Four AWA bouts from Salt Lake City Utah, 3/15/84. Taped for Japanesse TV. Match #1 The Fabulous Freebirds(Gordy and Roberts)  vs Baba/Tenryu. I'm sure this is obvious considering the level and quality of foe here, but this is the best I have seen the AJPW team look in this AWA trek! Plus this crowd at the Salt Palace is really hot for all of these matches. Plus Roberts and Gordy know how to work and sell for the stars from the Far East. This is good work from everybody, Gordy was so damn good as a "Worker"! Roberts the seasoned vet made everything done to him look great. Tenryu is Japanese mirror of Hansen just a impervious granite wall, but you believe every blow he throws! And Baba was a legend and knew what he could do and when to do it! Tenryu gets major "heat" put on him as always when your partner is a Giant. Baba makes the tag and battles fairly even with Gordy, but manages to nail Roberts with the big boot. Gordy breaks up that pin attempt but his tussl...

The Japanese recording of the AWA tour/territory continues with 4 bouts from Green Bay Wisconsin from 3/11/84..... Match #1 Giant Baba/Tenryu vs "Mr.Electricity" Steve Regal and Roger Kirby! When you read the description or see the video of this 7 minute 43 second match. You might think "Hey this incredible Kentucky hillbilly dumb shit(me!) already did this bout"!...and you would be mostly right!...... sub in Roger "I used to be a low rent Nature Boy" Kirby" for Kevin "I'm the dipshit that tried to kill Vince 8 years later" Kelly and the match is almost a carbon copy!.... Kirby and Tenryu did engage in a nice short chop battle at one point...Unlike Chicago the Japanese did get minor cheers from the Packer faithful! Baba booted Kirby for the win... https://youtu.be/FJbU1w-8Jx8 Match #2 The BlackJacks vs Nick Bockweinkel/Harley Race....I hate saying this with these four greats, but this match, or more correctly said what they showed on ...

Mid-Atlantic Tv Tournament Final 3/10/84 Dick Slater vs Mark Youngblood Story is simple here but effective! Slater attacks Youngblood before the bell, in fact we don't even get to see most of it on camera! When the show gets back from break Youngblood is on the floor seemingly out of comission. A very young looking Tim Horner makes an appearance to help a batterted Youngblood to the back. However as he is being led up the asile, he wakes up and breaks away hoppling back to the ring. Because he knows this is for the TV title! Slater beats him in every way for most of this 7 minute match. Mark though will not go quietly!  When Youngblood even manages a small comeback the people are jumping up out of thier seats. Stater hurls him the floor and hits a bridging back suplex to bring Youngblood back in the ring. Both men's shoulders are down with the bridge, but Youngblood gets a shoulder off the canvas before 3 and it is over! The new Mid-Atlantic and first Tv Champion Mark Youngbloo...

Author's Note: This is such an interesting thing that All Japan Pro Wrestling did after Tsuruta won the AWA title. Not only did he and Baba and Tenryu work AWA dates between home tours, they bought an announce team over to do commentary! Using WGN cameramen! Makes it seem very legit from a sports perspective!  AWA card 3/4/84, Match #1 Brad Rheingans/Billy Robinson vs "Mr. Electricity" Steve Regal/ Kevin Kelly(the future Nailz) The Video begins by showing some of the sites around Chicago with the "Star Wars" theme behind it, Ok....why?....Moving on.. We see the crowd standing for the National Anthem, again wrestling presented as sport! As you might guess early Robinson and Rheingans just chain and mat wrestle ther foes to near oblivion! No Wonder with Brad being on 2(one sadly being 1980 the year we boycotted Moscow)Olympic wrestling teams. Meanwhile Billy Robinson was one of the great "Catch" Wrestlers ever! From the hallowed "Snake Pit" i...

