December 27, 1969 - Madison Square Garden - New York, NY

Loser-Leaves-Town Match:
Baron Mikel Scicluna pinned Tony Altimore with the Fistdrop in 0:12:33.
Rating: 1/2*

The feud between Baron Mikel Scicluna & Tony Altimore can finally be put to rest as the royal from Malta ended his lengthy losing streak by pinning the Stamford Stomper to kick off our end of the decade show and thus, sending Altimore out of GCW! Scicluna grabbed the microphone and said this is just the start as he is recommitting himself to wrestling and will be a champion in 2 years. It's only one win, Scicluna - let's not get carried away.

Ray Stevens pinned Boris Malenko after a piledriver in 0:05:09.
Rating: ***

Boris Malenko's efforts for retribution against Ray Stevens fell short as the Cripplers all attacked Malenko before the match even began. Malenko insisted on going ahead with the match, but this was a mistake as Stevens made short work of Malenko to end 1969 on a high note.

Peter Maivia and Jack Brisco battled to a double countout in 0:05:46.
Rating: ** 1/2

Not the way that Peter Maivia wanted to end the 60s. The High Chief took on Jack Brisco and had victory in his grasp when he tossed Brisco into the ringpost on the floor. Before Maivia could get back in the ring, JERRY BRISCO came out to aid his brother by getting Maivia's attention. This slight misstep caused Maivia to get counted out as well, ending this match in a draw.

Pedro Morales made Johnny Valentine submit to the Boston Crab in 0:20:07.
Rating: ** 1/2
(Pedro Morales won the GCW United States Title.)

It was a long hard road, but Pedro Morales is once again the United States champion! Many feel that Morales should have never been stripped of the title in the first place. Valentine takes exception to that as he has been a great US champion. Even though Valentine lost the gold tonight, it was not without controversy. Morales had Valentine in the Boston Crab as the 20-minute time limit was fast approaching. Valentine held off without submitting, but referee Terry Taranova allowed the match to continue past the time limit. Valentine couldn't hold off any longer and had to submit, making Morales the new champion. Valentine was irate afterwards, but still shook the new champion's hand before heading to the back. This situation is being looked into, but one can expect Valentine to get a title rematch very soon.

Crusher & Bruiser (The Crusher and Dick the Bruiser) defeated The Funk Brothers (Terry Funk and Dory Funk Jr.) when Crusher defeated T. Funk via pinfall in 0:19:09.
Rating: *** 1/2
[Lou Albano interfered against Terry Funk.]

Both the Funk Brothers and Dick the Bruiser & The Crusher wanted to end 1969 on a good note and get back in contention for the World Tag Team Titles, currently held by Wahoo McDaniel & Chief Jay Strongbow. This was a competitive contest from the opening bell, but it seemed as if the Funks weren't entirely on the same page. Rumors have been circulating that Terry was none too pleased with Dory missing the show last month, but that could very well be overblown. Unfortunately for the Funks, if you are not 100% focused against the 4-time tag team champions, you're going to get beat, which is exactly what happened here.

[UNSANCTIONED]: No-Countout-No-DQ-Match:
Bobo Brazil pinned Ernie Ladd with the Coco Butt in 0:15:23.
Rating: **

The personal animosity between Bobo Brazil and Ernie Ladd has become so intense that the only way to finally settle this once and for all was to let them wrestle in an unsanctioned environment. No rules, no official sanction by Global Championship Wrestling. Just two men fighting to a finish. The crowd was solidly behind Brazil as he has proven to be the most popular man in wrestling, but Ladd used this to his advantage as he seemed to be fueled by embarrassing Brazil in front of his fans. Ladd made a huge mistake though despite bloodying Brazil up, and that was choosing to inflict more pain instead of going for the win. Brazil fought back and fought back until he surprised the King with the Coco Butt and got the decisive win in this feud.

Nick Bockwinkel defeated Tim Woods by disqualification in 0:12:51.
Rating: **

Nick Bockwinkel got a bit of his own medicine here as he pushed Tim Woods too far. Bockwinkel was trying to bust Woods open from the time this match started. Bockwinkel wasn't even trying to win the match but just hurt Woods. Woods finally had had enough and snapped, hitting Bockwinkel in the throat, grabbing a chair from ringside, and blasting him with it. Woods got himself disqualified, but he didn't seem much to mind as he was able to walk out of MSG under his own power.

