12/14/85 - GCW Superstars

12/14/85 - GCW Superstars (TAPED: 12/3/85)
LOCATION: Mid-Hudson Civic Center - Poughkeepsie, NY

Welcome everyone to another edition of GCW Superstars! Gorilla Monsoon & Mark Niemiller at the helm as usual, and what a broadcast we have for you today! They ran down the card, which will include Dusty Rhodes taking on Adrian Adonis, in a match that Niemiller claims will show that Adonis is way tougher than he looks. The Hart Foundation are here, as is the Electric Dream Machine. Niemiller said he was looking forward to seeing Big John Studd in action as he would send a huge message to Bob Backlund's team that they don't have a prayer in War Games. Not only that, but Ted DiBiase and Dino Bravo will be arm wrestling, and in our feature bout, Sgt. Slaughter meets Robert Gibson in a preview of the World Tag Team Title match at the Garden! But now to the ring for our first contest.

MATCH #1
Corporal Kirchner vs. Mr. X

Corporal Kirchner was in our first match of the day, taking on the mysterious Mr. X. We don't know much about Mr. X, but we do know he didn't have much of a chance against Kirchner. Kirchner made short work of X, hitting a nice powerslam to pick up the win.

Corporal Kirchner pinned Mr. X after a powerslam in 0:01:21.
Rating: DUD

CORPORAL KIRCHNER WANTS TO SHUT UP THE FOREIGN LEGION ONCE AND FOR ALL

Lord Alfred Hayes met Kirchner at ringside after the match as Kirchner had requested some interview time before today's show. Kirchner said that he is a proud man and stands up for the United States of America. And he made it clear that it wasn't just those born here - he supported those immigrants who come into this country seeking to better their lives and live the American dream. He mentioned the Mexican Eagles as an example of two proud Mexican competitors trying to blaze a trail in the greatest country of the world. Kirchner said he knew the Eagles would be taking on The Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff in a week's time on Superstars, and he knew what the Foreign Legion was capable of. Kirchner said he would be in the corner of the Eagles to make sure no funny business goes down.

MATCH #2
The Hart Foundation (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. Dave Barbie/Joe Mirto

Tag action next with the Hart Foundation. The Hart Foundation continue to build and get better all the time, and as much as I hate to say it, Jimmy Hart has done a lot for this team to get them improving each and every week. They get more and more crisp, and Dave Barbie & Joe Mirto couldn't contend with their unique combination of speed, power, and technical wrestling ability. Another solid win for the duo as the Hitman and the Anvil are hoping to better their stock in the tag team division.

The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) defeated Dave Barbie and Joe Mirto when B. Hart pinned Mirto after an elbowdrop from the second turnbuckle in 0:01:58.
Rating: 1/2*

MATCH #3
"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes vs. "Adorable" Adrian Adonis (w/ Jimmy Hart)

The Flower Shop got very tense last week as Adrian Adonis questioned whether or not Dusty Rhodes still had it, using the recent inability of the Dream to consistently defeat the unholy alliance of Sgt. Slaughter & Stan Hansen. Rhodes wanted to shut the Adorable One up and show that he indeed could still go. Rhodes did what a lot of people have been doing since the debut of the "new" Adonis, and that is take him lightly. Adonis may look less than manly in his dress and makeup, but he is still a dangerous competitor in the ring as Rhodes was experiencing early on. Once Rhodes realized he was going to need to take this more seriously, we had a great fight on our hands. Adonis nearly finished Rhodes off on a few occasions, but Rhodes showed great heart by fighting back en route to hitting the Bionic Elbowdrow to get the win.

Dusty Rhodes pinned Adrian Adonis with the Bionic Elbowdrop in 0:06:03.
Rating: ***

A win like this might just be the jolt of confidence that the American Dream needs to finally turn the tide against the World Tag Team champions.

THE TED DIBIASE/DINO BRAVO ARM WRESTLING MATCH

This was not a traditional match by any means. Dino Bravo was unsuccessful in his attempt to wrest the Intercontinental Title from Ted DiBiase recently, so he
challenged him to something that he was confident he'd be able to win - an arm wrestling match. In all fairness, I don't think DiBiase himself thought he would be able to defeat Bravo in arm wrestling, but he's not one to back down from a challenge. Once they finally locked up (after Bravo had complained about everything from grip to DiBiase's hand being covered in oil), the contest was on. It looked like Bravo would easily win, but DiBiase fought back. At one point, it even looked like DiBiase was going to turn Bravo's wrist over, which was when Jimmy Hart distracted the champ. Bravo took this opportunity to catch DiBiase in the eye with a thumb. Bravo then took the table set up for the match and smashed DiBiase in the face with it! Officials came to break up the situation before it got worse. DiBiase escaped major injury, but he is definitely upset.

MATCH #4
Big John Studd (w/ Bobby "The Brain" Heenan) vs. Greg Eberhart

We got back from commercial and the ring had been cleared for our next match, which featured the intimidating Big John Studd. There was an insert promo recorded earlier with Studd and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. Heenan told Bob Backlund and his team to pay close attention to Studd's match today, as it was just a small sample of what was in store for them at War Games.