WCCW tag bout Jimmy Garvin and the Missing Link vs Chris Adams and "Iceman" King Parsons, Dallas TX 3/2/84! This was a really well done tag match with four very different personalities! This was tweleve minutes of chaos! Adams in a previous bout had taken/stolen some of Garvin's ring attire. We wore Jimmy's long white jacket and gloves to the ring. He and Sunshine(Garvin's former valet) did a perfect pantomime of Jimmy and Precious. Even down to Adams doing "Gorgeous" and his whacky posing! The crowd ate this up!...It was very well done, though the whole thing Jimmy and Precious are on the floor screaming Thief, and that's my stuff! In fact during the match while Garvin had Adams in a reverse chinlock he is yelling "I want my Stuff"! Link did stalk Sunshine a few times and Parsons was there to use link as a punching bag! (Man he had great looking punches). It was by in-large a very believable brawl. The finish came when Link headbutted Adam...

AJPW 2/26/84, Match #1  NWA Junior Heavyweight title bout, Champion Chavo Guerrero vs Mighty Inoue! Guerrero establishes he is the heel before the bell as he kicks Inoue in the stomach!... The 1st few minutes are very "mat based" hold counter hold spots! I love this style of wrestling, But a long description of a Lucha Leg hold that is only applied for 30 seconds, seems pointless!.... Chavo is clearly targeting the leg of Inoue. As he bar's it for several minutes. Then puts Inoue in a "Mexican Surfboard hold! Inoue finally manages after several minutes to get free of all the leg holds and hit a piledriver to turn the tide of battle! Then they do a breathtaking series of moves for the time as Guerrero does two forward rolls from the top rope and hit a half body scissors/victory roll for a two count! Both men are back up and square off again! The two get into a overhand chop battle. Won by Guerrero who thrown Inoue to the floor and starts to go to work on the legs agai...

We began today's blog on a somber note, with the passing of Memphis manager/historian Travis Scott Bowden. This one hit me very hard, Scott was like me a huge Memphis wrestling fan growing up! He saw his 1st live Memphis card the 1st week on January in 1977! He had incredible wit as a manager in USWA in the mid 90's only surpassed by his deep knowledge and love of the history of Memphis Wrestling! I feel like I lost a dear friend I never knew! This clip is Scott at his best! We love and miss you sir!... https://youtu.be/WUqrPdHveDY Mid-South Wrestling The last Week of Feb 1984, A wild and wooly show this time around(most of them are) The big story the deepening of trouble between Mid-South tag champions Magnum TA and Mr. Wrestling II! Boyd Pierce and Jim Ross start the show by showing the TA Music Video from last week, Then we go to the ring for the contract signing of a future North American Title bout between Champion JYD and Number 1 contender Magnum TA. In the ring along ...

Match #1 Black Gordman and Great Goliath vs Buddy Moreno and Jose Lothario This stems from a single match in Houston 2 weeks previous were Moreno beat Gordman, with help from Lathario in his corner! ( a bout so boring it took me way to long to watch it!) This has to be better!... From the opening bell it is obvious this crowd loves Jose Lathario. He had a mainstay in Houston, San Antonio hell all throughout Texas for many many years!(in an interview I saw once Dusty Rhodes called him one of the best "babyfaces" that Dusty ever saw!)... They did several classic tag team spots early, including Goliath coming in to punch Lathario who was being held from behind by Gordman. Jose ducks and both he and Gordman backdrop Goliath! The crowd is up for this match!...Moreno does the take both opponets over at the same time spot,  Goliath in the head lock and Gordman in the head scissors and the place goes crazy! When the heels return to the ring they get a little heat on Moreno. He does m...

AJPW United National Heavyweight Tournament Final. Ricky Steamboat vs Genichiro Tenryu vs Ricky Steamboat. 2/23/84(Author's Note: This was to determine a new champion as this was the belt held by David Von Erich when he died earlier that month.) .... The three matches in today's blog are simply a "Workrate"fans dream! This bout is a great way to start that! This obviously was a great match, with these two facing off, that is not exactly news! The twenty minutes we see here start off slow. With Tenryu in controll but he starts to crank op the pressure with a back suplay and a piledriver. After Steamboat does a nice spot/bump flying out over the top rope to the apron. His always stoic foe brings him back in and puts on a side headlock. Steamboat fights out of that and hits a nice backdrop/deep arm drag combanation. As soon as the arm bar is locked in however, Tenryu counters out with a head scissors! Steamboat spends a good chunk of effort trying to escape those power f...

