9/14/85 - GCW Superstars

9/14/85 - GCW Superstars (TAPED: 8/20/85)
LOCATION: Mid-Hudson Civic Center - Poughkeepsie, NY

Gorilla Monsoon & Mark Niemiller welcomed us to another episode of GCW Superstars, one just 9 days away from our triumphant return to Madison Square Garden! A lot of big action on the show, including the Hart Foundation trying to get their win back over the team that upended them in Detroit, Chavo Guerrero & Dos Caras! Another man in Jimmy Hart's stable, Dino Bravo, will take on his countryman, Raymond Rougeau! Not only those two matches, but we'll have Ricky Steamboat, Sgt. Slaughter, Jim Duggan, and more!

Before we got to the in-ring action, we went backstage where Lord Alfred Hayes was standing by at the interview position with the World champion, Bob Backlund!

BOB BACKLUND SHOWS HIS TRUE COLORS

Hayes asked the question that was on everyone's mind - why did he save Barry Windham last week? Backlund said that he has done some awful things in his career. He has lied, cheated, and backstabbed his way to three World championships. But Backlund said he had lost sight of what it was all about. In all of his time being possessed by greed, he forgot that it was competition and sportsmanship that made him a star to begin with. Backlund said he was reminded of this by this man. Enter Barry Windham. Backlund thanked Windham for reminding him who he really was, and that was a world-class wrestler and a man who cared about integrity and sportsmanship. Windham told Backlund it was his pleasure, and what an honor it was to training and learning from one of the greatest champions of all-time. He also thanked Backlund for saving his skin last week, or King Kong Bundy would have squashed him like a bug. Backlund said he doesn't have a lot of regrets, but bringing Bundy to GCW was one of them because this guy was a monster. Bundy has hurt a lot of people, and Backlund stated quite clearly that he would be the one to put an end to it. Backlund said if Bundy wanted a piece of him, he wanted a piece right back. Backlund said that if Bundy wanted a match, he could have it on October 5 at Saturday Night Slam Masters. Windham cut in and told Backlund that Bundy wouldn't even make it to Slam Masters, because Windham was going to beat Bundy at Madison Square Garden. Hayes asked Backlund if he was overlooking Rick Martel, his opponent for September 23. Backlund denied doing so, saying that Martel absolutely deserves a title shot, and knows the last time they wrestled, it was Martel who had his hand raised. Backlund wanted Martel to take his best shot in the Garden. Backlund said Martel will be a World champion some day, but that day was not going to be September 23.

MATCH #1
Sgt. Slaughter (w/ Stan Hansen) vs. Ron Shaw

First wrestling match of the day, and this was sure to make it a long evening for Ron Shaw as he drew the short straw and had to face Sgt. Slaughter. Stan Hansen, his tag team partner in this unholy alliance, was down at ringside with him, and that just made the situation all the more uncomfortable for Shaw. Shaw tried to jump the gun early, but once Slaughter got the upperhand, that was that. Slaughter took joy in hurting Shaw before mercifully putting him away with the Cobra Clutch.

Sgt. Slaughter made Ron Shaw submit to the Cobra Clutch in 0:03:02.
Rating: * 1/2

Much like happened last week when Slaughter attacked Hansen's opponent post-match, Hansen returned the favor by hitting the hapless Shaw with the Lariat after this match. Monsoon said he hoped Dusty Rhodes & Ricky Steamboat had a plan, because September 23 could be a long night for them if they didn't.

MATCH #2
Raymond Rougeau (w/ Jacques Rougeau) vs. "Canadian Strongman" Dino Bravo (w/ Jimmy Hart)

This match would just be a preview of things to come later in the show. The Hart Foundation wrestle in the main event, but they weren't the only of his charges in action as Dino Bravo took on Raymond Rougeau. Raymond had his brother Jacques with him to make sure the Mouth of the South didn't get involved physically in the match, and it was effective. The only problem was, Raymond still had to deal with Canada's Strongest Man. Raymond used his impressive agility to try to chip away at Bravo, but when you're short, stocky, and strong like Bravo is, there's only so much you can do using that strategy. Once Bravo cut Raymond off with a clothesline, it wasn't long before he hit a running powerslam to get his hand raised.

