The SmarK Rant for Georgia Championship Wrestling – 10.20.79

The SmarK Rant for Georgia Championship Wrestling – 10.20.79

Oh man, KrisP just dropped an entire YEAR of Georgia on the Drive. I’ve never been more happy to pay someone’s Patreon fees.

Taped from Atlanta, GA

Your host is Gordon Solie

Ernie Ladd & Masked Superstar v. Buzz Sawyer & Bob Armstrong

We’re joined in progress with this one, and young Buzz with HAIR, like Bob Ross afro we’re talking, is wild. Superstar dominates Buzz, but Bob comes in and holds off the heels for a bit, before Bobby Heenan trips up Sawyer and Ladd beats on him with a gimmick. But then the ref sees it and calls for the DQ, and the heels get rid of Buzz and proceed to triple-teaming Armstrong. But then Ole Anderson, hot new babyface in the area, makes the save.

Bob Armstrong and Buzz Sawyer join Gordon to discuss the situation, and Buzz does a very laid back promo that is completely not like I’m used to from him. You’re supposed to mellow out as you get OLDER. Bob talks about how everyone tells him not to trust Ole, but he’s had no reason not to trust him thus far. Ole Anderson also stops by and he can’t change the past, but the reactions at the Omni made him realize that it’s nice to have people cheering him instead of booing him. So then Gordon, the ultimate symbol of fan trust in the area, extends his hand for a handshake from Ole because he respects the man now, and Ole accepts. This is fantastic, wrestling is just the best.

Bret Hart v. Bill Howard

Bret, the young man from Great Falls, Montana, takes Howard down with a headscissors to start and controls him on the mat. Howard runs him into the corner to break. This Bret kid should work on taking the buckle better than that. Bret comes back with a backslide to blocks a hiptoss and that gets two. But then Howard whips him into the corner again, so Bret comes out with a sunset flip for two and a rollup finishes at 3:15.

Stan Hansen joins us and he’s still looking forward to quit being Mr. Nice Guy, especially if his opponent is Sterling Golden.

Stan Hansen v. Len Owen

Stan takes him down with a headlock to start, but Owen makes the ropes. Stan takes him down again and works the arm, but Owen gets a cheapshot and tries his own headlock. So Stan drops him with a back suplex and follows with a backbreaker, and then drops elbows on him and finishes with the lariat at 3:06. That was a much less out of control lariat than I’m used to seeing from Stan.

Tommy Rich joins us and Gordon points out that he battled Harley Race to a draw recently, and now Race is “studiously” avoiding him. So next up, Tommy faces Killer Karl Kox for the Georgia title.

Bobby Heenan and his new friend the Masked Superstar join us to warn about how Ole Anderson backstabbed Ernie Ladd and he’ll probably do it to Bob Armstrong as well. And then Bobby gets all flustered and keeps confusing Bob Armstrong with Ole Anderson, and Gordon plays into it and keeps winding him up for comic effect.

The Masked Superstar v. Mike Fever

Superstar works a facelock on the mat and then hits him with a forearm to put him down again and drops a knee for two. He keeps cranking on the facelock, and a back elbow gets two. Headbutt gets two. Swinging neckbreaker gets two. Hooking clothesline gets two, as Superstar keeps picking him up, and then finally he puts the guy away with the cobra sleeper at 3:49. I don’t know why he only went by “The Superstar” in Georgia at this point, but it’s obviously the same Bill Eadie.

Wahoo McDaniel and Tony Atlas join Gordon, and amazingly Wahoo still looks 60 years old in 1979. He was “only” 40 here, by the way. Nothing like seeing some eternally ancient-looking veteran and realizing that he was 10 years younger than I am now to make me feel old. Ole Anderson comes by and offers to back up the babyfaces and they’re gonna team in a six-man this Friday against the Bobby Heenan family.

Sterling Golden joins Gordon, and lets us know that he trains 4 or 5 hours a day and lives for the weights. No one is ever gonna pin him and win the $1000 Golden Challenge! Man he looked like such a star compared to a lot of the southern rasslin’ guys in the territory.

Buzz Sawyer v. Marvin Turner

Buzz works the arm to start as Gordon is impressed at the look of intense concentration on the face of Buzz. Yeah, cocaine will certainly let you concentrate. So actually I think a more accurate take on Buzz’s 1979 look would be if Reed Rothchild decided to switch from doing porn to being a wrestler instead. Buzz with a rollup for two and he goes to a headlock on the mat. Buzz keeps taking Turner down and then snaps off a powerslam out of the corner to finish at 4:24. Nice powerslam! He always did have a nice one.

Chris Markoff & Jacques Goulet v. Gerald Finley & Ricky Fields

Goulet and Markoff are of course the European tag team champions, but I don’t have to remind you of that. Fields counters a hiptoss and takes Goulet down with a snapmare, but then brings in Finley and he promptly gets clobbered by Markoff. Of all the Russians from Minnesota, Markoff looks the most like a guy from Minnesota. Ironically, he was actually Yugoslavian and only emigrated to Minnosota later. Finley fights off the heels and brings Fields in again, but the dastardly Europeans double-team him. Back to Finley, but Goulet hits him with a hard slam in the corner and Markoff works the arm. Fields tries to come in and break up the double-teams, but that just allows more double-teaming while Markoff cranks on the arm harder. Goulet with the hammerlock slam and they keep switching off on the arm. Did everyone else on the show go short or something? This is taking FOREVER. Markoff with another slam and Goulet adds one more hammerlock slam to finish at 9:51.

Austin Idol joins Gordon to wrap things up, as he relates a story about being some local bum in San Francisco in front of 17000 people and then meeting up with a random ring rat in his limo, who talked about how he was the sexiest and best looking wrestler. And she turned out to be FARAH FAWCETT. Who knew she used to be a ring rat? Huge if true. The show is entertaining and educational! And on that note, Gordon sends him away and we’re done for another week.

What a fantastic hour of wrestling this is.