February 2, 1982 - Nassau Coliseum - Uniondale, NY

Two-out-of-three-Falls Match:
Ricky Steamboat beat Larry Zbyszko 2 falls to 1:
x Steamboat beat Zbyszko via a splash in 0:05:43
x Zbyszko beat Steamboat via the Crunch Time in 0:14:47
x Steamboat beat Zbyszko via the Flying Crossbody Press in 0:20:12
Rating: *** 1/2

We couldn't have kicked off this show in any better way as we had the 2/3 falls match between Ricky Steamboat & Larry Zbyszko. The previous two matches between these combatants have been off the charts, and this one was no different. We don't see 2/3 falls matches as much as we used to, but there is a certain strategy involved in them. The first fall is extremely important to secure, but you also don't want to go too hard in the opening because you may tire yourself out and be easy pickings in the later falls. Steamboat & Zbyszko both understood this and you could say they both had perfect strategy. The opening minutes were speckled with great chain wrestling, showcasing the mat savvy of these two youngsters. It was evenly matched, but Steamboat caught Zbyszko hard under the chin with a savate kick that knocked the Cruncher loopy. Steamboat followed with a splash for good measure and got the all-important first fall!

Zbyszko was in trouble as he tried to shake the cobwebs out. Steamboat was smart enough to try to strike while blood was in the water, but he became careless. Steamboat went for the Flying Crossbody Press, but Zbyszko had enough wherewithal to duck, causing Steamboat to hit his ribs hard on the canvas. Zbyszko kicked away at Steamboat's ribs, and that's what his focus became during the second fall. Steamboat's heart kept him fighting back, but Zbyszko hit the Crunch Time spinebuster and evened the score at 1 fall.

Now it was anyone's ball game as the intensity was turned up to 11, taking this skirmish to a whole other level. It became a slugfest in the closing moments, both men out on their feet in seemed. Zbyszko took a wild swing at Steamboat that was ducked, and then Steamboat connected with another huge savate kick. Steamboat was then able to hit the Flying Crossbody Press this time around and got the decisive 1-2-3. A great match once again. Zbyszko gave Steamboat a nod of respect after the match, now a firm believer that Steamboat is legit.

The Texas Outlaws (Bobby Duncum and Dick Murdoch) defeated The Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika) when Murdoch defeated Sika by countout in 0:06:59.
Rating: * 1/2

Bobby Duncum & "Dirty" Dick Murdoch are the World Tag Team champions, and they have taken a page out of the their stablemate Dusty Rhodes' play book and done whatever they can to keep the title around their waists. They took on the Wild Samoans tonight, and made sure that it was a non-title match. Afa & Sika have held the titles twice and many think they should have had a title match tonight, but Duncum & Murdoch argued that since the Samoans lost in Providence, they didn't deserve a shot. That didn't matter to the Samoans who will fight whoever under whatever circumstances. In the early goings, it looked the the champs made the right decision making this non-title because Afa & Sika were all over them. Duncum & Murdoch had to cut some corners to get back on the offensive, and it took some cheating for them to get the win. Murdoch had got some separation from Sika by tossing him out to the floor, and then took the referee's attention. Duncum took this distraction to blast Sika with a clothesline and then throw him into the guardrail. Sika was out cold and counted out as a result. Duncum & Murdoch thought they were so smart, but the GCW Championship Committee has granted the Wild Samoans a title shot on March 1 in East Rutherford, NJ because of the cheap way the champs won tonight. We'll see how smart they are in Jersey.

Johnny Rodz and Rick McGraw wrestled to a no contest in 0:01:13.
Rating: * 1/2
[Nick Bockwinkel interfered against Rick McGraw.]
[Nick Bockwinkel interfered against Johnny Rodz.]

We were expecting to see a competitive match between "Quick Draw" Rick McGraw & "The Unpredictable" Johnny Rodz, but we got something not even Rodz could have predicted. We were barely a minute in when a familiar looking man with bleach blond hair entered the ring, booted McGraw in the gut, and dropped McGraw with a piledriver! Rodz went and slapped the man on the back, but he received a boot to the stomach and a piledriver as well! Not long after that, another man joined him… it was BOBBY "THE BRAIN" HEENAN! And he announced that the man was NICK BOCKWINKEL! Nick Bockwinkel is back in GCW!

