1980 Georgia Championship Wrestling: April (1/2)
Tommy Rich seeks revenge on Austin Idol for attacking his knee and Mr. Wrestling II goes after Harley Race's NWA World Title. Plus, links to watch along!
Welcome to Georgia Championship Wrestling, in this edition you’ll read about Harley Race, Mr. Wrestling II, Tommy Rich, Austin Idol, Kevin Sullivan, Tony Atlas, Alexis Smirnoff and Ivan Koloff, Dusty Rhodes, Leroy Brown, Baron von Raschke, Iron Mike Sharpe, and a whole lot more!
Get caught up with March.
Current Champions (As of Apr. 1, 1980)
NWA World Heavyweight Champion: Harley Race
Defeated Giant Baba (Nov. 7, 1979)
NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion: Austin Idol
Defeated Mr. Wrestling II (Mar. 29, 1980)
NWA Georgia Tag Team Champions: Alexis Smirnoff & Ivan Koloff
Defeated Jerry Brisco & Ole Anderson (Dec. 7, 1979)
NWA National Television Champion: Tommy Rich
Defeated Austin Idol (Feb. 23, 1980)
Sat. Apr. 5 Georgia Championship Wrestling
A doctor updates us on Tommy Rich’s knee injury. They did a scope. He was lucky. (Watch)
Tommy Rich interview. He’s been rehabbing. They show Idol trying to take his knee out. Rich calls him out. Ready to go. Time to be a man. Austin Idol is his number one focus. Facing him Easter Sunday tomorrow at The Omni. Really good promo. (Watch)
Austin Idol interview. He has a crying towel because of Tommy’s sob story. Funny. He wants to show the other side of the story. Arena footage of Idol facing Mr. Wrestling II when Rich attacked him with a crutch. They next show Idol vs. II from TV where Idol beats II with the leglock but it was actually an imposter. The real II showed up to deck Idol! Great angle.
Back to the studio with Idol calling him an animal and an escaped convict! Solie clarifies that it was a fraudulent call that got II out of the building. Adding in the details! Solie then shows last week’s Georgia Heavyweight Title match. Harley Race got involved, Tommy Rich tried to help, but Idol stole the win over II to become the new champion. Idol claims Race just wanted to make sure it was fair and square. Idol still feels he should be wrestling for the Worlds Title. Idol says he is the ruler and teacher tomorrow in The Omni. Rich will pay. Great recap that filled in some blanks from the missing episode. (Watch)
NWA Worlds Champ Harley Race promo. He’s been held hostage in Georgia. Forcing him to come back is against his rights. Tied up his hard earned cash to get him back. He should have been wrestling Idol instead. II is higher than one and Harley is one. Awesome promo. (Watch)
Mr. Wrestling II interview. Talks Idol and Race. Everyone knows it took three men to beat him. Idol is a fake and a phony. Crowd pops big. Gonna beat Race on his own. Proper good guys and bad guys, Plus, the promotion is a babyface, holding heels accountable. (Watch)
Tony Atlas & Kevin Sullivan interview. Have USA flags and do pro USA promo. Sullivan talks about history. Tony is wearing a Ladies Walk On My Chest shirt! Facing Koloff and Smirnoff at The Omni. (Watch)
Tony Atlas & Kevin Sullivan vs. Snake Brown & Tenryu. Atlas is very over. Great dropkick. Tenryu just wants to GO. Big chops and punches. Shows a lot. Atlas gets the pin. Good spirited match. (Watch)
Gordon Solie puts over the dangers of wrestling on TV due to the compacted time limit. Really like that detail. He relates it to how Rich wrestling on TV led to him losing his match with Harley Race. (Watch)
Solie interviews some young fans who are pro USA. Kevin Sullivan puts over the youth of America. The Russians have no chance! (Watch)
Hour Two
