June 27, 1972 - Charlotte Coliseum - Charlotte, NC

Billy White Wolf defeated Gene Anderson when Gene Anderson passed out in the Indian Deathlock in 0:09:28.
Rating: *** 1/2

In the opening match of the evening, Billy White Wolf got the better of Gene Anderson thanks to his Indian Deathlock. The fall from grace of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew continues.

Gorilla Monsoon made Ole Anderson submit to the Airplane Spin in 0:07:13.
Rating: ** 1/4

And again in this match. The Minnesota Wrecking Crew are grasping at straws to try to turn their fortunes around, but wrestling an extremely irritated Gorilla Monsoon is not the way to do that. After being double-crossed by Jimmy Snuka, Monsoon was a madman, and Ole Anderson got the brunt of it here, getting blitzed before he could even get started. Once Monsoon got on the Airplane Spin, that was that. I wouldn't want to be Jimmy Snuka or Bobby Heenan right now.

The High Flyers (Jim Brunzell and Greg Gagne) defeated Bill Watts and Johnny Valentine when Brunzell pinned Watts with the Dropkick in 0:22:54.
Rating: ***

This was make or break time for Bill Watts. The former World champion promised that if he was beaten by either Greg Gagne or Jim Brunzell in this tag match, he would leave Global Championship Wrestling forever. Johnny Valentine's career was not on the line, and he had trouble getting Watts to settle down. Watts was so amped up and wrestled a good portion of this match by himself since he had so much at stake. You could tell that Valentine was getting progressively more fed up with Watts, and the chemistry that made them 3-time former tag team champions was nowhere to be seen. The High Flyers were more than happy to take advantage of this when Brunzell plastered Watts right underneath the jaw with a picture perfect Dropkick to get the pin. As per the pre-match stipulations, Bill Watts will have to leave GCW. The fans in Charlotte were ecstatic to see that Watts will no longer be in GCW, but one man who was not as happy was Johnny Valentine. Valentine showed his displeasure by dropping Watts with a piledriver in the center of the ring! Valentine wasn't done as he cleared off the timekeeper's table and brought Watts up on it, looking to piledrive the Cowboy through it! Watts hasn't endeared himself to many people in his GCW tenure, but he certainly didn't deserve this. Luckily for Watts, he received help from an unexpected source as BRUNO SAMMARTINO ran down and attacked Valentine, sending him retreating to the back. Bruno & Watts used to be best friends, but when Watts turned his back on Bruno, they engaged in one of the bloodiest feuds we have ever seen. In a great show of respect, Bruno & Watts shook hands to a standing ovation. This was a fantastic moment, and a tremendous send-off to Watts' great GCW career.

Interview:
Bobby Heenan explains how he acquired the services of Jimmy Snuka.

Before his match with Jerry Lawler, Jimmy Snuka and his new manager Bobby Heenan gave a brief interview. Heenan said the reason Snuka joined the Heenan Family was very simple - money. By aligning himself with Heenan, Snuka has sped up his ascent to the top by years - according to Heenan, of course.

Jimmy Snuka pinned Jerry Lawler with the Superfly Splash in 0:09:53.
Rating: *** 1/2
[Bobby Heenan interfered against Jerry Lawler.]

You may not like his methods, but so far, it's hard to argue with Bobby Heenan's results. The Heenan Family got that much stronger with the addition of Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, who took on another impressive rookie, Jerry "The King" Lawler. These two could very well be the future of wrestling, and they put on a strong showing for the fans in Charlotte. It would be a trip from Heenan though that would make all the difference, allowing Snuka to hit the Superfly Splash to get the pinfall victory. So far, this partnership is paying dividends for both men. Snuka still has to face Gorilla Monsoon sooner or later though.

Mr. Fuji and Toru Tanaka defeated Dominic DeNucci and Tony Garea when Fuji pinned Garea with the Thrust Kick in 0:18:00.
Rating: *** 1/4
(Mr. Fuji and Toru Tanaka retained the GCW World Tag Team Titles.)
[Baron Von Raschke interfered against Tony Garea.]

Dominic DeNucci & Tony Garea had a huge opportunity, earning a World Tag Team Title match in only their second match as a team, and they subsequently got screwed out of it by Baron Mikel Scilcuna & Baron Von Raschke! DeNucci & Garea seem to have a natural chemistry together, and they were keeping up with the tag champs move for move until LOU ALBANO and his cronies got involved. Still fuming over their countout loss in Toronto, Albano distracted the referee which allowed Baron Von Raschke to enter the ring and lock the Claw on Garea! DeNucci tried to make the save, but Scicluna jumped on the ring apron and threw him into the ring post before any save could happen. Raschke exited the ring, leaving Garea woozy and prone to the Thrust Kick from Fuji and a successful, albeit dirty, title defense for the Japanese duo. After the match, Lou Albano tried to buddy up to the champions, but received a face full of salt in his eyes for his troubles! Fuji & Tanaka bailed before the Barons could get to them, but it looks like their help was not appreciated. The Barons will get a crack at the tag titles on July 19 in Madison Square Garden.

