express are the greatest tag team in the world. Schiavone asked him if he had seen The Moondogs earlier in the night. Cornette went into a tirade burying The Moondogs for their appearance and lack of intelligence. Little did Cornette know that throughout his rant, Rex & Spot snuck up behind him and heard a lot of what he had to say about them.

The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane) defeated Gene Ligon and Bill Tabb when S. Lane pinned Tabb after the Veg-O-Matic in 0:05:06.
Rating: *

While the Midnights had their hand raised in the ring, The Moondogs began teasing Corrnette, ruffling their dingy fingers through his hair. Cornette shot up from his seat angrily but became fearful when he realized it was The Moondogs. He was sandwiched between them - Spot was chewing on a rather large bone before offering it to Cornette; Rex took Cornette’s glasses and tried them on for himself. Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane finally entered the booth and pulled Cornette away. Cornette, feeling safe now, started running his mouth again saying Eaton & Lane would beat up The Moondogs. All four men now had their fists up ready to fight before officials stepped in and cleared them out.

[Non-Title Match]
4. “Gentlemen” Chris Adams vs. Frankie Defalco

There’s no one who thinks Chris Adams looks as good wearing the West Coast Championship around his waist than he does. But you can’t argue with his abilities which were on full display here on Prime Time Wrestling.

Chris Adams pinned Frankie Defalco with the Superkick in 0:04:13.
Rating: *

Ken Resnick entered the ring after the match to conduct an interview with Adams. Resnick first mentioned that a Top Contender’s Match for Adams' title will take place at the upcoming Cow Palace event between Billy Jack Haynes and Kevin Von Erich. Adams then jokingly asked Resnick if they were fighting for a title shot or fighting over Missy Hyatt? He continued by saying that both of them have failed to defeat him in the past so he could really care less who becomes the Top Contender. Resnick’s next question was cut off when Adams went on a tirade about Randy Savage. He claimed the U.S. Title may have meant something elsewhere but here in WWA, Adams is the man. He said Savage couldn’t lace his boots. In fact, he wasn’t anywhere near the level of ANYONE in The Gentlemen’s Club.

PIPER’S PIT

Roddy Piper stood on set with a huge grin on his face and the WWA Heavyweight Championship around his waist. Amidst the showers of boos, he gloated about defeating Magnum T.A. like he said he always would. He then invited “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes to the set, who received a huge pop upon arrival. Piper still had a giant grin on his face but Rhodes looked deathly serious. Piper asked Rhodes what was bothering him; “what’s the matter, Dream? You look upset. Is it because I beat up your little friend, Magnum, and took the Championship?” Rhodes took a step closer to Piper. Piper continued, “awwww, maybe it’s because Mr. T couldn’t get you a spot on the A-Team? Is that it?” Rhodes took another step and now Piper stepped back. Piper continued, “Whoa, big fella. You and I both know you’re just a guest here and you’re not employed by WWA so legally, if you put your hands on me, I can have you arrested. I can sue you!” With that, Rhodes took another step and ripped the microphone from Piper’s hand. Rhodes emphatically informed Piper that “you’re sadly mistaken, jack!” The crowd cheered loudly. Rhodes went on to tell Piper that this afternoon, he came to terms on a contract that makes him a full time WWA employee and “Hotrod, that makes me a contender for YOUR Championship!” Piper stared wide-eyed at The Dream who continued by insulting Piper for being the coward he is, knowing that he couldn’t beat Magnum without help. Rhodes then challenged Piper to bring Bruiser Brody to the Cow Palace and step in the ring with him and Magnum T.A.! Piper was still a bit stunned at the information he was getting, be he managed a smirk when hearing the challenge. He pulled the microphone back from Rhodes and informed him that "it’s not very wise summon a monster like Brody but if it’s a match you want, Rhodes, it’s a match you’ll get." Just as Piper finished, TERRY FUNK blindsided Rhodes! As Funk laid in shot after shot, Piper was on the microphone; “Just because you work here now doesn’t mean YOU call the shots! I’m calling the shots! And I’m saying at the Cow Palace, let’s have a party! 3-on-3 Rhodes! I’ll bring Bruiser and my new friend Terry Funk - you bring Magnum and whatever bottom feeder you can find and we’ll make you regret ever coming to WWA!"

5. [Main Event]
“Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff vs. Tito Santana

Last week Santana challenged Orndorff to a singles match to get some retribution for Orndorff eliminating him from the Battle Royal in Vegas. Because of that elimination, Orndorff came into this match feeling superior and didn’t initially take Santana serious. However, that changed quickly once Santana started rolling on offense. Orndorff even tried to take a time out at one point which Santana did not acquiesce to. Orndorff did manage to gain some control, putting his tremendous power on display for the studio audience. Santana fired back and attempted the Flying Forearm. Orndorff caught him in midair, hoping to counter, but he lost his balance and both men toppled over the ropes to the floor. They were both struggling to get up as the referee began counting them out but rather than getting back in the ring, they started exchanged punches!

Tito Santana and Paul Orndorff battled to a double countout in 0:15:47.
Rating: ***

The brawl continued until Santana slid back in the ring and challenged Orndorff to continue the fight there. Orndorff thought better and walked off to fight another day.

Circuit Information:

Tune in next week because it’s going to be a huge episode! In the main event, Jerry Lawler teams with One Man Gang to battle King Tonga & Jimmy Valiant! Also, the search is on for a partner for Dusty Rhodes and Magnum T.A. Will we find out who that is next week?

6/7/86 - The Cow Palace - San Francisco, CA

SIX-MAN TAG TEAM MATCH - “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Bruiser Brody, and Terry Funk vs. “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, Magnum T.A., and ?
WWA TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP - The Rockers (c) vs. The House of Humperdink
TOP CONTENDER’S MATCH - Billy Jack Haynes vs. Kevin Von Erich
One Man Gang w/Gary Hart vs. “Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant
Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. King Tonga

[snabbit888]

Who's late with this? It's me! Here goes!

The Moondogs with a win to officially debut in the tag division. Surprised to see the Gentlemen's Club lose so easily, but really, they can lose every match and still be over.

Jake Roberts will bounce back from the loss. He's too awesome not to go straight to the top.

The Midnight Express is a great matchup for the Moondogs. Very different styles that it should be very entertaining. I expect the Midnights to win, but will lead to some good TV.

Adams better be careful about antagonizing Savage. He might just get him.

Well Dusty is officially signed, and Piper should have known better than to run his mouth like that. Interesting to see him in bed with Terry Funk though. Wonder who the face team is going to get. My first instinct is Tito but we'll see.

And after the main event, I would assume I'm right. But nothing's official until it's official!

I'll post soon.

[vertigo]

June 6, 1986 - WWA Prime Time Wrestling
(Taped May 27, 1986 at Studio 2 in San Francisco, CA)

Tony Schiavone is in the booth with the rundown of tonight’s feature bouts. He also hypes the big event tomorrow night at The Cow Palace headlined by a six man tag involving two guys in our opening match here, Dusty Rhodes & Magnum T.A!

1. Dusty Rhodes & Magnum T.A. vs. Tony Zane & Keith Patterson

It was very exciting to see Rhodes in action for the first time ever here on Prime Time Wrestling. The strong bond he and Magnum have make them a formidable tag team as Zane & Patterson found out.

Dusty Rhodes and Magnum T.A. defeated Tony Zane and Keith Patterson when Magnum pinned Patterson with the Belly-to-Belly Suplex in 0:04:05.
Rating: **

After the match, Dusty cut a promo saying the trio of Piper, Funk, and Brody are going to get what’s coming to them. Magnum then introduced the man they have chosen as their partner for tomorrow. A guy he put over as a great friend, one hell of a competitor, and loyal to his friends and fans: Tito Santana! Santana came out to a great pop and shook hands with Dusty and Magnum. Dusty then added that Piper always has tricks up his sleeve so they’re bringing some back up. In the baby faces corner will be none other than MR. T!

2. Billy Jack Haynes w/Missy Hyatt vs. Mike Simani

A bit of a warmup for Haynes as he heads into battle tomorrow night against Kevin Von Erich in a West Coast title Top Contenders Match.

Billy Jack Haynes defeated Mike Simani when Simani passed out in the Full Nelson in 0:05:25.
Rating: * 3/4

Missy Hyatt was all smiles and affection after Haynes’ dominate victory.

