Bruiser Brody pinned Dean Ho with the Bombs Away in 0:07:43.
Rating: **
We kicked off our show in Baltimore with the dangerous Bruiser Brody taking on Dean Ho. You almost felt bad for Dean Ho a bit. He went into the fight bravely, but Brody is a savage, plain and simple. Ho was overmatched by Brody's brawling and it wasn't long before he ate a face full of the Bombs Away to take the loss.
Interview:
Luke & Mike Graham challenge Bruiser Brody & The Grand Wizard.
After Brody's dismantling of Dean Ho, he and The Grand Wizard were confronted by LUKE GRAHAM & MIKE GRAHAM. The Grahams tossed out a challenge, saying that this wasn't over yet and they wanted a match against Bruiser Brody… AND The Grand Wizard! The fans loved the thought of Luke Graham getting his hands on The Grand Wizard, but the flamboyant manager was noncommital as he took Brody to the back.
Dominic DeNucci and Dino Bravo defeated The Russians (Ivan Koloff and Nikolai Volkoff) when Bravo pinned Volkoff after an airplane spin in 0:05:31.
Rating: **
It looks like Dino Bravo found his brand new tag team partner, and it's hard to find a better one than one of the greatest tag team wrestlers of all time, DOMINIC DENUCCI! DeNucci is a former 3-time tag team champion, doing so with 3 different partners (Pedro Morales, Victor Rivera, and Tony Garea), and it looks like he wants to make a run at a fourth. Bravo & DeNucci worked in perfect sync, like a team that has been together for years. This is a testament to the skill and experience of DeNucci. The Russians are no pushovers by any means, but Bravo & DeNucci handled them and grabbed the win. Lou Albano was fuming after the loss and says they only didn't win because they had no idea DeNucci would be here. He wants a rematch, and has asked for it on April 16 from Uniondale, NY.
Peter Maivia defeated Billy Graham by disqualification in 0:09:05.
Rating: ** 1/4
"Superstar" Billy Graham has taken not being the #1 contender for the World Title well, taking it out on Peter Maivia tonight. Maivia is no pushover, but he couldn't get much momentum going as Graham kept cutting him off with dangerous power moves. Finally Graham stopped listening to the instructions of Tommy Young and got himself disqualified for it. Maivia had to be helped to the back afterwards.
Don Muraco defeated Jimmy Snuka by referee stoppage in 0:12:05.
Rating: *** 1/2
Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka was told by doctors that he shouldn't wrestle in this match thanks to his knee injury, but he wanted desperately to get his hands on Don Muraco, the man who caused him the injury in the first place. Not only that, but Muraco deceived Snuka last month to aid Terry Funk, so the Superfly wasn't going to let anything get in his way. Though Snuka has guts, wrestling this match may not have been the best idea. He fought as hard as he could, but Muraco targeted that knee time after time to the point that Snuka couldn't put any pressure on it. Referee Willie Webber had to make a tough call, but he stopped this match to prevent Snuka from suffering a serious injury. Despite these knee problems, Snuka has agreed to face Muraco on April 15 in Uniondale, NY in a streetfight!
Mike Graham defeated Johnny Rodz by disqualification in 0:07:24.
Rating: ** 1/4
[Bruiser Brody interfered against Mike Graham.]
It looks like Bruiser Brody & The Grand Wizard answered the challenge of the Grahams in a huge way. A few minutes into Mike Graham's match against Johnny Rodz, Brody jumped in the ring and blasted Graham in the face with a big boot. Graham won the match by DQ, but he had bigger problems as Brody was beaten the hell out of him. Luke Graham eventually made the save, but not before Brody had destroyed Mike with a steel chair. It looks like Mike Graham is going to miss some ring time, and now Luke won't have a partner if Brody & The Grand Wizard accept the challenge.
The Brisco Brothers (Jerry Brisco and Jack Brisco) defeated The Blackjacks (Blackjack Lanza and Blackjack Mulligan) when Jack Brisco defeated Lanza by disqualification in 0:16:36.
Rating: * 1/2
(The Blackjacks retained the GCW World Tag Team Titles.)
[Tim Woods and Mr. Wrestling II interfered against The Brisco Brothers.]
