GEORGIA WRESTLING NEWS, NOTES, AND NOSTALGIA: 11/08/2007

Courtesy of Georgia Wrestling History's Rich Tate:

NEWS

We reported on Tuesday that Lex Luger had been scheduled to appear last night as a guest speaker before the Parkview High School FCA in Lilburn, GA. We followed that up in yesterday’s Georgia Wrestling News, Notes, and Nostalgia report that he had in fact been in attendance, as two different sources emailed us with that information. However, we followed up with Elaine Kelly, of Parkview HS, on Wednesday afternoon, who told us that Luger was indeed still hospitalized and unable to walk. Thus, they brought in a replacement, and hope to reschedule with Luger at a later date.

It was reported that hundreds of family, friends, and fans made their way to the Dunbar Funeral Home in Columbia, SC, Tuesday night to pay their respects to the Fabulous Moolah for the public visitation services. The funeral was held Wednesday, with Stephanie McMahon delivering the eulogy. Shane McMahon was also in attendance, as was Ric Flair. She was laid to rest at Greenlawn Memorial Park in a crypt she had acquired years ago, according to reports.

The long awaited CNN wrestling documentary “Death Grip: Inside Pro Wrestling” debuted last night. The major focus, obviously, was on steroid use in wrestling, though a fair portion of the program also discussed the studies of Benoit’s brain by the Sports Legacy Institute. Drew Griffin hosted, and they featured interviews with Chris Kanyon, Del Wilkes, Eric Bischoff, Irvin Muchnick, Chris Jericho, CM Punk, John Cena, and Vince and Linda McMahon. There was also an unidentified wrestler whose face was blacked out as he spoke. Michael Benoit appeared throughout the show. He said that he had not been supportive of his son’s dream of becoming a professional wrestler, but eventually bought him a weight set, and overlooked his adulation of Tom Billington (a/k/a the Dynamite Kid). He admitted on the show that he now dreads having done so. Billington was also on, as was his ex-wife Michelle Smadu. Billington was filmed inside his public housing facility in England, where he is confined to a wheelchair. He admitted to dragging Smadu around their home by her hair and pointing a gun into her face while he was heavily abusing steroids. He claimed that wasn’t violent because the gun wasn’t loaded and he was only pretending. Smadu admitted publicly for the first time that she had once contemplated taking her children’s lives before committing suicide in order to escape the abuse from Billington. Dr. Travis Tygart (U.S. Doping Agency) and Dr. Gary Wadler (World Anti-Doping Agency) also appeared, as well as Dr. David Black of Aegis Sciences, whose firm oversees the WWE Wellness Program. Though not on screen together, Wadler and Black debated the legitimacy of the testing program. Tygart noted at one point that not only are the elevated scales of punishment ridiculous, but that the loophole regarding prescriptions turning a positive to a negative guts the integrity of the entire program. The McMahons spoke for quite some time in interviews, and although seen sporadically throughout the program, only a small portion was aired. CNN provided an edited transcript on their website earlier this afternoon. You can read the McMahon transcript at http://www.georgiawrestlinghistory.com/benoit-astin-steroids-wwe/links/transcripts/20071107-cnnnews.html.

Southern Extreme Championship Wrestling has informed us that the November 11 match in Villa Rica, GA, between Bull Buchanan and Bulldog Raines is a non-title match, contrary to what we posted yesterday. Buchanan had won the title from Raines on the November 4 card.

Amid a reorganization of sorts within the American Wrestling Association, as we reported on last week, Jody Peterman has been named as a new member of the AWA management staff. Aside from continuing to promote World-1 South throughout Georgia, he will also be involved in helping to promote major AWA brand shows, as well as advise on legal matters. Andy Mancini interviewed Peterman on several issues and it can be found at http://www.awastars.com/introducingpromoter.html.

World Wrestling Alliance 4 will be in Atlanta , GA , tonight at the WWA4 Dungeon, with a starting time of 7:30 PM. Call (404) 667-1484 for more info.

As a reminder, All-Star Championship Wrestling has cancelled its show in Carrollton, GA, tonight.

NOTES

The full transcript of the McMahons interview with CNN for the documentary was far more interesting than any of the excerpts shown in the final product of “Death Grip” last night. Still, it was an interesting program, and much better than we expected it to be. The guests were chosen and used nicely, and we are still puzzled as to who the unidentified wrestler was, so if anyone has any thoughts on that, please let us know. Of the modern-era wrestlers who spoke, Punk came off quite well, calling himself “boring” when it was noted that he doesn’t drink, smoke, or do drugs. Cena perhaps offered a bit too much information when he said smugly that he had could not say he had never taken steroids and the interviewer also could never prove he has.