3. “Macho Man” Randy Savage w/Miss Elizabeth vs. Todd Bradford

It’s a pleasure still having the current United States Champion Randy Savage still competing in the territory. Since Todd Bradford isn’t in contention the title was not on the line but the “Macho Man” didn’t take it easy on him. He was as intense as usual as he picked up the victory.

Randy Savage pinned Todd Bradford with the Flying Elbowdrop in 0:05:27.
Rating: ** 1/4

Just as the three count hit the mat The Gentlemen’s Club made their way to ringside. Elisabeth quickly ran up the ring steps and stood behind Savage. Savage was ready to take on all three men but Adams got on the mic and told him to relax. Adams said he and his pals The Playboy and The Hustler were only there to let Savage know he was beneath them and to remind Elizabeth she could join The Gentlemen’s Club whenever she wants. As Savage grew angrier Adams continued by saying Savage wasn’t the caliber of wrestler that he is, or anyone else in TGC for that matter. In fact, he continued, “I bet The Playboy could wipe the mat with you” he said as he went on to challenge Savage (on The Playboy’s behalf) to a match tomorrow night.

4. Kevin Von Erich vs. Brody Chase

The bell rang and Kevin went to work. Missy Hyatt joined Schiavone in the booth for commentary. She said “Billy Jack takes like 45 minutes to shower so, like, I didn’t have anything better to do.” As the match progressed, Schiavone pointed out how attentive Missy was and if she was studying Kevin to help prepare Billy Jack. Missy stumbled on her answer as if she was lost in her own thoughts and just said “What? Oh! Ye-yeah! Studying!"

Kevin Von Erich pinned Brody Chase after a flying sunset flip in 0:05:03.
Rating: **

As Kevin had his hand raised Missy went to ringside and grabbed the microphone. With a huge smile on her face she told Kevin he looked great and wished him luck tomorrow night. She added nothing looks better on a man than gold around his waist and with a giggle and a wink she walked off. Kevin just shrugged his shoulders and looked as if he thought Missy was nuts.

Vince McMahon is standing by with the final lineup for tomorrow night’s huge event at The Cow Palace. After hyping the matches already announced, he says a stipulation has been added to the One Man Gang vs. Jimmy Valiant match; it will be a FIRST BLOOD MATCH! He also adds that immediately following Randy Savage’s match earlier, a contract has been signed for a one on one match between Savage and The Playboy! And finally, the new team of The Moondogs have challenged The Midnigh…

Jim Cornette barged in to take over. He said that “yes, the Midnight Express have accepted The Moondogs challenge!” He says Rex & Spot will pay for trying to humiliate him last week on television and “Sweet” Stan and “Beautiful” Bobby are gonna send ‘em back to the cave they crawled out of!

5. [Main Event]
Jerry “The King” Lawler & One Man Gang w/Gary Hart vs. King Tonga & “Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant

With a couple of heated rivalries in this match, referee Bill Alfonso had a tough time maintaining control. It was a back and forth slugfest that eventually Tonga & Valiant were able to get the upper hand in. In the closing moments, as Tonga & Lawler brawled on the floor, Valiant locked in the Sleeperhold but Gary Hart didn’t let it last very long. He jumped in the ring and nailed Valiant from behind.

King Tonga and Jimmy Valiant defeated Jerry Lawler and One Man Gang when J. Valiant defeated One Man Gang by disqualification in 0:09:08.
Rating: *
[Gary Hart interfered against Jimmy Valiant.]

Tonga reentered the ring to chase out Gary Hart. One Man Gang, still lightheaded from the Sleeper rolled outside while Lawler thought better of continuing the fight as well and stayed out of the ring. Valiant grabbed the mic and said Lawler can run tonight but tomorrow he's gonna get a royal whoopin' from King Tonga. He then adds a message for One Man Gang; “tomorrow night at The Cow Palace... nobody leaves ’til somebody bleeds!"

Schiavone tries to sign off for the night but he is cut off by a ruckus going on in the locker room. The camera cuts to Paul Orndorff doing a number on Tito Santana in the locker room. He’s pummeling Santana who looks nearly unconscious. Orndorff then shoves a number of officials to the ground and attempts to push the camera out of sight before going back to finish off Tito. He lifts him and PILEDRIVES him on the concrete!! A crew of officials are finally able to get Orndorff back all while calling for an emergency team to help Tito. By team EMTs, Dusty, and Magnum get to the scene Orndorff is already gone.

Circuit Information:

The Main Event tomorrow might be up in the air now after what just happened to Tito Santana! With the event less than 24 hours away, we won’t be able to give any updates until show time. We strongly suggest everyone get to the Cow Palace tomorrow night because the card is stacked and anything could happen!

6/7/86 - The Cow Palace - San Francisco, CA

SIX-MAN TAG TEAM MATCH - “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Bruiser Brody, and Terry Funk vs. “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, Magnum T.A., and Tito Santana w/Mr. T
WWA TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP - The Rockers (c) vs. The House of Humperdink
TOP CONTENDER’S MATCH - Billy Jack Haynes vs. Kevin Von Erich
FIRST BLOOD MATCH - One Man Gang w/Gary Hart vs. “Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant
Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. King Tonga
The Playboy vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage w/Elizabeth
The Midnight Express vs. The Moondogs

[snabbit888]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tito is a good partner to pick. I dunno if he can help counter act Brody, but still, he's formidable.

Oh, Missy, you filthy harlot.

Macho Man is awesome. You're writing him really well and capturing that "he could snap at any moment" aspect. Adams and company are great antagonists for him as well.

Haynes, your incredibly long showers are going to be the death of you!

I'm still waiting for when Vince McMahon buys WWA.

Main event was exactly the chaos you would expect. I'm excited for First Blood. It's a way Valiant can win that match without having to pin OMG. Either way, it should be a fun fight. And I'm waiting for Tonga to rip Lawler's eyeball out.

And just as soon as Tito gets named partner, Orndorff takes him out. Mr. T seems like the logical choice to take his spot.

Glad we're back!

[vertigo]

June 7, 1986 - WWA Live Pro Wrestling
From the Cow Palace in San Francisco, CA

1. “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff vs. Jack Victory

The fans were especially unhappy to see Orndorff considering he put tonight’s main event in jeopardy after what he did to Tito Santana last night on Prime Time Wrestling. Someday Jack Victory may be able to find his footing as a singles but Orndorff overmatched him big time in this one.

Paul Orndorff pinned Jack Victory with a powerslam in 0:08:35.
Rating: * 1/2

Paul Orndorff went into his posing routine immediately after the match but no sooner did he show off a double bicep, Tito Santana stormed the ring! The two exchanged punches before Roddy Piper hit the ring and clubbed Santana on the back of the neck. It was a shot Santana could normally fight through but he collapsed immediately, obviously due to Orndorff’s assault last night. With assistance from Piper, Orndorff spiked Santana with the Piledriver! Dusty Rhodes and Magnum T.A. arrived and chased off the villains but the damage was done. Santana required a stretcher to exit ringside.

2. The Midnight Express w/Jim Cornette vs. The Moondogs

Cornette had some choice words about The Moondogs when they arrived in WWA and in return, Rex and Spot had a bit of fun at his expense on a recent edition of Prime Time Wrestling. Cornette sicced his team of Eaton and Lane on The Moondogs but they got a run for their money. This was a clash of styles as the technical abilities of the Midnights were tested against the brawn and brawling of The Moondogs. In the closing moments, Cornette caused a distraction that had Spot chasing him around ringside allowing for the Midnight’s double team finishing move on Rex for the win.

The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane) defeated The Moondogs (Moondog Rex and Moondog Spot) when S. Lane pinned Rex after the Veg-O-Matic in 0:11:53.
Rating: *

Cornette slid into the ring, followed by Spot who was quickly gang stomped by Eaton and Lane. Cornette ordered his men to hold Spot because he had plans to waffle him with the tennis racket. But just as he finished winding up, Rex popped up and took a bite out of Cornette’s ass cheek! Spot then slammed Eaton and Lane’s heads together! The Midnight’s and Cornette took a hike while The Moondogs rallied the fans!

3. Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. King Tonga

This bitter rivalry began at Parade of Champions when Lawler cheated to win the battle royal, last eliminating Tonga. Since then Lawler has thrown insult after insult at King Tonga ranging from Tonga’s heritage all the way to his claim to any throne whatsoever. But for as how much Lawler says he’s better than Tonga, he certainly didn’t stand his ground and fight here. He spent most of the match trying to avoid Tonga going so far as to even try to walk out on the match. But Tonga did get his hands on him and it was one hell of a beating. When the time felt right, Tonga headed to the top rope where he soared off with a high cross body. But the landing was so impactful that Lawler actually rolled over onto Tonga, grabbed a handful of tights, and got the win!

