Georgia Championship Wrestling (7.31.1982) Review

-Originally aired July 31, 1982.

-Your host is Gordon Solie. Gordon announces that Paul Orndorff surrendering the National Heavyweight Championship to concentrate on winning the World Title tomorrow night at the Omni, which really makes no sense. Paul’s good friend Tito Santana comes in to explain Paul’s reasoning, and it really doesn’t make sense when Tito explains it either.

-Paul Orndorff is here to explain it himself. Orndorff considers the World Title “the ultimate belt,” complete with turn signals and sphygmomanometer, and that’s why he’s giving up the National Title. You can keep the National Title and go for the World Title, though! I don’t get this!

PAUL ORNDORFF vs. PETE MARTIN
-Orndorff takes Martin down with an armdrag right away as Ric Flair strolls out to scout the competition. Orndorff reverses a hammerlock and then locks on the wristlock. Flair cannot believe that the National Champion would surrender the belt and all the money that comes with it just to try to prove himself to the great one.

-Dropkicks and a powerslam by Orndorff gets three, and Gordon tells us that Flair seemed a little unnerved by the intensity of the powerslam.

-Masked Superstar and Super Destroyer are here because they understand that there’s some footage of the Junkyard Dog available for screening and they want to have a look.

-And with that, we head to Mid-South Wrestling at the Irish McNeil Boys Club for action. This doesn’t appear to be a 1982 match, and in fact this must be from one of the first tapings there because they haven’t done anything with curtains or lighting, so it just looks like wrestling in a gym. JYD squashes a jobber lickety-split. Superstar and Destroyer agree that he’s good at dancing, but that clothesline of his is a cheap ripoff of the style of clothesline that Superstar has perfected.

-We get words from Junkyard Dog, who says a promoter called him up and asked if he wanted a match against Super Destroyer in Atlanta. He agreed, but he knows that there’s a tendency for people to interfere in Destroyer’s matches, and he’s gonna lay down the Thump on anyone who makes trouble.

SUPER DESTROYER (with Masked Superstar) vs. MIKE DERRICK
-There’s a pause right at the beginning of this match that is unmistakably Gordon muting his microphone and finding somebody to tell him the jobber’s name. Again, why does he not have that info right in front of him? It’s so weird how often Gordon has this problem.

-Front facelock by Super D. He hammers on Derrick and chokes him while demanding that JYD come out wherever he is. Bearhug into a belly-to-belly gives Super D the win.

-Masked Superstar says we’re going to find out how tough Ron Fuller is tomorrow night, when he doesn’t have a chance to run in and attack anybody.

-Tommy Rich is here. He’s not on the card in the Omni tomorrow night, but he’s going to be there anyway because he has his eyes on the NWA Title himself, and he wants to scout both of his possible opponents. He’s rooting for his friend Paul Orndorff because Ric Flair is “a little bit uppity.”

-Fabulous Freebirds are here with their National Tag Team Title belts, and they’re pledging to win the World Tag Team Titles…Oh, you mean you’re not surrendering your belts for a shot at the belts you’re getting a shot at either way? How very odd.

-We watch a past squash match with the World Tag Team Champs, Ole Anderson and Stan Hansen. It’s a pretty intense one-sided ass-kicking with Hansen getting the win with a lariat. The Freebirds, reviewing the squash, give the champs their due, but they know it EATS at Ole and Stan knowing that eventually, they have to face the Freebirds.

-Gordon asks the Freebirds to stick around to review another squash match. Yeah, Ole and Stan win again. They definitely can beat up job guys.

-And Gordon cues up MORE tape from Texas. Interviewer Bobby Simmons interviews Michael Hayes in the locker room, with Abraham Zapruder apparently manning the camera. Michael leads off by saying Terry Gordy isn’t here tonight because he’s visiting his family, and if half of a tag team mentions that his partner isn’t in the building….Yup, Ole and Stan storm into the locker room and beat the hell out of Hayes.

-We go back to the studio, where Gordon is still with the Freebirds, and after reviewing that footage of Hayes getting his ass kicked by his enemies, Gordon just deadpans and says that Ole and Stan nearly damaged the camera during that incident.

TOMMY RICH vs. ABDUL ZATAR
-Rich takes down Zatar again and again while Zatar insists that there’s tights-pulling happening. Zatar manages to clamp a nerve hold onto Tommy’s neck. He chokes Tommy and snaps his neck over the top rope.

-Zatar switches to working the leg, taking Tommy apart piece by piece, and the studio audience is FREAKING OUT because Tommy is having so much trouble this week. Tommy gets a surprising win with a variation on the sunset flip, baseball sliding pretty much into Zatar’s nuts and then pulling him down for the three-count.

-Stan Hansen is annoyed as hell that he had to get out of bed at 4 a.m. to come to a TV taping and tell us that he’s not losing in the Omni tomorrow night.

-The Freebirds offer their rebuttal.

