Gorilla Monsoon and Mike Graham defeated Tim Woods and Mr. Wrestling II when Monsoon pinned T. Woods after a splash in 0:07:29.
Rating: *** 1/4
Mike Graham returned from his elbow injury and was back teaming with Gorilla Monsoon to take on Tim Woods & Mr. Wrestling II. The tag division in GCW is as good as it has been in quite some time and this match showcased that. Monsoon knows that he's closer to the end of his career than the beginning and wants to make one more serious run at a championship. This is a good first step as he and Graham defeated the former World Tag Team champions in impressive fashion.
Peter Maivia pinned Johnny Rodz after a Thesz press in 0:06:55.
Rating: *** 1/4
Johnny Rodz showed a meanstreak last show that we hadn't seen out of him in quite some time, but all it did was raise the ire of "High Chief" Peter Maivia. Rodz still had that aggression, but not as much as Maivia who takes the win in Chicago.
[CHICAGO STREETFIGHT]: No-Countout-No-DQ-Match:
Dino Bravo pinned Larry Zbyszko with the Side Suplex in 0:12:30.
Rating: ***
This situation between Dino Bravo & Larry Zbyszko has been brewing for months, and it finally came to a head in violent fashion in this Chicago Streetfight. The rules were simple - come dressed as you are and everything goes. And needless to say, everything did go. Months of pent up frustration on the part of Bravo bubbled to the surface as he finally got a chance to get his hands on Zbyszko, no questions asked. Bravo dominated Zbyszko early on, and it wasn't long into the match before a huge cut was opened up over Zbyszko's eye. It looked like this was going to be a squash but Zbyszko turned the tide with a low blow. The ruthless nature of Zbyszko came out as he saw his opportunity to take out his former partner for good, and that's what he tried to do. Zbyszko was looking to break Bravo's arm just as he had broken Dominic DeNucci's arm. He looked possessed as he brought the onslaught, but Bravo refused to stay down. Zbyszko had grabbed a chair to use on Bravo's arm, but Bravo got the chair away from him and nailed Zbyszko right between the eyes! Zbyszko was down but Bravo kept obliterating him with the chair, his eyes glazed over with rage. Bravo picked Zbyszko up and planted him with the Side Suplex as the final nail in the coffin, getting the 3 count and his redemption.
Chief Jay Strongbow and Billy White Wolf and The Heenan Family (Blackjack Lanza and Blackjack Mulligan) battled to a double countout in 0:09:31.
Rating: * 1/2
Chief Jay Strongbow & Billy White Wolf and the Blackjacks went at it again, and it again showcased the competitive nature of the tag division. We didn't get to see who was the better team here as the match spilled into the crowd and ended in a double countout. When the fight was separated, the Blackjacks ended up back in the ring with their manager Bobby Heenan, who looked highly distracted. Lanza & Mulligan questioned Heenan and complained that he has been lacking as their manager for the past several weeks and wanted a change. Heenan eventually snapped and called the Blackjacks a couple of bums before publically quitting! The Blackjacks seemed taken aback and watched Heenan walk to the back.
Bob Backlund pinned Rene Goulet after a powerslam in 0:07:51.
Rating: ** 1/2
Bob Backlund's quest to win the World Title seems to have hit a major hurdle with Harley Race winning the championship. Backlund had Billy Graham in his sights, but with Graham suspended, word has it that Race wants nothing to do with Backlund. This has only made Backlund more determined, and he took it out on Rene Goulet. Backlund wrestled a different style of match tonight, more aggressive and power based than we are used to. He capped it off by hitting a powerslam to get the 3. Backlund grabbed the microphone after and the normally soft spoken Backlund said he was coming after the World Title, whether Race likes it or not.
Don Muraco and Great Kabuki defeated Dusty Rhodes and Ivan Koloff when Muraco pinned Dusty Rhodes with the Tombstone in 0:09:28.
