1981 Georgia Championship Wrestling: May (1/2)
Tommy Rich wins the World Title, Bruiser Brody comes to town, and a huge Georgia Title tournament. Plus, links to watch along!
Welcome to Georgia Championship Wrestling, in this edition you’ll read about Tommy Rich, The Fabulous Freebirds, Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes, Junkyard Dog, Ted Dibiase, Greg Valentine, Ken Patera, Jim Duggan, Nikolai Volkoff, and a whole lot more!
Current Champions (As of May 1, 1981)
NWA World Heavyweight Champion: Tommy Rich
Defeated Harley Race (Apr. 27, 1981)
NWA National Heavyweight Champion: Steve O
Defeated The Mongolian Stomper (Mar. 29, 1981)
NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion: Vacant
Vacated by Tony Atlas in April
NWA National Tag Team Champions: The Fabulous Freebirds
Defeated Stan Frazier & Ted DiBiase (Feb. 2, 1981)
The National TV Title goes away sometime in April when Steve Keirn leaves the territory.
Sat. May 2 Georgia Championship Wrestling
Bobby Eaton vs. Pat Rose. Remember that TV matches have a 10 minute time limit. They work off the arm until Eaton rams Rose’s into the buckle. Action really heats up at the finish and Eaton wins with a second rope elbow. Impressive wrestler. Good match. Eaton says after that the whole world is going to know about Bobby Eaton. He's been training hard, Mr. Solie.
Tommy Rich and NWA President Jim Crockett interview. Jim is in town from Japan. We get the news that Tommy beat Harley Race in August for the NWA World Heavyweight Title but lost a rematch last night. Tommy proved to everyone that he can beat Race. He’s the youngest World Champion. They show clips from Augusta, GA. The fans are loud. It’s very dark. It looks like a good match. Rich hits the thesz press and gets it done. The title change gets a great reaction. This came off very strange and out of nowhere as the TV had been centered around Race and Flair recently. They also didn’t get any Omni cards out of the title change. I feel like it did a disservice to Rich and that was definitely popular and presented in a way where an actual World Title run would have made sense.
National Tag Team Champions Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts) vs. Mike Davis and Frank Sherman. Freebirds win an extended squash. Solie hypes up the Georgia Title tournament while the fans heckle The Freebirds. Hayes is upset. Been up all night long thinking about getting nastier and hurting punks like they just did. They're not in the tournament because they don't like rules. They like the No DQ, No Time Limit stipulation against JYD and Dibiase. Promises to hurt Dibiase. Hayes throws his $10K in the tournament to anyone who hurts Tommy Rich.
Ted Dibiase vs. Gypsy Joe. Aggressive Dibiase not letting any space for Joe. Ted firing off hard in an exchange. Trademark Joe here wanting to fight and Ted is up for it. Ted wins with Figure 4. They put a blue dot over Dibiase's head during the promo to cover the blood. Show Omni clips of fired up Dibiase getting his hands on The Freebirds. Looks like an awesome revenge match. Dibiase fends off the piledriver. Gets posted and bloodied up. Takes a piledriver but gets foot on ropes. JYD goes crazy on hot tag and Hayes cheap shots Ted on the outside. He's great taking over the clips. He went crazy and both JYD and Ted got their hands on Hayes. Freebirds run off. Dibiase stayed up for five weeks thinking about revenge on Hayes. Great babyface promo work by Dibiase. Another guy who could have been the World Champion. Wants to break Hayes' leg.
Jim Duggan interview. A close friend of Bruiser Brody. Fans still messing up his name. Duggan puts over Brody as the most impressive athlete. They have some tape of Brody in action as King Kong Brody against Ed Schaeffer. Solie and Duggan voice it over. Brody with a stiff kick and they cut away. Solie mentions that in the end Brody used wrestling with the boston crab to win. Taking time to put over his wrestling ability as opposed to only presenting him as a wild man.
Dusty Rhodes commercial for Stanback powder. Funny.
Freddie Miller runs down the upcoming dates. They mention names but not specific matches. Solie explains again that Harley Race lost and regained the World Title from Tommy Rich.
Mr. Wrestling II vs. Ken Timbs. Solid win for II with the Million Dollar Kneelift.
Hour Two
Solie mentions that starting next week the time slot is 5:30-7:30. Best of Championship Wrestling on Sunday from 5:30 to 6:30. Solie runs down next hour.
Robert Gibson vs. Bobby Garrett. Young Robert from the famous brother family they say. Young, skinny Robert. Great athletic ability. Solie talks about his brother. Both Robert and Ricky Morton were terrific on their own before teaming. Gibson with the back bridge out of the spinning toe hold for the win. Love that. Gibson talks after about equalizing the size advantage with his speed, dropkicks and taking it to the mat.
Jim Crockett joins Solie again. Tommy Rich is the number one contender and in an elite group of World Champion. They also put over the caliber of wrestler in Georgia. Not even getting one TV out of Rich as champion is rough.
