3/23/85 - GCW Superstars

3/23/85 - GCW Superstars (TAPED: 3/5/85)
LOCATION: Mid-Hudson Civic Center - Poughkeepsie, NY

Welcome to GCW Superstars! We are only 8 days away from Super Cade, and we're getting to the nitty gritty now! Tensions are at an all-time high, and Gorilla Monsoon & Mark Niemiller were excited about our show today. Two huge matches, including the first man to challenge for the Television Title to be determined when Magnum T.A. meets Bret Hart! We will see Rick Martel make his Superstars debut, as well as King Kong Bundy in action. And in the main event, we will see how well Dusty Rhodes, Stan Hansen, & Ricky Steamboat can work together as they team up to take on Dino Bravo, Nikolai Volkoff, & The Iron Sheik! But first, right to the ring with the Rougeau Brothers!

MATCH #1
The Rougeau Brothers vs. John Bonello/Angelo Gomez

The Rougeau Brothers are becoming a top tier tag team in GCW, and they have definitely proven to be good friends. Jacques & Raymond have routinely come to the aid of their good friend Rick Martel, standing up for him while he was on the shelf with his broken neck. Monsoon announced that the Rougeaus have been added to the card for Super Cade where they will take on Arn Anderson & Eddie Gilbert of the Heenan Family. The Rougeaus had little trouble with John Bonello & Angelo Gomez this week, getting a win in short order.

The Rougeau Brothers (Jacques Rougeau and Raymond Rougeau) defeated John Bonello and Angelo Gomez when R. Rougeau pinned Bonello after a spinebuster slam in 0:01:28.
Rating: * 1/2

Niemiller said that the Rougeaus shined today, but it might be an entirely different story at Super Cade against the two impressive wrestlers from the Heenan Family. Monsoon agreed, but was sure it was going to be a fantastic match either way. Monsoon then threw it to the locker room area where Lord Alfred Hayes was standing by with Bruiser Brody.

LORD ALFRED HAYES INTERVIEWS BRUISER BRODY

This was going to prove to be an interesting interview as Bruiser Brody is not the easiest man in the world to talk to. Hayes asked him about his near brawl with Kamala in Minneapolis. Brody hussed his way through the interview, saying he can hardly contain himself, he wants to fight Kamala so badly. Lord Alfred reminded Brody about Jack Tunney's decree that if Brody & Kamala got into a physical altercation, their match for Super Cade would be called off. Brody said he is not a patient man and if he sees Kamala before March 31, he is going to knock him out. Almost on cue, here was KAMALA with what seemed like an army of officials trying to get him to leave. Even Freddie Blassie was pleading with Kamala to leave before this got carried away. Brody didn't help matters by taunting the Ugandan Giant, trying just as hard to get to him. Officials finally pulled Kamala out of the room, but this was a near miss. I'm starting to have my doubts that these two will be kept apart for 8 more days.

MATCH #2
Television Title Tournament - Semi-Finals
Magnum T.A. vs. Bret "Hitman" Hart (w/ Mr. Fuji)

The tournament to crown the first Television champion has been a grueling journey so far, and with this match, we would have our first man moving on to the finals at Super Cade. It would either be Magnum T.A., who has made a huge splash since coming to GCW, or it would be Bret Hart, who has been making a big splash recently with his part in the issues with Cyndi Lauper. There was another story at work here in that Hart is already signed to team with Don Muraco to take on the British Bulldogs at Super Cade, but if the Hitman won this match, he would be pulling double-duty at the biggest show in wrestling history. If Hart was worried about the prospect of wrestling 2 matches at Super Cade, he wasn't showing it by the way he wrestled against Magnum T.A. Magnum was equally as focused, because let's face it - whoever wins the TV Title at Super Cade is going to be forever etched in history. This match was a technical wrestling fan's dream. The Hitman is a meticulous mat wrestler, locking on hold after hold in an attempt to frustrate Magnum. Magnum, however, is a flashy young stud who is oozing charisma, and he had the fans in the Mid-Hudson Civic Center rocking and rolling. Hart knew that he had to take the crowd out of the match because once Magnum has all that momentum in a match, he is hard to slow down. Hart did this by working on Magnum's leg, locking him in a variety of submission holds. What this ended up doing though was getting the crowd more into it as they willed him to make a comeback. Hart tried to slow Magnum down, but there was no stopping this freight train. In a last ditch effort, the Hitman went to whip Magnum into the corner. Magnum reversed it and Hart crashed hard chest first into the turnbuckle. Hart stumbled back out right into the Belly-to-Belly Suplex for the 1-2-3. Magnum T.A. has punched his ticket to the TV Title match at Super Cade!