Jerry Lawler pinned King Tonga after a rollover in 0:10:50.
Rating: * 3/4

Lawler quickly rolled from the ring, grabbed his crown, and didn’t stay long at ringside to celebrate. Tonga was dejected and tried to tell referee Randy Anderson that Lawler had the tights but the decision was final.

4. [West Coast Championship Number One Contenders Match]
Billy Jack Haynes w/Missy Hyatt vs. Kevin Von Erich

Missy Hyatt came to ringside with Billy Jack but throughout the match she didn’t seem very interested or impressed with him. In fact, she seemed to be favoring Kevin, smiling and biting her bottom lip whenever Kevin had an advantage. Both men were giving everything they had in the back and forth match and neither could be bothered with how Missy was behaving outside the ring. After a double knockdown around 12 minutes they both struggled to get back to their feet on opposite sides of the ring. This is when Missy took her high healed shoe off and put it in Kevin’s hand. When Kevin cleared the cobwebs and realized he was in possession of the shoe, he angrily threw the shoe to the ground and told Missy, to her disbelief, to get lost! Billy Jack finally came to his senses and snuck up behind Kevin and tried to lock in the Full Nelson. But Kevin countered with a go behind and a back suplex. Kevin climbed to the top rope to finish the job but Missy hopped up onto the ring apron and shook the ropes, causing Kevin to take a wicked fall into the ropes inside the ring. Billy Jack, who had no clue what happened, covered Kevin for the win.

[Number-One-Contenders-Match]
Billy Jack Haynes pinned Kevin Von Erich in 0:14:52.
Rating: ** 1/2

Billy Jack was confused about how he won the match but didn’t have much time to think about it as Missy was smothering him with hugs and kisses, telling him he’s going to be West Coast Champion again! Billy Jack attempted to check on Kevin who was being attended to by the referee but Missy basically forced him back to the locker room to celebrate.

5. [First Blood Match]
One Man Gang w/Gary Hart vs. “Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant

Few people have been able to challenge One Man Gang the way Jimmy Valiant has the last couple of months. Every time these two meet it’s a slugfest. With no quit in either man, the only way to settle this feud was a First Blood Match. As expected, the fists were flying heavy as soon as the bell rang. As the match passed 5 minutes Gang’s punches were taking their toll on Valiant. Gang was able to measure his shots, digging his knuckles into Valiant’s forehead with every punch. Out of desperation, Valiant jumped on Gang’s back and locked in the SLEEPERHOLD! Gang tried to fight it but he started fading and eventually went to sleep in the middle of the ring! Valiant played to the crowd, signaling it was time to finish it! Gary Hart grabbed a beverage from the time keeper’s table, got in the ring and threw it into Gang’s face. Gang woke up groggy but rolled out of the ring leaving Gary Hart alone with a fired up Boogie Woogie Man! Hart pleaded but Valiant grabbed him by the tie, winded up, and drilled him in the face with a solid right hand! Hart crawled and made it halfway out of the ring before Valiant grabbed him by his belt. But as Valiant reached through the ropes to pull him back in, One Man Gang cracked him in the head with his chain! Valiant went down and it was just seconds before the referee saw Valiant’s blood and called for the bell.

[First Blood Match]
One Man Gang defeated Jimmy Valiant in 0:07:40.
Rating: ** 1/4

One Man Gang pulled Hart the rest of the way from the ring and the two of them staggered to the back. What a war we just witnessed! King Tonga came to ringside and to help Valiant, who received a well deserved ovation from the fans as he exited.

6. [WWA Tag Team Championship Match]
The Rockers (c) vs. The House of Humperdink w/Sir Oliver Humperdink

An argument could be made that The Rockers are skyrocketing to becoming the most popular tag team in wrestling. Between their looks, their skills, and their charisma they are the complete package. But it was no easy feat for them to take the WWA tag straps from Eadie & Rude last month in Las Vegas. Tonight, they were put to the test again in their first defense against the former Champions. Eadie, Rude, and Sir Oliver have had a recent string of miscommunications and bad luck but they were on the same page when this match started. Michaels took a hell of a beating. Eadie & Rude apparently wanted to teach the kid a lesson and rather than going for the win, they just punished him. Even when Sir Oliver made the order to finish the match the duo persisted with the beating. Finally, after all three got into an argument about putting an end to Michaels and the match, Michaels made a hot tag to Jannetty. There was no slowing Jannetty as he unloaded an arsenal of punches and flying moves, ping ponging the House of Humperdink all over the ring. When Michaels recovered, Jannetty gave him the tag to get the final move in for the win.

The Rockers (Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels) defeated House of Humperdink (Bill Eadie and Rick Rude) when Michaels pinned Eadie after a flying dropkick in 0:20:25.
Rating: *** 1/4
(The Rockers retained the WWA Tag Team Titles.)

As The Rockers continued their celebration down the aisle and to the back, Sir Oliver was reading the riot act to Rude & Eadie inside the ring. Both men tried putting the blame on one another but Sir Oliver wasn’t trying to hear any of that. He grabbed the microphone to make it official. He first addressed Rick Rude, calling him a bum and saying that he will no longer represent Rick Rude as he is terminating his contract with the House of Humperdink. Rude stormed off angry while the fans laughed at him. Humperdink then addressed Eadie. He also said that Eadie was a BUM and he no longer wants to represent him either! However, rather than terminating his contract he was selling it. To whom, Eadie will find out soon enough. But as of right now, the House of Humperdink is no more! Sir Oliver walked off while Eadie stood confused in the ring.

7. [Non-Title Match]
The Playboy vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage w/Elizabeth

The United States Champion Randy Savage has made quick enemies of The Gentlemen’s Club. Chris Adams, as the West Coast Champion, doesn’t think Savage is the caliber of wrestler he is, nor does he think Savage could even stack up against fellow Gentleman, The Playboy. That’s why this match was made last night on Prime Time Wrestling. Unfortunately for The Playboy, Savage’s intensity was cranked up to about an 11 and he was virtually unstoppable. The only reason this match went over 5 minutes was because The Hustler & Chris Adams both came to ringside and on two occasions, Savage felt the need to go outside the ring and make sure they were keeping their distance from Elizabeth.

Randy Savage pinned The Playboy with the Flying Elbowdrop in 0:05:33.
Rating: ** 3/4

Chris Adams was a bit dumbfounded with how Savage picked apart and defeated The Playboy. He immediately grabbed the microphone to make excuses for him, saying he was wrestling with the flu and Savage isn’t as good as he thinks. Savage motioned for another fight to which Adams responded by sending The Hustler into the ring for an impromptu match!

8. [Non-Title Match]
The Hustler vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage w/Elizabeth

A series of jabs, a flying double axehandle, and a Flying Elbowdrop in under a minute was all it took.

Randy Savage pinned The Hustler with the Flying Elbowdrop in 0:00:58.
Rating: ** 1/2

The crowd was on their feet! Adams was furious as he slid in the ring! Savage had his fists up as Adams shouted into the microphone that he would take care of Savage himself! We’ve got another impromptu match!

9. [Non-Title Match]
“Gentleman” Chris Adams vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage w/Elizabeth

Much like the last match, Savage was on a roll bouncing Adams from corner to corner. He nailed the flying axe handle to set up for his Flying Elbowdrop but when he perched on the top rope, he noticed The Hustler & The Playboy teasing Elizabeth from either side. Savage jumped straight to the floor to defend her, throwing punches at both men. When Chris Adams slid out and joined, the numbers were too much and Savage was soon overwhelmed by The Gentlemen’s Club.

Randy Savage defeated Chris Adams by disqualification in 0:03:09.
Rating: * 3/4
[The Hustler interfered against Randy Savage.]

The bell sounded and the DQ announcement was made, but TGC continued to pummel Savage. They threw him back in the ring where Adams ordered his men to stand him up and hold his arms out. From there he delivered a violent Superkick, knocking Savage unconscious. Adams grabbed both his West Coast Championship and Savage's United States Championship. He held HIS belt high in the air saying he was the only Champion that mattered around here before throwing the U.S. title on top of Savage. Of course TGC couldn’t leave ringside without grossly taunting Elizabeth and every female fan they came in contact with on the way back to the locker room.

10. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Terry Funk, & Bruiser Brody vs. Magnum T.A., Dusty Rhodes, & Tito Santana w/Mr. T

Tito Santana was announced, but he was no where to be found. The damage he was dealt earlier in the evening, on top of what happened last night on Prime Time Wrestling, forced him out of this match. Magnum & Dusty were going to have to take on the trio of Piper, Funk, & Brody on their own. Before the opening bell, Mr. T jumped on to the ring apron saying he would take Tito’s spot. The fans were really behind Mr. T but Dusty & Magnum talked him out of it, saying they would take care of business in the ring and that he needed to watch their backs from outside of the ring. It was an uphill battle, but one Dusty & Magnum were ready to fight. They started out hot, first taking turns beating up on Terry Funk. Magnum really wanted to get his hands on Brody, but Piper somehow talked Brody out of tagging multiple times, instead leaving Funk in the ring to take the beating. When Magnum decided he wasn’t going to wait for a tag and just started throwing punches at Brody on the ring apron, all hell broke loose. All 5 men were in the ring clubbing away at each other. Mr. T tried jumping in the ring to help but referee Bill Alfonso kept him out. This is the moment that the villains took over. Dusty was thrown out of the ring while Magnum was targeted. Piper had a big smile on his face while he, Brody, and Funk gave Magnum the beating of a lifetime. Blood poured from Magnum’s forehead after taking a vicious running boot from Brody. But Magnum refused to quit or be pinned. In what possibly was Magnum’s last bit of energy, he rolled out of the way of Bruiser Brody’s signature knee drop, momentarily slowing the monster down. Funk was tagged in but Magnum reached Dusty’s hand at the same time! Dusty came in a house of fire, landing a number of elbows on Funk who only managed to stay on his feet because he was trapped against the ropes. Brody charged at Dusty but he was backdropped clear over the top rope to the floor. Piper jumped in the ring and grabbed a Sleeperhold, but Dusty rushed him backwards into the corner and went to work on him with Bionic Elbows. Brody tried to get back in the ring but Magnum pulled him down off the ring apron and the two brawled all around ringside! With the referee temporarily distracted by the brawl on the floor, Terry Funk grabbed his branding iron. He had plans to lay out Dusty but Mr. T slid in the ring, turned Funk around, and K.O’d the former WWA Champion with a single right hook! Dusty then turned around, landed a BIG Elbowdrop, and won the match!

Magnum T.A. and Dusty Rhodes defeated Bruiser Brody, Terry Funk and Roddy Piper when Rhodes pinned T. Funk with an elbowdrop in 0:25:16.
Rating: *** 3/4
[Mr. T interfered against Terry Funk.]

Magnum rolled into the ring just as Paul Orndorff came to ringside. Magnum, Dusty, and Mr. T were ready to continue the fight. Brody tried to get back in but Piper and Orndorff held him back. A big win for the good guys here at the Cow Palace but the issues between everyone involved, including Tito Santana, are far from over!

Card Rating: ** 3/4
Wrestling Observer’s Match of the Night:“Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Terry Funk, & Bruiser Brody vs. Magnum T.A. & Dusty Rhodes w/Mr. T

Circuit Information:

Tune into Prime Time Wrestling this Friday where Roddy Piper, Bruiser Brody, and Terry Funk are all scheduled for action! Also, Terry Taylor takes on Rick Rude. How will Rude fare without Sir Oliver Humperdink in his corner? We’ll find that out and so much more this week on Prime Time Wrestling!

UPCOMING EVENTS

6/28/86 - Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum - Portland, OR
WEST COAST CHAMPIONSHIP - “Gentleman” Chris Adams (c) vs. Billy Jack Haynes w/Missy Hyatt

7/19/86 - Cow Palace - San Francisco, CA

[vertigo]

June 13, 1986 - WWA Prime Time Wrestling
(Taped May 27, 1986 at Studio 2 in San Francisco, CA)

This week’s episode kicks off with a video package of highlights from the Cow Palace event. Tony Schiavone then ran down tonight’s card before reminding everyone that WWA was heading to Portland, OR for the first time on June 28th. He then brings Billy Jack Haynes to the booth for a promo and says Billy Jack gets a big opportunity in his hometown when he challenges Chris Adams for the West Coast Championship. Haynes puts over the match before Schiavone plays a clip for him from the Cow Palace. The clip is of Missy Hyatt handing Kevin Von Erich her high heel, which he refused to use as a weapon, and then Missy causing him to fall off the top rope and allowing Billy Jack Haynes to pick up the win. Billy Jack had a confused look on his face. Schiavone asked if he had any idea what happened? Billy Jack just shook his head and walked off.

[Non Title Match]
The Rockers (Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels) defeated Denney Brown and Thunderfoot when Michaels pinned Brown with the Flying Dropkick in 0:05:25.
Rating: ** 3/4

The current Tag Team Champions kicked off the action with a high energy performance. Michaels & Jannetty look better and better every week.

The entire Gentlemen’s Club came to the booth for a promo. Adams did most of the talking while The Playboy & The Hustler did most of the gyrating. Adams first talks about his upcoming defense against Haynes saying no one, especially Haynes is taking the West Coast Championship from him. He then addresses Savage by saying the United States Championship means nothing around here and Savage should take his belt, hop on the next flight out of California, and never show his face around here again.

Bruiser Brody pinned Ben Alexander with the Bombs Away in 0:01:16.
Rating: -1/2*

Bruiser Brody terrified nearly everyone in Studio 2 with the violence he brought upon Ben Alexander, who was lucky to make it out of the match alive.

We cut to a taped promo from the Cow Palace with Magnum T.A., Dusty Rhodes, and Mr. T following their big win in the main event. Magnum is intense as he fires off a challenge to Bruiser Brody, one-on-one in Portland. Dusty then put over Mr. T, saying he has an amateur boxing background and Terry Funk found out the power Mr. T holds in his right hand. He says one guy who got away unscathed is Paul Orndorff, who must pay the price for what he did to their friend Tito Santana. Dusty challenges Orndorff to a match in Portland as well!

Back in the studio, Terry Funk comes out for his match with Brad Armstrong but storms into the booth beforehand. Schiavone reluctantly holds the microphone for him as he shouts and spits about Mr. T, swearing to get revenge. He dares Mr. T to watch what he does to Brad Armstrong because when he gets his hands on Mr. T, he’s going to do the same thing!

Brad Armstrong pinned Terry Funk after a small package in 0:08:14.
Rating: ** 1/4

Funk got himself so worked up in the booth that by the time the bell rang to start the match he barely had anything left in the tank. He wasn’t trying to wrestle, either. He was trying to fight Brad like a drunk, crazy person outside of a bar in Amarillo! He landed a few punches throughout the match but Brad stuck to the basics and caught him with a small package. Funk was going nuts about the loss as the show cut to commercial.

WWA Heavyweight Champion Roddy Piper stopped by the booth before his match. He briefly talked about the Cow Palace match, mostly putting the blame on Terry Funk for the loss and said he’s moved on. He then talks about the gold he’s wearing around his waist. He says it’s all nice and dandy to be the Heavyweight Champion of WWA, but he wants more than that. He says he’s spoke with the Championship committee about what it would take to make this the WORLD Heavyweight Championship. He says he must defend the title and defeat a number of top wrestlers from all across the world, whether it’s on American soil or another continent. He says he going to do just that, starting with the finest NEW ZEALAND has to offer...

[WWA Heavyweight Championship Match]
Roddy Piper pinned Jack Victory after a piledriver in 0:05:03.
Rating: 3/4*

After the match Piper grabbed the microphone and told everyone they were looking at the future WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION!

Before the Main Event, Tony Schaivone announces that Bruiser Brody has indeed accepted the challenge from Magnum T.A. and the two of them will lock horns in Portland!

[Main Event]
Terry Taylor pinned Rick Rude with the Five Arm in 0:08:41.
Rating: ***

Rude no longer has Sir Oliver Humperdink as a manager or Bill Eadie as a tag team partner, who hasn’t even been seen since the Cow Palace. Rude didn’t look bad in the match, but there was definitely holes in his game he’ll have to fill in as he progresses as a singles wrestler. Terry Taylor, on the other hand, looked confident and his Five Arm nailed it’s mark, earning him a big victory.