National Tag Team Champions Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts vs. Ted and Jerry Oates. Interesting matchup. Solie puts over the Oates brothers experience all over the world. Gordy often the equalizer in the matches if Roberts gets in trouble. Makes for a great dynamic. Jerry nice hot tag. Oates brothers are a fun action team. Hayes gets caught trying a spike piledriver. Hayes attacks for the dq. Good match. Oates brothers fight them off. Hayes is irate after. They're hurt, that's good enough. No DQ, no time limit, they can do it hot and nasty all night long. Hayes thinks about Tommy Rich which makes him upset. 10K can buy anyone to hurt and get rid of Rich.
Tommy Rich vs. Chick Donovan. Chick now out of Hollywood. Tommy is introduced as a former World Champion. Donovan stalling. Rich wants to go. Rich wins quick. Rich says he's maturing. Solie puts over his attitude. Rich is gonna get a piece of Hayes. Tells sissy Hayes to come collect the 10K on him. He's going to be a thorn in his side.
Solie says The Freebirds have been fined 10K for what they did to Dibiase and other instances. Solie goes over them all. Hayes cream was confiscated and analyzed. A second fine for that. Hayes says they'll be bad company until the day they die.
Results: Bobby Eaton d. Pat Rose. Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts) d. Mike Davis and Frank Sherman. Ted DiBiase d. Gypsy Joe. Mr. Wrestling II d. Ken Timbs. Robert Gibson d. Bobby Garrett. Ted Oates and Jerry Oates d. Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts) by disqualification. Tommy Rich d. Chick Donovan. French Angel and Jim Duggan d. Mike Jackson and Chuck Levin. Ted DiBiase d. Ed Timbs
Sat. May 9 Georgia Championship Wrestling
They air what I believe is an old Austin Idol squash but I’m not sure.
There’s a new backdrop and set! Bruiser Brody arrives. Guess who? He’s not just another name. People want to know what he can do in the ring. Good promo from Brody, comes off as an instant star.
Big Jim Duggan vs. Pat Rose. Brody pulls Rose out and attacks him. Duggan leaves. Brody goes back to the mic. He’s got a big yapper that no one’s been able to close! He came here because he was asked. It’s not for the money. It’s a personal favor. I like this presentation of Brody quite a bit. Aside from a one-off, this is his first run in Georgia.
Iron Mike Sharpe interview. He’s back from Canada. It’s been about 8-9 months. He’s going to top. Sharpe’s the master of the piledriver and he’s got a problem with Terry Gordy using it to cripple people. Simple, effective idea for a match.
NWA World Champion Harley Race promo. No man has held the title more than him. Six times and he’s not done yet. He’s 38 and looks 48. He gives Tommy Rich credit. He’s a man among men for giving him a rematch and he can have a return match of his own.
Tommy Rich interview. There’s a round robin for the vacant Georgia Heavyweight Title on May 17th at The Omni. The Freebirds still have a bounty on him. He needs to win the Georgia Title to be the No. 1 contender. Rich mentions Brody. Good promo from Rich. He’s back on the chase immediately.
Tommy Wright vs. Bryan St. John. They’re both solid smaller wrestlers from Florida. BSJ wins with a powerslam.
Bruiser Brody is back out with Solie. He mentions that a film of Brody was cut last week so they’ll show it again. It’s him beating up Ed Schaeffer in a squash match from another territory. He’s a massive, intimidating man. No one in Georgia wants to fight him! There are too many blond boys here dressing pretty. Wrestling is a fight. They cut away from the film where he battered the job guy badly. Brody’s a terrific interview.
Results: Ted DiBiase d. Mighty Yankee. Ricky Gibson d. Bob Garrett. Pat Rose d. Jim Duggan by disqualification. Mike Sharpe d. Buck Brannigan. Tommy Rich d. Jim Tucker. Bryan St. John d. Tommy Wright. Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts) d. Tommy Wright and Mike Stevens. Mike Sharpe d. Rick Link. Ted DiBiase d. Buck Brannigan. Robert Gibson and Ricky Gibson d. Jim Tucker and Gypsy Joe
Sat. May 16 Georgia Championship Wrestling
A full show this week! Hogan is still in the intro. Solie runs down the card. He has Georgia Title that was vacated by Tony Atlas. This is pro wrestling.
Iron Mike Sharpe vs. The Gladiator. Competitive match. Sharpe is a brute. He wins with a neckbreaker. Sharpe says to never let your guard down. He sounds very Canadian. He’s ready and in shape for the Round Robin at The Omni. There are lots of great names in it.
Ken Patera is here. The World's Strongest Wrestler. He comes off very well. Atlas, Sammartino, Putski can’t match him. Patera gets a lots of boos as he brags. The overhead press is greater than the bench press! We’re getting an influx of new names.
Ken Patera vs. Jim Tucker. Patera with a big suplex and slam that shows his power. Uses some heel tactics, pulling Tucker up. Wins with the full nelson. A good squash. Patera cuts a post-match promo on the Georgia Title. Keep your hands off his belt!
