Video Reviews

CanadianHorseman's Video Review for Pro Wrestling Chronicles

Welcome to my first review for PWC. Instead of reviewing PPVs or DVD releases I will be focusing more on TV wrestling from the territories.
I love the feel and the look you got from the old studio wrestling shows and hopefully you enjoyed watching them too. Anyway - for my first review
I will take a look at the October 31 - 1981 episode of Georgia Championship Wrestling.

- Gordon Solie opens the show by introducing Roddy Piper as the new co-host for GCW. Piper gets off to a great start by saying that having Roddy
Piper on a wrestling show is like having Muhammad Ali on a boxing show.

Match # 1 - Mr. Wrestling II and Steve O vs Tony Russo and Mike Miller
Steve O has to be one of the most boring wrestlers I have ever watched - his matches and interviews are mind numbingly boring. He might be a really
nice guy in person but he has absolutely zero charisma. A fairly

competitive opening match that sees Mr. Wrestling II and Steve O victorious in about 7:30 after Steve O delivers a karate kick to
Tony Russo's head. Mike Miller went on to have a pretty good career wrestling out

Match # 2 - Stan Hansen vs Ed Timbs
Timbs makes the mistake of attacking Hansen before the bell rings. Of course this was the only offense that Timbs could muster as Hansen wins
with a lariat in less than 2 minutes.

- Gordon Solie interviews Dusty Rhodes about his NWA Title match against Ric Flair the next night at the Omni. Rhodes gives his " we all put our
pants on one leg at a time " speech.

- Gordon Solie interviews the NWA World Champion Ric Flair who runs down Dusty Rhodes and his wardrobe. Rhodes comes out and says that
a man is not defined by the clothes that he wears. In a strange twist Rhodes acts

more like a heel here as he slaps Flair in the face and then runs away. Flair goes nuts and Solie states that this will all be settled tomorrow night
at the Omni.

Match # 3 - Austin Idol vs Rick Thor
Despite the bell ringing Idol spends about a minute posing before finally removing his robe. Idol plays the sneaky heel role perfectly here and wins
the one-sided match in about 2:30 with his version of the figure-4

which he calls the Las Vegas Leglock. At some point during this match Piper tells Solie that unlike Dusty Rhodes he puts his pants
on 2 legs at a time.

- Gordon Solie starts to interview Michael Hayes but Austin Idol interrupts and says that Idol Mania is what put Georgia Championship Wrestling
on the map. After Idol leaves Hayes says that Fantasia is actually what made

Georgia Championship Wrestling famous and that Fantasia is here to stay. I find Hayes a little boring as a face and really prefer watching
him as a heel.

- Gordon Solie and Gary Hart watch and comment on a video of Steve O karate training. They are trying to build up a feud betwen Steve O and
The Great Kabuki. Once again Steve O is BORING !!!!!!!!!!

- Gordon Solie interviews The Great Mephisto. Mephisto refutes the claims that The Super Destroyer is actually The Masked Superstar under a
different mask. Superstar has been banned from wrestling in the States after

he attacked NWA official Sandy Scott after Scott fined him for trying to injure Tommy Rich.

- Gordon Solie interviews Stan Hansen. Hansen says that he and Tommy Rich will beat The Great Mephisto's team of Tor Kamata and The Super
Destroyer tomorrow night at the Omni and they will prove that The Super

Destroyer is actually The Masked Superstar.

Match # 4 - The Super Destroyer ( with The Great Mephisto ) vs Don Gilbert
The sole purpose of this match was for Gordon Solie to continually point out the similar wrestling styles and physical similarities between the Super
Destroyer and The Masked Superstar. After about 4 minutes of

The Super Detroyer throwing Gilbert around we get to witness one of the most stupid angles ever done in wrestling. Steve O
comes out ( did I mention how incredibly BORING I find this guy ???? ) and tells

Gordon Solie that he thinks he can prove that The Super Destroyer really is The Masked Superstar under a different mask. And just
how does Steve O go about doing this ???? Well he simply walks up to the ring

and yells out " Hey Superstar " !!!!!! Of course the Super Destroyer reacts to this so now Solie and all the fans are convinced that
The Super Destroyer is indeed The Masked Superstar. This brings out Tommy

Rich who tries to attack The Super Destroyer but is held back by a bunch of other wrestlers. The Super Destroyer eventually wins the
match in 6:00 with the Cobra Clutch.

