[FAROUK CHALLENGE]:
Bobo Brazil pinned Baron Mikel Scicluna with the Coco Butt in 0:07:19.
Rating: ** 1/4
[Abdullah Farouk interfered against Bobo Brazil.]
The show kicked off with the Farouk Challenge as Bobo Brazil took on Baron Mikel Scicluna, the third leg of the challenge. The closer Brazil gets to his chance to get Abdullah Farouk in the ring, the more dominant he becomes in the ring. Scicluna didn't even get his normal opportunities to cheat in this one as Brazil didn't give him the room to breathe. Brazil has only one leg to go, and that will be against his oldest enemy, The Sheik.
The Golden Grahams (Dr. Jerry Graham and Eddie Graham) defeated Haystacks Calhoun and Spiros Arion when E. Graham pinned Calhoun with the Atomic Kneedrop in 0:06:55.
Rating: **
The Golden Grahams picked up a big tag team victory this month against the makeshift team of Haystacks Calhoun & Spiros Arion.
The Sheik made Antonino Rocca submit to the Camel Clutch in 0:16:14.
Rating: **
[Abdullah Farouk interfered against Antonino Rocca.]
With The Sheik being the last line of defense for Abdullah Farouk against Bobo Brazil, Farouk instructed him to be extra ruthless in his match against Antonino Rocca. Rocca is a legend in this sport, but The Sheik just brought too much brutality to the contest before putting it away with the Camel Clutch. If The Sheik wrestles like this on September 10th, Bobo Brazil could be in big trouble.
Killer Kowalski made Gorilla Monsoon submit to the Stomach Claw in 0:09:48.
Rating: DUD
Gorilla Monsoon dominated most of this match against Killer Kowalski, but he wouldn't be going to the winner's circle. Kowalski suckered Monsoon to the floor by getting Monsoon to chase after him. When Monsoon got near, Kowalski nailed him in the gut with the ring bell. Monsoon was obviously hurt, and Kowalski got him back in the ring and locked on the Stomach Claw to get the submission win. Both of these men will get huge opportunities next month in MSG though as Monsoon will challenge for the US Title and Kowalski will challenge for the World Title.
Dory Funk Jr. and Luke Graham battled to a double countout in 0:15:15.
Rating: *** 1/2
(Luke Graham retained the GCW United States Title.)
Something had to give in this match as Luke Graham put the United States Title up for grabs against Dory Funk Jr. If that wasn't big enough, both of these guys are undefeated and putting those streaks on the line. The match started out with both men feeling each other out, but as the battle wore on, these two gladiators started to take it out of each other. The end result would be both men spilling to the floor and ignoring the count of referee Dick Kroll to end this one in a draw. I don't know about you, but I for one would love to see these two lock horns again.
Match with Special Referee Lou Albano:
Bill Watts and Johnny Valentine defeated Pedro Morales and Dominic DeNucci when J. Valentine made Morales submit to the Figure-Four Leglock in 0:18:13.
Rating: **** 1/4
Bill Watts & Johnny Valentine were allowed to choose the referee for their third match with Pedro Morales & Dominic DeNucci. Instead of choosing someone already on the roster, they brought in someone from the outside - Lou Albano. It was pretty obvious from the get-go that Albano wasn't going to be impartial, slanting the odds toward Watts & Valentine every chance he got. Albano would prove instrumental in getting the rulebreakers the win when Valentine locked Morales in the Figure-Four Leglock. Morales inched over to the ropes and got a hold of them, but Albano "accidentally" kicked his hand off. Valentine pulled Morales back to the middle of the ring and Morales had no choice but to tap out. Watts & Valentine have announced that Lou Albano is their new manager.
Two-out-of-three-Falls Match:
Crusher & Bruiser (The Crusher and Dick the Bruiser) beat The Blond Bombers (Pat Patterson and Ray Stevens) 2 falls to 1:
x Crusher beat R. Stevens via a powerslam in 0:21:17
x R. Stevens beat Bruiser via the Bombs Away Kneedrop in 0:28:48
x Crusher beat Patterson via the Bolo Punch in 0:37:56
Rating: *** 1/2
(Crusher & Bruiser retained the GCW World Tag Team Titles.)
The feud between World Tag Team champions Dick the Bruiser & The Crusher and the Blond Bombers has come to a violent end. The two teams locked up in a best 2 of 3 falls match to determine who the better team is once and for all. The match was a lengthy fight that didn't see a fall scored until past the 21 minute mark when The Crusher caught Ray Stevens jumping off the top rope and turned it into a powerslam. Stevens would get a fall to even the score though when Dick the Bruiser missed an avalanche in the corner and Stevens quickly followed with Bombs Away Kneedrop for the pin. The Bombers had been so close in recent months to winning the gold and were sure that tonight would be their night, but that turned out not to be the case. The Crusher & Pat Patterson were the legal men in the ring, so Stevens tried to be sneaky and grabbed a chair from the timekeeper. Dick the Bruiser saw him and cut him off, taking the chair from him and blasting him directly in the face. Stevens clutched his face and was clearly in a lot of trouble. Months of frustration exploded out of Dick the Bruiser as he continued to punch away at Stevens' face on the floor. Patterson was concerned for his partner and turned to help, which let The Crusher hit the Bolo Punch to get the third and final fall. Ray Stevens had his face completely shattered by Dick the Bruiser and word is that we may never see him in the ring again.
Gene Kiniski pinned Chief Jay Strongbow with the Backbreaker in 0:18:51.
Rating: **
[Abdullah Farouk interfered against Chief Jay Strongbow.]
Chief Jay Strongbow has turned back most challenges since coming to GCW, but he had his hands full with the former United States & World Tag Team champion, Gene Kiniski. Strongbow couldn't get either of his two primary submission holds on Kiniski and got flustered as a result, leaving him wide open to the Backbreaker and eating the loss.
First Blood Match:
Bruno Sammartino defeated Ernie Ladd in 0:16:06.
Rating: ** 3/4
(Bruno Sammartino retained the GCW World Title.)
When the intention of a match is to cause the other person to bleed, you know it's going to be a vicious affair. This was one of the most dangerous matches that Bruno Sammartino could have signed for because any misstep by the champion could cause him to lose the World Title to Ernie Ladd. That, and with Jack Davis at ringside doing everything in his power to make life hard for Bruno, this was a dangerous game. Ladd even had his fists taped to make Bruno bleed, but Sammartino fought him off and would bust Ladd open on the floor when he threw him into the ring post. Ladd put on the crimson mask and that was game, set, match. Bruno Sammartino is still the World champion.
Card rating: ** 3/4
Match observations:
We have five huge matches signed so far for the September 10th show at Madison Square Garden:
WORLD TITLE - Bruno Sammartino (c) vs. Killer Kowalski
UNITED STATES TITLE - Luke Graham (c) vs. Gorilla Monsoon
WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES - Dick the Bruiser/The Crusher (c) vs. Pat Patterson/???
#1 CONTENDERS MATCH - Pedro Morales/Dominic DeNucci vs. Bill Watts/Johnny Valentine
FAROUK CHALLENGE - Bobo Brazil vs. The Sheik