Philly Spectrum 2/18/84 Match #1 WWF World Title match Champion Hulk Hogan once again faces the challenge of The Masked Superstar. While I know I covered a highly edited verion of this match that took place on 2/10/84 in St. Louis on my blog for 4/14. There are several reasons I chose to review this version of the bout from Philly! One,  This is the full match, though many of the "spots" and the DQ finish are the same. Secondly I/we get a clear chance to see how mega-white hot over Hogan was forh is 1st apperance in the Spectrum, since winning the title almost a month before in MSG! Philly fans have gained a reputation over the years for being tough and "smarter" than many cites. Rightly so, but the loved this man on this night and for many to come! Thirdly Long time beloved Philly play by play man Dick Graham is having the time of his life,  He almost comes across as intoxicated or "on something! He repeats the same phrase"Don't you really just love i...

Mid-South TV 3rd week of Feb 1984 Big news of this hour Magnum TA is named number one contender for JYD's North American Title, and Mr Wrestling II is not happy about that at all. It came about in thee dressing room in New Orleans. Watts is talking to JYD while II and TA workout over at the side. "Matchmaker" Grizzly Smith comes in to tell/congratulate TA on being named number one contender! Dog says he looks forward to a tough clean bout between them soon. II is upset right away feeling bypassed by Mid-South and JYD! We go back to Ross at the desk who takes us through last weeks events! II says in another taped piece in front of Magnum that it is a conspiracy by Dog because he knows he can beat the "Kid" no problem! TA looks confused hurt and a tad angry!.... In Match action JYD pinned Nikolai Volkoff in mere seconds in their Mid-South TV tournament contest!  As Terry Taylor came to ringside to keep an eye on Krusher Darsow. Volkoff was attempting to get in the...

Mid-South TV airing the 2nd week of February 1984 Well This was another wild very entertaining week of Mid-South TV. Your commentators for the hour(I swear to God I am not making this up) Boyd Pierce and Junkyard Dog! The reason for this becomes clear as the show moves along. We start with a Magnum TA highlight package to "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurythmics. This is Straight up Memphis Wrestling "cheesetastic!"  In ring action starts with a Midnight Express squash match, the highlight of which is Cornette before he intro's his duo says that "Cowboy" Bill Watts had better watch what he says about his mama/family or they will buy Mid-South sports and Watts can work for Jimmy or be fired! (foreshadowing anybody.....) In the Tv Title tournament this week Maso Ito beat Lanny Poffo, In a bout very much like the one  coverd in this blog two days ago from Houston! Biggest news/angle of the week took place next, As after a MR Wrestling II singles squash he is jump...

The All-time legendary ring announcer #HowardFinkel passed away today at 69 years old, after a long illness! Doing this daily blog of wrestling in the year 1984 I hear Howard's deep ringing baritone every day and I smile! He loved wrestling and was almost a one man Coliseum Video in the early days of that company! Let this sink in no matter your favorite wrestler or favorite era in wrestling. We all can close our eyes and hear his voice! What a legacy that is! ... This is always the 1st thing I think of when I think "The Fink" Rest easy Howard you were and are very loved!  https://youtu.be/3TVU-sjy5_4 Part 2 Mid-South House Show Houston TX, 2/10/84 Match #1 "Hacksaw" Butch Reed vs Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart In a nutshell this was just a damn well done "fight"! This match broke down miliseconds into it with both guys just rolling on the mat taking turns straight up choking the other man! "Anvil" forces Reed to the floor. When Jim fin...