Out of nowhere, JAKE “THE SNAKE” ROBERTS slid in the ring, spun Taylor around and DDT’d him! What business does he have out here? Taylor’s partner Brad Armstrong came to the ring and rifled off a flurry of punches, staggering Roberts. “DR. DEATH” STEVE WILLIAMS then slid in. Armstrong thought Williams was there to aid him and Taylor but instead he leveled Brad with a clothesline. He then picked Brad up and planted him with a powerslam. As Williams stood over Brad & Terry, Roberts stood next to him with a smirk on his face.

Circuit Information:

Join us next week as we’ll have more from Roddy Piper regarding his quest in making the Heavyweight Championship recognized as a World Championship. Also, Paul Orndorff will be in action and we hope to find out if he accepts the challenge from Dusty Rhodes. Randy Savage, with Miss Elizabeth by his side, will be in action as well. You don’t want to miss it!

UPCOMING EVENTS

6/28/86 - Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum - Portland, OR
WEST COAST CHAMPIONSHIP - “Gentleman” Chris Adams (c) vs. Billy Jack Haynes w/Missy Hyatt
Bruiser Brody vs. Magnum T.A.

7/19/86 - Cow Palace - San Francisco, CA

[snabbit888]

Here we go! Delayed feedback, but it's here, dammit.

Santana has more pride than brains. Sure, he's not going to take a beating in stride, but don't attack Orndorff with a bad neck, Tito. That should change the main event.

Tag match about what you'd expect. Great technical wrestling from the Midnights, brawling by the Moondogs, and some comedy with Cornette.

Lawler is such a great heel. I dunno if Tonga is who you wanna piss off though. I want to hear the story about Tonga almost ripping Lawler's eye out.

I'm a big fan still of this Missy Hyatt story. I still think she's going to end up with Adams, but let's be honest - she's going to end up with a lot of men before all is said and done. I don't think Haynes retakes the title either way, but man, you've managed to make him relatively interesting and that is impressive.

Jimmy Valiant is one of those guys who can lose every match and still be over an incredible amount. That whole match was fun. Jimmy is silly enough to piss off a heel, but can be serious enough to take the fight to someone when he needs to. I hope this One Man Gang program isn't done yet.

Wow, though I didn't think House of Humperdink was going to win the titles here, I was surprised to see them just implode like that. The Rockers have a longer upside as a team, obviously. I am excited to see Rude on his own though, as the team has held him back a bit. He can be a huge player. Eadie I have to imagine is heading toward Demolition soon.

Was actually a little shocked to see Savage already laid out this early in his WWA tenure. It's not necessarily a bad thing, and we all know he's not going to handle this well. I do think we're going to get a title unification soon, which does well for your slow burn national expansion.

Great main event. Thought we'd actually get Mr. T in the match, but I actually prefer what you did. Can hold off on that for awhile and build to the actual match. He did have a big part in the finish though, and I can imagine the crowd would have went nuts over that. All of your top stories are building nicely.

[snabbit888]

TV!

I know why they don't do it, but it always surprises me that they don't do more angles where the wrestlers go back and actually see what happened. I mean, there's footage of Missy cheating. I understand him not knowing at the time. Let's see if Missy can talk herself out of this one.

Adams better be careful how cocky he gets with Savage. One beatdown doesn't make the Macho Man go away.

God, please let us get a Mr. T/Terry Funk boxing match. Though it will suck, the comedy of Funk in that match would be off the charts.

Wow, that's a huge win for Brad Armstrong. Sure, Funk is distracted by being crazy, but that's a legit win.

And again, a clever little way to start building toward national expansion. You could have easily just had Piper declare himself World champion, but making an angle around it is much smarter.

Not a great start to Rude's singles career. And Roberts and Dr. Death as a tag team is nice. Cementing Roberts as someone who can manipulate people is great, and this should help get Williams back on track.

[vertigo]

June 20, 1986 - WWA Prime Time Wrestling
(Taped June 17, 1986 at Studio 2 in San Francisco, CA)

Tony Schiavone is live in the booth to give us a rundown of tonight’s action all the while plugging the big upcoming debut show in Portland, Oregon on June 28th. He then brings a couple of guests to the booth for an interview: Jake “The Snake” Roberts & “Dr. Death” Steve Williams.

Schiavone asks them to explain their actions last week when they attacked Brad Armstrong & Terry Taylor seemingly for no reason. Roberts responds by saying that there has been something deep down inside of Dr. Death that Roberts is finally bringing to light. Dr. Death is a dangerous man and this whole time he’s kept himself bottled up to appease the fans and the WWA office. “Brad & Terry, my friends, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Paul Orndorff pinned Dru Tosel with the Piledriver in 0:03:11.
Rating: * 1/2

Orndorff methodically took apart Tosel, giving himself plenty of time in between moves to pose before ending the match with his patented Piledriver.

Orndorff is stopped at ringside by Ken Resnick for an interview. He first addresses his actions towards Santana at the Cow Palace which Orndorff defends saying Santana learned a lesson about picking fights he can’t win. "Now Santana’s home with a crooked neck regretting ever messing with Mr. Wonderful!” Then he address the challenge made by Dusty Rhodes last week saying "if Dusty wants to be sent home with a neck brace too, then I’ve got a Piledriver waitin’ for him in Portland."

Jerry Lawler pinned Jack Victory after a flying fistdrop in 0:08:37.
Rating: 1/2*

“The King” was as pompous and grandiose as ever here on Prime Time Wrestling. He got into a bit of trouble early on in the bout, clearly taking Victory lightly, but the savvy Lawler took a couple of shortcuts to get the upper hand to walk away with the win.

WWA Heavyweight Champion “Rowdy” Roddy Piper was brought to the booth for an interview. The topic: becoming the WORLD Champion by defeating the best pro wrestlers on the planet. Piper spouted off at the mouth at how he great he is like he usually does before getting into his very first challenger. Piper claimed that he’s found the top athlete Italy has to offer. “A man who loves professional wrestling almost as much as he loves pasta!” Piper says that right here next week he will defend his title against Italy’s finest.. The Italian Stallion!

[Non-Title Match]
The Rockers (Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels) defeated The Gentlemen's Club (The Hustler and The Playboy) when Michaels defeated Hustler by disqualification in 0:09:22.
Rating: ***

Non-title action as The Rockers and The Gentlemen’s Club went at it in a fast-paced, quality matchup. Well, quality until The Hustler squirted baby oil into the eyes of Shawn Michaels earning a disqualification. A rather ridiculous move on TGC’s part seeing as a victory over The Rockers would have certainly put them in contention for the tag titles.

Vince McMahon is backstage with a rundown for the upcoming event in Portland, including the official match announcement of Dusty Rhodes versus Paul Orndorff. Just as he talks about Billy Jack Haynes coming to his hometown to challenge Chris Adams for the West Coast Championship, Missy Hyatt runs up to him somewhat panicked. She’s asking Vince if he has seen or heard from Billy Jack Haynes… “because I think he… he… he might be ignoring me! No! He wouldn’t do that! Something happened to him right?! RIGHT?! WHERE IS HE?!” Vince is just shaking his head completely confused before Missy storms off aggravated.

King Tonga pinned Nacho Berrera after a gutwrench suplex in 0:02:35.
Rating: DUD

Tonga basically eats up Nacho for all of 155 seconds which was plenty of time for Jerry Lawler to catch a glimpse of what was happening and make his into the studio.

Immediately after the bell rang Lawler took the microphone from Ken Resnick at ringside. Lawler was fuming that even though he “beat the sand off Tonga at the Cow Palace, Tonga was still coming out here calling himself a King." Tonga was in the ring, shouting something that was hard to make out all the while challenging Lawler to a fight. Lawler starts making fun of Tonga for the way he talks before “BOOGIE WOOGIE MAN” JIMMY VALIANT comes out and snatches the microphone from Lawler. He gets in the ring, actually listens to what his friend Tonga is saying, and reiterates the message so Lawler can understand. Valiant emphatically challenges Lawler "on behalf of King Tonga to a match at the Cow Palace, wherein the winner will officially be King and the loser must serve under the King for 3 months!” The crowd erupts, Boogie dances a little, and Tonga mean mugs Lawler awaiting his reply. Lawler laughs and calls Tonga and Valiant a couple of idiots, before saying “after I beat you in Portland, Tonga, you’ll find your true calling in life: bowing at the feet of the REAL King, Jerry 'THE KING' Lawler!”