Heenan grabbed the microphone from Howard Finkel and said that things in GCW were about to change, because the greatest champion in the wrestling world was now back in Global Championship Wrestling! Bockwinkel said that he was a "world" champion in another league, but that GCW was the biggest and most important promotion in the world. Heenan added that Bockwinkel is a world-class athlete, and with his help, he would be the GCW World Heavyweight champion. Bockwinkel ended the interview by calling out Dusty Rhodes, calling him a "fat redneck who isn't worthy of being called World champion." Nick Bockwinkel in GCW… what a shocker!

Interview:
Freddie Blassie's troops are stronger than ever… literally.

"Classy" Freddie Blassie told the Texas Outlaws he would take care of the situation with Terry Funk costing them War Games, and he did that in emphatic fashion. Blassie came out with the four men that he manages - Funk, Don Muraco, and the Can-Am Strongmen. Blassie declared that his stable of wrestlers is the strongest in the world, and he means it literally. It's hard to argue when your ranks include Muraco, Patera, & Bravo. Blassie went on though, and said that now that he boasted the strongest wrestlers in the world on his roster, he no longer had to live in fear of anyone… especially Terry Funk. As he said that, Funk was jumped by the trio of strongmen! Blassie feels that now that he has these guys under contract, he doesn't have to worry about Funk's unstable nature and has broken that contract. Funk fought back wildly and did the best he could, but you're not going to win 3-on-1. Funk was getting dominated when TONY ATLAS came out, and he had a chair with him! Blassie & his men scattered from the ring as Atlas held them at bay. Officials helped Funk to the back while a referee hit the ring to start Atlas vs. Muraco!

Don Muraco pinned Tony Atlas after a small package in 0:07:45.
Rating: * 1/4

Atlas came out a house of fire as he has a lot of reasons to want revenge against Blassie and company, and he wanted to get it in a hurry. Atlas was on Muraco like a starving dog on a steak, and Muraco couldn't get his feet under him. Atlas had the crowd firmly behind him as he strung together move after move on Muraco. It looked like the Magnificent One was seconds away from eating the loss when DINO BRAVO jumped up on the apron to distract Atlas. Mr. U.S.A. went after Bravo, causing Bravo to jump down to the floor. Atlas was leaning between the ropes reaching for Bravo when KEN PATERA threw a big handful of chalk in Atlas' eyes! Atlas clawed at his face to try to regain his vision, but he got caught by Muraco in a small package and was pinned. Blassie and his men left Atlas in the ring in tremendous pain, laughing as they went to the back. They might not be laughing on March 1, because it has been announced that the Can-Am Strongmen will take on Tony Atlas & Terry Funk in a tag team bout!

Stan Hansen pinned Tito Santana after a power bomb in 0:12:51.
Rating: *** 1/4
(Stan Hansen retained the GCW Intercontinental Title.)

Tito Santana shocked everyone when he pinned Intercontinental champion Stan Hansen right in the middle of the ring in a non-title match at our last show. He earned himself a title match as a result, and in doing so, he about guaranteed that he was going to take a beating. Hansen was in a surly mood to say the least, and he was dead set on punishing Santana for "embarrassing" him in Providence. Hansen was laying in a lot of heavy shots, and you could see the welts forming on Santana's body. Santana was getting under Hansen's skin big time because Santana kept fighting back, kept kicking out, and wouldn't stay down (even when Hansen yelled at him for doing so). Hansen was getting out of control, even tossing Santana into the crowd and brawling with him out there in a wild scene. Santana kept coming back though, and he caught Hansen with a drop toehold that sent the Lariat's face into the turnbuckle. Santana strung together a series of armdrags, hiptosses, and dropkicks before mounting the turnbuckles to hit Hansen with some elevated punches. He never got to 10 though like he was looking for because Hansen grabbed him and absolutely DRILLED him with a power bomb in the middle that got him the 3 count. An outstanding effort from Santana, but it just wasn't his night. Hansen knew he was in a battle, but he is still the champ.