MAGNIFICENT MURACO vs. DALE VEASEY
-Muraco scoops Veasey up and rams him into the corners before slamming him down. Double underhook by Muraco, and a shot into the turnbuckles. Gordon uses “pier six” in an unusual way, merely using it to mean “Veasey is getting his ass kicked.” Language is so fluid. Top rope splash by Muraco gets three.

-Muraco comes over, breathing heavily after facing such tough competition, and then does Gordon’s job by throwing it to comments from Leroy Brown. Brown says the match in the omni will be his fist against Muraco’s thumb.

-Mr. Wrestling II cuts one of his famous promos where he’s wearing the mask and a K-Mart button-down shirt and slacks, and I love him forever for these promos.

KEVIN SULLIVAN vs. ABDUL ZATAR
-Zatar’s barely had time to rest! Sullivan goes nuts on the wrist as Sonny King comes to ringside to do some scouting. Sonny King strolls over to the commentary table and shows us why he didn’t exactly wind up in the mix with Bobby Heenan and Jimmy Hart in New York two years later. He just sounds like a regular guy. Forearm by Sullivan gets the pin.

-Ole Anderson tries to cut a promo, but gets flustered when the audience drowns him out with a Freebirds chant. They again tease that they’ll have a title match on the TV show to resolve this issue, and Gordon says GCW will have to see if that can be arranged.

-Kevin Sullivan sticks around after his match to watch the Iron Sheik do reps with the Iranian clubs, pledging that he’ll double the number of reps that any American does.

IRON SHEIK (with Sonny King) vs. HIS MAN
-Sheik puts the boots to his man and gutwrenches him. Camel clutch gets a quick win.

-BREAKING: There will be an autograph table at the Omni for anyone who gets there 30 minutes early tomorrow night.

-Paul Orndorff is here to again rationalize surrendering his National Title so he can concentrate on a single match that happens tomorrow night.

-We go into commercial with a bumper graphic that says: “Coming Up Next! The Freebirds take on the World Tag Team Champs Ole & Hansen”

-Ric Flair is here to remind us that he’s the best, woo.

-Now the Freebirds come out, DEMANDING that Ole and Hansen get out here so we can have a title match right now, and Gordon is surprised by this challenge being issued. Ole and Hansen aren’t even dressed to wrestle, but the Freebirds goad them until the World Tag Team Champs finally agree to the challenge.

STANDBY MATCH: TOM PRICHARD vs. PETE MARTIN
-To pass the time until Ole and Stan are dressed for action, the two young up-and-comers go at it. Prichard works the arm and then goes to a side headlock, then goes to armscissors. Martin takes control with an elbow and FULL bodyslam. Prichard comes back with a backdrop and a snapmare. Martin dodges a dropkick, but Prichard connects with an enziguiri for three.

-Prichard cuts a promo in his natural speaking voice, and it’s the most jarring thing ever after only hearing his Roddy Piper mimic for my entire life.

-Buzz Sawyer tries to cut a promo, but the Freebirds’ entrance theme cuts him off, and Buzz seems insulted by the rudeness. So the Freebirds wait in the ring for a few minutes, but Gordon gets words that nobody can find Hansen and Ole. So we cue up another standby match, and the studio audience knows where this is going and is not pleased.

STANDBY MATCH: BUZZ SAWYER vs. TONY G
-So I was expecting an angle involving Buzz and the Freebirds, but now I think Sawyer just straight up bungled his cue and came out two minutes early.

-Sawyer applies a front facelock as Don Muraco decides to join Gordon on commentary. He doesn’t get a chance to say much as Buzz finishes quickly with a powerslam. Muraco finishes up with some final words of warning to Leroy Brown.

-The Freebirds’ music strikes up again and damn, Lynard Skynard can get SUPER Big Gulps on the road with the residuals they’re getting from this episode. Freebirds cut another promo, kill some time, commercial break.

-Stan Hansen shows up and cuts a promo, still dressed in street clothes and says he’s going to be in the Omni tomorrow night for action.

-Michael Hayes comes out AGAIN demanding that the champs get in the damn ring.

STANDBY MATCH: TITO SANTANA vs. MIKE JACKSON
-They keep it nice and clean and scientific as the studio audience offers multiple rounds of applause. Tito works the arm while Gordon asks the fans at the Omni tomorrow night to please refrain from pushing and shoving at the autograph table, because the only people I’d be shoving are my neighbors. Have you met my neighbor, Gordon? You’re describing an incentive. She called the police on me once because I walked too loudly going into the bathroom in the middle of the night.

-Jackson applies a side headlock, but Tito sends him into the ropes and slams him for two. Another slam by Tito, and he works the arm. Jackson surprises Tito with a cradle for two. Tito surprises me with a Fuller leglock, and he uses it to roll up Jackson for three. I love that hold and I wish it got used more.

-Tito calls Stan and Ole COWARDS, and the champs won’t stand for that, so we close the show with a brawl.