Randy Savage cut a prematch promo in the booth with Elizabeth at his side. He says he’s been traveling the country for quite some time defending the United States Championship but for the first time, he’s starting to get comfortable in WWA. He says it feels a little like home and wouldn’t mind sticking around a bit longer “especially when a chumps like Chris Adams and his goons need to be dealt with!” He talks about the attack he suffered at the hands of The Gentlemen’s Club at the Cow Palace before saying “I will get my revenge, yeah, and when I do, yeah, it will be sweet like sugar, YEAH!"

[Main Event]
Randy Savage pinned Rick Rude with the Flying Elbowdrop in 0:09:32.
Rating: *** 3/4
[The Hustler and The Playboy interfered against Randy Savage.]

Liz was an unintentional distraction for Rude in this one. Any chance Rude got he flaunted his physique in her direction which, obviously, she wasn’t very impressed with. As if Savage needed a reason to get fired up, these gestures REALLY lit him up. He was knocking Rude all over the ring when The Hustler & The Playboy came to ringside, either to cause a distraction or to harass Liz. Either way, their plans were foiled because THE ROCKERS arrived in a hurry and started a brawl with them! Savage didn’t hesitate in finishing off Rude with the Flying Elbowdrop for the win and then jumping into the fray at ringside. The show ended with Savage, The Rockers, and Liz standing tall in the ring.

Circuit Information:

Right here next week we’ll see a very rare-for-tv title defense as Roddy Piper defends the WWA Heavyweight Championship against The Italian Stallion. Also in action, Magnum T.A., Terry Funk, and the exciting duo of Terry Taylor & Brad Armstrong! Don't miss it!

UPCOMING EVENTS

6/28/86 - Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum - Portland, OR

WEST COAST CHAMPIONSHIP - “Gentleman” Chris Adams (c) vs. Billy Jack Haynes w/Missy Hyatt
LOSER BECOMES WINNER’S SERVANT FOR 3 MONTHS - Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. King Tonga
Bruiser Brody vs. Magnum T.A.
“Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff vs. “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes

7/19/86 - Cow Palace - San Francisco, CA

[snabbit888]

Yeah, definitely looking forward to this Roberts/Williams team. Going to be great for both of them.

Orndorff is the perfect guy to help elevate Tito as a legit singles threat. Tito's too good not to get a good midcard run.

I love this version of Lawler. Just douchey heel Lawler.

Haha, the Italian Stallion! Piper making this a legit title for sure.

The ol' baby oil in the eye trick. I know it's not quite Rockers vs. Somers/Rose, but I think this feud has potential to be of a similar tone lone term.

Orndorff vs. Rhodes will be good, as will Haynes trying to get his title back. And I love Hyatt not even fathoming that a man could ignore her.

Oooh... king vs. servant is fun. I can imagine there's either going to be some great comedy or great heel work coming out of this. I'm leaning Lawler wins and is a dick, but we'll see.

I want to see a full fledged Savage vs. Rude feud here. I know this probably isn't the time for it since Rude is just getting established as a singles, but that has big money later.

I'll post soon!

[vertigo]

June 27, 1986 - WWA Prime Time Wrestling
(Taped June 17, 1986 at Studio 2 in San Francisco, CA)

Tony Schiavone enthusiastically opens up the show with a rundown of tonight’s action, including a first time for television WWA Heavyweight Championship title defense as champion “Rowdy” Roddy Piper puts the belt on the line against the Italian Stallion!

Schiavone then cuts to a clip of from last week showing the wild brawl and aftermath from the main event. He then says a Six-Man Tag Team Match has been signed for Portland pitting The Rockers & Randy Savage against The Playboy, The Hustler, and Rick Rude!

Terry Funk bombards the booth, snatches the microphone as he shoves Schiavone out of the shot, and cuts a wild, rather inappropriate promo on Mr. T. He basically lays out a challenge saying Mr. T isn’t tough, “he’s a pig-nosed, egg sucking dog who wouldn’t last two seconds in a fight with me!"

Brad Armstrong and Terry Taylor defeated Kent Glover and Bob Owens when B. Armstrong pinned Glover after a slingshot in 0:04:29.
Rating: 3/4*

During the match Schiavone announces that Brad & Terry will take on Jake Roberts & Dr. Death in Portland. Brad & Terry will be looking for payback tomorrow but tonight they took out some aggression in a dominate performance over their opponents.

Back from commercial break and Schiavone throws it over to Vince McMahon for another plug of Portland. He barely gets through the rundown before Terry Funk hijacked the segment! Funk reiterates his challenge to Mr. T saying that if T doesn’t show up in Portland he’ll come to his Hollywood mansion, beat the tar out of him there, and then drag him to the Cow Palace in July and finish the job there! Funk then makes a beeline for the ring!

Terry Funk defeated Mark Fleming when Fleming passed out in the Spinning Toe Hold in 0:07:01.
Rating: **

Funk attacked Fleming before the bell even rang, laying in shot after shot while yelling indecipherably about Mr. T. But Fleming is a pretty big guy and apparently has some skills as he was able to fend off Funk and nearly scored an upset over the former Champion. The match ended when Fleming missed a knee attack in the corner and Funk followed up with a double leg takedown and Spinning Toe Hold which Funk did not break despite the bell ringing.

Kent Glover and Bob Owens begrudgingly slid into the ring but were met with potatoes from the wound up Funkster. Then JIMMY VALIANT slid in the ring to a huge pop, throwing rights and lefts at Funk until Funk stumbled through the ropes and out of the ring. The two jawjacked back and forth before they challenged each other to a match in Portland!

Billy Jack Haynes defeated Mike Simani when Simani passed out in the Full Nelson in 0:03:51.
Rating: * 3/4

Ken Resnick stops Billy Jack Haynes after his match for an interview. As they discuss his upcoming match in his home town of Portland against Chris Adams for the West Coast Championship, Missy Hyatt, who was NOT at ringside for the match, interrupts. She frantically asks why Billy Jack hasn’t talked to her in over a week and why he didn’t even tell her he had a match tonight. She continues on and on with questions until Billy Jack has to raise his voice to speak over her. He tells her this is not the time, nor the place. He tells Missy how important his matchup tomorrow is and he said it’s best if she just STAYS HOME. Haynes walks away as Missy follows with more questions and more whining.

We get a video promo from Bruiser Brody next. He’s outdoors somewhere, surrounded by trees. He has a crazy look in his eyes but he is surprisingly well spoken as he cuts a promo on Magnum T.A. He puts him over for having the guts to challenge him, but that Magnum would regret it. He says there may be nothing left of Magnum after all is said and done.

Magnum T.A. pinned The Golden Terror with the Belly-to-Belly Suplex in 0:02:18.
Rating: * 1/4

After making quick work of his opponent, Magnum gives a brief interview with Ken Resnick at ringside, responding to Bruiser Brody saying when they collide the roof of the Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum may cave in but even that won’t stop him from putting a beating on Brody.

[Main Event - WWA Heavyweight Championship Match]
Roddy Piper pinned The Italian Stallion after a bulldog in 0:07:46.
Rating: * 3/4
(Roddy Piper retained the WWA Heavyweight Title.)

Piper teased The Italian Stallion in the early minutes of the match, not taking him seriously at all. But Piper’s taunting and arrogance got him in trouble when the Stallion locked in a Sleeperhold that had Piper fighting for air. Out of desperation Piper dived through the ropes sending both to the arena floor. Piper rolled back in the ring but Stallion, who took the brunt of the fall, was very slow to roll back in barely beating the 10 count. He was easy pickings after that and Piper retained his Championship after a bulldog.

Piper stopped by the booth to talk about his quest to make the WWA Heavyweight Championship a WORLD Championship. He buried the Italian Stallion and the whole country for that matter before WWA President Howard Beauchamp stepped into the booth. Beauchamp made it clear that Piper, just as he did tonight, can absolutely choose who he wants to defend his Championship against… but the WWA Board of Directors can ALSO find challengers. Piper was a little flabbergasted, but then teased Beauchamp saying “oooooh, who did they get for me? The Abomidable Snowman? The Lithuanian Swamp Monster?” Beauchamp replied, “no, as a matter of fact, tomorrow night in Portland you’re defending the WWA Heavyweight Championship against Poland’s best wrestler, IVAN PUTSKI!"