[TV TITLE TOURNAMENT - SEMI-FINALS]:
Magnum T.A. pinned Bret Hart with the Belly-to-Belly Suplex in 0:11:19.
Rating: **** 1/4

The crowd exploded as Monsoon put Magnum over for his performance tonight. Niemiller agreed, but put over Bret Hart as well, saying he wrestled a near perfect match but just couldn't pull it out in the end. Magnum will now await the winner of the Ricky Morton/Tully Blanchard match next week on Superstars.

MATCH #3
King Kong Bundy (w/ Bobby Heenan) vs. Vinnie Valentino

I wish there was more to say about this match, but it didn't last long enough for that to be the case. Monsoon talked about a rumor going around the locker room that Bobby Heenan has been very critical of King Kong Bundy as of late and wants him to pick up the slack and be the monster that he is. If we're just going by this match, I think that the message was received. Vinnie Valentino looked about as scared as a grown man can, but on the bright side, it didn't last long. In less than a minute, Bundy hit the Big Splash and got the win.

King Kong Bundy pinned Vinnie Valentino with the Big Splash in 0:00:51.
Rating: -3/4*

MATCH #4
Rick Martel vs. Dave Barbie

It's great to see Rick Martel back in the ring. I think a lot of fans don't fully appreciate how serious his neck injury was. Martel obviously still has some ring rust to shake off, but he looked great today in action against Dave Barbie. Now clearly, Barbie isn't Nick Bockwinkel, who Martel will meet at Super Cade in 8 days, but Martel was more comfortable this week than he was in Minneapolis in the 10-man tag. Nick Bockwinkel cut an insert promo during the match, along with manager Bobby Heenan. The Brain said that Martel's return might be the feel-good story of the year, but the tale would have a sad ending on March 31. Bockwinkel added that in Minneapolis, it became crystal clear that Martel's neck is still vulnerable. Bockwinkel vowed to focus his attack on Martel's neck and put him out of wrestling once and for all at Super Cade. Martel had little trouble putting Barbie away, catching him flush in the mouth with a dropkick to get the win.

Rick Martel pinned Dave Barbie after a dropkick in 0:03:21.
Rating: * 3/4

LIVE EVENT REPORT WITH GENE OKERLUND

"Mean" Gene Okerlund was in a particularly giddy mood this week for the Live Event Report as we are only 8 days away from the biggest show in wrestling history, Super Cade, live from Madison Square Garden on March 31. Okerlund said that the show is completely sold out and that the only way you'll be able to witness this truly historic event is on closed-circuit television at one of several theaters all around the country. Okerlund first had some news though, announcing that last weekend in Minneapolis, we saw the crowning of a new Intercontinental champion, one Tony Atlas. We got an interview with Atlas himself, taped in the locker room at the Met Center right after his victory. Atlas, joined by his buddy Jim Duggan, was overjoyed to be the Intercontinental champion, saying it is a symbol of all the hard work he has put in to make it this far. He said he has gone through much adversity in his life, but that this title makes it all worth it. Atlas concluded by saying he was going to do everything he could to make the fans proud of his title reign. When we cut back to Okerlund, he said Atlas won't be resting on his laurels for long as he will be making his first title defense at Super Cade against a man he got into a scrap with in Minneapolis, Dino Bravo!

