Old Territories that you watch (ed)

[Guest Arnold_OldSchool]

Anyone here ever pick up some old Continental tapes and check out stuff like the RnR Express vs Midnight Rockers (Assuming they were smart enough to tape it)

 

Toss in some CWA, Florida, IWCCW, or whatever. Anyone have some lost classics?

[Guest Staravenger]

I remember watching GWF sometimes, but they really didn't have much good stuff on television. Plus I had no idea who anyone was just about.

 

I do remember seeing a whacky Rick Rude vs. Honky Tonk Man match on television, and was shocked because I only saw them in WWF as heels. I forgot what promotion it was, but the arena looked like a gym and the lighting was pretty bad.

[Guest Astro]

When I was a kid i had access to AWA, WWF, NWA, WCCW and possibly Some others (i swear to this day to have seen a Tommy Rich/Ted Dibiase fued which may have been the "Mr. R" angle. I seem to recall Brad Armstrong being involved which would make it a Geogia angle.

[Alro 0]

I got into wrestling around 1990 and it was all WWF. I slowly got into WCW in 1991. Then I found GWF and SMW and watched both until they went under. I had access to USWA every Saturday morning, but I rarely watched.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

>I do remember seeing a whacky Rick Rude vs. Honky Tonk Man match on >television, and was shocked because I only saw them in WWF as heels. I forgot >what promotion it was, but the arena looked like a gym and the lighting was >pretty bad.

 

I think this was IWCCW. I remember the angle where they were arguing over who the better IC champ was. I think this promotion was on the old Sportschannel.

[Guest Staravenger]

Oh yeah, IWCCW was the other Indy promotion I saw on T.V. I always forget the name of it, confusing it with WCCW.

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

Haha, IWCCW would show footage for months of "stars such as Rick Rude!" despite him only working like 1 show.

 

And they also showed Tony Atlas defeating Vic Steamboat for the title belt some...what...13 weeks in a row, was it? PWI often made fun of it.

[Guest Staravenger]

If my memory is correct, I had better chances recognizing GWF wrestlers than IWCCW ones. They all looked like WWF Jobbers with ugly tights that were a few sizes too big or too small.

 

Edit: How wrong is it that a World Champion of theirs was DAMIEN DEMENTO (under a differwent name of course)

[Guest Ray]

I've been watching a lot of Benoit in Stampede lately. Love the small arena atmosphere.

 

The Benoit/Idol vs Cuban Commandoes feud and Benoit vs Johnny Smith feud produced some really good stuff. Also fun matches with Rip Rogers, Biff Wellington, Hiroshi Hase, and a young Toshiaki Kawada!

[Guest Loss]

Don't forget Liger!

 

 

Rogers is the best jobber in wrestling history. I'm saddened that Beef Wellington never really made it in wrestling. His talent deserved better.

 

I loved Continental Wrestling, just because it made Memphis look like it produced a stoic product. I'm a sucker for old Southern-style rasslin' though, so what can I say?

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

I remember seeing at least one Midnights v R 'n' R match on Mid-South TV. The crowd were great, as usual. Memphis was always fun for chaotica in front of a studio audience. Terry Funk going nuts and attacking everyone in sight was great stuff.

 

It would be amusing, and very interesting, to see what a WWE program would be like in a Memphis style studio setting.

[Guest wildpegasus]

I watch Stampede too.

 

Stories of Benoit vs Smith fighting in the stands! Owen vs M.Singh! Owen/Basserb vs Viet Cong Express! Stuff you wouldn't see in other leagues! Dynamite and Bad New getting Stampede banned from the building! Ed Whalen! Dynmaite taking the human body to uncharted territory! Japanese wrestlers!

 

 

I liked Stampede best though when Dynamite was wrestling around 1979. The atmosphere, the innovative moveset, just the tough aura that was Stampede.

 

Here are a couple of Stampede articles that I found rescently:

 

 

John Skender wrote:

Great Column Angel.

 

In early 81, I was watching Stu Hart's stampede wrestling which began to air in British Columbia. Being a die hard fan of the 70's "all star wrestling " promotion with Kiniski, Bulldog brown, John Quinn, Dutch Savage, et al, I was amazed at what pro wrestling was really all about when the stampede show came to town. I had never heard of the dynamite kid, Bret Hart, Bruce Hart, Archie gouldie, Bad news Allen, Kerry Brown, Mr Hito, Leo Burke etc, but these guys put on such an incredible show from top to bottom, that vintage stampede tapes are in demand around most places in the world.