Rating: **
"Classy" Freddie Blassie is compiling talent in a hurry. He started with Great Kabuki from Japan, and at our last show, he added Don Muraco. We found out in this tag team match that he wasn't done with his signings. Blassie's primary target thus far in his managerial career Dusty Rhodes, but Rhodes had himself some backup in his friend "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff. The friendship that has built between Rhodes & Koloff has been a wonderful story, something we rarely get to see in a business that is so filled with treachery. Which makes what happened in this match all the more disturbing to see. Rhodes was in the match for the entirity as he got jumped before the bell rang and was constantly fighting just to survive. So when Rhodes got Kabuki down with a huge Bionic Elbow and crawled over to tag Koloff, he thought he would find sanctuary in a close friend. Instead, he found a turncoat as Koloff jumped down to the floor, leaving the Dream high and dry! The look of hurt on Rhodes' face said it all before he got scooped up and dropped with the Tombstone by Don Muraco. To make this even worse for Rhodes, he got to watch as Koloff hugged Blassie. It was a setup all along!
Bobby Duncum pinned Bruiser Brody with the Full Nelson Slam in 0:10:27.
Rating: **
We thought the Bobby Duncum/Bruiser Brody issue was going to come to an end last month, but Brody didn't show up for undisclosed reasons. This match started off innocently enough (as innocent as a match between Duncum & Brody can, that is) but it became clear this was highly personal. It looked like Brody was taking cheap shots at Duncum, who returned the shots in kind. The match was getting carried away as Duncum & Brody were just tearing into each other. Eventually Duncum got the pin with the Full Nelson Slam. Afterward, Brody got up right after the bell and simply stormed to the back. This was a highly unusual situation indeed.
The Gunslingers (Dory Funk Jr., Stan Hansen and Terry Funk) defeated The Brisco Brothers (Jerry Brisco and Jack Brisco) and Pat Patterson when Hansen pinned Jerry Brisco after a gutwrench suplex in 0:15:22.
Rating: ***
Whether we like it or not, the Gunslingers are a force to be reckoned with. They control two of the three championships in GCW, and they are three highly motivated wrestlers. All three feel like they're not getting any respect and have banded together to get that respect. Three men who don't care much for this quest for respect are the Brisco Brothers & Pat Patterson. These three want their titles back and getting a win in this six man tag would go a long way in making that happen. Unfortunately they weren't all on the same page as they let their personal issues with the Gunslingers get in the way of trying to win the match. While Stan Hansen was in the ring with Jerry Brisco, Jerry was inching over to get the tag from one of his partners. Problem was, Jack Brisco & Pat Patterson were arguing over who would get in the ring, mostly because Patterson wants to get his hands on the IC champion in the worst way. Unfortunately for their team, this left Jerry to fend for himself where he ate a hard gutwrench suplex and a loss. If the Briscos & Patterson want to get their titles back, they're going to need to get on the same page.
Harley Race pinned Jumbo Tsuruta with the Piledriver in 0:16:34.
Rating: ****
(Harley Race retained the GCW World Title.)
Jumbo Tsuruta wanted to become the second man to hold the World Title three times, but to do so, he was going to have to overcome Harley Race. Not only Race, but he'd have to contend with Race's new entourage of Ric Flair & Roddy Piper. Jumbo had a great gameplan in mind, but that went out the window when Flair & Piper came down to ringside. They weren't getting directly involved, but their presence was clearly distracting the challenger. Still, Jumbo had victory in his grasp after a power bomb and was all set to hit the Jumbo Knee. But before he could, Piper reached in and grabbed his foot! Jumbo kicked him away, but this momentary distraction let Race club Jumbo from behind and hit him with the Piledriver. It went from bad to worse for Tsuruta as Flair & Piper jumped in the ring to beat down Jumbo. With 3-on-1 odds, it looked bleak for Jumbo before BOB BACKLUND came down to turn the tide! Backlund and a rejuvenated Jumbo sent the rulebreakers sprawling from the ring and stood tall to end the show.
Card rating: ** 3/4
Match observations:
It'll be a great night in Detroit for our next show, taking place on April 15 from the Cobo Arena!
MAIN EVENT - Harley Race/Ric Flair/Roddy Piper vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Bob Backlund/MYSTERY PARTNER
WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES - The Funk Brothers (c) vs. The Brisco Brothers
INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE - Stan Hansen (c) vs. Pat Patterson
Dusty Rhodes/Chief Jay Strongbow/Billy White Wolf vs. Great Kabuki/Don Muraco/Ivan Koloff