November 22, 1977 - Providence Civic Center - Providence, RI

Chief Jay Strongbow made Johnny Rodz submit to the Indian Deathlock in 0:07:26.
Rating: *** 1/2

Our night here in Providence kicked off with Chief Jay Strongbow picking up a win over "The Unpredictable" Johnny Rodz, whose "unpredictable" act this month was to come out in full Native American garb. It would have been offensive had it not looked so ridiculous on him. Either way, not a lot of trouble for Strongbow in this opener.

Interview:
Chief Jay Strongbow asks Don Muraco to be his tag team partner.

After the match, Chief Jay Strongbow got on the mic and said what we all had heard, that he wanted to get back into the tag team division. He said he had a partner in mind and asked DON MURACO to become his new tag team partner. Strongbow is an all-time great and it might be in Muraco's best interests to accept this offer, but as of now, he has not given an answer.

Bobby Duncum defeated Tim Woods by disqualification in 0:01:36.
Rating: ** 1/4
[Mr. Wrestling II interfered against Bobby Duncum.]

Tim Woods didn't want to become the next victim of Bobby Duncum, and he didn't feel like taking a beating either. Woods tried to get Duncum on the mat early in the match, but Duncum made it clear that wasn't going to be happening any time soon. This prompted MR. WRESTLING II to run in the ring and attack Duncum, causing a disqualification. Duncum tried to fight back, but the collective strength of the former World Tag Team champions was too much as they beat Duncum down before officials broke it up. A match has been signed between Duncum & Wrestling II for December 8 in Boston.

Terry Funk defeated Pat Patterson by disqualification in 0:14:21.
Rating: * 3/4

Guess who didn't like being cost the Intercontinental Title? If you answered Pat Patterson, you'd be correct. Patterson and the man who cost him the title, Terry Funk, were booked in a match, and once the match started, maybe the match makers were reconsidering their decision. Any semblance of a wrestling match was thrown out the window from the word go - this was a fight, plain and simple. Patterson is generally an easy guy to get along with, but if you piss him off, look out. And Terry Funk has pissed him off. After a hard-hitting back and forth contest, Patterson eventually lost his cool and nailed Funk with the ring bell, an obvious disqualification. Funk was knocked out and bloody as Patterson stood over him holding the ring bell with a sadistic look on his face - an eerie image if there ever was one. This feud will come to a head at the Boston Garden as the two have been signed to wrestle a cage match! This will end one way or another on December 8.

The Blackjacks (Blackjack Lanza and Blackjack Mulligan) defeated Bob Backlund and Peter Maivia when Mulligan made Maivia submit to the Blackjack Claw in 0:08:46.
Rating: *** 1/2

There are rumblings that Bob Backlund wants a shot at the World Title, a shot that he deserves quite frankly after he pinned Billy Graham in Madison Square Garden a mere two hours before Graham became the World champion. Bobby "The Brain" Heenan is trying to nip this one in the bud as he sent the Blackjacks after Backlund and his good friend Peter Maivia. Heenan wanted Lanza & Mulligan to humiliate Backlund so he would never dream of asking for a World Title shot. The Blackjacks did win the match - as a more experienced team they should have - but it was Backlund & Maivia who would stand tall after the match, sending the Blackjacks sprawling from the ring with stereo dropkicks. If Heenan wants to get rid of Backlund, he's going to have to try harder than that.

Stan Hansen pinned Mike Graham with the Lariat in 0:02:40.
Rating: ***
(Stan Hansen retained the GCW Intercontinental Title.)

Stan Hansen is the new Intercontinental champion, and with his deadly Lariat, he could be the champion for a long time to come. The scrappy Mike Graham was the first man to take a crack at him, and though he showed great heart, he was overmatched by the burly Texan. It didn't take Hansen long to hit the Lariat and make his first title defense a successful one. Hansen wasn't done as he dropped Graham with a bodyslam and was going for another Lariat, but he was stopped by GORILLA MONSOON, who returned from a neck injury caused by Hansen! Hansen was floored by Monsoon, getting smashed with an avalanche in the corner and the Airplane Spin before bailing to the floor. Monsoon is back and he has Hansen in his sights!