WWF Tag title bout, Murdoch and Adonis vs Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas.2/10/84 (Author's note: This is a very small ring, so small that I noticed how small anyway and The link says 2/13/that is when it aired on TV) The story of the bout is this! I assume do to a previous attack/match with Murdoch/Adonis one of the champions comes to the ring looking like a injured British Redcoat at the Battle of Concord during the war for independence! All bandaged and stapled up already bleeding. I gotta give praise the commentators Vince and Okerlund do a great job during this match. They discuss Johnson's obvious courage to want to wrestle in light of the injury. They also are "honest" in talking about how foolhardy it is to be that brave, and the fact that Atlas must try to carry the load. As the bout progresses they are yelling sometimes pleading for the ref to stop the bout! Adonis/Murdoch are damn near flawless in thier role as the let Johnson run wild early, but slowly start ...

 David Von Erich vs The Missing Link 2/6/84, Well folks a moment has arrived I have dreaded since I came up with the idea for the telling/retelling of the year 1984 in pro wrestling. The last known footage of David Von Erich before his death 4 days later in a hotel room in Japan! I must tell you that watching David in the match makes me deeply sad! I cannot see him wrestle without this happening! David wrestles Dewey Robertson AKA "The Missing Link" here. I watched this match for the 1st time last night, doing research for this blog and I was gobsmacked that David's entrance music on this night, which he did a two step jig in time  with in the ring by the way! Was a big hit for miss Tanya Tucker called" Texas(When I Die)" can you believe that heartbreaking irony! .... The match was ok it took place in what looked to be a actual cattle barn! There was a big drop off at ringside Link almost "fell" into several times. His manager Gen Skandar Akbar having...

Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title Bout, from TV 2/4/84  champion Ivan Koloff vs (God help us) Angelo Mosca JR! I have great respect and admiration for wrestlers. I hope this blog leaves no doubt about that. All that made clear, Angelo Mosca JR was so bad I don't understand why he chose wrestling! This was for that territory's highest honor! This bout made me angry and confused and sad! Ivan Koloff is now and was even then a legend! To have that man a star in every sense of the word loose to this poor kid who makes Eric Watts look like Harley Race is beyond words! As we join the bout Koloff is mid-beatdown. David Crockett mic side with Johnny Weaver is trying like mad to get Mosca Jr over. Talking about his will his determination his heart, he never once brings up the kid can't work! The pipe in obvious crowd noise for a good portion of this bout so the fans live might have been cheering Ivan! A rare thing for that era! Ivan is on offense 95% of the time as the kid sells WAYYYY...

Before I begin the month of Febuary 1984,I just wanted to say thank you to everybody who has read this blog to this point. It is a labor of love for me! Leave a comment anywhere you may read this,  feedback and discussion are welcome! Mid-South Tv For The 1st week of Febuary 1984, The video links to Mid-South always list them as Thursday of the week, but they most likley were shown that weekend on television around the territory. ..... Odd to say this about Mid-South TV but not alot happened! The biggest news was the beginning of the Mid-South TV  Title Tournament! In fact the main event of the show was the 1st first round bout Terry Taylor vs Buddy Landell. The match was ok, odd though to see these two men who 18 months later would be in the midst of a hot feud/program for NWA National Title in Jim Crockett Promotions! Taylor got the victory after a nice stiff looking flying forearm!....Other things of import on the show Hacksaw Duggan is out of the tournament due to an inj...

WCCW TV 1/28/84 Match #1 Buddy Roberts/Terry Gordy vs Kevin and Mike Von Erich(God help him he had no business in the ring) Lots of stuff on the line here, If a Freebird loses the fall he is gone from Texas for a year. If a Von Erich gets pinned Kevin is gone for a year(They say that Kevin put himsel up for the punishment because since Mike had just started it would not be fair to him to be out a year.(real reason nobody gave a damn about Mike yet!)...Plus if the Birds win P.S. Hayes can wrestle in Texas again! Both teams do pre-tape pre-match interviews Kevin talks the whole time, besides  Mike saying yep in the most timid wooden scared voice possible! I mean this it is difficult and sad for me to watch Mike wrestle!... This was Russo style way overbooked to the point of being silly! The match by in large was not bad! Mike threw two nice dropkicks and had a headlock on Buddy Roberts for several minutes. Gordy got in and appeared to beat the piss out of poor mike! The finish was s...