UCW "Universal Championship Wrestling" TV 6-7-85
Jun 7, 2019 22:39:26 GMT
Post by Chitohausen on Jun 7, 2019 22:39:26 GMT
“UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING”
Broadcast on Friday, June 7, 1985 on:
Announcer: Gordon Solie
Backstage interviews: Ken Resnick
Ring Announcer: Larry Nelson
Referees: Tommy Young, Jack Lotz and “Dangerous” Danny Davis
GORDON SOLIE and BOBBY “THE BRAIN” HEENAN are seated at a desk in a studio, with a large monitor behind them, the UCW logo on it. The set-up resembles the WWF Prime Time Wrestling set.
Solie and Heenan open the show, and welcome us to “Universal Championship Wrestling”!
Gordon says that, for fans in the Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia areas, they can catch “Capitol Wrestling” on Sunday afternoons on local stations. For fans around the country, Solie says they can join him and the Brain right here on USA Network each and every Friday night for “Universal Championship Wrestling”.
This week, we’ll see the last quarter-final match from the Universal title tournament, which took place recently in Australia, between Wahoo McDaniel and New Zealand’s representative in the tournament, Steve Rickard!
And, we’ll see a classic match that took place last summer at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, as Barry Windham challenged “Nature Boy” Ric Flair for the International heavyweight title!
Solie and Heenan then send us to Sydney, Australia, and the last quarter-final match of the Universal title tournament, between Wahoo McDaniel and Steve Rickard.
UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT: QUARTER-FINAL MATCH:
Taped 6/4/85 in Sydney, Australia:
WAHOO MCDANIEL defeats STEVE RICKARD. There’s nothing pretty about this one, Wahoo and Rickard don’t bother much with the actual wrestling holds, they just beat the hell out of each other! Wahoo’s chops leave Rickard’s chest bright red, but Rickard doesn’t let that stop him, and he answers back with some thunderous right hands that leave the big Chief dazed.
These two are evenly-matched, though Rickard’s willingness to break the rules gives him the upper hand several times during the match. As we near the 20-minute mark, Wahoo stuns Rickard with several knife-edged chops, and then delivers a big Tomahawk chop that leaves Rickard stunned. Wahoo then delivers a picture-perfect Butterfly suplex, and gets the 1, 2, 3!
Wahoo McDaniel has advanced to the semi-finals of the Universal title tournament!
Back in the studio, Solie and Heenan talk about the match we just saw, and Gordon says that we have our final four in the Universal title tournament . . . and they happen to be four of the biggest names in the sport! Wahoo McDaniel, Paul Orndorff, Harley Race and Rocky Johnson!
They talk a bit about each man. Solie says that Wahoo is a multiple-time United States champion in the Carolinas, and he held the belt during it’s heyday, when most considered it to be the #2 title behind the World heavyweight title! He says that Wahoo took more than one World champion to the limit over the years, and while he never won the big one, that could change as he moves closer to becoming Universal champion!
Heenan talks about “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, saying that Orndorff is the total package, he’s got it all . . . he can wrestle on the mat, he can brawl, he’s one of the smartest wrestlers Heenan’s ever known, and he’s got movie star looks that drive the female fans crazy! He says that Orndorff has won championships everywhere he’s gone, and was just becoming a national star, headlining shows in New York City when the wrestling landscape changed. He thinks Orndorff has to be considered the favourite to win the Universal title.
Solie says he won’t argue with that, he’s heard several people refer to Orndorff as “the perfect wrestler”. Gordon then talks a bit about the “Soulman”, Rocky Johnson! He says that, like Wahoo and Orndorff, he’s held titles all across the country, and always seemed to be right on the cusp of becoming the World champion, but unfortunately it never happened. He says that Rocky grew up in Washington, DC, and with his hometown fans behind him, he’s become one of the most popular athletes in UCW.
Heenan then talks about Harley Race, saying that Race is the only one of the four who has held a World title, which gives him an advantage, as he was travelling the World, beating the very best night in and night out, for years. Race actually defended the World title against both Wahoo and Rocky in the past, so he’s very familiar with them.
Heenan predicts that it will come down to an Orndorff vs Race final, though he says it’s a toss-up as to who would win that match!
Solie says we’ll find out if Heenan’s right, when the semi-finals and finals of the tournament take place on July 4 at the Civic Center in Philadelphia, PA! Gordon says he can’t think of a better setting for an Independence Day show, than the city where the Declaration of Independence was signed, and the home of the Liberty Bell!
We see a graphic of the four men that will take part in the semi-finals of the Universal title tournament on July 4.
We see local ads for upcoming UCW shows:
Tonight, June 7, at the Civic Center in Springfield, MA!
Saturday, June 8, in Queens, NY!
Monday night, June 10, in Hagerstown, MD!
Wednesday, June 12, a “Capitol Wrestling” taping at the Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, DC!
Next Friday night, June 14, at the Civic Center in Philadelphia, PA!
Solie says that the rest of the show has been set aside for the classic match that took place last July 4, at “the Great American Bash ‘84”, where up and coming superstar Barry Windham challenged the Nature Boy Ric Flair for the International heavyweight title!
INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Taped 7/4/84 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, FL:
“NATURE BOY” RIC FLAIR (champion) versus BARRY WINDHAM
(written by Grigs)
Windham gets near falls after the lariat, a belly to back suplex, and a backslide. Flair turns the tide when Windham goes for the bulldog, but Flair holds onto the ropes and Windham goes flying across the ring, landing on his backside!
Flair takes over at this point and begins working Windham's leg, setting up for the figure four! The Florida fans really get behind Barry at this point, but Flair yells out “Now we go to school” and applies the hold right in the center of the ring! The challenger is in big trouble! As the crowd roars its support, Barry manages to reverse the hold! Flair scoots to the bottom rope and grabs on for dear life! The referee breaks the hold and both men struggle to their feet.
At this point, Flair goes to work with a series of chops that really do a number on Barry's chest! Windham fights back with a series of right hands and turns the tide. Flair attempts to whip Barry ro the corner...reversal by Windham! Flair hits the corner hard and does the Flair flip!
Flair runs the apron to the next corner, goes to the top turnbuckle, and comes flying at Windham...WINDHAM CATCHES FLAIR AND POWERSLAMS HIM!!!COVER BY WINDHAM!!! ONE...TWO...THREE!!!!
BARRY WINDHAM HAS DEFEATED RIC FLAIR FOR THE INTERNATIONAL TITLE!!!!
Solie says that Windham has held that title for almost a year, and as a result, UCW recognizes Barry Windham as the International heavyweight champion!
Solie and Heenan wrap things up and hype next week’s show.
Credits Roll
© 1985, Universal Championship Wrestling
Working on it now.