Jumbo Tsuruta defeated Sgt. Slaughter by disqualification in 0:06:30.
Rating: ****

Jumbo Tsuruta is back on his own now after defeating his tag team partner Antonio Inoki in Inoki's last match before he headed back to Japan, Jumbo has his sights fully set on one thing - the World Heavyweight Title. He has a long way to go before he gets the title match he wants, and he started that road tonight against Sgt. Slaughter. Slaughter is in a transition pattern as well, out on his own for the first time in a long time, and he needs a big victory to get things going for him in a positive direction. Slaughter tried to assert his will on the Japanese superstar, but Jumbo has really picked up his game the last year and had an answer for everything that the Sarge threw at him. Slaughter became increasingly antsy when his offense kept getting bettered, and he answered it by grabbing an object out of his tights and clocked Jumbo with it, as blatant a disqualification as you'll ever see. Slaughter yelled at the crowd and bragged about what he had done (ignoring that he had just lost the match), and didn't see Jumbo getting back up behind him. Jumbo had a trickle of blood going down his face, and when he realized it, he snapped, nailing Slaughter with the Jumbo Knee and tossing him out of the ring to the floor. Is this the start of a new aggressive Jumbo Tsuruta? I should say so, as he has challenged Slaughter for a rematch in New Jersey, and he wants it to be a BOOT CAMP MATCH!

The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy) and B. Brian Blair defeated The Upstarts (Rick Martel and Terry Taylor) and Luke Graham when T. Gordy pinned Taylor with the Power Bomb in 0:12:59.
Rating: ***

The crowd was buzzing and excited to see Luke Graham get his hands on his ungrateful former protege' B. Brian Blair, and he had that chance in tonight's 6-man tag team contest. Blair wasn't going to make it easy though, as any time he would tag in the ring, if Graham tagged in, Blair would tag back out as quickly as possible. You could tell how upset Graham was getting, chomping at the bit to get his hands on Blair. He lost his cool completely though at one point when Blair tagged out, went to the floor, and started doing a jump rope work out. Graham tagged in Terry Taylor and then jumped to the floor, chasing Blair to the back. During the confusion, Terry Gordy hit his massive Power Bomb on Taylor to get the win for his team.

Bob Backlund defeated Dusty Rhodes by disqualification in 0:20:16.
Rating: *** 1/2
(Dusty Rhodes retained the GCW World Title.)

With every rematch Bob Backlund has gotten, he has inched closer and closer to besting Dusty Rhodes and regaining the World Title for the 3rd time. There was something in the air for this match and it felt like we were going to witness some history. Backlund was as focused as we've ever seen him, on point with all of his offense and making every move count. Rhodes had to kick it up a notch to stay in it, and he did just that by throwing around his weight and using his power to punish Backlund. Rhodes even got Backlund in the figure-four leglock that he used to beat Ric Flair last month, but Backlund got out of it and mounted a comeback. Backlund's knee was bugging him, but he blocked it out as he fired up on the American Dream, before ultimately getting him in the Crossface Chickenwing! The crowd was up on its feet anticipating a brand new champion. Rhodes struggled to get out of Backlund's grip, but it became obvious that he wasn't going to do so. Still, Backlund couldn't get Rhodes down on the mat which is when it is really game over. Just before Backlund finally got Rhodes down, the Dream deliberately poked referee Dick Kroll in the eye! Backlund brought Rhodes to the ground and locked a bodyscissors on while Kroll called for the bell. The crowd exploded thinking that they just witnessed Backlund win the title for a record-tying third time, but were livid when Howard Finkel announced Backlund as the winner… by disqualification! Backlund was absolutely stunned as he stared a hole through Kroll for his decision.

Rhodes rolled out of the ring and with the help of Bobby Duncum & Dick Murdoch, grabbed the World Title and headed to the back. Backlund meanwhile had cornered Kroll, yelling at him for making the DQ call. Backlund grabbed Kroll by the collar and looked like he was about to name the head referee when JIMMY SNUKA ran down to intervene, trying to stop Backlund before he got himself a huge fine or even a suspension. Snuka tried to talk some sense into Backlund, and Backlund did release Kroll, but he didn't leave until he violently shoved Snuka out of the way. Backlund's inability to regain the World Title is clearly causing him to break apart at the seams. Hopefully he gets it together soon before he really gets himself in trouble.

Card rating: ***

Match observations:

3/1/82 - THE MEADOWLANDS - East Rutherford, NJ

WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES - Bobby Duncum/Dick Murdoch (c) vs. The Wild Samoans
INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE - Stan Hansen (c) vs. Ricky Steamboat
Tony Atlas/Terry Funk vs. The Can-Am Strongmen
BOOT CAMP MATCH - Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Sgt. Slaughter
Tito Santana vs. Nick Bockwinkel

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