August 15, 1964 - The Spectrum - Philadelphia, PA

Ernie Ladd and Mark Lewin defeated Danny Hodge and Haystacks Calhoun when Ernie Ladd defeated Hodge by disqualification in 0:07:43.
Rating: **

The theme for tonight in our debut at the Spectrum in Philadelphia was tag team action as we had 5 tag matches, starting with United States champion Danny Hodge teaming up with Haystacks Calhoun to take on Ernie Ladd & Mark Lewin. It also was the debut of a brand new referee, Jack Davis, and he would get a little overzealous in this one. During the match, Danny Hodge inadvertently caught Davis with an elbow when he was trying to hit Ladd with a punch. It was clearly an accident, but Davis didn't care as he called for the disqualification and awarded the match to Ladd & Lewin! Hodge was in disbelief and even went after Davis, but the rookie referee made a hasty retreat. An auspicious start to his GCW career.

Gorilla Monsoon and Killer Kowalski defeated Don Leo Jonathan and Edouard Carpentier when Kowalski made Carpentier submit to an abdominal stretch in 0:13:20.
Rating: *** 1/4

Though Don Leo Jonathan & Edouard Carpentier have been making great strides in the tag team division, they have some work to do before they can compete with the elite teams as shown by this match against Gorilla Monsoon & Killer Kowalski. Jonathan & Carpentier dished out a lot of offense as they are both accomplished singles wrestlers, but as a team, they didn't quite match up with Monsoon & Kowalski who took the duke. Monsoon & Kowalski look in prime position to challenge for the tag titles as they will have that shot next month at MSG.

The Golden Grahams (Eddie Graham and Dr. Jerry Graham) and Antonino Rocca and Miguel Perez battled to a double countout in 0:07:56.
Rating: ** 1/4

The recent struggles of Antonino Rocca & Miguel Perez continued this week as they were unable to get the victory over the Golden Grahams, instead wrestling Dr. Jerry & Eddie to a double countout. Though there is nothing to be ashamed about in not being able to beat the Grahams, after having gone undefeated for well over a year as the tag champs, they have fallen back a bit. They weren't happy with the result and have asked for a rematch next month.

Bill Watts and Bruno Sammartino battled to a no-contest in 0:04:12.
Rating: ** 3/4

Bruno Sammartino has been wanting to get his hands on "Cowboy" Bill Watts for quite some time, and unfortunately for him, he let his temper get the better of him. It didn't take long before referee Greg Massie realized he wasn't going to be able to keep these two calm enough for a match and declared it a no-contest. That didn't stop Sammartino from trying to rip Watts' head off until referees were finally able to pull them apart.

Pedro Morales and Bobo Brazil defeated Gene Kiniski and Ray Stevens when Morales defeated Kiniski by disqualification in 0:15:32.
Rating: ** 1/4

The night of disqualifications continued as Abdullah Farouk got involved in this tag match and blasted Pedro Morales with a chair. Though Morales & Brazil won the match, this put Brazil in a bad position as Morales was unconscious leaving him by himself to fend against Gene Kiniski & Ray Stevens. Brazil tried to fight them off, but the numbers game got to him as he was beaten down and left lying in the ring before the officials (who have had a busy night) pulled the wild dogs away.

[WILDCARD MATCH]:
Lou Thesz pinned Killer Kowalski after the Doctor Bomb in 0:06:39.
Rating: *** 3/4
(Lou Thesz retained the GCW World Title.)

For the second time in history, GCW presented a Wildcard match, where two wrestlers are selected at random and have to do battle, regardless if they have wrestled or have to wrestle on the show. We got a huge shock as we got a second World Title match as LOU THESZ was the first man drawn, not long before his already schedule title defense against Johnny Valentine. His opponent for this match was Killer Kowalski, who was already victorious in tag team action earlier in the night. These two have had their problems in the past and went at each other accordingly, but this match was Thesz's from the word go. He was the fresher combatant, and though he took some licks from the massive Kowalski, Thesz made his first title defense a successful one. But how will he fair against Johnny Valentine?

Crusher & Bruiser (The Crusher and Dick the Bruiser) defeated The Madmen (Abdullah the Butcher and The Sheik) when Bruiser defeated Sheik when Sheik passed out in the Stomach Claw in 0:10:31.
Rating: **
(Crusher & Bruiser retained the GCW World Tag Team Titles.)

This is not the way Abdullah Farouk envisioned his evening ending. After what he called a "successful" beatdown of Bobo Brazil earlier, he figured that The Sheik & Abdullah the Butcher would walk out of Philadelphia the World Tag Team champions, but Dick the Bruiser & The Crusher had different ideas. The champs were a step ahead the whole match, and things went from bad to worse for Farouk's charges when Abdullah the Butcher took a pair of brass knuckles Farouk handed him and went to hit Bruiser, but he missed and clocked The Sheik instead, knocking him out cold. Bruiser then locked Sheik in the Stomach Claw while The Crusher knocked Abdullah out of the ring. The Sheik was out of it and referee Petey Santangelo called for the bell. After the match, Farouk was irate and was poking Abdullah the Butcher in the chest. Eventually Farouk slapped him, which sent the Madman From Sudan into a rage, grabbing Farouk by the shirt. The Sheik was back up and had those brass knuckles, clocking the Butcher in the back of the skull with them allowing Farouk to get to safety. It looks like this is officially the end of the Madmen.

Lou Thesz made Johnny Valentine submit to the STF in 0:18:15.
Rating: ****
(Lou Thesz retained the GCW World Title.)

Lou Thesz had a tough task ahead of him as this was his second title defense of the night. Johnny Valentine was extra arrogant going into this one as he figured with Thesz being a bit wore down, he'd have an easy time becoming the new World champion. Thesz had other ideas as he used Valentine's arrogance against him, luring him into a false sense of security before surprising him with the STF. It caught Valentine so off-guard that it didn't take him long to submit at all. Thesz showed what kind of competitor is as he defeated not one but two men in one night to retain the World Title and keep his career alive.

Card rating: ***

Match observations:

We have a stacked lineup for our September 12th show at Madison Square Garden!

MAIN EVENT - Lou Thesz/Bruno Sammartino vs. Bill Watts/Johnny Valentine
WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES - Dick the Bruiser/The Crusher (c) vs. Gorilla Monsoon/Killer Kowalski
UNITED STATES TITLE - Danny Hodge (c) vs. Ernie Ladd
Antonino Rocca/Miguel Perez vs. The Golden Grahams
NO DISQUALIFICATION - The Sheik vs. Abdullah the Butcher
Haystacks Calhoun vs. Mark Lewin
Bobo Brazil vs. Gene Kiniski
Pedro Morales vs. Ray Stevens

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