Tracking the Territories 1984- Volume Three Read online

  Tracking the territories: Volume Three

  by Liam Byrne

  ©2018 Liam Byrne. All rights reserved. Find my contributions to wrestling journalism by following me on Twitter @tvtimelimit or checking out the website http://prowrestlingjournal.com/ Many thanks also to Keith Clark for the amazing cover. Check out his other artistic creations at https://www.instagram.com/ksclark where he is killing it on the cross stitch.

  To my wife for her unbending support.

  To all who have read and enjoyed any of my writing, whether Tracking the Territories or otherwise.

  To all the wrestling fans across multiple forums and social media platforms who make this sport a joy to cover.

  To my family.

  Enjoy.

  Contents

  Six months down, six months to go

  July

  Mid-South Wrestling 6.7.84

  CWA Championship Wrestling 7.7.84

  Championship Wrestling from Florida 7.7.84

  World Class Championship Wrestling 7.7.84

  WWF Championship Wrestling 7.7.84

  Georgia Championship Wrestling 8.7.84 (30.6.84 + 8.7.84)

  Mid-South Wrestling 13.7.84

  AWA All Star Wrestling 14.7.84

  CWA Championship Wrestling 14.7.84

  Championship Wrestling from Florida 14.7.84

  World Class Championship Wrestling 14.7.84

  WWF Championship Wrestling 14.7.84

  Mid-South Wrestling 19.7.84

  AWA All Star Wrestling 21.7.84

  CWA Championship Wrestling 21.7.84

  Championship Wrestling From Florida 21.7.84

  MACW World Wide Wrestling 21.7.84

  World Class Championship Wrestling 21.7.84

  WWF Championship Wrestling 21.7.84

  Mid-South Wrestling 25.7.84

  AWA All Star Wrestling 28.7.84

  CWA Championship Wrestling 28.7.84

  Championship Wrestling From Florida 28.7.84

  MACW World Wide Wrestling 28.7.84

  NWA Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling 28.7.84

  World Class Championship Wrestling 28.7.84

  WWF Championship Wrestling 28.07.84

  August

  Mid-South Wrestling TV 3.8.84

  AWA All Star Wrestling 4.8.84

  CWA Championship Wrestling 4.8.84

  MACW World Wide Wrestling 4.8.84

  World Class Championship Wrestling 4.8.84

  WWF Championship Wrestling 4.8.84

  Championship Wrestling From Florida 5.8.84

  Mid-South Wrestling TV 9.8.84

  CWA Championship Wrestling 11.8.84

  Championship Wrestling from Florida 11.8.84

  MACW World Wide Wrestling 11.8.84

  World Class Championship Wrestling 11.8.84

  WWF Championship Wrestling 11.8.84

  Mid-South Wrestling 16.8.84

  CWA Championship Wrestling 18.8.84

  Championship Wrestling from Florida 18.8.84

  MACW World Wide Wrestling 18.8.84

  World Class Championship Wrestling 18.8.84

  WWF Championship Wrestling 18.8.84

  Mid-South Wrestling 23.8.84

  CWA Championship Wrestling 25.8.84

  Championship Wrestling from Florida 25.8.84

  MACW World Wide Wrestling 25.8.84

  World Class Championship Wrestling 25.8.84

  WWF Championship Wrestling 25.8.84

  Mid-South Wrestling 30.8.84

  September

  CWA Championship Wrestling 1.9.84

  MACW World Wide Wrestling 1.9.84

  World Class Championship Wrestling 1.9.84

  WWF Championship Wrestling 1.9.84

  Mid-South Wrestling 6.9.84

  CWA Championship Wrestling 8.9.84

  MACW World Wide Wrestling 8.9.84

  World Class Championship Wrestling 8.9.84

  WWF Championship Wrestling 8.9.84

  Mid-South Wrestling 13.9.84

  CWA Championship Wrestling 15.9.84

  MACW World Wide Wrestling 15.9.84

  World Class Championship Wrestling 15.9.84

  WWF Championship Wrestling 15.9.84

  Mid-South Wrestling 20.9.84

  CWA Championship Wrestling 22.9.84

  Championship Wrestling from Florida 22.9.84

  MACW World Wide Wrestling 22.9.84

  World Class Championship Wrestling 22.9.84

  WWF Championship Wrestling 22.9.84

  Mid-South Wrestling 27.9.84

  CWA Championship Wrestling 29.9.84

  Championship Wrestling from Florida 29.9.84

  MACW World Wide Wrestling 29.9.84

  World Class Championship Wrestling 29.9.84

  WWF Championship Wrestling 30.9.84

  Around the Horn

  AWA

  July

  August

  September

  CWA

  July

  August

  September

  CWF

  July

  August

  September

  GCW/CWG

  July

  August

  September

  MACW

  July

  August

  September

  Mid-South

  July

  August

  September

  WCCW

  July

  August

  September

  WWF

  July

  August

  September

  Appendix

  Black Saturday

  Georgia Championship Wrestling 14.7.84

  Championship Wrestling from Georgia

  Championship Wrestling from Georgia 4.8.84

  Championship Wrestling from Georgia 8.9.84

  Championship Wrestling from Georgia 15.9.84

  Championship Wrestling from Georgia 29.8.84

  Pro Wrestling USA

  Pro Wrestling USA

  Pro Wrestling USA 27.9.84

  Six months down, six months to go

  Though Hulk Hogan’s victory over the Iron Sheik at Madison Square Garden on the 23rd of January is historically one of the most significant – if not THE most significant – moments of the year, 1984 continued to throw up surprise and intrigue as all promotions scrabbled for an increasing slice of the national pie. Arguably, this is not made clearer to a watching audience than in the time between July and September of that year.

