GEORGIA WRESTLING NEWS, NOTES, AND NOSTALGIA: 11/19/2007

Courtesy of Georgia Wrestling History's Rich Tate:

NEWS

Quentin Michaels was very pleased with the Great Championship Wrestling shows that took place in downtown Columbus as part of the “God Bless Fort Benning” event. The crowd estimates were 750 for Friday night and 2,000 on Saturday morning. GCW added extra matches to the Saturday show due to the large turnout. It should be noted that a pissed off fan posted in the GWH forum claming that only 20 people attended the Friday night show.

Billy Roper quit as ring announcer at GCW.

Southern Extreme Championship Wrestling results from Villa Rica, GA, on November 18: Adrian Hawkins over Amien Rios; Fantasy over Stephanie Starr; Jimmy Rave over El Mexicano; Kodiak over Scotty Blaze; and Tommy Rich, Adrian Hawkins & the Nightmare over Jimmy Rave, Chick Donovan & Bulldog Raines.

SECW was forced to make major changes in the lineup for last night’s show in Villa Rica. According to booker Ted Allen, several of his regulars (Cru Jones, Frankie Valentine, and John Rodriguez) and the debuting A.J. Steele were contacted by Great Championship Wrestling, where they are also employed, and offered double their money not to work for SECW. Quentin Michaels responded that GCW wants exclusive use of their talent in that area of the state because they are getting TV there and plan to run shows. Bull Buchanan, currently the SECW and GCW Champion, canceled scheduled appearances for both companies this weekend. Buchanan was called to Japan by NOAH to substitute for the injured Bryan Danielson. Click here for a response from GCW on the matter.

SECW is running an eight-man tournament on November 22 featuring Buff Bagwell, Tommy Rich, and Brad Armstrong. More details later.

NWA Anarchy results from Cornelia, GA, on November 17: New Wave (Derrick Driver & Steven Walters) & the Regular Guys (Bobby Hill & Tyler Smith) versus Talent & Money (J.T. Talent & Anders Pendleton III) & the Hollywood Brunettes (Andrew Alexander & Kyle Matthews); T-N-T (Todd Sexton & Tony Santorelli) over Wes Grissom & Salvatore Rinauro; Phil Shatter (w/ Jeff G. Bailey) over Jeff Lewis to retain the Anarchy Heavyweight Title; the Awesome Attraction (Austin Creed & Hayden Young) over Jeremy Vain & Rob Adonis to retain the Anarchy Tag Team Title, with Jerry Palmer as special referee; the Devil’s Rejects (Shaun Tempers & Azrael) (w/ Dan Wilson) over Truitt Fields & Slim J; Melissa Coates over Brayden McGuire in an inter-gender match; the Anger Alliance (Adam Roberts, Brodie Chase & Don Matthews) over Jesse Emerson, Billy Buck & Chris King); and a match between Mikal Judas and Iceberg (w/ Dan Wilson) was ruled a no contest. Click here for a report from Larry Goodman. Matches already set for the December 1 NWA Anarchy taping are T-N-T versus the Awesome Attraction and the Devil’s Rejects versus the World’s Prettiest Tag Team.

Flatline Championship Wrestling results from Grovetown, GA, on November 17: Stud McCoy over Jeremy Cruz; David Yale over Tony Tsunami; the VIP (Brandon Paradise & Cali Casanova) over Drowning in Excellence (Dustin Michaels & Vincent Chambers); James Hunter (w/ Johnny Rokket) over Darkness; the Common Man over Damoan Rashad; Chris Mayne over Johnny Blaze in a FCW Rage Division Title match; Draven over Brian Baldwin; and a match between Morgan McNeal and Johnny Malice for the FCW Heavyweight Title ended in a no contest.