Circuit Information:

Tickets still available for tomorrow’s big event in Portland where you’ll see all the stars of the WWA in action! And tune in right here next week for big time pro wrestling action, including the main event where the One Man Gang will collide with “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes!


UPCOMING EVENTS

6/28/86 - Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum - Portland, OR
WWA HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP - “Rowdy” Roddy Piper (c) vs. Ivan Putski
WEST COAST CHAMPIONSHIP - “Gentleman” Chris Adams (c) vs. Billy Jack Haynes w/Missy Hyatt
LOSER BECOMES WINNER’S SERVANT FOR 3 MONTHS - Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. King Tonga
Bruiser Brody vs. Magnum T.A.
“Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff vs. “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes
The Playboy, The Hustler, & “Ravishing” Rick Rude vs. The Rockers & “Macho Man” Randy Savage
Terry Funk vs. “The Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant
Jake “The Snake” Roberts & “Dr. Death” Steve Williams vs. Brad Armstrong & “Terrific” Terry Taylor

7/19/86 - Cow Palace - San Francisco, CA

[snabbit888]

You make good use of having wrestlers interrupt the announcers. I always love those moments, and Terry Funk is the perfect guy for that kind of thing.

I am digging this Taylor/Armstrong team, though I think they're going to be beaten pretty soundly by Roberts and Williams, who have way more upside right now.

Crazy Terry Funk is on point tonight. Interrupts a second segment, beats up a jobber, some officials, probably slapped his granny. Funk so good. I love that we have him for like 15 more years, realistically. And then JIMMY VALIANT in this segment? *swoons*

Billy Jack tells Missy to stay home, which means she most definitely will not stay home. I think the Missy full fledged turn comes tomorrow.

Surprised to see a Brody promo. He's one of those guys who doesn't really need to talk much. Should be a strong match with Magnum though.

Italian Stallion should get a full time gig. Dude is ridiculous. I like this angle with Piper. All the other "legitimate" contenders are involved in other programs currently, so this is a nice fun angle to bridge the gap until the big challenger emerges. I expect a strong showing from Putski in a losing effort.

[vertigo]

June 28, 1986 - WWA Live Pro Wrestling
From the Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in Portland, OR

1. The Moondogs vs. The Midnight Express w/Jim Cornette

When these teams squared off earlier this month The Moondogs took a loss in the record books but not before embarrassing Jim Cornette and having a bit of fun at the expense of his team. Tonight Rex & Spot really took the fight to Lane & Eaton, preventing The Midnight's tag team technical work with straight up barroom brawling. At one point Cornette was so flustered about how the match was going he hopped on the apron only to be bieled into it. He managed to escape more harm but not before Rex got ahold of his jacket and ripped it right down the middle. But this momentary distraction was the opportunity The Midnight’s needed to turn the advantage in their favor and pick up the win.

The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane) defeated The Moondogs (Moondog Rex and Moondog Spot) when Eaton pinned Rex with the Alabama Jam in 0:10:32.
Rating: * 1/4

Cornette pouted about his jacket being torn in half but surely he’s happy The Midnight’s won. You can bet they have their sights set on getting a Tag Team Championship match in the near future.

2. [Loser Becomes Winner’s Servant for 3 Months]
Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. King Tonga

Ever since Jerry Lawler stepped foot in WWA he’s taken exception with King Tonga being called a “king”. Throughout this match he verbally let it be known he would be "the only king in wrestling after tonight" but that’s easier said than done. Tonga is a proud islander and he doesn’t lay down for anyone. In the end, Tonga charged hard at Lawler in the corner but Lawler side stepped, pulled Tonga down in a schoolboy cradle and with his feet on the ropes for leverage he scored the fall over Tonga!

Jerry Lawler pinned King Tonga after a schoolboy cradle in 0:08:42.
Rating: **

Tonga couldn’t believe he had lost the match and was outright refusing to except it. Lawler had a huge smile and as the stipulation of the match states he was already giving Tonga orders. A number of officials came down to the ring, one carrying the contract and explaining to King Tonga the repercussions of losing the match. Finally, Tonga capitulated and with a look of embarrassment and shame, he placed a crown on Lawler’s head and followed “The King” from ringside holding his robe so it wouldn’t drag on the arena floor.

3. “The Playboy”, “The Hustler”, and “Ravishing” Rick Rude vs. WWA Tag Team Champions The Rockers & United States Champion “Macho Man” Randy Savage w/Elizabeth

The fireworks continued as the next match was a wild, fast paced 6 man tag. Savage has had his problems with The Gentlemen’s Club and one would think Hustler & Playboy would have learned not to mess with Miss Elizabeth. But sure enough, within minutes they were thrusting pelvises and blowing kisses her way, sending Savage into a frenzy. The emotion would get him into trouble as the match broke down in favor of the bad guys, double and triple teaming Savage. A hot tag to Michaels got the heroes on a roll, quick tags between him and Jannetty sealed the deal, and one final Flying Elbowdrop from the Macho Man ended this one!

The Rockers (Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels) and Randy Savage defeated The Gentlemen's Club (The Hustler and The Playboy) and Rick Rude when Savage pinned Hustler with the Flying Elbowdrop in 0:16:08.
Rating: *** 1/4

Elizabeth proudly entered the ring with Savage’s US Championship and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek. The Rockers posed on the ropes with their titles as well. A fun win for the fan favorites!

4. Terry Funk vs. “Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant

Terry Funk has had his sights set on getting a match with Mr. T and last week his frustrations led him to a confrontation with Valiant ultimately leading to this match. A wacky and zany brawl between two of the most unpredictable men in the sport today. Closed fists were a plenty as the fans cheered on Valiant who punch-for-punch had the advantage for most to the match. It wasn’t until the very end when Funk, who looked to be out on his feet, somehow lifted Valiant into a back suplex and gained a three count.

Terry Funk pinned Jimmy Valiant after a back suplex in 0:09:29.
Rating: ** 1/2

Funk likely had no idea he even won the match but he heard the bell ring, tumbled through the ropes out of the ring, and wobbled back to the dressing room shouting once again for a match with Mr. T.

5. [WWA West Coast Championship Match]
“Gentleman” Chris Adams (c) vs. Billy Jack Haynes

Billy Jack Haynes entered the ring to a great ovation from his hometown crowd. He looked more than ready, his head cleared, and no distraction from his girlfriend Missy Hyatt who apparently stayed home at Haynes’ request. The feud between he and Adams has been boiling for quite some time so it was no surprise that the action here was hard-hitting and intense. To Billy Jack’s surprise, Missy Hyatt WAS in the Coliseum and she made her to way to ringside. Missy jumped onto the ring apron as Billy Jack repeatedly asked her to leave. Referee Randy Anderson stepped between them and backed Billy Jack away. That’s when Chris Adams thought it would be appropriate to try to plant a kiss Missy. However, Missy didn’t take kindly to this and slapped the taste right out of his mouth! Billy Jack then aggressively locked in the Full Nelson on Chris Adams! Adams struggled to escape but Billy Jack had his fingers locked! Then out of nowhere Missy Hyatt stepped INTO the ring and nailed Chris Adams across the face with her purse which must have been loaded because Adams was out of it! This was in clear sight of referee Anderson who promptly called for the bell, disqualifying Billy Jack Haynes.

[WWA West Coast Championship Match]
Billy Jack Haynes defeated Chris Adams by disqualification in 0:06:37.
Rating: * 1/2
(Chris Adams retained the WWA West Coast Title.)
[Missy Hyatt interfered against Chris Adams.]

Billy Jack’s face was a look of shock. He threw his hands in the air, questioning what the hell Missy was thinking! Missy tried to explain herself to him but it was going in one ear and out the other. The fans were irate as well as they were hoping to witness Portland’s own regain the West Coast Championship tonight. As Missy was on the verge of tears, someone slid into the ring in street clothes and blindsided Billy Jack Haynes! It’s EDDIE GILBERT?! As he stomped on Billy Jack, Missy Hyatt’s frown turned to an evil smile as she instigated the beating! Gilbert finished off Billy Jack with The Hot Shot. Gilbert and Missy celebrated with a kiss in the center of the ring amidst a roar of boos.

