The SmarK Rant for World Championship Wrestling – 06.25.83

The SmarK Rant for World Championship Wrestling – 06.25.83

I really enjoyed the first episode posted onto the Vault last week and I wish to support them doing further postings as well of Georgia because it’s awesome. Preservation of this stuff is really important and it’s great to have such a pristine copy available for people to watch.

https://youtu.be/m8sXxm05j_g?si=VCr3g9ioMwWkX7L3

Taped from Atlanta, GA

Your host is Gordon Solie

Mr. Wrestling #1 joins us to start, and I guess he’s the color commentator for the week.

BREAKING NEWS! Gordon talks about the new ruling that just came down, which is that if a match is a draw, the referee can decide who the winner is and make that call.

The Iron Sheik v. Bob Roop

Roop takes Sheik down with a rollup and then works a side headlock before hitting him with a hiptoss and going back to the headlock again. Roop switches him to a facelock but Sheik escapes with overhand chops and beats Bob down in the corner. Sheik with a slam for two while Wrestling #1 notes that suddenly wrestlers have gone from 220-230 pounds all the way up to 270-280. GEE I WONDER WHY THAT WOULD BE? Sheik puts him down with a big boot, but Roop comes back with a suplex for two. Sheik goes back to beating on him with chops, but Roop fights back and dodges a Sheik senton. Small package gets two. Sheik with a sunset flip for two, but time expires at 6:45, so we go to the referee decision: A DRAW. Tremendous that they made such a big deal of that new rule and then immediately just had the referee decline to pick a winner. Nick Patrick is a COWARD.

Larry Zbyszko joins us, complaining that Mr. Wrestling #2 is a CHEATER who stole the National title from him. So we get footage from the Omni to back up his assertion. #2 beats Larry down with punches and kicks, which Larry defines as CHEATING, but #2 charges with the kneelfit and the ref gets bumped. So Rick Rude runs in and counts the pin on behalf of Wrestling #2 and they take the belt. So Larry once again reminds us that he beat Bob Backlund and Bruno Sammartino, and now he’s got a completely unbiased referee for his matches: KILLER BROOKS. So Brooks lets us know that he’s gonna be fair, and he told Larry to make sure to keep his shoulders up on the mat because if the shoulders are down, Brooks is gonna count!

Larry Zbyszko v. Pistol Pez Whatley

So as promised, Killer Brooks is the referee, so Mr. Wrestling #2 decides to go take a seat in Pez’s corner. Whatley works the arm while Gordon relates the famous angle of Larry buying the National title from Killer Brooks for $25,000, which of course inspired another much bigger angle 5 years later. Larry works a headlock and yells at the crowd, which was basically his finisher, but Pez powers out of it. Larry takes him down, but Pez gets a sunset flip for two while Brooks is being a suspiciously fair referee. Finally Larry slugs away in the corner to take over and puts him down with a back elbow, but he misses an elbow and Whatley fights back with headbutts and a dropkick for two. Pez with a backslide for two and the time expires at 6:36, so naturally Brooks awards the match to Larry on points. Tremendous. So now the first segment makes more sense as a “control”, where you can see a clearly even match that gets decided as a draw.

Back at the desk, Wrestling #2 and Pez are disgusted at this injustice and blatant cheating on display. So he’s gonna keep the National title belt and Larry can come take it from him should he be man enough.

Tommy Rich joins us, recipient of an award from the fans, a SOLID GOLD SEIKO WATCH, for being the best wrestler of 1982.

Mr. Wrestling #2 v. Killer Brooks

So now Pez is in #2’s corner, and Wrestling #1 hits the ring and decides to take over as referee to ensure fairness. And then Rick Rude joins us, as does Larry, as this is a whole donnybrook situation threatening to erupt. Brooks dodges a kneelift, but #2 hits him with a hiptoss and threatens it again, so Brooks retreats to the corner. #2 goes to work on the knee, but Brooks uses some subterfuge to run him into the turnbuckle and go to a chinlock. Brooks beats him down and stomps away on the ropes. Larry tries to slip Brooks a foreign object, but Wrestling #1 sees the cheating, steals the object, and #2 hits the kneelift for the pin at 5:20.

Mr. Wrestling #2 joins us at the desk and he’s still got the belt, so Larry is gonna have to come get him on July 3 at the Omni, with Wrestling #1 as the special referee to make sure nothing bad can happen.

Paul Ellering joins us and tells us to imagine the hands of the Road Warriors and who they might have touched and where they might have been. No thanks, I’ve read Animal’s book and I know the answers to those questions already and wish I didn’t in some cases.

Ronnie Garvin joins us with some footage from the Omni, as he beat Iron Sheik in 11 minutes and thought he was the new TV champion, but of course everyone knows that TV title is only on the line for the first 10 minutes. So Garvin gets a little upset and does the GARVIN STOMP on the trophy that represents the TV title. And now at the next Omni, Ronnie gets one last chance and he’s gonna do it under 10 minutes this time.

Buzz Sawyer v. Ronnie Garvin

Sawyer comes in hot with a suplex, but Garvin fights back with chops and adds a backdrop before punching Buzz to the floor. And Sawyer decides to walk out at 1:10.

The Road Warriors & Paul Ellering v. Arn Anderson, Brett Wayne & Chief Joe Lightfoot

Arn has apparently turned babyface again since the last show, rejoining with Ole. The babyfaces double-team Hawk and work on the arm. Arn gets taken to the Warrior corner and worked over, but time expires on the show.

This was a GREAT episode with all kinds of stuff going on.