10/12/85 - GCW Superstars

10/12/85 - GCW Superstars (TAPED: 10/1/85)
LOCATION: Mid-Hudson Civic Center - Poughkeepsie, NY

Saturday Night Slam Masters was a huge show, and Bob Backlund is still the World champion! But we are quickly moving toward another Slam Masters on MTV in November, and Gorilla Monsoon announced up front that there would be a huge announcement involving the World Title later in the show! Mark Niemiller was with Monsoon, and said he hoped the announcement was that King Kong Bundy would be handed the World Title, because he got screwed last Saturday night! Monsoon highly doubted that, but said we would have more on that later on. He said the Electric Dream Machine would be here today, as well as Corporal Kirchner and the Hart Foundation! Niemiller said he was excited to see Barry Windham take on Eddie Gilbert, and wondered if Windham would feel the after effects of being attacked at Slam Masters by an unknown assailant. Monsoon then talked of the main event, which would be the Fabulous Ones taking on the unholy alliance of Sgt. Slaughter & Stan Hansen! But now to the ring and Howard Finkel!

MATCH #1
Rick Martel vs. Rusty Brooks

First up today was Rick Martel in action. Martel had a major part in making sure Bob Backlund remained the World champion, attacking King Kong Bundy with a chair during the World Title match at Slam Masters (a clip of which was shown as Martel was being introduced for this match). As for the match, it wasn't more than a chance for Martel to display his athleticism for a bit. Martel wasn't in the mood to play around though, as he turned a Rusty Brooks bodyslam attempt into a small package to secure the win.

Rick Martel pinned Rusty Brooks after a small package in 0:01:51.
Rating: * 3/4

Mark Niemiller tried to get a word with Rick Martel after the match to ask about why he attacked Bundy at Slam Masters. Martel wasn't in the mood for talking, but he did yell, "Why do you think!?" before leaving Niemiller in the dust. Niemiller was deeply offended by how Martel treated him, but Monsoon said he deserved it for asking such a silly question when the reason Martel attacked Bundy was obvious.

TULLY BLANCHARD & ARN ANDERSON BRAG ABOUT BEATING ANDRE THE GIANT, BUT GET A BIG SURPRISE

We went backstage to the locker room where Lord Alfred Hayes was standing by with Television champion Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson, who were flanked by Baby Doll & Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. Hayes could barely get a word in edge-wise as Blanchard was bragging loud and proud about how he beat Andre the Giant on Slam Masters. Anderson coughed when he said that, leading to Blanchard correcting himself and saying that they beat Andre. Blanchard said it was one of the easiest win of his career, and he could beat that big freak any day of the week. Hayes interrupted and said, "How about next Saturday?" Blanchard was taken off guard, asking what that meant. Lord Alfred said he got word right before the interview started that next week on Superstars, it will be Blanchard & Anderson taking on Andre the Giant & Ted DiBiase in a tag team match. Everyone in the room went nuts, especially Heenan who grabbed the microphone and said that they have nothing else to prove. They already beat Andre the Giant, and now that loser Ted DiBiase is involved as well? Hayes interrupted again and informed Heenan that he would be banned from ringside next week as well. This really set the room off, as they all started yelling incoherently before we cut back to the ring.

MATCH #2
The Electric Dream Machine (w/ Precious) vs. Jerry Adams/Mike Donnatello

There is a lot of competition in the tag team division right now, especially with Grand 16 quickly approaching. Every team is jockeying for position going into the tournament, including the men in our next match, Jimmy "Jam" Garvin & "Mr. Electricity" Steve Regal, the Electric Dream Machine. These two are already entered into the tournament, and according to Precious yelling at ringside at Monsoon, they will be as sparkly as we've ever seen them at the pay-per-view. I'm not sure how being sparkly is going to help them, but wrestling like they did today might. A crisp win for the EDM.

The Electric Dream Machine (Jimmy Garvin and Steve Regal) defeated Jerry Adams and Mike Donnatello when S. Regal defeated Adams via pinfall in 0:02:45.
Rating: -1/2*

MATCH #3
Corporal Kirchner vs. Mario Mancini

Corporal Kirchner has taken the GCW world by storm, so far winning all of his matches (in a limited sample size, admittedly) and declaring war against the Foreign Legion. In an insert promo as this match started, Kirchner echoed his challenge from Slam Masters, wanting to face any member of the Foreign Legion in Hershey, PA on November 2. Monsoon mentioned that we will hear from Freddie Blassie next week to see if that challenge will be accepted or not. Meanwhile, Kirchner looked good again, driving Mario Mancini into the canvas with a powerslam to get his hand raised.

