1980 Georgia Championship Wrestling: November
The famous Four Flat Tires angle. Austin Idol and Kevin Sullivan battle The Freebirds. Ted Dibiase arrives. Plus, links to watch along!
Welcome to Georgia Championship Wrestling, in this edition you’ll read about The Fabulous Freebirds, Austin Idol, Kevin Sullivan, Tony Atlas, Jack Brisco, Ole Anderson, Ted Dibiase, Mr. Saito, Steve Keirn, Robert Fuller, Terry Taylor, and so much more!
Get caught up with October.
Current Champions (As of Nov. 1, 1980)
NWA World Heavyweight Champion: Harley Race
Defeated Giant Baba (Sept. 9, 1980)
NWA National Heavyweight Champion: Jack Brisco
Brisco shows up as National Champion and Title stays in Georgia
NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion: Tony Atlas
Defeated Dennis Condrey (Oct. 24, 1980)
NWA Georgia Tag Team Champions: The Fabulous Freebirds
Defeated Mr. Wrestling I & II (Oct. 10, 1980)
NWA National Television Champion: Terry Funk
Defeated Terry Taylor (Oct. 12, 1980)
NWA Georgia Junior Heavyweight Champion: Stan Lane
Defeated Kevin Sullivan (Sept. 3, 1980)
Sat. Nov. 1 Georgia Championship Wrestling
Fabulous Freebirds interview. Wearing pink and black. Hayes says they’re not wrestling Kevin Sullivan & Austin Idol. Sullivan and Idol demand the match. (Watch)
Freebirds back out. They will face Sullivan but not Idol. (Watch)
Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts) vs. Gerald Finley and Marvin Turner. Birds squash. Sullivan and Idol come in to brawl after but the Freebirds bail. Austin Idol cuts a killer promo on the Jailbirds. Kevin Sullivan calls them yellow! He knows Idol can get devious. Nov. 14 at The Omni. The birds will fly! Jailbird chants. (Watch)
Freebirds interview. They respond to Idol and Sullivan. Gordy’s gonna make them pay. The Freebirds could carry a show like few others. (Watch)
Second Hour
Kevin Sullivan interview. He wants to wrestle The Freebirds today and they can chose his partner. (Watch)
Freebirds interview. They can’t believe it. The fans don’t deserve to see the match this week. Next week’s show is one hour early. Mike Davis is Sullivan's partner. The Freebirds are gonna put tag titles up! Kevin Sullivan comes out and confirms it all. He calls them stupid for not reading the fine print. The special ref is Austin Idol! Big pop. Idol is gonna knock the pink off of them! Good angle for TV to get more juice out of this feud. (Watch)
Other Results: Terry Taylor defeated Johnny Carr. Tony Atlas defeated Charlie Fulton. Ole Anderson defeated Mike Davis. Ted DiBiase defeated Rick Connors. Masa Saito defeated Gerald Finley. Ted DiBiase defeated Charlie Fulton. Steve O defeated Rick Connors. Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts) defeated Jack Poure and Johnny Carr. Roger Mason defeated Marvin Turner
Sat. Nov. 8 Georgia Championship Wrestling
Kevin Sullivan interview. He asks for some time because Idol is not here yet. Freebirds tell him to man up. Idol is supposed to be the ref. Hayes agrees to prolong the agony. (Watch)
Austin Idol is still not here. Solie says they’re running short. Hayes says Idol is not coming. He has a telegram from Idol apologizing to them. Idol was just mad because they turned him down. Another very good show long storyline here. (Watch)
Ray Candy interview. He’s gonna be in Tony Atlas’ corner to counteract The Assassin. (Watch)
Ole Anderson vs. Jerry Roberts. Ole is a clubbing, physical bruiser yet cowardly at times. Roberts gets some shine in. Ole has a nice suplex. Ole wins a good TV match. Ole joins Solie post-match. He’s disgusted. He thinks he should be the Georgia Champion. We get pre-recorded comments from the new Georgia Champion Tony Atlas. Now he knows what it’s all about. He tells Ole to come get the title. Ole responds by breaking Tony’s Black Athlete of the Year Award and he’s going to take his belt at The Omni on Nov. 14th. (Watch)
Freebirds back out. They’re upset at the procrastination. Kevin Sullivan wants a few more minutes. Idol gave him his word he’d be here. You know the Freebirds are up to something but there is a small seed of doubt given Idol’s history. (Watch)
Solie announces that next week will be the first ever women’s battle royal.