 

During this time, Bret Hart was invoved in the following matches:

 

Dynamite Kid - In my opinion, the greatest wrestler to ever put on a pair of boots in the world ( then and now). The ferocity, pace and wrestling skill of these two was unbelievable. Calgary fans liked their wrestling stiff and believe me, you could hear the shots in Vancouver! The wrestling holds and moves were years ahead of their time, with mouthfuls of blood and 30 - 60 minute time limits the norm. if todays fans get a chance to see some of these matches, they will make most modern main events seem pale by comparision.

 

Archie Gouldie - Aka the Mogolian Stomper. When in Calgary, this man was an arch villain, always wanting to beat the %^&* out of Bret. Hard hitting, long, grueling battles where brawling was the main ingredient. These matches showcased Bret's ability brawl with the best. classic stuff.

 

Kerry Brown - Probably the one wrestler who should have been world class but never was. Incredibly talented with pure wrestling skill and tougher than a nail coffin to boot. These matches were so realistic that theres actually a tape of Brown tko'ing a fan who decided to enter the ring ( this was common in those days). Most people thought that "fixing" matches between these two was about 25% and the rest was for real, thats how good they were.

 

Bad news allen - No one told this guy that wrestling was a show. Bad news took the entire roster of legit tough guys in stampede ( most of which had to be to survive the dungeon) and kicked the living &^*( out of all of them. The matches with Bret were so stiff that fans would actually cringe when bad news got on a roll. This must have tought Bret that fear was not a part of this brutal game, as he survived these matches without braking bones ( i think). This showed me that Bret was as tough as anyone in ring, and it showed in later years in the WWF as the hart foundation.

 

These were incredible years and the best wrestling I have ever seen, anywhere in the world. Japan comes very close, but were talking about Hart/Flair, so I'll stick to the topic. As much I respect the Ric Flair of the 80's, for pure wrestling explosiveness, he cannot come close to Bret Hart during this era.

 

When stampede closed down, there was about a 2 year break until Crockett's NWA hit the airwaves in Vancouver. Holy *( )& , finally a wrestling show that comes close to stampede! To see Ric flair during these glory days ( and others), was an event that i could not bear to miss each Saturday night. This guy oozed charisma, and watching him wrestle Ron Garvin ( ouch), Magnum TA, Wahoo, Ricky Steamboat ( incredible stuff) and others, and then use the microphone as weapon to draw even more heat was fantastic stuff. This guy was known as the 60 minute man, and he cranked with the best. truly one of the best in the world.

 

The big difference for me was the fact that watching Bret during these years made me ( and several others) think as to how much of his matches were scripted, and how much of it was real! Bret, and the huge stampede talent made it look that good, and thats what I consider to be the main ingredient of a true superstar. I know that today these standards are impossible to replicate for many reasons, and falling off a 12' cage into a pile of tables just doesn't do it for me. So...... with the above criteria being the acid test for me, I must give Bret Hart the title of being the SECOND greates world in the world, right after the Dynamite Kid. the Kid's matches even made Bret's look second rate........ but thats a rant for another time!

 

 

Pimp Daddy Grand Master Flash wrote:

I am from Edmonton, and grew up watching Bret Hart. His matches he had with Dynamite Kid and Bad News Allen are still talked about 20 years ago. I never saw any of flair until he went to WWF in the 90's but I have read about him. I am huge fans of both for being old school wrestlers, they both have their faults. For Flair, his matches always look the same, no where near as bad as Hogan's, but they look the same, he is entertaining in the ring though. Bret's main fault is the whole Montreal thing. He was wrong not dropping the title to whoever they wanted him to. Why should he care who has the title since he is leaving. If I was getting a better paying job, I could care less if the devil got my old job. He also complained about it for waaaaaay to long. He may not have the mic skills flair does, but I would watch a Hart match first. I am sure if Greenberg didn't kick Bret's head off, Bret would still be wrestling. He always kicked ass at what ever match he had. Oh, and by the way Shawn Micheals fans, Bret Hart vs Dynamite Kid was the first ladder match I ever saw, I think in 83'.

 

 

 

WP --- A couple of columns from a great site www.obsessedwithwrestling.com I've said it before and I'll say it again the Stampede schedule back in the day had to be the hardest ever to get through. For example Dynamite would often wrestle 60 minute matches against Bret or whoever in a style that was very stiff, high flying and grueling. Lots of singles matches too. I would've loved to have seen all the great matches back there in the day.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

I remember seeing a King Kong Bundy match against (IIRC) Fritz Von Erich (most likely in Texas - at the Sportatorium?), and Bundy HAD HAIR (!!!). I believe it was aired on ESPN back when they carried wrestling.