Corporal Kirchner pinned Mario Mancini after a powerslam in 0:01:41.
Rating: DUD

BARRY WINDHAM TALKS ABOUT BEING JUMPED

Before our next match, Barry Windham asked Gorilla Monsoon to join him in the ring with a microphone. Windham was showing signs that he wasn't 100% after being jumped from behind by a mystery man at Slam Masters, as shown by the heavy tape seen on his right shoulder. Monsoon asked how Windham was feeling. Windham said he was feeling like a guy who got jumped from behind by a coward. Windham said his shoulder was banged up, but he's a fighter and he's going to fight. Monsoon then asked if Windham saw who did this to him. Windham said he never got the chance to see who it was, because he got hit from behind. All he knows is that whoever hit him was big and strong, as he was put right out. Windham said by connecting the dots, it wasn't hard to say the man who got him was KING KONG BUNDY. At this point, out came BOBBY HEENAN, along with his charge and Windham's opponent, EDDIE GILBERT. Heenan said that Windham needs to be careful throwing around accusations like this, or he is going to find himself the recipient of a lawsuit for slander. Heenan said Bundy was busy getting ready for his title shot, a title he was screwed out of by Rick Martel, which is the real tragedy of last Saturday night. Windham didn't buy it for a second, and said now he was in a bad mood and ready to fight. He told Joey Marella to ring the bell and get this match started.

MATCH #4
Barry Windham vs. "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert (w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan)

Windham came out fast, wanting to at least get a small measure of retribution against the Heenan Family by trying to take out Eddie Gilbert. Gilbert was trying to stall and put distance between Windham and himself, which was only serving to make Windham madder. That was the plan though, as a wrestler who wrestles angry is a wrestler who makes mistakes. Gilbert turned Windham's aggressive nature against him, and was getting in some big shots because Windham was leaving himself wide open to them. Gilbert then focused his assault on Windham's taped up shoulder, trying to injure the man even further. Windham was in bad shape, and Monsoon questioned whether it was a good idea for Windham to have accepted this match in the first place when he was still clearly hurt. Windham is tenacious though, and he proved that by constantly fighting back, using his good arm to throw some haymakers to put him right back in this. Gilbert had the control again though after grabbing Windham's injured arm and pulling it down over the top rope. Gilbert went to the turnbuckles for a high risk move, but Windham caught him with a punch to the stomach that crotched Hot Stuff on the top rope. Windham climbed the turnbuckles, hit the Superplex, and won a hard fought affair.

Barry Windham pinned Eddie Gilbert with the Superplex in 0:11:20.
Rating: *** 1/2

Monsoon put over the heart of Windham to be able to pull out this victory even with his injured arm. Niemiller said he would need a lot more than heart if he didn't quick making false accusations toward the Heenan Family.

MATCH #5
The Hart Foundation (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. Ron Shaw/Mr. X

Another team that is gearing up for Grand 16 is the Hart Foundation. A good showing for Bret "Hitman" Hart & Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart would go a long way in establishing Jimmy Hart's team as a force to be reckoned with in GCW. The teamwork of the Hart Foundation continues to improve by the week, and their unique combination of speed, technique, and power is going to take them a long way. Just ask Ron Shaw and the masked Mr. X, who couldn't solve the puzzle of the Hart Foundation before Shaw got dropped by a Neidhart powerslam to put this one in the books.

The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) defeated Ron Shaw and Mr. X when Neidhart pinned Shaw after a powerslam in 0:02:46.
Rating: 3/4*

LIVE EVENT REPORT WITH GENE OKERLUND

"Mean" Gene Okerlund didn't waste any time in getting to the news, as he had a lot to talk about on today's Live Event Report. First on the docket for Okerlund was the huge announcement he promised last week in regards to the next Saturday Night Slam Masters, the third such event of 1985. This one will take place from the Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, PA, GCW's debut in the home of chocolate. Now already announced for the show is Ted DiBiase challenging Tony Atlas for the Intercontinental Title, a dispute started over a parking spot of all things. But on top of that, Slam Masters will feature a big battle royal, the first battle royal in MTV history! It won't just be any old battle royal though - the winner of this match will be granted a World Title shot at Grand 16 only 5 days later! This is a huge chance for someone to catapult to the top of the wrestling world if they can just outlast all the other superstars in the match.