Dino Bravo pinned Raymond Rougeau after a running powerslam in 0:06:34.
Rating: ***

Bravo looked like he wanted to continue the attack, but Jacques got in the ring in a hurry to make sure that couldn't happen.

MATCH #3
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan vs. Joe Mirto

Jim Duggan has been coming into his own in recent months, even coming close to winning the Intercontinental Title. Hacksaw is said to be wanting to make more moves up the card, and he asked for a match for MSG. Well if he wanted a fight, he's going to get one as a match has been signed on with Bad News Brown. Monsoon speculated that this could be one of the most hard hitting matches on the card. Niemiller told Monsoon he was nuts, and the only person more nuts than Monsoon was Duggan, because Bad News Brown was going to give him the beating of a lifetime. As for this match, Hacksaw plowed through Joe Mirto with the Three Point Stance to get the duke.

Jim Duggan pinned Joe Mirto with the Three Point Stance in 0:02:01.
Rating: -1/2
*

CORPORAL KIRCHNER PROMO VIDEO

As we've seen for the previous two weeks, a promotional video for the soon-to-debut Corporal Kirchner aired. Monsoon said he was excited about the debut of this youngster and announced that his debut match at Madison Square Garden would be a tough test against Steve Lombardi. Niemiller commented that Kirchner is coming in with a lot of fanfare, and that might rub some people the wrong way. He said he talked to Lombardi just today and Lombardi promised that he was going to ruin Kirchner's little debut party.

MATCH #4
"The Japanese Assassin" Shiro Koshinaka (w/ "Classy" Freddie Blassie) vs. Richard Charland

There was another person who wasn't impressed by the impending debut of Corporal Kirchner, and that was Freddie Blassie, whose client Shiro Koshinaka was in action. Blassie went over to the announce position and bad mouthed Kirchner, saying he is just another pathetic U.S. soldier pencil neck geek who can't stand up to his Foreign Legion. Monsoon tried to shoo him away, but Blassie made sure to say that Kirchner is in for a rude awakening when he gets to GCW. Richard Charland was in for a rude awakening today as the Japanese Assassin brutalized him in short order.

Shiro Koshinaka pinned Richard Charland after a dragon suplex in 0:03:14.
Rating: 1/2*

Blassie made sure to harass Monsoon one last time, instructing him to tell the people that Corporal Kirchner doesn't know what he's getting into. Monsoon gave a big, "Will you be serious!?" as we went to commercial.

MATCH #5
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs. Mr. X

Ricky Steamboat was in action next, and he cut an insert promo as he wrestled the notorious Mr. X. Steamboat talked about the steel cage match coming up at MSG and how a lot of people thought Dusty Rhodes & he were nuts to get inside a 15-foot high steel cage with the likes of Sgt. Slaughter & Stan Hansen. Steamboat said it was going to be the absolute fight of his life, but Slaughter & Hansen were nothing but bullies. He promised that he, along with the American Dream, would show the world what happens to bullies. As for Mr. X, he tried to keep Steamboat grounded, but the Dragon is a tremendous high flyer, and once he took to the sky with dropkicks and flying chops, this was all but over. The Flying Crossbody Press officially put this one in the books.

Ricky Steamboat pinned Mr. X with the Flying Crossbody Press in 0:03:17.
Rating: * 3/4

LIVE EVENT REPORT WITH GENE OKERLUND

Gene Okerlund gets more and more excited as we get closer to big shows, especially shows at Madison Square Garden. Okerlund was all fired up today, and was happy to announce that there are currently 8 matches signed for the show. Added earlier today were Jim Duggan taking on Bad News Brown, Steve Lombardi being named as the first opponent for Corporal Kirchner, and Barry Windham trying to slay the beast that is King Kong Bundy. There are also two title matches. The British Bulldogs earned the #1 contender slot for the World Tag Team Titles last week, and they move on to once again try to dethrone the Rock 'N Roll Express on September 23. And in a match for the biggest prize in the game, Bob Backlund puts it all on the line against Rick Martel. We cut to a video from Martel, where he talked about how he hopes Backlund isn't distracted by King Kong Bundy. Martel said he too is wrapped up in issues with Bundy, but he's putting that all on back burner right now because all he wants is the GCW World Title.