Tommy Rich interview. In the best shape of his life. Coming after Idol. It’s building and building. Idol made it personal. Don’t talk about his family. He’ll be signing autographs early. Coming to hurt Idol, brother. Very good promo and it feels like a money feud. (Watch)
Georgia Tag Champs Ivan Koloff & Alexis Smirnoff vs. Gerald Finley & The Scorpion. Russians win with the hammerlock again. Real solid squash. Finley was a good wrestler. Post-match interview with Rock Hunter and The Russians. They want to show their own national pride. They’re not worried about any opponents. Guarantee submission against Sullivan & Atlas. (Watch)
Kevin Sullivan & Tony Atlas interview. They thought Rock was an American? Sullivan really getting a ton of promo time. Atlas is never gonna give up. If they don’t win, they’ll leave Georgia! Those stakes worked a lot because of people coming and going often. (Watch)
Baron Von Raschke vs. Mike Davis. Brain claw squash. Post match interview: Unbeatable. Promoters protecting locals. Really building Baron up. (Watch)
Bad Bad Leroy Brown promo from Florida. On the road chasing Dusty Rhodes all over the south. Wants what's his. Tomorrow at The Omni, brother. Really fun promo. (Watch)
Gordon Solie talks about Dory Funk Jr. being fined and Terry Funk suspended for their actions. 30 day nationwide suspension by NWA.
Southern Champ Dusty Rhodes promo. Wearing a ZZ Top shirt. He’s ringing the bell. The last great hero. He really sounds like Superstar Billy Graham here. A good little promo and feud to drop in again. (Watch)
Austin Idol interview. Has an Austin Idol for President sign. Tommy Rich will be his chauffeur. Claims 8 million homes for Georgia Championship Wrestling. (Watch)
Mr. Wrestling II interview. Thanks the promotion for overruling NWA. Always stood his ground. Wants to make good on his promises. Facing Race tomorrow at The Omni. (Watch)
Iron Mike Sharpe vs. Charlie Fulton. A showcase for Sharpe. Shouts a lot. Wins with a piledriver. Post match interview. Happy to be here. Ready to face the top guys. Gives his background. He wants to be next great Canadian champion like Gene Kiniski. Solie puts over his iron grip. Solie is excellent at getting over new guys to the territory. (Watch)
Other Results: Ted and Jerry Oates defeated Jim Nelson and Joe Powell. Ernie Ladd defeated Marvin Turner. Jay Strongbow defeated Bobby Garrett. French Angel defeated Mike Fever. Chick Donovan vs. Jim Nelson ended without a winner as a time limit draw.
Sun. Apr. 6 @ The Omni
Mike Sharpe defeated Charlie Fulton
Lars Anderson defeated Tenryu
Jay Strongbow and Gerald Finley defeated Ernie Ladd and French Angel
Baron Von Raschke defeated Steve Travis
Dusty Rhodes defeated Leroy Brown
NWA Georgia Tag Team Title Match: Kevin Sullivan & Tony Atlas defeat Alexis Smirnoff & Ivan Koloff (w/Rock Hunter) (c) - TITLE CHANGE !!!
NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title Match: Tommy Rich defeated Austin Idol (c) by disqualification
NWA World Heavyweight Title Match: Harley Race (c) vs. Mr. Wrestling II ended without a winner as a time limit draw. Special Judges At Ringside: Lou Thesz, Dusty Rhodes & Dory Funk Jr.)
Sat. Apr. 12 Georgia Championship Wrestling
A missing episode. Let’s take a look through the results from WrestlingData. Not too much to be learned from just the results. Looks like a light week on stars wrestling.
Ivan Koloff and Alexis Smirnoff defeated Marvin Turner and Ricky Pierce
Baron Von Raschke defeated Mike Fever
Jay Strongbow defeated Buck Starr
Mike Sharpe defeated Jim Nelson
Lars Anderson defeated Charlie Fulton
French Angel defeated Chic Donovan
Gerald Finley defeated Tenryu
If anything is missing or incorrect, please let me know!
Credits: WrestlingData, Retro Wrestling Archive, Kris Zellner, Cagematch.