Georgia Wrestling Federation results from Summerville, GA, on November 16: Marshall Law over the Pork Chop Bandit; Kilawaya over Bo McCoy; the Gangsta Nation over David Pain & Josh Frost; Jay Bird (w/ Fast Freddie) & Stupid (w/ Tweety) over Chris Lightning & Da Jag; K.T. Hamill over Korrupt; Brian Rivers over Addrin Lynn; Talon Williams over Chris Ganzer and Chip Hazard in a three-way match; and Josh Frost & Sadies over Chad Stevens & Jessi in a mixed tag match.

NOTES

At the Anarchy show in Cornelia on Saturday night, promoter Jerry Palmer led off the event by making sure all fans in attendance knew about the proposed regulations the GAEC is looking to impose, which could, if all items are passed as written, end professional wrestling in Georgia. The fans, of course, were irate at the proposition that could be the case. Palmer asked for volunteers to circulate petitions protesting the actions of the GAEC. He didn’t have any trouble getting them. Bill Behrens distributed 10 petitions with room for 300 signatures each. (Those interested in having their names added to the petition can email jp53@alltel.com. You must include your address and phone number).

GWH has received many phone calls and emails from the local wrestling community who seem to share in the belief that all promotions need to unite and prepare to attend the December 18 meeting with the GAEC to show justification as to why the items, at the very least, should be tweaked, if not completely scrapped.

This is why we find it disturbing that at a time when promoters need to work together, the events on Sunday night whereas SECW had to scramble at the last minute to rearrange their show due to the actions of GCW. Both promotions have been using some of the same talent, including Bull Buchanan, who happens to currently be recognized as the top champion for both promotions. He was unexpectedly called away to NOAH as a replacement for the injured Bryan Danielson, and thus had to miss his commitments over the weekend for both GCW and SECW. However, it was the fact that GCW apparently chose to pay some of the other names that have been working with them double if they would remain exclusive to GCW and back out of their SECW commitments. It appears GCW has plans on expanding their television reach into the same area where SECW runs each week.

It makes sense, under normal conditions. But right now, nothing is normal.

If the GAEC has its way, there will be no GCW or SECW, so the need for TV concerns could be moot. Right now is the time for promoters to work together, and put all other matters on hold until after the December 18 matter. Or, they could continue to worry about their own back yards, much like the NWA when the WWF came knocking.

NOSTALGIA

1945: Abe Zvonkin defeated Vincent Lopez in the main event at the Savannah Municipal Auditorium for promoters Lou Masters, Dick Leonard, and Buster White.

1948: Lou Thesz defeated Don McIntyre to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Title at the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Paul Jones. Thesz had been the reigning NWA World Heavyweight Champion since he defeated Bill Longson in Indianapolis, IN, on July 20, 1948. This version was the one recognized by the National Boxing Association as the National Wrestling Association.

1954: Argentina Rocca defeated Jerry Graham in the main event at the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Paul Jones. Also, Harry Smith & Red McIntyre defeated Jack Steele & Tokyo Joe when the latter were disqualified because Joe used salt as a weapon.

1963: Luke Graham & Al Galento defeated Bob Morrow & Lonnie Brown to retain the Southeastern Tag Team Title at the Macon City Auditorium for promoter Fred Ward. Graham & Galento had been the reigning Southeastern Tag Team Champions since they defeated Lonnie Brown & Bob Morrow in a tournament final on November 6, 1963, in Columbus. Ward was not affiliated with the Atlanta office of Georgia Championship Wrestling at this time.

1965: Mario Galento defeated Dale Lewis by disqualification in a lumberjack match at the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Paul Jones. Lewis had put up $1,000 in the match with Mario Galento, betting he could not be pinned within the first thirty minutes. Galento had to be carried from the ring. Also, the Fabulous Moolah defeated Donna Christianello to retain the Women’s World Title. Moolah had been billed as champion since she defeated Judy Grable on September 18, 1956, in Baltimore, MD.

1968: Dick Steinborn defeated Dale Lewis in the main event at the Macon Coliseum for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Fred Ward.