Bob & Brad Armstrong interview. Brad suffered a shoulder injury. He’s so young and it barely looks like him! Bob cuts a good promo on Mr. Saito. Someone is gonna take his money. Solie says Bob will face Saito next week on TV! (Watch)
Freebirds back out. Idol is not here.They’re gloating. Terry Gordy heard Jack Brisco is gonna help Kevin Sullivan. (Watch)
Kevin Sullivan & Mike Davis interview. Still waiting for Idol. Solie is now doubting Idol. Hayes tells him it's now or never and Sullivan agrees. (Watch)
NWA National Tag Team Titles Match: Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts) (c) vs. Kevin Sullivan and Mike Davis. The faces clean house early. The fans are red hot. A rocking TV match. Jack Brisco joins commentary. Terry Gordy uses a BRUTAL power bomb to beat Davis. High end TV match for the time. (Watch)
Michael Hayes blames Sullivan for Davis being hurt. Sullivan goes after Hayes and The Freebirds bounce. The faces empty out. There’s still no Idol. Once it’s safe, Hayes goes back to Solie and blames Sullivan some more. That’s awesome heel work. Do something dastardly and put the blame on a babyface. Freddie Miller says Idol is here and he is!!! Idol is ready to ref but Solie says the match is over. Idol had a flat tire. The telegram gets brought up and Idol asks what telegram? Idol, Hayes and Solie are great here. Hayes said he had four flat tires. How would Hayes know it was four flat tires?? He’s been exposed! Idol kicks his ass. The Freebirds take Idol out with a chair. Sullivan back! It’s mayhem! Very hot angle! Great television. Brilliantly executed as well. Must see. They redid this in 1995 WCW with Johnny B. Badd and Diamond Dallas Page. (Watch)
After the break, Idol is bloodied up. Sullivan vows to make Jailbirds pay! They’re gonna get the tag team titles in The Omni. Idol promises a revolution! Awesome promo. Sullivan was a great babyface before the devil business. (Watch)
NWA World Champion Harley Race promo. He’s coming to Columbus to face the WrestleRoyal winner that night. (Watch)
Other Results: Ted DiBiase defeated Tom Stanton. Jim Brunzell defeated Charlie Fulton. Jack Brisco defeated Roger Mason. Mr. Saito defeated Marvin Turner. Terry Taylor defeated Bob Garrett. Jim Brunzell and Steve O defeated Roger Mason and Tom Stanton.