Chief Jay Strongbow pinned Stan Stasiak after a piledriver in 0:10:35.
Rating: -1/4*

Chief Jay Strongbow has been on a roll in singles competition as of late, and that rolled chugged along as he picked up a good win over Stan "The Man" Stasiak. With the recent success of both he and Billy White Wolf, it might only be a matter of time before one or both of them is wearing gold around their waists.

Pedro Morales defeated Wahoo McDaniel when Wahoo McDaniel passed out in the Boston Crab in 0:22:54.
Rating: ** 3/4

The partnership of Wahoo McDaniel & Pedro Morales was extremely short lived, as they couldn't even make it through one match earlier this month. Morales is walking around with a chip on his shoulder from not winning the World Title and has decided to take his frustrations out on the United States champion, who has made it crystal clear that he's not too keen on foreigners. Morales, like him or not, is a proud Puerto Rican, and wanted to take a piece out of Wahoo tonight. And Wahoo, like him or not, is a tremendous competitor, and went back and forth with Morales in this non-title match. Morales had more to gain from this than Wahoo did, and that extra motivation allowed Morales to lock on the Boston Crab. McDaniel held out as best as he could, but the pain overwhelmed him and he passed out in the hold, causing referee Terry Taranova to award the match to Morales. Pedro Morales has now earned himself a shot at the US Title and that will take place at Madison Square Garden.

The Cripplers (Nick Bockwinkel and Ray Stevens) defeated Crusher & Bruiser (The Crusher and Dick the Bruiser) when Bockwinkel defeated Bruiser by disqualification in 0:26:02.
Rating: ** 3/4
[Bobby Heenan interfered against Dick the Bruiser.]

Bobby Heenan is making a big stir in GCW in his short time here, managing the careers of Ray Stevens, Nick Bockwinkel, and now Jimmy Snuka. He is also making himself a lot of enemies in the process, including the Cripplers' opponents tonight, Dick the Bruiser & The Crusher. Bruiser & Crusher showed a surprising amount of restraint and tried to make this a wrestling match early on, but as the match progressed, it slowly degenerated into a pier six brawl. When Bruiser got a hold of his famous steel chain, the match officially was out of control. Bruiser got disqualified when he busted Bockwinkel open with the chain, but he and Crusher didn't seem to care too much. When it was all said and done, Stevens & Bockwinkel were both wearing the crimson mask. Due to the events of the event, GCW officials have determined that this feud needs to be settled before it gets even more out of control than it already has. To settle it, a STEEL CAGE match has been signed to take place ASAP at MSG to hopefully settle this dispute.

Luke Graham pinned Ernie Ladd with the Thumb to the Throat in 0:11:55.
Rating: ** 3/4
[The Grand Wizard interfered against Luke Graham.]

After getting himself disqualified on June 1 against Luke Graham, Ernie Ladd wanted a rematch under the guise that Graham didn't actually pin him. Graham was more than happy to rectify that situation by getting a hard fought pinfall victory after the Thumb to the Throat. Not a good night so far for the Grand Wizard, but that could all turn around in a huge way in our main event.

Bruno Sammartino defeated Billy Graham by referee stoppage when Billy Graham passed out in the Sammartino Backbreaker in 0:24:41.
Rating: **** 1/4
(Bruno Sammartino retained the GCW World Title.)
[Arnold Skaaland interfered against Billy Graham.]

Billy Graham fell just short of winning the World Title in Toronto, but impressed officials enough that he was granted a rematch against Bruno Sammartino in our main event, and the World Heavyweight Title was on the line. The Grand Wizard had Graham well prepared for the rematch, sing what he learned from the first match and making some adjustments. As a result, Bruno had a far more difficult time than he did the first time around. Billy Graham may very well be the strongest man in wrestling, and it has been awhile since we saw anyone overpower the World champion like this. Graham systematically took Bruno apart, but if there is one thing we've learned about Bruno from all of these years is that he can take an almost superhuman amount of punishment. That is exactly what happened here as he continued to fight back before eventually locking on the Sammartino Backbreaker in a tremendous feat of strength. To the Superstar's credit, he never submitted, but when he stopped defending himself, senior referee Dick Kroll had no choice but to call for the bell. Sammartino retains his championship, but Billy Graham certainly has a case in requesting a rematch.

Card rating: ** 3/4

Match observations:

On July 19, GCW returns home to Madison Square Garden, and the card is massive!

WORLD TITLE - Bruno Sammartino (c) vs. Johnny Valentine
UNITED STATES TITLE - Wahoo McDaniel (c) vs. Pedro Morales
WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES - Mr. Fuji/Toru Tanaka (c) vs. Baron Mikel Scicluna/Baron Von Raschke
STEEL CAGE MATCH - Dick the Bruiser/The Crusher vs. The Cripplers
Gorilla Monsoon vs. Jimmy Snuka

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