Dory Funk Jr. made Rene Goulet submit to a sleeperhold in 0:00:47.
Rating: *

Dory Funk Jr. is highly disappointed he didn't walk out of New York the World champion, and he used that disappointment to feul him in this match against Rene Goulet. Goulet never got a chance to get out of the box as Funk finished him off with a sleeperhold in a mere 47 seconds! If that's not a statement win, I don't know what it is. It was such an impressive showing that Dory Funk Jr. was granted a World Title shot in Boston regardless of who the champion may be.

Dusty Rhodes pinned Nikolai Volkoff with the Bionic Elbowdrop in 0:16:32.
Rating: 1/4*

"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes has pledged to Ivan Koloff that he will help him in his battle against Lou Albano and his men, and thus far, he has followed through every step of the way - even helping Koloff become a US citizen so as not to be deported! Tonight, Rhodes got in the ring with Nikolai Volkoff. There were a lot of combustible elements around ringside as Volkoff had Albano & Bruiser Brody in his corner, while Rhodes had Koloff in his. We knew it wasn't a matter of IF these elements would collide, but WHEN. I did not envy referee Tommy Young who had the distinction of trying to keep this one under control. He did his best, but eventually Brody & Koloff got into it on the floor. While Young tried to break that up, Albano slid his cane into Volkoff. However, Rhodes saw it and grabbed it first, clocking Volkoff upside the head with it! The Bionic Elbowdrop followed, and we had ourselves a winner. Next month in Boston, it'll be Koloff & Brody locking horns.

Dominic DeNucci and Dino Bravo defeated The Brisco Brothers (Jerry Brisco and Jack Brisco) when Bravo pinned Jerry Brisco after a small package in 0:13:12.
Rating: ***
(Dominic DeNucci and Dino Bravo retained the GCW World Tag Team Titles.)

Dino Bravo & Dominic DeNucci showed how resourceful they can be in this title defense against the Brisco Brothers. The match went to a time limit draw back in New York, but the time limit wouldn't be an issue in this one. The match was a technical display, but the finish was extremely exciting. DeNucci was in the ring with Jerry Brisco, and it looked like Brisco had DeNucci primed for the defeat when he took him into the ropes for a rolling reverse cradle. What he didn't see was DeNucci make a blind tag to Bravo. Jerry Brisco rolled DeNucci up for the pin, but DeNucci wasn't the legal man anymore. Bravo quickly creeped in and got Brisco with a small package. Brisco couldn't kick out nd the match was over - Bravo & DeNucci are still the World Tag Team champions. The Briscos were upset, but they knew they were beaten fair and square. They've asked the champs for just one more shot at the titles, a request the champs have willingly granted to take place on December 8.

Billy Graham made Jumbo Tsuruta submit to the Bearhug in 0:16:00.
Rating: *** 1/2
(Billy Graham retained the GCW World Title.)

Jumbo Tsuruta was hoping to make "Superstar" Billy Graham's World Title reign a short one, getting his rematch for the title in our main event. Unfortunately for Jumbo, he was not coming into this match at 100%. He had suffered a back injury the night he lost the title, and in his training for the rematch this month, he may have tweaked the injury. Still, Jumbo knows how important a World Title match is, and he wasn't going to make any excuses. Tsuruta looked great early on as he bounced Graham around the ring, but the new champ cut him off by pushing him into the turnbuckles. From there, Jumbo couldn't seem to get over his injury and as a result, Graham's Bearhug was once again too much for the young Japanese star to handle. Billy Graham ends his first title defense still the champion.

Card rating: ** 1/4

Match observations:

1977 is almost in the books, but we still have two more huge nights of action to go, starting with December 8 in Boston at the Boston Garden!

WORLD TITLE - Billy Graham (c) vs. Dory Funk Jr.
INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE - Stan Hansen (c) vs. Gorilla Monsoon
WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES - Dino Bravo/Dominic DeNucci (c) vs. The Brisco Brothers
CAGE MATCH - Pat Patterson vs. Terry Funk
Ivan Koloff vs. Bruiser Brody
Bobby Duncum vs. Mr. Wrestling II

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