Sun. Nov. 9 Best of Georgia Championship Wrestling
Terry Taylor interview. There’s no shame in losing the TV Title to Terry Funk. He’s moving forward. (Watch)
National TV Title Terry Taylor (c) vs. Terry Funk. They show the title change match. Taylor gets a good reaction and Funk is hated. Kevin Sullivan is on commentary. Funk stooges and they work a headlock well. Funk takes over with his jabs but Taylor fires back well. They get back to headlock but Funk counters and wins the TV Title. Good to very good TV match. (Watch)
Austin Idol & Kevin Sullivan interview. Leaving the past in the past. Idol is inflated with fury. Sullivan is gonna start in Marietta and finish in The Omni. Another benefit of The Freebirds act is that it allows for a whole bunch of different combinations of matches in different towns. Really strong promo here as Idol and Sullivan play off each other well. (Watch)
Fri. Nov 14 @ The Omni
Steve O defeated Tom Stanton
Ray Candy defeated Assassin #2 by disqualification
Steve Keirn and Terry Taylor defeated Charlie Fulton and Roger Mason
Mr. Saito defeated Jerry Oates
Jim Brunzell defeated Dennis Condrey
Ted DiBiase defeated Killer Khan
NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title Match: Tony Atlas (c) defeated Ole Anderson
NWA National Heavyweight Title Match: Jack Brisco (c) defeated Terry Gordy
NWA Georgia Tag Team Titles Match: Austin Idol and Kevin Sullivan vs. Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts) (c) ended without a winner as a no contest
Sat. Nov. 15 Georgia Championship Wrestling
Austin Idol & Kevin Sullivan vs. Bobby Garrett & Roger Mason. Very colorful. Showcase match for Idol and Sullivan. (Watch)
Charlie Fulton & Stanley Lane vs. Terry Taylor & Steve Keirn. Young Stan Llane looks good in there with Taylor. Kerin beats Fulton with the sleeper. Good talent here. After, Keirn challenges Mr. Saito for the money and Saito accepts. (Watch)
Solie welcomes back Robert Fuller. He’s got a tag partner for next week. 7’4” and 400 pounds. His own Freebird who is gonna stir up some mess! It’s Stan Frazier. Solie asks about NWA allowing Judy Martin & Joyce Grable to enter the men's tag tournament. It’s unprecedented. Fuller says he likes girls but doesn’t know what to say. It’s the trend of the world. Solie really put him on the spot. (Watch)
Kevin Sullivan & Austin Idol interview. They show what cowards the Jailbirds are. Omni clips. Gordy was supposed to wrestle Jack Brisco but they jumped him and took out Jack. Idol and Sullivan made the save. This is a new revolution. This is Rock and Roll. Show some clips of their match against The Freebirds. They show good teamwork. There’s a ref bump and they had it won but Hayes used the belt and Sullivan was pinned. A second ref took the belts and held them up. This continues to be a strong top program. (Watch)
Mr. Saito vs. Steve Keirn. Another $5k challenge with more amateur wrestling exchanges. Saito has to use the over the top DQ. Decent but short. Keirn wants the $5K after but Saito declines. (Watch)
Austin Idol & Kevin Sullivan vs. Charlie Fulton & Jack Poure. Another showcase for Idol and Sullivan. Post match they talk about coming after the Jailbirds. Solie puts over the Figure 4 as a hold used by Dibiase, Slater, and Brisco. Idol also puts over Buddy Rogers and Jack Brisco. His variation is the Las Vegas Leglock. Next up is the Thanksgiving special at The Omni. The Tag Team Tournament. They want the Freebirds. (Watch)
Other Results: Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts) defeated Jerry Roberts and Ken Woodby. Jim Brunzell defeated Tom Stanton. Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts) defeated Steve O and Marvin Turner. Ted DiBiase defeated Jerry Roberts. Roger Mason defeated Dutch Mantell.
TITLE CHANGE: There doesn’t seem to be a record of it but somewhere in here, Steve Keirn became the National TV Champion. Funk was working All Japan tours but there is a result listed for him in Georgia in November but not against Keirn. If anyone has more info, I’m very interested!
