November 1, 1969 - Madison Square Garden - New York, NY

Thunderbolt Patterson pinned Boris Malenko with the Thunderbolt Right in 0:12:03.
Rating: ** 1/4

Thunderbolt Patterson took a trip to the pay window in our opener with a hard fought win over Boris Malenko. Patterson has had a solid rookie year and with a few more good wins under his belt, he could be in title contention in 1970.

Tim Woods made Tony Altimore submit to an armbar submission in 0:02:59.
Rating: **

Tim Woods keeps winning and Tony Altimore keeps losing with Woods dominant submission win tonight. To make matters worse for Altimore, he was attacked by BARON MIKEL SCICLUNA after the match before officials broke it up. Altimore may just be a lost cause.

The Minnesota Wrecking Crew (Gene Anderson and Ole Anderson) defeated Dominic DeNucci and Victor Rivera when O. Anderson defeated DeNucci by disqualification in 0:11:14.
Rating: **
[Wahoo McDaniel interfered against Ole Anderson.]

Even with Wahoo McDaniel & Chief Jay Strongbow defeating the Minnesota Wrecking Crew in that brutal Chicago Streetfight back in September and their winning of the World Tag Team Titles last month, the Native Americans are still harboring hard feelings toward the Andersons. It's hard to blame them really. Wahoo & Strongbow took this opportunity tonight while the MWC was wrestling Dominic DeNucci & Victor Rivera to give them a receipt, leading to the fan favorite team getting disqualified. The champs seemed possessed as they pounded away at Gene & Ole to the point where DeNucci & Rivera had to physically pull Wahoo & Strongbow away, something the champs were not very happy about. Wahoo & Strongbow apologized to DeNucci & Rivera, telling them they got carried away. All four men shook hands, but what got into the tag champions here? Hopefully it's a one time occurrence.

Nick Bockwinkel made Miguel Perez submit to a front facelock in 0:12:10.
Rating: ** 3/4

Nick Bockwinkel continued to show that new intense attitude of his with what has to be qualified as a mauling of Miguel Perez. Perez took Bockwinkel off-balance early with his quick wrestling style, but once Bockwinkel grounded him, the beating he gave the Puerto Rican was vicious. Bockwinkel gets the win after dropping Perez on his head and essentially choking him out with a front facelock.

Dory Funk Jr. pinned Baron Mikel Scicluna after a waistlock suplex in 0:12:56.
Rating: ***
[Jack Brisco interfered against Dory Funk Jr..]

Dory Funk Jr. took a singles match tonight against Baron Mikel Scicluna, and as you would imagine, the royal from Malta's luck did not change as Funk took him down with a waistlock suplex in a competitive match. Much like Scicluna did to him earlier, after the match TONY ALTIMORE jumped Scicluna and tossed him into the guardrail before officials broke it up. These two are ridiculous.

Chief Jay Strongbow and Wahoo McDaniel defeated The Brisco Brothers (Jerry Brisco and Jack Brisco) when Strongbow made Jerry Brisco submit to a figure-four leglock in 0:21:10.
Rating: *** 1/2
(Chief Jay Strongbow and Wahoo McDaniel retained the GCW World Tag Team Titles.)

There is no question that Wahoo McDaniel & Chief Jay Strongbow have become more aggressive in recent months, as evidenced by their assault on the Minnesota Wrecking Crew earlier in the show. They didn't lose any of that aggressiveness in their first title defense against the Brisco Brothers. Jack & Jerry were at their best though as they have been petitioning for this title shot for weeks. The Briscos left it all out in the ring, but they couldn't do enough to counter the Native Americans' wide array of leg submissions. They systematically worked the legs of both Briscos before getting Jerry to submit in a figure-four leglock. The title reign of Wahoo & Strongbow gets off to a great start. They will have the Andersons to contend with next in Charlotte on November 29th.

Ray Stevens pinned Terry Funk with the Bombs Away Kneedrop in 0:14:18.
Rating: ***

Terry Funk was looking to match his brother's success tonight with a win in singles competition, but he had a tough adversary in the form of "The Crippler" Ray Stevens. Say what you want about him, but Stevens is a very smart wrestler. He knew Terry Funk was a bit of a wildcard in the ring, and he used that to his advantage. Stevens played a lot of defense until Funk made a mistake, running at Stevens in the corner for a shoulder to the midsection. The Crippler moved and Funk's shoulder cracked the steel post. Stevens brought Funk down with an armbreaker and hit the Bombs Away Kneedrop to pick up the duke.

Ernie Ladd pinned Pedro Morales after a clothesline in 0:20:49.
Rating: * 3/4

This was Pedro Morales' first singles match back since his well publicized jaw injury back in July, and he might as well had a bullseye on his face. Ernie Ladd is a tough enough opponent when you're 100% healthy - if you're recovering from an injury, the odds are almost insurmountable. Ladd focused his attack on Morales' jaw with every move he could think of. Morales held his own, giving as much as he was receiving, but the King's targeted assault on his jaw was too much to overcome as Ladd rocked him under the chin with a big clothesline to get the pin. Maybe Morales came back a little too early and should take some more time off, but that's not really in Morales' makeup. Morales has challenged Ladd to a rematch for Charlotte, and for added incentive, the match will be to determine the top contender for the United States Title!

The Sheik pinned Gorilla Monsoon after a short lariat in 0:16:23.
Rating: -* 1/4
[The Princess interfered against Gorilla Monsoon.]

The Sheik for some reason has decided that Gorilla Monsoon deserves to be put through torture, and that's what he tried to do in this match as they locked horns again. Let's not forget though that Monsoon is a 400-pound monster and can dish out some punishment of his own. Monsoon had a great time bouncing The Sheik around the ring like a bouncy ball until The Princess got involved and tripped Monsoon up when he hit the ropes. It didn't make Monsoon fall over, but it took his attention away from The Sheik who nailed a short lariat that rock Monsoon enough to get the 1-2-3. The Sheik wasn't content with the win alone though and went to stab Monsoon with a pencil after the match, but Monsoon blocked it, got the pencil away from The Sheik and jabbed him in the eye with it! The Sheik ran to the back bleeding and shrieking in pain. Sometimes you reap what you sew.

Crusher & Bruiser (The Crusher and Dick the Bruiser) and Luke Graham defeated Bill Watts, Gene Kiniski and Johnny Valentine when L. Graham pinned Watts with the Thumb to the Throat in 0:44:04.
Rating: ****
[Lou Albano interfered against Johnny Valentine.]
[Lou Albano interfered against Bill Watts.]

The crowd exploded when in our main event the mystery partner of Gene Kiniski & Bill Watts turned out to be US champion Johnny Valentine! Watts & Valentine are former 3-time tag team champions and it was a great moment to see them reunite, even if just for one night. World champion Luke Graham is still nursing that neck injury and spent most of the match on the apron while Dick the Bruiser & The Crusher did most of the dirty work. Graham would sneak in the ring for a shot or two but then quickly tag back out. This worked for awhile but the match was essentially 3-on-2 for much of it, a distinct disadvantage for Lou Albano's charges. Albano always has a plan though, and tonight's involved Bruiser & Crusher drawing Kiniski & Valentine to the floor. While Watts was looking for a tag, he didn't realize his partners were indisposed. Why the time he figured this out though, he turned right into the Thumb to the Throat. Game, set, match. Albano's men steal another one.

Card rating: ** 1/4

Match observations:

Next up, the annual Cow Palace battle royal in San Francisco!

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