Match # 5 - Brian Blair vs Bryan St. John
( SIGH ) 5 matches into this review and already I have to watch a second match with a really boring wrestler that I can't stand. . Of course -
Steve O makes Brian Blair almost semi-interesting by comparison. I'm

not going to lie here - I fast forwarded through this match which ended up going to a 6 minute time limit draw.
I guess the B in B. Brian Blair is for BORING !!!!!!!!!!!

Match # 6 - Steve O vs Jim Nelson
Wow - Steve O and Brian Blair in back to back matches. I'm definitely playing this disc the next time I have trouble falling asleep.
Anyway - the electrifying Steve O beats the future Boris Zukov in 7:00 with a

double chop to the head from the top rope.

- Gordon Solie interviews Gary Hart who is with The Great Kabuki. Hart calls Kabuki a mercenary and tells Dusty Rhodes that even though
Halloween is over he should still watch out for The Boogeyman.

Match # 7 - The Great Kabuki ( with Gary Hart ) vs Mike Jackson
A entertaining match as Mike Jackson is one of those guys that gets in a few decent moves in but still always manages to make his opponent
look great. Kabuki wins in 3:30 with a heart/chest punch after walking the

ropes. I prefer this finishing move to that dumb looking double stomp to the stomach that Kabuki usually uses.

- the Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair interviews are replayed. It still looks odd to see Dusty slap Flair and then run away as it really makes him look
like the cowardly heel.

Match # 8 - Stan Hansen and Tommy Rich vs Tony Russo and Billy Joe Goode
A total squash win for Hansen and Rich. Hansen gets the pin at the 4 minute mark after hitting Goode ( who is not ) with the lariat.

- Gordon Solie interviews Stan Hansen and Tommy Rich. Hansen and Rich are guaranteeing a victory tomorrow night against Tor Kamata
and The Super Destroyer. Big Red comes out and Solie announces that Big Red

has been appointed as the Special Guest Referee for the big tag match at the Omni. I wonder if they ever found a referee shirt that was big
enough for that fat bugger ????

Match # 9 - Ray Stevens vs Gerald Finley
They are really pushing Ray Stevens right now so this is a total squash match. Stevens wins with a piledriver in less than a minute.

- Gordon Solie interviews The Great Mephisto. Mephisto promises to collect the $12,000 bounty on Tommy Rich ( which was put out by
The Masked Superstar after he was suspended ) and says that his team of Ray Stevens

and Tor Kamata will hurt any of Tommy Rich's friends that get in their way.

- Gordon Solie interviews the NWA World Champion Ric Flair. Flair promises not only to beat Dusty Rhodes but that he will hurt Dusty Rhodes
tomorrow night at the Omni.

- they replay the Steve O / Super Destroyer incident from earlier in the show. It still looks stupid and Steve O is still boring.

Match # 10 - Ted Oates vs Jose Medina
Kind of a boring match with Oates finally winning with a spinning-toe hold at 7:00.

- Gordon Solie interviews Michael Hayes who announces that his partner ( and one half of the National Tag Team Champions ) Otis Sistrunk
has retired from wrestling. Hayes said that he is waiting to see just what the ruling

from the NWA Review Board will be about the National Tag Team Championships.

Match # 11 - Ole Anderson and Gene Anderson vs Bruno Sammartino Jr. and Bob Russell
The show ends on a good note as the Andersons show why they are the current NWA World Tag Team Champions.
Despite a strong start by Sammartino Jr. the Andersons are in complete control as they both

take turns working over the right arm of Bob Russell who finally gives up at the 5 minute mark.

- Gordon Solie interviews the Andersons. This is actually a little sad to watch as Gene has a very noticeable facial tic at this point. Ole says
that it is usually the teams chasing the champions that make the challenges but in this

case it is the Champions who are challenging any team out there to face them.

Hope you liked it - if you have any comments or questions you can reach me at bobarthur4@shaw.ca . For future reviews I could stick with
GCW for a bit and see how the current angles and feuds there play out or I could go to another territory. If you have any preferences or even
some specific shows or territories that you would want me to look at then just let me know.