NOSTALGIA

1928: Jim Browning defeated Stanislaus Zbyszko in two straight falls in the main event at the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter John Contos.

1933: Darna Ostapovich defeated Milo Steinborn two falls to one in the main event at the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Henry Weber.

1934: Jack Ross and Honey Boy Hackney wrestled to a draw in the main event at the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium for promoters Jason Thompson and Cleve Roby.

1946: Jack O'Brien & the Cardiff Giant defeated Ed White & Chief Saunooke in the main event at the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Paul Jones.

1948: Chris Belkas defeated Karl Davis in two straight falls to retain the Southern Heavyweight Title at the Augusta Municipal Auditorium for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Paul Jones. Belkas had been billed as Southern Heavyweight Champion since November 1, 1948.

1950: Gorgeous Gilpin defeated Maurice Roberre in the main event at the Larry Bell Auditorium in Marietta for promoter Fred Ward. This was prior to Ward’s affiliation with the Atlanta office of Georgia Championship Wrestling.

1957: Edouard Carpentier defeated Mike Paidousis to retain the World Heavyweight Title at the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Paul Jones. The NWA no longer recognized Carpentier as it champion at this time, and only promoters who disputed the decision by the NWA to recognize Lou Thesz continued to bill Carpentier as champion. Apparently Jones was one of them. Following the match between Carpentier and Paidousis, Freddie Blassie entered the ring and issued a challenge for Carpentier’s title, to which he accepted and said he would sign a contract to do so.

1960: Freddie Blassie versus Danny Miller ruled a no contest in the main event at the Macon City Auditorium for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Fred Ward.

1961: The Assassin defeated Jack Bence in a main event Texas Death Match at the Columbus Sports Arena for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Fred Ward.

1963: Ray Gunkel, Chief Big Heart & Chief Little Eagle defeated Lenny Montana, the Outlaw & the Mighty Hercules in the main event at the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Paul Jones. Also, Matt Jewell defeated Leon Smith to retain the Negro Men’s Southern Heavyweight Title. Jewell had been billed as Negro Men’s Southern Heavyweight Champion since June 26, 1963.

1965: Billy & Bad Boy Hines defeated Johnny Heidman & Roy Mulkey in the main event at the Macon City Auditorium for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Fred Ward.

1966: Butcher Vachon defeated Bill Dromo in the main event at the Macon City Auditorium for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Fred Ward.

1968: Johnny Valentine defeated the Professional to win the Georgia Heavyweight Title at the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Paul Jones. The Professional had been the reigning Georgia Heavyweight Champion since he defeated Tarzan Tyler on August 23, 1968, in Atlanta. During the match, Valentine unmasked the Professional, but the Pro quickly covered his face under the ring apron and the Outlaw came to his rescue.

1972: Roberto Soto & the Avenger defeated Rocket Monroe & Skandor Akbar in the main event in Cartersville, GA, for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Paul Jones. It is unclear as to what venue was the site of this card.

1974: NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jack Brisco and Mr. Wrestling #2 wrestled to a draw in a title match at the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Paul Jones. Brisco had been the reigning champion since he defeated Harley Race on July 20, 1973, in Houston, TX. Also, Harley Race defeated Mike McCord in a Loser Leaves Match.

1976: Ole & Gene Anderson* defeated Robert Fuller & Tony Parisi to retain the Georgia Tag Team Title at the William Bell Auditorium in Augusta for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Charlie Harbin. The Andersons had been the reigning champions since they defeated the Black Bombers on October 22, 1976, in Augusta. They also did the title switch on October 25, 1976, in Augusta as well. In the main event, Mr. Wrestling #2 defeated Mr. X. The semi-main event saw the Mongolian Stomper, managed by J.J. Dillon, defeat Jos LeDuc.

1977: Mr. Wrestling #2 defeated Abdullah the Butcher, managed by Rock Hunter, in the main event at the Warner Robins Civic Center for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Fred Ward.

1980: The Freebirds (Terry Gordy & Buddy Roberts) defeated Kevin Sullivan & Mike Davis at that day’s taping of “Georgia Championship Wrestling” from the WTBS Studios in Atlanta. Special referee Austin Idol was late in arriving, so the match went on without him. It was revealed later in the program that it wasn’t Michael Hayes’ fault that Idol had four flat tires. The Freebirds had been the reigning champions since they defeated Mr. Wrestling #1 & #2, the defending champions, and the Assassins in a three-way tag team match on October 10, 1980, in Atlanta.

1987: An eight-man event between Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard & the Midnight Express and the New Breed & the Rock & Roll Express ruled a no contest in the main event at the Omni Auditorium in Atlanta for Jim Crockett Promotions. It was reported that 3,800 were in attendance for this card.