  The WWF World Heavyweight Title going to Hulk Hogan, especially after years of being held back in the AWA, was Vince McMahon’s big move to begin to appeal to a mass audience. Coupled with the arrival of Cyndi Lauper on the scene, things were about ready to explode as the WWF were less than a month away from broadcasting live on MTV as Wendi Richter took on the Fabulous Moolah for the WWF Women’s Title. Things continued to look up for McMahon as he sought to ride the crossover appeal between rock and wrestling, yet this didn’t mean he wasn’t still looking around at ways to cripple those who sought to usurp him at the top of the mountain.

  Over the next few months, we’ll see the WWF continue to grab talent from their nearest rivals, most notably World Class and Mid-South, though not all of their acquisitions would work out in the long run. This also leads to the elevation of talent to fill the voids left by those seeking the bright lights of New York as their next career move. How they go about this – some with grace, some with barely hidden vitriol – would add a layer of interest to the weekly television during this time period.

  We’d also see our first real casualty of the war for national control as the Georgia territory as it had been was lost, brought about at
the hands of Vince McMahon and his desire for broadcast televisions spots for the WWF. Like a phoenix from the ashes, a revived Georgia would rise up, but never quite return to past glories.

  Not everything was going to go the WWFs way, however. As the winter months began to approach, a new promotion would spring up that aimed to utilise the best talent from a whole raft of different promotions; the enemy of my enemy is my friend. In the long term, egos would inevitably get in the way, but we witness the birth of a concerted attempt to halt the juggernaut that McMahon’s promotion was threatening to become.

  Outside of the WWF, huge talent changes would leave Mid-Atlantic and Florida looking completely different by the end of September, whilst Memphis would continue ride off the back of a Lawler and Rude feud that would lead to its fair share of trademark Memphis violence.

  As with Volume 2, it is Mid-South where we begin again to track the territories throughout 1984. Enjoy.

  July

  Mid-South Wrestling 6.7.84

  We join Boyd Pierce and Bill Watts as Pierce runs down the card for us. The Midnight Express are due to face The Pretty Young Things who have moved from Memphis for a run in Mid-South, whilst Sonny King is also due to face Buddy Landell in a continuation of their bad blood from recent weeks. With Watts suggesting that actions speak louder than words, we head to the ring with Jim Ross accompanied by Jim Cornette and Mr Wrestling II.

  Cornette announces Wrestling II as his new bodyguard due to all of the weirdos running around Mid-South, including people like Jim Duggan. As for his other charges, it is the Midnight Express who are up first in their match against The Pretty Young Things. Having seen them come from Memphis as heels to de facto babyfaces is somewhat of a change, though the use of Michael Jackson for entrance music guarantees a positive response from most people even if it is rather muted for the new team. It is also interesting for Ware and Austin to be involved straight away with Condrey, Eaton and Cornette, with all five men having been through Memphis pretty much at the same time.

  The fans are quickly behind them as they avoid an initial Midnights charge and trip them up from outside the ring before unleashing an attacking onslaught that has the champions fleeing the ring. Ware opens for the PYT as they attack the arms of first Condrey and then Eaton, with Austin joining in with an armdrag and armlock. A handful of hair doesn’t stop Austin as he lands an armdrag on the incoming Condrey. This tagging and arm based offense continues as the early exchanges clearly go to the newcomers. Ware shows that he is incredibly athletic as well with a leapfrog and dropkick, but Austin gets caught in the Midnight’s corner after a blind tag by Eaton out of a bodyslam.

  The heat segment is brief though as Austin fights his way to Ware after punching Condrey several times in the stomach, which leads to a four man brawl. Austin dropkicks both Midnights, sending Condrey back into the referee by mistake. This prompts a wild, and uncharacteristically missed, finish to the match as Ware dropkicks Cornette off of the apron before Jim Duggan halts Mr Wrestling II’s attempts to land a top rope move by chucking him off of the top and removing his mask in one swoop. With the focus on the unmasking, the camera completely misses Ware cradle Condrey for the three count. A big way to introduce the PYT; a shame that the big pin was overshadowed by the Duggan/Wrestling II shenanigans.