The mention of the World Title brought Okerlund to his next announcement, and this one had to do with Saturday Night Slam Masters on October 5. Bob Backlund mentioned wanting a match with Bundy at this event, and Okerlund could now announce that the match was official. It will be Backlund vs. Bundy, 1-on-1! Okerlund added that if Backlund was still the World champion, it would be for the title. If he is defeated by Rick Martel in 9 days, the match would be for pride and glory. This is a huge match, and it is sure to shake the foundation of the Meadowlands!

MATCH #6
Chavo Guerrero/Dos Caras vs. The Hart Foundation (w/ Jimmy Hart)

Dos Caras made his United States debut in Detroit as the partner of Chavo Guerrero, and they proved to be a tremendous team that the Hart Foundation had no answer for. Jimmy Hart is claiming the whole ordeal was nothing more than a fluke as a result of Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart having no time to prepare for Caras. Well, they had time to prepare for this match, as the challenge was Jimmy Hart's idea, so there would be no excuses this time. As far as wrestling goes, this may have been the best match we have seen so far on Superstars. Neither team has been together all that long, but both have developed a chemistry that is hard to teach. The luchador background of Guerrero & Caras was shining through in the early going, as they used a variety of dropkicks and armdrags to keep Hart & Neidhart off their game. Jimmy Hart's megaphone played a big part in turning the match around, as his yelling at Chavo let the Foundation turn the tide. The unique combination of the Hitman's technical prowess and the Anvil's scary strength dominated the next section of the match, and poor Guerrero was the recipient of the abuse. Guerrero kept with it though, but he needed to come up with something if he wanted to survive. He got that chance when he was propped in the corner. Hart was looking to irish whip Neidhart into the corner for an avalanche, but Guerrero jumped out of the way, came running out and drilled the Hitman in the face with a dropkick! Caras came in off the hot tag, building momentum with chops and kicks on Hart. Neidhart came running at Caras from behind, but the masked man ducked away and the Anvil cracked his own partner with a shoulderblock! Jimmy Hart jumped on the apron, ready to lose his mind. Referee Joey Marella got in Jimmy Hart's face to get him down, but in doing so, blinded himself from seeing the Mouth of the South toss his megaphone into Neidhart. The Anvil blasted Caras with it and then ditched the evidence. Neidhart picked Caras up and hit the Anvil Flattener for a big win.

The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) defeated Chavo Guerrero and Dos Caras when Neidhart pinned Dos Caras with the Anvil Flattener in 0:10:12.
Rating: ****

This wasn't enough for the Hart Foundation, who were soon joined by DINO BRAVO in the ring. The three men had Caras & Guerrero cornered, and it looked like we were going to see a massacre. That is, until THE ROUGEAU BROTHERS ran in to tip the numbers in the other direction! Jimmy Hart saw his men were out-numbered, so he took his men and made a hasty retreat as the show came to a close.

Match observations:

Make sure you don't miss Superstars next week! Not only will we see some great wrestling, including the Rougeaus taking on the Hart Foundation, as well as Ted DiBiase getting a shot at the Television Title, but the final matches for the Madison Square Garden show will be announced! All that, and rumor has it that Gene Okerlund will have some huge news in regards to the Grand 16 pay-per-view!

9/23/85 - MADISON SQUARE GARDEN - New York, NY

WORLD TITLE - Bob Backlund (c) vs. Rick Martel
STEEL CAGE MATCH - Dusty Rhodes/Ricky Steamboat vs. Stan Hansen/Sgt. Slaughter
WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES - The Rock 'N Roll Express (c) vs. The British Bulldogs
Non-Title - Andre the Giant vs. Tully Blanchard (Television champion)
Barry Windham vs. King Kong Bundy
Junkyard Dog vs. Shiro Koshinaka
Jim Duggan vs. Bad News Brown
Corporal Kirchner vs. Steve Lombardi

10/5/85 - SATURDAY NIGHT SLAM MASTERS - THE MEADOWLANDS - East Rutherford, NJ

WORLD TITLE - Bob Backlund (c) vs. King Kong Bundy
DOG COLLAR NON-TITLE MATCH - Junkyard Dog vs. Tony Atlas (Intercontinental champion)

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

Matches TBA

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

16-Team Tournament - Teams TBA

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