July 15, 1967 - Charlotte Coliseum - Charlotte, NC

Jack Brisco pinned Argentina Apollo after outside interference in 0:13:53.
Rating: **

The show kicked off with Jack Brisco stealing a victory from Argentina Apollo. It was a solid wrestling match that saw Brisco get the assist from an unidentified man who ran out of the crowd and shoved Apollo off the top rope which allowed Brisco to cradle him up and get the win. We still don't know the identity of this mystery man but Brisco has promised to reveal it soon.

Chief Jay Strongbow defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna when Baron Mikel Scicluna passed out in the Indian Deathlock in 0:04:29.
Rating: ***

Chief Jay Strongbow continues his dominant stretch in GCW with a quick and efficient win over Baron Mikel Scicluna. It is a wonder that Strongbow has yet to hold championship gold in GCW. If he gets the opportunity, that could change in a hurry.

The Firecrackers (Antonino Rocca and Miguel Perez) defeated The Golden Grahams (Dr. Jerry Graham and Eddie Graham) when Perez defeated E. Graham via pinfall in 0:03:49.
Rating: **

The Golden Grahams continue to not have the same success as their brother Luke, losing once again to Antonino Rocca & Miguel Perez in short order. Dr. Jerry & Eddie have grown increasingly frustrated which has led to them making perhaps an ill-advised challenge. They said that if they didn't beat Pedro Morales & Dominic DeNucci next month and win the World Tag Team Titles, they would leave GCW forever! The match has been set up, so it's put up or shut up time for the Golden Grahams.

Danny Hodge defeated Killer Kowalski when Killer Kowalski passed out in a sleeperhold in 0:06:13.
Rating: ***

Danny Hodge might not be the biggest dog in the fight, but he never lets up and keeps at you, often overwhelming his opponents with his deceptive strength. That's exactly what happened to Killer Kowalski as Hodge got him in a seemingly pedestrian sleeperhold, but his grip is so strong that Kowalski couldn't escape and he passed out, giving the win to Hodge.

Interview:
Dick the Bruiser & The Crusher want the World Tag Team Titles back.

As Pedro Morales & Dominic DeNucci were in the ring preparing for their tag title defense against Gene Kiniski & The Sheik, Dick the Bruiser & The Crusher came out to talk to them. They said they never lost the tag team titles and it should be them defending the gold tonight. They challenged Morales & DeNucci to put the titles on the line against them. Morales & DeNucci had no problem accepting the challenge and said they'd be happy to prove to everyone that they deserve to be the World Tag Team champions.

Pedro Morales and Dominic DeNucci defeated Gene Kiniski and The Sheik when Morales pinned Kiniski after hitting him with the title belt in 0:27:41.
Rating: ***
(Pedro Morales and Dominic DeNucci retained the GCW World Tag Team Titles.)
[Abdullah Farouk interfered against Dominic DeNucci.]

It wasn't easy, but Pedro Morales & Dominic DeNucci are still the World Tag Team champions. Abdullah Farouk had warned his men, and particularly Gene Kiniski that they better bring him the tag titles or else. Kiniski & The Sheik put a beatdown on the champs for a good portion of this match, and it looked like Kiniski had this match won when he hit the Backbreaker on Morales while referee Danny Bartfield was down. Kiniski wanted to go for a pinfall, but Farouk slid in one of the tag team titles and instructed Kiniski to smash Morales with it. Kiniski hesitated as he didn't feel it necessary, but Farouk going out of his mind yelling at Kiniski to do it. Kiniski grabbed the title but was kicked in the midsection by Morales, who grabbed the title and jacked Kiniski in the jaw with it. Morales made the cover and got the 1-2-3. After the match as Kiniski was trying to regain his bearings, Farouk yelled at him for losing the match. Farouk took it too far though when he slapped Kiniski across the face. Kiniski snapped and grabbed him, dropping his manager with the Backbreaker! The Sheik had already left as Kiniski picked up his now clearly former manager and hit him with three more Backbreakers! Kiniski has had enough, and the plague that was Abdullah Farouk is finally gone from GCW.

Lou Albano defeated Edouard Carpentier by countout in 0:07:23.
Rating: * 1/4
[Johnny Valentine interfered against Edouard Carpentier.]

Lou Albano has finally gotten into the win column, and I'm sure he's very proud of it too. Albano took on former US champion Edouard Carpentier in a match that the former gymnast dominated. However, JOHNNY VALENTINE made sure that Albano would get the win, pulling Carpentier to the floor and bodyslamming him on the concrete! Albano took his "epic victory" by countout and is now claiming to be a superstar. …Yikes. Carpentier is none too happy and wants a piece of Johnny Valentine. He'll get that chance on August 12th in Philadelphia.

Dory Funk Jr. defeated Ernie Ladd when Ernie Ladd passed out in the Spinning Toe Hold in 0:08:55.
Rating: *** 1/2
[Jack Davis interfered against Dory Funk Jr..]

Dory Funk Jr. has hit a rough patch recently, but he fixed that when he got a win tonight over the man who was nearly the World champion, Ernie Ladd. Funk's deadly Spinning Toe Hold proved the difference as he picked up the win on the big cat. Rumor has it that Funk is looking to enter the tag division, but no word yet on who his partner may be.

Hiro Matsuda and Luke Graham defeated Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba when L. Graham pinned Inoki with the Thumb to the Throat in 0:17:43.
Rating: *** 1/4

Antonio Inoki & Giant Baba joined forces to take on Hiro Matsuda & Luke Graham. We know that Graham has hired Lou Albano to officially be his manager as Albano is amassing quite an impressive stable of wrestlers. The hire of Albano looks to be a good one as the team Matsuda & Graham took the win in this brutal hard-hitting affair. Graham was able to pin the US champion Inoki and will challenge the Japanese star for gold in Philadelphia.

Bobo Brazil pinned Johnny Valentine with the Coco Butt in 0:17:33.
Rating: ** 1/2
(Bobo Brazil retained the GCW World Title.)
[Lou Albano interfered against Bobo Brazil.]

It had been a highly successful night for Lou Albano, and the topper would have been Johnny Valentine defeating Bobo Brazil for the World Title. Easy in concept, harder in practice. Valentine is the better technical wrestler, but that doesn't do you much good when Brazil is bouncing you all over the canvas. The main event ends with Brazil retaining the World Title.

Card rating: ** 3/4

Match observations:

We return to Philadelphia, PA for GCW action on August 12th, with the following matches signed thus far:

UNITED STATES TITLE - Antonio Inoki (c) vs. Luke Graham
WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES - Pedro Morales/Dominic DeNucci (c) vs. The Golden Grahams
Giant Baba vs. Hiro Matsuda
Edouard Carpentier vs. Johnny Valentine
Chief Jay Strongbow vs. Ernie Ladd
Antonino Rocca/Miguel Perez vs. Jack Brisco/???

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