6. “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff vs. “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes

Dusty challenged Orndorff as a result of Orndorff’s disgusting attacks on Tito Santana; attacks that put Santana out of action for a very important 6-man-tag team match earlier this month that left Dusty & Magnum in a 2-on-3 handicapped match. Now even though Orndorff is a hated man who will take a cheap shot when he can get it, he’s in peak physical condition and one of the toughest men win wrestling today. Match him up against The American Dream, who quite honestly may be doing the best work of his career, and you’ve got yourself a classic for the ages. Back and forth these guys went, each showing off exactly what they’re made of. Orndorff awed with his power; able to get Dusty up in slams and suplexes you don’t normally see Dusty in. At the same time, Dusty’s resilience and fortitude shown through and his elbows found their mark every time! As the time ticked away… 10 minutes remaining… 5 minutes remaining… 1 minute remaining… Dusty got into a groove of near falls. A backslide got a close two count, a small package got another close near fall. Finally, a combination of elbows to the top of the head dropped Orndorff and Dusty followed that up with a huge elbowdrop across the chest! He covered Orndorff… 1… 2..

Dusty Rhodes and Paul Orndorff battled to a draw in 0:30:00.
Rating: **** 1/4

The time limit expired just before the three count could hit! Dusty stood with his hands raised but referee Dave Hebner informed the time limit had expired. It was official once Ken Resnick made the announcement over the microphone. The fans began shouting in favor of a restart and Dusty welcomed the chants. But when his back was turned Orndorff nailed him, knocking him through the ropes. Orndorff hopped down and began peeling the ring mats up exposing the cold, hard concrete floor. He put Dusty in position to give him the Piledriver but just before he could execute the move, TITO SANTANA rushed to ringside!! Orndorff let go and tried to take the high ground in the ring but Santana was faster than lighting sliding in and peppering Orndorff with punches! Orndorff was staggered and Santana clotheslined him over the ropes! Orndorff was quick to exit and Santana showed more fire than we’ve ever seen! Santana is looking for revenge and Orndorff won’t be able to run forever.

7. “Dr. Death” Steve Williams & Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs. “Terrific” Terry Taylor & Brad Armstrong

Roberts made it clear that he’s found a monster within Dr. Death and he plans on bringing it out of him. Make no mistake about it, Williams has a mean streak and it was very apparent throughout this match. There were points in the match when he made Taylor & Armstrong look like rag dolls the way he tossed them around. And Roberts methodically picked his shots as it seemed the villains were on their way to win. However, the fan’s cheers kept Taylor & Armstrong going and they fought back with everything they had until Taylor caught Williams off guard with a backslide for the pinfall!

Brad Armstrong and Terry Taylor defeated Jake Roberts and Steve Williams when Taylor pinned Roberts after a backslide in 0:14:34.
Rating: ** 1/2

Taylor slid out of the ring quickly where Armstrong was and they raised their hands in victory while also helping each other stay on their feet. They had just been through a war and somehow came out on top. In the ring, Williams was throwing a fit, his anger uncontrollable. He made an effort to get his hands on referee Bill Alfonso but Alfonso got out of dodge asap. Roberts, despite losing, had a smirk on his face as he watched Williams flip the ringside table, sending Ken Resnick and the time keeper running for their lives.

8. [WWA Heavyweight Championship Match]
“Rowdy” Roddy Piper (c) vs. “Polish Power” Ivan Putski

In Piper’s quest to be recognized as a WORLD Champion he found himself squaring off with Poland’s most decorated pro athlete, Ivan Putski. Without a doubt Putski outmuscled Piper throughout this match. But it was Piper’s shortcuts such as using the ropes and tights for leverage that kept him competitive and it was a huge factor in the finish. In the midst of a Putski pounding, Piper grabbed a handful of tights and sent Putski head first awkwardly into the corner. He followed that up with a bulldog to retain.

Roddy Piper pinned Ivan Putski after a bulldog in 0:14:35.
Rating: * 1/4
(Roddy Piper retained the WWA Heavyweight Title.)

It wasn’t pretty but Piper achieved what he came to Portland to do and that’s retain the WWA Heavyweight Championship against yet another international challenger.

9. [Main Event]
Bruiser Brody vs. Magnum T.A.

The fans were on the edge of their seats as the introductions were made. Brody came out first with his signature walk and “huss” and continued to pace back and forth in the ring awaiting the arrival of his opponent. The former Heavyweight Champion Magnum T.A. was met with a loud chorus of cheers as he briskly walked to the ring with revenge on his mind. He didn’t even get both feet through the ropes before Brody attacked. The bell rang and the fight was on. Brody clubbed away while Magnum did his best to defend himself while looking for an opening. Brody sent Magnum off the ropes but Magnum returned and launched all of his body weight at Brody sending both men over the ropes to the floor. Both landed hard but it was Magnum who was up first, dishing out the punishment. They brawled all over ringside and by the time they returned it looked like a tornado had come through. Brody managed to slow Magnum’s momentum and eventually took over in the match. Brody’s certainly a wild man in the ring but his movements and attacks are deliberate and every blow leveled Magnum. At some point Magnum was busted open but over time, the sight and smell of his own blood along with the cheers from the crowd sent a shot of adrenaline through Magnum! He fired back on Brody eventually doing the unthinkable and catching Brody with a back suplex off the second rope! This took everything out of both guys. They struggled to get to their feet, but Magnum was up first. As Brody pulled himself up near the ropes, Magnum charged him and again, launched his entire body but this time, Brody ducked and Magnum took a dangerous bump over the ropes to the floor. Referee Dave Hebner was nearing a countout when somehow Magnum got back to his feet. But rather than reenter the ring the ring he reached in, grabbed Brody’s foot, and dragged him out into another brawl at ringside. Hebner restarted the count but it didn’t matter. These guys had no interest in getting back in the ring. They continued to fight even as the bell rang.

Bruiser Brody and Magnum T.A. battled to a double countout in 0:23:17.
Rating: **

An unpopular double countout but the decision was easily looked over as Brody and Magnum continued to tear into each other. Finally a number of wrestlers came to ringside to separate the men. In the melee a couple chairs could be seen flying through the air, some of the wrestlers who came down to break it up were caught in a crossfire of punches and kicks. It was an ugly scene but if it wasn’t obvious, this feud is far from settled!

Card Rating: ** 1/4
Wrestling Observer’s Match of the Night: Paul Orndorff vs. Dusty Rhodes

Circuit Information:

Join us Friday night for a special Independence Day edition of Prime Time Wrestling! In the main event, One Man Gang will tangle with “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes! Jimmy Valiant, The Midnight Express, and Bruiser Brody will also be in action. And surely we’ll have fallout from tonight’s event here in Portland. We’ll see you then!

UPCOMING EVENTS

7/19/86 - Cow Palace - San Francisco, CA

[snabbit888]

We're back! Gaaaaaah!

I like the continued build of the Midnight Express. I think they can have a series of classic matches with the Rockers.

Though there really was no doubt Jerry Lawler was winning this match, it's still going to be fun to see what shit he puts Tonga through. Possibly King Tonga becomes Haku, which is a far better name?

Fun little 6-man tag. I know Savage has to finish some things with Chris Adams, but I'd love to see a Savage/Rude program coming up here.

I absolutely wish I could have seen that Funk/Valiant match. That's some fun ridiculous 80s wrestling right there. I continue to be a big fan of what you're doing with both of them.

I know what happened with the West Coast Title match wasn't your original plan you told me, but I really enjoyed this. We all knew Missy Hyatt's heel turn was coming, but I expected her to join with Adams. Eddie Gilbert is a nice surprise, something that makes a lot of sense, and it debuts a new wrestler red hot. Hyatt's going to be one of your best heels the next couple years for sure.

Good match with Rhodes and Orndorff. Santana coming back to get after Mr. Wonderful is good too, as I think they'll have a good feud and Tito is long overdue for a singles run in this Universe. One thing I didn't overly like about this one is Rhodes ended up just kinda disappearing at the end. I'm sure you have plans for him, but I can't tell what's next for the Dream to do.

Dr. Death's descent into madness continues. I think he is on a course to eventually have a very violent match with Jake Roberts in the future where the Snake may regret creating this monster, but right now, I like this build for Williams. He's a legit bad ass so I want to see him do well.

Again, a match that wasn't really in doubt, but Piper trying to legitimize the WWA Title as a world championship is good for business. There's still a lot of options for him to face going forward. It's fun waiting to see who will show up next.

More Magnum/Brody please. We're going to get a cage match or something of the sort at some point I would guess, but I like this as a step in the feud, even with the somewhat disappointing double countout finish. But if it builds to an even bigger, bloodier match, than I am all for it.

We back, son!