Speaking of Grand 16, the first GCW pay-per-view event will take place on November 7 from the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago, IL. Okerlund was happy to announce that in addition to the 10 teams already announced, he could reveal two more teams being entered into the prestigious tournament. The first one would be a team we haven't seen team in awhile as they have gone their own way, but they've agreed to come together for one more night to enter the tournament. That team is TED DIBIASE & BARRY WINDHAM. The other team was going to be revealed in the next interview. Okerlund cut to a pre-tape with DUSTY RHODES. Rhodes was by himself, and he said that when he found out that Sgt. Slaughter & Stan Hansen were in Grand 16, he begged and pleaded on his hands and knees to President Jack Tunney to let the American Dream in the tournament. Tunney agreed, but Rhodes had to find himself a partner. Rhodes said he didn't have to look far before he picked the perfect partner. Enter JIM DUGGAN. Duggan said it was an honor to team with the Dream to take on those no-good fake patriots, Slaughter & Hansen, in a steel cage, and he would be honored again to team with Rhodes for a chance to give those two what they deserve. Big news as we inch closer to Grand 16!

MATCH #6
The Fabulous Ones vs. Sgt. Slaughter/Stan "The Lariat" Hansen

Main event time, and on paper, it didn't look like it was going to be much of a match. This is not a knock on the Fabulous Ones whatsoever, as Stan Lane & Steve Keirn have looked good since coming to GCW. But they were going against the unholy alliance, Sgt. Slaughter & Stan Hansen, who have been damn near unstoppable. That, and they looked extra upset after hearing the news that Dusty Rhodes & Jim Duggan would be in Grand 16. Lane & Keirn had every intention of a very lengthy ring entrance, but they got attacked by Slaughter & Hansen right as they came out from the curtain. Slaughter & Hansen were not in the mood for the Fabulous Ones' nonsense, just like they weren't at Madison Square Garden when they took them out for only doing their ring entrance. I wouldn't have called it ahead of time, but the Fabulous Ones showed a lot of fight. They didn't let Slaughter & Hansen bowl them over like many thought they would. That being said, it was still not a matter of if the unholy alliance would win, but when. They looked ready to finish this one off when the World Tag Team champions, THE ROCK 'N ROLL EXPRESS, came out to ringside. Ricky Morton grabbed Howard Finkel's microphone and started to make fun of Slaughter & Hansen, calling them ugly and smelly. Gibson joined in the fun, saying Hansen had a face for radio and that Slaughter was so ugly, his mom had to tie a porkchop around his neck as a kid so the dog would play with him. Slaughter & Hansen were not in the mood, jumping to the outside and going after the Express. Morton & Gibson made their retreat, running up the aisle laughing as Slaughter & Hansen made chase. During all of this, they neglected to notice that Tommy Young was counting, which is when the bell rang.

The Fabulous Ones (Steve Keirn and Stan Lane) defeated Sgt. Slaughter and Stan Hansen when S. Lane defeated Hansen by countout in 0:04:54.
Rating: * 3/4

The Fabulous Ones had won! The crowd roared their approval as they watched Slaughter & Hansen throw a fit at ringside. Lane & Keirn were all ready to celebrate, but that didn't last long before Hansen nearly decapitated Keirn with the Lariat. Lane threw a punch at Slaughter, but the Sarge caught it, spun Lane around, and put him in the Cobra Clutch, quickly making Sweet Stan pass out. The show went off the air with Slaughter & Hansen jawing with fans who were making fun of them for the loss.

Match observations:

A great show is planned for Superstars next week! Junkyard Dog will be here, as will Shiro Koshinaka! Bad News Brown will be in the house, not to mention the Mexican Eagles! King Kong Bundy will meet Jacques Rougeau, and in the feature matchup, Andre the Giant & Ted DiBiase take on Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson! Have a good week, everybody!

11/2/85 - SATURDAY NIGHT SLAM MASTERS - HERSHEYPARK ARENA - Hershey, PA

BATTLE ROYAL - Winner receives World Title shot at Grand 16
INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE - Tony Atlas (c) vs. Ted DiBiase

11/7/85 - GRAND 16 - ROSEMONT HORIZON - Chicago, IL

WORLD TITLE - Bob Backlund (c) vs. Winner of 11/2/85 Battle Royal
16-Team Tournament - Teams announced so far:

The Rock 'N Roll Express
The British Bulldogs
The Iron Sheik/Nikolai Volkoff
The Fabulous Ones
The Hart Foundation
The Rougeau Brothers
The Mexican Eagles
The Electric Dream Machine
Tully Blanchard/Arn Anderson
Sgt. Slaughter/Stan Hansen
Dusty Rhodes/Jim Duggan
Ted DiBiase/Barry Windham

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