[Guest W_Hillard]

I remember watching the USWA. Caught it every Saturday. It wasn't a bad show, though it could be rather goofy at times. Like the guy who wrestled as Freddy Kreugar.

[Guest Astro]

I remember seeing a King Kong Bundy match against (IIRC) Fritz Von Erich (most likely in Texas - at the Sportatorium?), and Bundy HAD HAIR (!!!). I believe it was aired on ESPN back when they carried wrestling.

That was Fritz 1st retirement match from 1981 I believe

[Guest Arnold_OldSchool]

I recently got some Florida stuff from 1987--- Matches are all squashes, but it was good to see BJ Mulligan, Dusty,Sheepherders, Sullivan, Dory Funk jr, Mike Rotondo, Johnny Ace and many others. There tag division actually had 4-5 teams which is more than RAW or SD! can claim at this point.

[Guest Arnold_OldSchool]

I remember watching the USWA. Caught it every Saturday. It wasn't a bad show, though it could be rather goofy at times. Like the guy who wrestled as Freddy Kreugar.

On Memphis TV a few weeks ago they had GM Sexay brandishing a pistol, desperate for publicity?

[Guest Arnold_OldSchool]

If my memory is correct, I had better chances recognizing GWF wrestlers than IWCCW ones. They all looked like WWF Jobbers with ugly tights that were a few sizes too big or too small.

 

Edit: How wrong is it that a World Champion of theirs was DAMIEN DEMENTO (under a differwent name of course)

Mondo Kleen was Dementos name

[nl5xsk1 0]

Oh yeah, IWCCW was the other Indy promotion I saw on T.V. I always forget the name of it, confusing it with WCCW.

It has such a similar name because it actually partly was WCCW ... I think the "I" part came from ICW (International Championship Wrestling) and when WCCW got run out of Texas they 'merged' with ICW. The only real WCCW wrestler that I remember, though, was Kevin Von Erich.

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

IWCCW - "Jumping" Joe Savoldi, "Ravishing" Rick Rude (worked one benefit show, hyped to hell), CURLY MOE (remember him?), Vic Steamboat, Tony Atlas, who else...?

 

Who did Savoldi feud with for the Lt. Heavyweight Title?

[Guest Trivia247]

Watching NWA back in the 80's though as a promotion you probably couldn't characterize it as a small fed, but they seem to make it seem that way. The NWA shows was done like on a fricken soundstage with like four sets of Bleechers there was a bunch of people but few enough that you can hear individual shouts and such, no Crowd roar. Plus they had that goofy Raised Dais thing for the commentators.

 

 

I remember watching I think the UWA and the Ultimate DINGO warrior.

[Guest netslob]

IWCCW - "Jumping" Joe Savoldi, "Ravishing" Rick Rude (worked one benefit show, hyped to hell), CURLY MOE (remember him?), Vic Steamboat, Tony Atlas, who else...?

i remember Tony Rumble being the comentator. i think he managed, too.

[franchise632 0]

Portland Wrestling!!! That was some good stuff when I was growing up. Billy Jack Haynes, Crush, The Grappler, Beetlejuice aka Art Barr, John Nord, Roddy Piper, and Scotty the Body aka Raven.

 

Some of the great TV shows in 88 and 89. Scotty was awesome even back then. It was a fun territory to work in. I miss it. Great stuff.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

To add to this thread, I didn't get the exposure to a lot of the indys like some of you, since our family didn't get cable 'til about 1991. Before that all I got to see was WWF Superstars on weekends (my parents didn't usually let me stay up for SNME, even). I got to see WCW a lot once we got cable, and WWF Primetime Wrestling on USA Monday nights.

 

I really loved watching Global Wrestling Federation on Sportschannel. I think it was on every weekday afternoon at like 3 PM. I watched it after school a lot. I was a big Patriot fan, and marked out for him when he showed up in WWF in 1997. I also saw IWCCW a couple times. I remember Tony Atlas, and the aforementioned angle with Rick Rude and HTM, but that was about it.

 

Later on, I remember the brief run the American Wrestling Federation had. A channel out of Milwaukee would have them on Saturday afternoons after WCW Worldwide (I think). The big stars were Sgt. Slaughter and Tito Santana, so it was pretty much a joke. I thought it was cool when they brought in the Road Warriors, but unfortunately the fed died out soon after that.

 

Other than that, my chances to see other feds on TV have been slim...other than WCW and WWE, and ECW's run on TNN, there hasn't been much. A local fed around here, the NAWF, used to have a paid programming show on a Janesville TV station, but that deal ran out about two years ago, IIRC. Now they're on a station in Rockford, IL, which I don't get here.