Chief Jay Strongbow and Wahoo McDaniel defeated Dominic DeNucci and Victor Rivera when Wahoo defeated Rivera when Rivera passed out in the Indian Deathlock in 0:12:29.
Rating: ** 1/4
(Chief Jay Strongbow and Wahoo McDaniel retained the GCW World Tag Team Titles.)

The tag team champions have seemingly under gone a shift in personality recently, becoming more cold and calculated, but arguably more successful. Two men who disagree with this are Dominic DeNucci & Victor Rivera, former friends of the champs who got attacked last month just for trying to help them calm down. DeNucci & Rivera were hoping to calm them down again this month, but taking the World Tag Team Titles this time around. DeNucci & Rivera were up to the challenge, but the champs were relentless in their attack. And the fact that Wahoo & Strongbow are now so willing to bend the rules, they cruised to a victory. If DeNucci & Rivera are going to beat them for the titles, they're going to fight fire with fire.

10-Man Battle Royal:
Bill Watts won a 10-man Battle Royal:
x Monsoon threw out Sheik in 0:02:06
x G. Anderson threw out Kiniski after a hammerlock in 0:03:58
x G. Anderson threw out Perez in 0:08:06
x Thunderbolt threw out Jerry Brisco in 0:08:29
x Monsoon threw out O. Anderson in 0:13:24
x Monsoon threw out G. Anderson after a chop in 0:20:34
x Scicluna threw out Monsoon in 0:24:37
x Watts threw out Scicluna in 0:25:47
x Watts threw out Thunderbolt in 0:27:43
Rating: ** 1/2

Before we got to our giant main event, we had a 10-man battle royal which was won by "Cowboy" Bill Watts, lastly eliminating Thunderbolt Patterson. Of particular note in this match was the impressive performance of Baron Mikel Scicluna, making it all the way to the end and even eliminating the monster Gorilla Monsoon. Watts is looking to get back in the World Title hunt, and this win was a good way to start.

Luke Graham pinned Antonio Inoki with the Thumb to the Throat in 0:28:17.
Rating: *****
(Luke Graham retained the GCW World Title.)
[Lou Albano interfered against Antonio Inoki.]

It was all down to one match. Two men, but only one winner, for the World Heavyweight Title. A deal had been brokered with Japanese officials to allow Antonio Inoki, the Grand Prix of Wrestling tournament winner, to come challenge Luke Graham for the World Title. Nobody in wrestling history has a win/loss record over Graham than Inoki, so this match had the feel of a title change from the very beginning. Graham is aware of his struggles against Inoki more than anyone, and he wasn't wrestling the way he normally does. Inoki kept Graham on the mat for the first half of the match and was in firm control of his own destiny. Lou Albano saw his meal ticket going away on him and and caught Inoki with a shot to the ribs with his cane behind referee Dick Kroll's back. Graham went to work on Inoki's ribs and backs, but couldn't get the win. Graham was convinced he had the win when he hit the Thumb to the Throat, but he didn't go for the pin right away, choosing to arrogantly taunt the fallen Inoki. Graham was in utter shock when Inoki kicked out, the first time anyone had ever done that. Graham argued with the referee instead of staying on the assault, and it almost cost him when Inoki got a nearfall with a small package. Graham went for the Thumb to the Throat again, but Inoki ducked and locked on the Octopus Hold. Unfortunately for Inoki, Graham was too close to the ropes. Inoki thought he had won the match when Kroll asked him to break the hold. This miscommunication allowed Graham to hit the Thumb to the Throat again and get the 1-2-3, retaining his title in an absolutely amazing match.

Card rating: ***

Match observations:

You couldn't ask for a better way to end the 1960s, but the 1970s may end up being even better! As part of the deal with Antonio Inoki coming over to wrestle the show, on January 4th, GCW makes its debut in Japan at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo! The following matches have been announced:

WORLD TITLE REMATCH - Luke Graham (c) vs. Antonio Inoki
Giant Baba vs. The Sheik
Bill Watts/Johnny Valentine vs. Dick the Bruiser/The Crusher

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