Black Saturday and the WWF takeover of 6:05

[BruiserBrody]

With Ole's recent death and Dark Side's episode on Black Saturday coming in a few weeks, I've been thinking a bunch about the time frame.

Mid-Atlantic Gateway: Georgia TV History after Black Friday

Here are the "feature" matches shown from July to March. Taped at various TV tapings and arena shows
Of course Black Saturday featured a 50 something Bobo Brazil in a stinker with Big John Studd in a highlighted bout.
Georgia Championship Wrestling – 9/15/84:WWF IC Champion Tito Santana & Rocky Johnson defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch at 10:04 in a non-title match when Johnson pinned Adonis with a splash after Murdoch accidentally back dropped his partner
Georgia Championship Wrestling – 7/14/84: Big John Studd pinned Bobo Brazil at 5:44 with an elbow drop after Brazil missed a legdrop
Georgia Championship Wrestling – 7/21/84: WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan & Andre the Giant defeated Big John Studd, WWF Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch in a handicap match at 22:21 when Andre pinned Murdoch with a boot to the face and a sit-down splash after Studd walked out on his team (Best of the WWF Vol. 1)
Georgia Championship Wrestling – 7/22/84: WWF Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch defeated B. Brian Blair & Spike Huber when Adonis pinned Huber following a kneedrop from the middle turnbuckle from Murdoch as Adonis held Huber over his knee
Georgia Championship Wrestling – 7/28/84: The Iron Sheik (w/ Freddie Blassie) pinned Tony Garea at 5:35 with a back suplex
Georgia Championship Wrestling – 7/28/84: WWF Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch defeated Sgt. Slaughter & Terry Daniels at 16:52 when Adonis pinned Daniels following a kneedrop off the top by Murdoch as Adonis held Daniels over his knee while the referee was distracted; after the bout, Slaughter cleared the champions out of the ring
Georgia Championship Wrestling – 7/28/84: Paul Orndorff pinned Chief Jay Strongbow at 6:05 with a clothesline; Gorilla Monsoon provided solo commentary for this and the final two bouts after Gene Okerlund went backstage to conduct several interviews
Georgia Championship Wrestling – 8/25/84: Brutus Beefcake pinned Tony Garea at 5:55 with a powerslam and sit-down splash
Georgia Championship Wrestling – 8/18/84: Bob Orton Jr. pinned Pat Patterson with a roll up and grabbing the tights for leverage at 6:12
Georgia Championship Wrestling – 9/1/84: The Junkyard Dog defeated George Steele (w/ Mr. Fuji) via disqualification when Fuji interfered; after the bout, Fuji threw salt in JYD’s eyes
Georgia Championship Wrestling – 9/8/84: Ken Patera defeated Pat Patterson via submission with the full nelson at 9:04 (Patera’s MSG return after a near 4-year absence)
Georgia Championship Wrestling – 9/9/84: Sgt. Slaughter pinned Alexis Smirnoff at 3:41 with a clothesline; after the bout, Smirnoff attacked Slaughter with his boot until Slaughter cleared him from the ring
Georgia Championship Wrestling – 9/9/84: Brutus Beefcake pinned Chief Jay Strongbow with a clothesline at 5:40
All American Wrestling – 9/16/84: WWF IC Champion Tito Santana fought Paul Orndorff to a time-limit draw (Best of the WWF Vol. 2)
Georgia Championship Wrestling – 9/9/84: WWF Women’s Champion Wendi Richter pinned the Fabulous Moolah after reversing a powerslam attempt into a small package; late in the bout, a fan attempted to interfere as Moolah hid a foreign object from the referee, with the fan quickly taken into custody by security
Georgia Championship Wrestling – 12/9/84: Bobby Heenan pinned Salvatore Bellomo at 8:56 by blocking a sunset flip into the ring and punching Bellomo in the face (Best of the WWF Vol. 14, Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan)
Georgia Championship Wrestling – 12/9/84: Angelo Mosca defeated Mr. Fuji via disqualification at 8:01 when Fuji threw salt into Mosca’s eyes as Fuji was caught in the sleeper (Mosca’s MSG return after more than 3 years; his final MSG appearance)
Georgia Championship Wrestling – 12/9/84: Tito Santana fought WWF IC Champion Greg Valentine to a curfew draw at 22:23; after the bout, Santana had to be held back from further attacking the champion (History of the Intercontinental Title)

Ted Turner finally gets his way in the weeks before Mania and WWF starts taping at WTBS studios:

WWF @ Atlanta, GA – WTBS Studios – March 2, 1985 (am taping)
WWF Georgia Championship Wrestling taping:
The first taping from the WTBS studios; the show had previously only shown WWF footage from other television and taped arena shows
3/2/85 – included Gorilla Monsoon on commentary; featured Freddie Miller conducting studio interviews with WWF IC Champion Greg Valentine & Jimmy Hart, Ricky Steamboat, the Fabulous Moolah & WWF Women’s Champion Leilani Kai, Nikolai Volkoff & the Iron Sheik, Paul Orndorff, and WWF Tag Team Champions Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo:
Les Thornton fought Mr. Wrestling II to a time-limit draw at 15:30; Jimmy Hart did guest commentary for the bout alongside Gorilla Monsoon
Buddy Rose pinned Hollywood Brown at 3:22 with the DDT
SD Jones pinned the Scorpion at 5:13 with a splash
WWF IC Champion Greg Valentine (w/ Jimmy Hart) defeated Ronnie Hudson via submission with the figure-4 at 5:35
WWF Tag Team Champions Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo defeated Rene Goulet & the Demon at around 9:30 when Rotundo pinned Demon following an airplane spin
Ricky Steamboat pinned Tony Russo at 8:12 with a splash off the top (Steamboat’s debut)
WWF Women’s Champion Leilani Kai (w/ the Fabulous Moolah) pinned Wenona Little Heart at 6:30 with a splash from the middle turnbuckle; Moolah briefly joined Gorilla Monsoon for commentary during the bout
Nikolai Volkoff & the Iron Sheik defeated Rick McGraw & Chance Meyers at the 8-minute mark when Myers submitted to Sheik’s Camel Clutch; Paul Orndorff did guest commentary for the bout alongside Monsoon
Paul Orndorff pinned Salvatore Bellomo at the 43-second mark with the piledriver

---
WWF debuted at the Omni several weeks after Black Saturday. Ole's new show and crew had partnered with JCP to a degree and Ole returned to the Omni 3 weeks later:
GCW @ Atlanta, GA – Omni – August 21, 1984
Ivan Koloff defeated Tim Horner
Brad Armstrong defeated NWA TV Champion Tully Blanchard via disqualification
Tommy Rich & Tony Atlas fought Rip Rogers & Ted Oates to a draw
National Tag Team Champion Ron Garvin won a battle royal
Bob Armstrong defeated National Heavyweight Champion Ted Dibiase in a lumberjack match

WWF @ Atlanta, GA – Omni – August 25, 1984 (9,000)
Big John Studd defeated Tiger Chung Lee
The Junkyard Dog defeated George Steele
Nikolai Volkoff defeated Rocky Johnson
Paul Orndorff defeated SD Jones
Andre the Giant won a battle royal
WWF Women’s Champion Wendi Richter defeated the Fabulous Moolah
Les Thornton fought Bob Orton Jr. to a draw
The Iron Sheik defeated Sgt. Slaughter via disqualification
Andre the Giant defeated the Spoiler
WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan pinned David Schultz

More to come....

 

[BruiserBrody]

Funny to see the WWF never bothered to redo the intro. Here's the final episode and Ole is still in the clips.

I have to wonder if not only the logistics of the travel kept Vince from initially running WTBS tapings but also the "danger" of the locals rebelling against his crew if they had run live matches right away. This would be especially bad if the WWF tried to over compensate and tossed Hogan out there right off and instead of Hulkamania we'd get "Flair!" chants.

With the WWF running 2 to 3 shows a nights at times, they could have certainly organized spot shows with different talents on rotation as needed weekly or even bi-weekly to run a TV taping out of Atlanta.

 

[BruiserBrody]

If the WWF ran WTBS studios right away and needed a weekly "feature" match without giving away a match that they would need to draw with later they had options. A little fantasy booking...
-Bob Backlund wound up his WWF run just after Black Saturday. They could have kept him around a bit (overness be damned) and used his former WWF champ status to build up an encounter worthy of a TV main event. My thought was Backlund comes out on the first episode and says something like "The last 6 months have been challenging. I lost my title and my focus. Now the WWF has a new show on a new channel and maybe that can mean a new start for Bob Backlund!?" "I need to extinguish my demons...and that means YOU Iron Sheik! I need to beat you to prove to myself and my fans that you never beat me. My manager threw in the towel!" Following week Sheik comes out and babbles a retort. 3rd week Backlund works a squash and he and Sheik have a confrontation at the desk. Later that episode a Backlund vs Sheik match is announced for WTBS the next week. Then you either have Sheik "injure" Backlund to write him off or do a schmozz to set up another TV match or a mid card Omni rematch.