Big John Studd pinned Greg Eberhart with the Backbreaker in 0:01:31.
Rating: -1/4*

LIVE EVENT REPORT WITH GENE OKERLUND

Mean Gene was back again for the Live Event Report. The first thing he had to announce was breaking news based on what happened earlier in today's program. Ted DiBiase was irate after what happened in the arm wrestling challenge. Okerlund said that if Dino Bravo wanted a real competition, DiBiase would give him a rematch for the Intercontinental Title on December 30 at Madison Square Garden! Add that to the World Tag Team Titles being defended, as well as the massive War Games match, and this will be the party before the New Year's Eve party!

And Okerlund made sure we didn't forget about January 4, where Tampa will play host to Saturday Night Slam Masters! Two titles will be on the line there, starting with Tully Blanchard defending the Television Title against the man who beat him in a tag team match last week, Jacques Rougeau. We got a pre-recorded interview with Blanchard, who had Bobby "The Brain" Heenan with him. Blanchard was already upset when the interview started, saying he wanted the match last week stricken from the record as there was no way he would ever give up to some goof like Jacques Rougeau. Heenan said that the Rougeaus love souvenirs. Well he promised that Blanchard would give him the ultimate souvenir at Slam Masters, and that's a black eye. Back to Okerlund, and mention of the other title match, which is Bob Backlund getting his last rematch against King Kong Bundy for the World Title! There is a lot at stake in this match, obviously, which is why President Jack Tunney has appointed a special referee to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. Okerlund had breaking news, and said the name of the referee will be revealed next week on Superstars! Okerlund could also announce that a tag team match has been signed which will pit the Fabulous Ones against the Electric Dream Machine. All that and more to be announced as we get closer to the show!

MATCH #5
The Electric Dream Machine (w/ Precious) vs. Terry Gibbs/Gary Starr

The Electric Dream Machine will be at Slam Masters, but they got a chance to showcase their skills on Superstars this week. They were as cocky as ever, and of course, pretty damn sparkly as well. Not much of a contest here as the EDM easily handled Terry Gibbs and Gary Starr, much to the delight of Precious. They'll have a considerably harder time with the Fabulous Ones on January 4.

The Electric Dream Machine (Jimmy Garvin and Steve Regal) defeated Terry Gibbs and Gary Starr when S. Regal pinned Gibbs after a backdrop in 0:01:42.
Rating: -* 1/4

MATCH #6
Sgt. Slaughter (World Tag Team champion) vs. Robert Gibson

Today's main event had all the potential in the world to be a fantastic match as it was a singles preview of the World Tag Team Title match at the end of the month with tag team champion Sgt. Slaughter meeting Robert Gibson of the Rock 'N Roll Express. Neither man's partner was supposed to be at ringside for this, but that was broken pretty quickly when STAN HANSEN made his way to the ring. We of course thought that would mean RICKY MORTON would be making an appearance, but that never materialized. Instead, while Slaughter had the referee distracted, Hansen pulled Gibson to the floor and absolutely leveled him with the Lariat! Hansen then rolled Gibson back in where Slaughter locked on the Cobra Clutch. With Gibson already being out cold, this one was called in a hurry.

Sgt. Slaughter defeated Robert Gibson when Robert Gibson passed out in the Cobra Clutch in 0:02:53.
Rating: **

We thought that surely Morton would come out now to stop any other shenanigans from going on, but still, he didn't appear. Monsoon was almost begging Morton to make the save as Hansen wrapped Gibson's left leg around the ring post and grabbed a steel chair. While Slaughter held Gibson in place in the ring, Hansen swung the chair into Gibson's leg as hard as he could! Gibson was clearly extremely hurt, but Morton was still nowhere to be seen. Even Niemiller was curious where Morton was as Hansen swung the chair one more time. Gibson finally did get some help, but it was in the former of DUSTY RHODES & JIM DUGGAN! Duggan had his 2x4, and Rhodes had a chair of his own! The tag team champions took off as quickly as they could, but the damage had been done. We went off the air with medical staff tending to Gibson while Rhodes & Duggan held the unholy alliance at bay.

Next week on Superstars, the Mexican Eagles take on The Iron sheik & Nikolai Volkoff, as well as Tully Blanchard defending the Television Title against Junkyard Dog! So long, everybody!

Match observations:

12/30/85 - MADISON SQUARE GARDEN - New York, NY

WAR GAMES - Bob Backlund/Rick Martel/Barry Windham/Junkyard Dog/Andre the Giant vs. King Kong Bundy/Big John Studd/Tully Blanchard/Arn Anderson/Eddie Gilbert
WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES - Sgt. Slaughter/Stan Hansen (c) vs. The Rock 'N Roll Express
IC TITLE - Ted DiBiase (c) vs. Dino Bravo

1/4/86 - SATURDAY NIGHT SLAM MASTERS - SUNDOME - Tampa, FL

WORLD TITLE - King Kong Bundy (c) vs. Bob Backlund
TELEVISION TITLE - Partners banned from ringside - Tully Blanchard (c) vs. Jacques Rougeau
The Fabulous Ones vs. The Electric Dream Machine

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