The Brisco Brothers got screwed out of the World Tag Team Titles! I don't know any other way to put it than that. Jack & Jerry earned a shot at the titles, currently held by the Blackjacks, and they had the titles within their grasp. It was a tough, grueling match, but it seemed a sure thing that the Briscos would win when they had Lanza & Mulligan in stero Figure-Four Leglocks in the middle of the ring, when TIM WOODS and a returning MR. WRESTLING II stormed the ring to break it up, causing the most blatant of disqualifications! It was shocking to see Woods & Wrestling II back together, especially the way that the team originally broke up when Woods was Mr. Wrestling I. They're back on the same page now, and that page apparently is all about beating the trash out of Jack & Jerry Brisco! Officials pulled the reunited team away, but the damage had been done - both physically, and in costing the Briscos championship gold. The battle between Jack Brisco & Tim Woods rages on, and now more are involved.
Bob Backlund pinned Hiro Matsuda with the Atomic Drop in 0:06:20.
Rating: *** 3/4
[Arnold Skaaland interfered against Hiro Matsuda.]
Arnold Skaaland showed in this match why he is a great manager for Bob Backlund. Backlund was taking on Hiro Matsuda in a rematch from last show, and Matsuda was determined not to have a repeat performance from last time. Matsuda had a plan, and that plan was to throw salt in the eyes of Backlund to blind him. Only problem was, Skaaland saw what he was trying to do and hit Matsuda's hands back into his face, causing the salt to go in Matsuda's eyes instead! After that, the Atomic Drop was academic. Backlund remains undefeated.
Interview:
Stan Hansen calls out Bobby Duncum.
Stan "The Lariat" Hansen came out for an intense interview where he called Bobby Duncum out. Hansen said that the fact that Duncum had to use a cowbell to beat him shows how scared he is of the Lariat. Hansen finished by saying if Duncum was any kind of a man, he would face him again and not resort to such cheap cheating tactics.
[BOOT CAMP MATCH]: Loser-Leaves-Town Match:
Gorilla Monsoon pinned Sgt. Slaughter after a splash in 0:15:24.
Rating: ** 1/4
The rules of the Boot Camp Match were very simple - there were no rules! No countouts, no disqualifications, come dress as you are. If that wasn't dangerous enough, Gorilla Monsoon & Sgt. Slaughter both put their careers on the line, so the loser would have to pack their bags and leave GCW. The hatred between these two men has grown to that, and thus this town wasn't big enough for the both of them. Slaughter showed how ruthless he can be by bloodying Monsoon's face up with a screwdriver of all things, which is just sadistic. Monsoon kept fighting though, not wanting to let this young punk end his career. Monsoon is very much beloved by GCW fans, but long time fans remember that Monsoon started his GCW as one of the most heartless and vicious rulebreakers we've ever had. Monsoon still has that in him, and he showed it here, taking care of Slaughter with a splash. As a result, Slaughter will have to leave GCW immediately, and for his sake, I hope he works on that attitude of his if he ever hopes to return.
Jumbo Tsuruta pinned Dory Funk Jr. with the Jumbo Knee in 0:14:30.
Rating: **** 1/4
(Jumbo Tsuruta retained the GCW World Title.)
Jumbo Tsuruta shocked the world in the Garden by ending the lengthy World Title reign of Harley Race and running him out of town, but he had no time to rest on his laurels as he had a huge title defense against Dory Funk Jr., a bonafied superstar in Dory Funk Jr., who has done it all - except win the GCW World Title. Despite not crossing paths in GCW, Jumbo & Dory are quite familiar with each other, as the World champion has trained with Dory Sr. down in Amarillo, TX. Dory had a hand in this training, and it looked early on like he was going to school Jumbo and make the title reign one of the shortest in GCW history. Jumbo showed he learned a few tricks of his own and fought back tooth and nail, wanting to earn the respect of not only Dory Jr., but the wrestling world, many of whom still feel that Tsuruta is an unworthy champion. Jumbo fought hard, but it looked like he was going to fall victim to the Texas Cloverleaf. However, as Dory knocked Jumbo down, he knocked him into referee Dick Kroll, stunning him. During this time, BILLY GRAHAM ran out and blasted Dory in the face with a big boot! After that, Jumbo (who didn't see the attack) recovered and hit the Jumbo Knee to get the 1-2-3. Word has it that when Jumbo found out what Billy Graham had done, he was furious. Regardless, he is still the World champion.
Card rating: ***
Match observations:
Our next show will be in April on the 16th from the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY! Here's what the lineup is looking like thus far:
BATTLE ROYAL - Winner receives a World Title shot on 5/3/77
STREETFIGHT - Jimmy Snuka vs. Don Muraco
The Brisco Brothers vs. Tim Woods/Mr. Wrestling II
Dino Bravo/Dominic DeNucci vs. The Russians