Okerlund highlighted the rest of the card, talking about how the main event of Superstars will be very interesting to see if Dusty Rhodes, Stan Hansen, & Ricky Steamboat can all get along well enough to survive. He also made mention of Magnum T.A. officially earning his spot on the Super Cade card by making it to the finals of the Television Title tournament. This is a big opportunity for Magnum to have his name etched in wrestling history. The show is going to be one for the ages, so do whatever you have to do to see this show!

MATCH #5
"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes/Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat/Stan "The Lariat" Hansen vs. Dino Bravo/Nikolai Volkoff/The Iron Sheik (w/ Freddie Blassie)

The crowd was ready to come unglued for our main event of the program, the first official teaming in a match of Dusty Rhodes, Stan Hansen, & Ricky Steamboat. They weren't going to have an easy go of it by any means, taking on Freddie Blassie's Foreign Legion team of Dino Bravo, Nikolai Volkoff, & The Iron Sheik. Right after the match started, World champion BOB BACKLUND, JIMMY SNUKA & JIMMY GARVIN stepped out into the aisle to get a closer look at the match. They kept their distance throughout the entirety of the match, which was nice because this ended up being a hell of a fight. But even if they didn't interfere, their presence was distracting. Rhodes, Hansen, & Steamboat all wanted to be in the ring to send a message to their Super Cade opponents up the aisle, and it began to get a little testy. They would tag themselves in any time the legal man would get close enough to the corner, and it was leading to some arguments. The Foreign Legion is too tough of a team to be going against not working together, and it almost cost them big time. I won't say they were lucky, but it took Rhodes falling into the corner on a Sheik headbutt that allowed Hansen to tag in, quickly hit the Lariat, and get the 1-2-3 for his team.

Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat and Stan Hansen defeated The Foreign Legion (Dino Bravo, Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik) when Hansen pinned Sheik after the Lariat in 0:10:40.
Rating: ***

Monsoon mentioned the obvious friction going on between the winning team in this match, and Niemiller chimed in that if they don't figure something out in a hurry, they're in for one long night at Super Cade.

RHODES/STEAMBOAT/HANSEN ISSUE THE SAME CHALLENGE THEY WERE ISSUED

Even if they weren't quite on the same page during the match, they did win, and Rhodes, Hansen, & Steamboat were in agreement on what ended the show. The American Dream grabbed the house mic and directed a challenge to Backlund, Snuka, & Garvin, who were still standing in the aisle. Rhodes says that his team got the job done and wanted to see if Backlund, Snuka, & Garvin could do the same next week on Superstars! Before Backlund & Snuka could even react, Garvin yelled, "Sure we can!" and accepted the challenge on his team's behalf, something that looked to raise the ire of Backlund & Snuka somewhat. Next week, we'll have another 6-man tag team match!

Match observations:

We learned after the show who Backlund, Snuka, & Garvin would be meeting next week - the team of Chavo Guerrero, Sam Houston, & Jim Powers! Not only that, but the day before Super Cade will see who gets to meet Magnum T.A. for the Television Title on the show as Ricky Morton takes on Tully Blanchard! Join us next week!

3/31/85 - SUPER CADE - MADISON SQUARE GARDEN - New York, NY

MAIN EVENT - Dusty Rhodes/Stan Hansen/Ricky Steamboat vs. Bob Backlund/Jimmy Snuka/Jimmy Garvin
WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES - The Midnight Express (c) vs. The Rock 'N Roll Express
INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE - Tony Atlas (c) vs. Dino Bravo
TELEVISION TITLE TOURNAMENT FINALS - Magnum T.A. vs. ???
The British Bulldogs (w/ Cyndi Lauper) vs. Don Muraco/Bret Hart
Bruiser Brody vs. Kamala
Rick Martel vs. Nick Bockwinkel
The Rougeau Brothers vs. Arn Anderson/Eddie Gilbert

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