Sat. Nov. 22 Georgia Championship Wrestling
Robert Fuller introduces Plowboy Stan Frazier. A huge man in overalls. The future Uncle Elmer. He’s proud to be in Atlanta. They’ve entered the tag team tournament with a $10K prize. (Watch)
Fabulous Freebirds interview. The National Tag Titles are missing. Stolen. The promotion is pushing them around. They’re entering the tag team tournament. We get comments from The Briscos who are entering the tournament as well. Making this a big deal. (Watch)
Mr. Saito interview. Only Steve Keirn and Bob Armstrong are left for him to beat. (Watch)
Austin Idol & Kevin Sullivan vs. Ted Allen & Steve Reeves. Squash for Idol & Sullivan. After they say they’ve proven to be a top team. (Watch)
Tony Atlas interview. The Georgia Champ and the number one contender to Harley Race. Thanksgiving it’ll be him versus Race for the World title. They show an old squash win of Atlas. (Watch)
Other Results: Steve Keirn and Terry Taylor defeated Tom Stanton and Charlie Fulton. Fabulous Freebirds (Buddy Roberts and Terry Gordy) defeated Steve Olsonoski and Ken Timbs. Robert Fuller and Plowboy Frazier defeated Bobby Garrett and Ricky Craven. NWA United States Women's Title Match: Judy Martin defeated Winona Little Heart (c) - TITLE CHANGE!!!. Ted DiBiase defeated Bobby Garrett. Mr. Saito vs. Steve Keirn ended without a winner as a time limit draw
Thu. Nov 27 @ The Omni
Robert Fuller and Stan Frazier defeated Killer Khan and Afa
Andersons (Ole Anderson and Gene Anderson) defeated Kevin Sullivan and Austin Idol
Steve O and Jerry Roberts defeated Judy Martin and Joyce Grable
Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts) defeated Jack Brisco and Jerry Brisco
Robert Fuller and Stan Frazier defeated Andersons (Ole Anderson and Gene Anderson)
Steve Keirn and Terry Taylor defeated Steve O and Jerry Roberts
Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts) defeated Steve Keirn and Terry Taylor
Bob Armstrong defeated Mr. Saito
NWA World Heavyweight Title Match: Harley Race (c) vs. Tony Atlas ended without a winner as a no contest
NWA National Tag Team Titles Match: Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts) defeated Robert Fuller and Stan Frazier - TITLE CHANGE!!!
Sat. Nov. 29 Georgia Championship Wrestling
Steve Keirn interview. Defending the TV Title against Sullivan today. (Watch)
Robert Fuller & Plowboy Frazier interview. Lost in the finals against the Freebirds. They show clips from the Omni. Say it wasn’t fair that the Freebirds got to switch wrestlers throughout the tournament. (Watch)
National TV Title Steve Keirn (c) vs. Kevin Sullivan. A very interesting and well done deal where it’s a clean competitive match until Sullivan nails Keirn coming back in through the ropes and wins the TV Title. Sullivan’s popular and gets big cheers but it was questionable. I’m surprised they went so quick to this but Idol’s left for Memphis. (Watch)
Solie follows up with Steve Keirn on what happened. He’s known Kevin and didn’t expect that. He’s shocked and surprised. He’s not going to be a sucker. He has him in the towns and he’s going to get him. Very good angle and response from Keirn. (Watch)
Kevin Sullivan interview. That’s checkmate in the game of human chess. Really like this subtle turn going on. (Watch)
We see Omni clips of Bob Armstrong vs Mr. Saito in the $5k Challenge. Bob won it. Saito blames and attacks Mr. Wrestling II. Saito says II owes him $5k and challenges him. Good payoff to the $5K challenge and pivot. (Watch)
The Mongolian Stomper is here. Don Carson is his manager. He’s in crazy shape. He’s looking for an opportunity. No one can last 4 minutes on TV with the Stomper. (Watch)
Ted Dibiase vs. Steve O. First look at Ted in Georgia. We get a nice competitive match and Ted wins with the Figure 4. (Watch)
Other Results: Robert Fuller and Stan Frazier defeated Charlie Fulton and Tom Stanton. Ted DiBiase defeated Pat Rose. Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts) defeated Terry Taylor and Gerald Finley. Assassin #1 defeated Jerry Roberts.Steve Keirn defeated Bobby Garrett. Mongolian Stomper defeated Gerald Finley. Ole Anderson defeated Pat Rose. Fabulous Freebirds (Buddy Roberts and Terry Gordy) defeated Jerry Roberts and Marvin Turner.
If anything is missing or incorrect, please let me know!
Credits: WrestlingData, Retro Wrestling Archive, Kris Zellner, Cagematch.