1971: Ray Gunkel defeated Mr. X (Doug Scoggins) in a lights out match to retain the Georgia Television Title at the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Paul Jones. Gunkel had been the reigning champion since he defeated Big John on October 15, 1971, in Atlanta. Also, Buddy Colt defeated Big John to retain the Georgia Heavyweight Title. Colt had been billed as the champion since June 18, 1971. Jimmy Dancing Bear & El Mongol defeated the Assassins by disqualification in a match for the Georgia Tag Team Title. The Assassins had been billed as champions since August 13, 1971. Because of the disqualification, the Assassins retained the title. The Fabulous Moolah defeated Vicky Williams to retain the Women’s World Title. Moolah had been billed as champion since she defeated Judy Grable on September 18, 1956, in Baltimore, MD. The program for this card mentioned that Paul Jones would be attending the annual NWA Board meeting in St. Louis, MO, the following week.

1974: Billy Spears, Buddy Colt & Bearcat Wright defeated Rocky Johnson, Ole & Gene Anderson by disqualification in the main event at the Macon Coliseum for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Fred Ward.

1976: Ole & Gene Anderson defeated Robert Fuller & Mr. Wrestling #1 to retain the World Tag Team Title at the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Paul Jones. The Andersons had been the reigning champions since the defeated Dino Bravo & Mr. Wrestling #1 on June 28, 1976, in Greenville, SC. Also, the Mongolian Stomper, managed by J.J. Dillon, defeated Jos LeDuc in a lights out match.

1977: It was announced on the “Georgia Championship Wrestling” television program hosted by Gordon Solie that Stan Hansen was the new Georgia Heavyweight Champion. It is unclear as to how he became recognized as champion. The last reference we have shows Dick Slater defending it against Hansen on November 15, 1977, in Columbus, but no results have been found at this time. There was a title match in Macon on November 14, 1977, between both men, but Slater won that by disqualification to retain the title. Based on our research and documentation at this time, it is most likely the change occurred in Columbus.

1979: A match between NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race and Tommy Rich was ruled a no contest in a title match at the William Bell Auditorium in Augusta for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Charlie Harbin. Also, the semi-main event was a handicap tag team match where Ole Anderson & Ray Candy defeated Bobby Heenan, Killer Karl Kox & the Masked Superstar.

1982: Ole Anderson & Buzz Sawyer defeated Tommy & Johnny Rich in the main event at the Hara Arena in Dayton, OH, for Georgia Championship Wrestling promoter Les Thatcher.

1991: At a live event shown on WTBS for World Championship Wrestling, hosted by Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone, Clash of the Champions XVII was held at the Savannah Civic Center. Lex Luger defeated Rick Steiner to retain the WCW World Heavyweight Title; Rick Rude defeated Sting to win the US Heavyweight Title; Brian Pillman defeated Johnny B. Badd to retain the WCW World Light Heavyweight Title; Ricky Steamboat & Dustin Rhodes defeated the Enforcers (Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko) to win the WCW World Tag Team Title; and Steve Austin defeated PN News to retain the WCW World Television Title. It was reported that 6,922 were in attendance for this card.

2005: Rob Adonis & Colt Derringer defeated Bruce Biggins & Brian Lawler in the main event at the Harvest Church in Athens for Ultimate Christian Wrestling.

2005: Ted Oates & the Wrestler defeated David Young & Chris Stevens to win the GCW Tag Team Title at the GCW Sports Arena in Columbus for Great Championship Wrestling.

2005: Slim J defeated Jay Fury to retain the NWA Anarchy Television Title at the NWA Arena in Cornelia for NWA Anarchy. In the main event, Mikal Adryan & Onyx defeated Todd Sexton & Kory Chavis, and the semi-main event saw a match between Jason Blackman & Jeremy V and the Urban Assault Squad ruled a no contest.

2005: Johnny Camo defeated Oko Nono to retain the GIWA Heavyweight Title at the RV Park in Milledgeville, GA, for the Georgia Independent Wrestling Alliance. Also, Mike Stratus & Big Daddy Osborne defeated the Outlaws to win the GIWA Tag Team Title. Velvet Jones defeated Shawn Hunter to win the Mid-State Heavyweight Title.