Tommy Rich vs. Buck Brannigan. Nice little match as Tommy sells then comes back and wins. Rich speaks after about the bounties on him and walking out with the Georgia Title at The Omni. They’ve quickly given him a new focus.
Junkyard Dog & Ted Dibiase vs. Jim Duggan & Tom Yancy. JYD and Ted are very over and work well together. Ted wins with the Figure 4. I like how the Figure 4 was treated like a great submission hold is in MMA is nowadays. People won championships with the move so why wouldn’t others try to master it? I prefer that over every guy having a different move that no one else is magically allowed to use. Duggan leaves his partner in disgust to save face. JYD and Ted are fired up about The Freebirds! JYD was so unique.
Michael Hayes and Nikolai Volkoff arrive. Volkoff is Hayes personal bounty hunter. He waited until JYD and Ted left to show up. He’s offering $10K American Dollars to break Tommy Rich’s arm. Hayes smacks his Russian Machine. He’s taken over the show. This was absolutely tremendous. Killer after killer on this episode.
Nikolai Volkoff vs. Johnny King. Good match. Volkoff targets the arm and wins. I’ve only seen older Volkoff and I’m impressed.
Freddie Miller runs down all the upcoming events in a bunch of the towns.
Greg Valentine vs. Steve Muslin. This is joined in progress from Mid-Atlantic. Greg wins with an elbow. The announcers are talking about how Greg is slow and methodical. I get what they mean but I think this becoming a talking point harmed Greg’s perception.
Fabulous Freebirds interview. Greg Valentine might take them up on the bounty. It could be Patera or Brody. It’s Buddy Roberts birthday! It’s been one year that he’s been with them. Tomorrow at The Omni is a nice time to get wild!
Gordon Solie resets us and runs down the lineup for the second hour.
National Tag Team Champions Fabulous Freebirds (Buddy Roberts & Terry Gordy) vs. Tommy Wright & Roberto Soto. The Freebirds get chants. This is more than a squash match. Soto gets offense and impresses. Freebirds win a good match. Freebirds say they can do it all night long!
Wahoo McDaniel vs. Buck Brannigan. Decent squash for Wahoo. Wahoo is enjoying being back on Atlanta TV. He tells The Freebirds to look out for him and Rich!
Ken Patera interview. Wahoo is crazy. He’s going to do some feats of strength next week. Patera is from a family of winners. His brother Jack is the coach of the Seattle Seahawks (NFL) and his brother Dennis also played in the NFL.
Ken Patera vs. Tom Yancy. Patera’s got these squash matches down. Really showcases himself well. Patera says the curse is his Full Nelson.
Dusty Rhodes interview from Mid Atlantic. Money and titles are important. He talks about chasing the NWA World Heavyweight Title. Winning the Georgia Title in the biggest tournament in Atlanta is a means to the end.
The NWA Board is reviewing banning the piledriver.
Ted Dibiase interview and video on his recovery. They recap the whole angle with The Freebirds taking out his neck. Ted is humble. Lots of people are coming to Georgia. It’s the hot bed.
Gibson Brothers (Ricky and Robert) vs. Gypsy Joe & Angel. First look at the Gibsons in Georgia. Lots of flash and team work. They get the win in a decent match.
Greg Valentine interview from Mid Atlantic. He’s coming for the Georgia Title and the bounty on Tommy Rich! Good promo.
World Tag Champs The Andersons squash from Mid Atlantic. Al Hayes on call!
Results: Mike Sharpe d. The Gladiator. Ken Patera d. Jim Tucker. Tommy Rich d. Buck Brannigan. Ted DiBiase and Junkyard Dog d. Jim Duggan & Tom Yancy. Nikolai Volkoff d. Johnny King. Fabulous Freebirds (Buddy Roberts & Terry Gordy) d. Roberto Soto & Tommy Wright. Wahoo McDaniel d. Buck Brannigan. Ken Patera d. Tom Yancy. Ricky Gibson & Robert Gibson d. Gypsy Joe and French Angel
Sun. May 17 at The Omni
Robert Gibson d. Bryan St. John
Roberto Soto d. Bobby Eaton
Ricky Gibson d. Gypsy Joe
Georgia Title Tournament First Round: Tommy Rich d. Bill Irwin. Ken Patera d. Ray Candy. Dusty Rhodes d. French Angel. Greg Valentine d. Mr. Wrestling II. Mike Sharpe d. Jim Duggan - First Round
Semi-Final: Tommy Rich d. Nikolai Volkoff. Dusty Rhodes vs. Ken Patera ended without a winner as a double disqualification. Greg Valentine d. Mike Sharpe.
No Disqualification, No Time Limit Match: Ted DiBiase & Junkyard Dog d. Fabulous Freebirds (Terry Gordy & Buddy Roberts)
NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title Tournament Final Tommy Rich d. Greg Valentine - NEW CHAMPION!!!
If anything is missing or incorrect, please let me know.
Credits: WrestlingData, Retro Wrestling Archive, Kris Zellner, Cagematch.