  Steve Williams is up next against Hans Schroeder, though Terry Taylor’s Television Title medal is on Watts’ mind as Williams still has it in his possession. Schroeder has some early success with an armlock and side headlock. It is incredibly short-lived however, with Williams landing a clothesline and a body slam before dropping Schroeder with a tackle to set-up the Stampede. Taylor comes down to ringside with Ross in tow and asks again for his medal back, with Williams calling him a punk and telling him to go through him to get it back. Williams shoves Taylor down before leaving and Taylor gets up promising that if that’s what it takes, he will do just that. An oddly heelish slant to the booking for Williams at this point who is a natural face in the area, but it is good to see him involved in an actual storyline.

  Dale Veasey and Bob Brown are this week’s sacrificial lambs as The Fantastics head to the ring for their second match on Mid-South television. Some quick work by Tommy Rogers and Veasey almost sees Rogers pick up the win with a crossbody after several drop downs, but Veasey kicks out at two. They battle over a side headlock before Veasey manages to power Rogers into the heel corner for a tag. In a similar spot, Rogers does the same to Brown in order to tag out to Fulton, who lands a dropkick and an armdrag. Veasey lands a knee from the apron, but it isn’t long before Rogers is tagged back in to hit a powerslam off of a Fulton Irish whip for the pin. A pretty non-descript outing for the Fantastics.

  Continuing on from the bad blood in recent weeks, Sonny King is up next in singles action against Buddy Landell. Landell makes the poor decision to try and trade punches with King, only to miss and eat several shots to the gut and chest. King drags Landell to the mat with a front facelock. A double leg trip, stomp and eye rake allows Landell some respite, but King takes Landell down with a big boot to the stomach before putting the front facelock back on. He continues to hold the lock, earning several nearfalls as Landell rolls onto his back to try and bridge out.

  Landell is getting nowhere, even with a cheapshot punch over the referee as he tried to break them up, and a slam and small package is enough for King to pick up the win. As the pin is counted, Butch Reed hits the ring with a wooden chair. The chair is broken with two shots to King’s head, but the victor completely no-sells it and runs off Reed and Landell. Odd booking decision for King to go over Landell so easily and not a huge fan of such a huge no-sell of a chair shot at the end.

  Mr Wrestling II is due to face Mike Jackson, but with his mask having been removed, he grabs the microphone to stumble over his new name, Hercules Hernandez. After some double bicep poses and talking about being the mayor of Badstreet, Hernandez is ready to take on Jackson. Usually, Jackson gets some offense in a contest, but the opening exchanges just see him get crushed with a back elbow, a back body drop and a kneedrop. Jackson does hit an elbow to the back of Hernandez’s head after telegraphing a back body drop attempt, yet it only take a powerslam and a big elbow drop for Hernandez to pick up his first win under his new moniker. A completely dominant performance as they look to break Hernandez away from the Mr Wrestling gimmick.

  Ernie Ladd has words for Magnum TA before his match against Steve Brinson, with Ladd claiming that TA will relinquish the title to him rather than meet him in a match, much to the derision of the crowd. A hipblock takedown and slam have Ladd in firm control early on before dropping Brinson with two big forearms. Jawing with the crowd see Ladd caught with several punches from Brinson, but the referee forcing the break in the corner allows Ladd to get a big boot up into Brinson’s face. Looking to send a message to TA, Ladd lands two of his double legdrops to pick up the victory. Nothing out of the ordinary and continues to push the Ladd and TA feud.

  With television time remaining, we get a match with Krusher Kruschev against Rick McCord, making his way from Memphis. McCord manages to avoid a couple of chargers by Kruschev, even scooting through the heel’s legs, but a knee to the gut and punch to the face by Kruschev is followed by McCord missing a dropkick. As Watts complains about the USSR political landscape and how they grind countries down until they become Soviet states, Kruschev grinds McCord down with a chinlock and a forearm to the back of the neck. McCord manages to avoid another charge by Kruschev, yet a telegraphed back body drop allows the Russian to regain control almost instantly. An awkward clothesline is followed by a bodyslam, only for Kruschev to pick McCord back up. One more slam leads to the backbreaker and McCord is force to submit. Another in a line of perfectly acceptable squashes with little to really write home about.

  After a finish that sees a music video of Magnum TA footage accompanied by ‘Born To Be Wild’ and focuses on his motorbike riding almost in equal measure to the in-ring action (and some action with the ladies), we g
et a short interview with Kruschev which covers how he is due to face Sonny King next week, but how he also is still chasing what he saw as his own Television Title, speaking specifically about the behaviour of Steve Williams.

  When a show peaks in the first match, it isn’t a good thing, and that is exactly what this show did. With the introduction of The PYT Express, their defeat of the Midnight Express and Duggan’s reveal of Mr Wrestling II, the first match had a lot going on and was followed by a lot of fairly average squash matches. Outside of that, a dodgy decision to put King over Landell clean wasn’t the best of ideas either.