- Piper and Tony Garea had some issues on the Pit in March and never really went anywhere with it. Piper can appear on WTBS, gloat over returning to the studios he used to commentate from and then go ballistic when his request to run a "Pit" segment on WTBS is denied. Clips of the recent Snuka incident can be shown, as well as other clips, including Garea's. Tony comes out later to thank WTBS for banning the Pit from their airwaves. Piper comes out and shit talks and we get a TV main event out of it.

- Pat Patterson is still working sporadically. Even without ties to GCW, he can be introduced by Monsoon as a legend and a friend. A top level heel like Patera or Valentine comes out and tells him he's washed and wasting TV time. Bingo Bango...match is signed for next week.

- Sarge and Pvt Terry Daniels has lots of potential little angles with Tiger Chung Lee, Fuji, Alexis Smirnoff, etc as simple jingoistic stuff. Heels cheat, bloody up the faces, whatever and mix and match singles and tag matches can unfold while Sarge's overall focus is on Sheik and Volkoff at house shows.

-

 

[BruiserBrody]

I imagine Ole lost GCW's coffers to pay off talent with when the sale went through. That is likely why his new show had a lot of jabronis or old dudes instead of more premium talent. No Brody, Abby, or other heels for hire. The Road Warriors were signed by Verne. (They do appear on Ole's show as AWA tag champs in clips) The Freebirds were available and went with Vince roughly the same time Ole's new show appeared. JYD's roaming around JCP and such doing shots as Watts tries to freshen him up again by letting him off TV for a bit. Harley Race is out there as St Louis owner(and current Missouri champ in Summer 84). He appears for Ole but is certainly not a regular. Tony Atlas returns to Georgia for a bit after his AWA run.
Sheepherders? A young Al Perez? Ed Wisnowski? (Working for Otto) Party Marty and Tommy Rogers are learning the ropes in Central States. Steamboat is in JCP but will soon not be in love with how Dusty books him. Wayne Ferris? The over but irritable Austin Idol?

I was little surprised to see Gene Anderson was back just before Black Saturday and wasn't brought back to be cheap labor after the fact.
Where's the NWA loyalty at this critical point?
Send in a Von Erich for some shots! WCCW doesn't have much depth at this point outside of the Von Erichs vs Link, Killer Khan/Jake the Snake and Gino/Adams. Jules Strongbow and Rapey Buck are a frequent tag team.
Maybe bring in the Fullers, GCW vets?
Memphis is trickier with their live Sat AM show so pulling guys like Savage really won't work.
Dusty gutted Florida's roster for JCP. Jesse Barr is running as Florida champ with Wahoo, Dutch, Youngbloods, Darsow and Neidhart as the roster with Sullivan's Army of Darkness.
Portland has Stan Stasiak making his final run in wrestling. Rip Oliver, Mando Guerrero, Dr Tom and Doug Somers. Decent filler, but holy cripes poor Don Owens!

--
GCW @ Atlanta, GA – Omni – September 9, 1984
National Tag Team Champion Jerry Oates defeated the Italian Stallion (sub. for 666)
Ted Oates & Rip Rogers defeated Tony Atlas & Tim Horner
Brad Armstrong defeated Paul Ellering
Jimmy Valiant defeated Austin Idol
Brad Armstrong defeated National Heavyweight Champion Ted Dibiase via disqualification in an Indian strap match
Dusty Rhodes defeated Stan Hansen and the Masked Superstar in a round robin match
National Tag Team Champion Ron Garvin defeated Jake Roberts in a steel cage match


GCW @ Atlanta, GA – Omni – October 14, 1984
The Italian Stallion defeated Ted Allen
Ox Baker defeated Frankie Lane
Jerry Oates defeated Mr. Ito
Ivan Koloff defeated Tim Horner
Brad Armstrong defeated NWA TV Champion Tully Blanchard via disqualification
National Heavyweight Champion Ron Garvin defeated National TV Champion Bob Roop via disqualification
National Tag Team Champions Ted Oates & Rip Rogers fought Tony Atlas & Tommy Rich to a no contest
Bob Armstrong defeated Ted Dibiase in a Canadian lumberjack match



GCW @ Atlanta, GA – Omni – November 18, 1984
National Tag Team Championship Tournament Opening Round: Ole Anderson & Thunderbolt Patterson defeated New York Assassin #1 & #2 via count-out
National Tag Team Championship Tournament Opening Round: Ted Oates & Rip Rogers defeated Jerry Oates & Ron Ritchie
National Tag Team Championship Tournament Opening Round: Brad Armstrong & Jacques Rougeau defeated Bob Roop & the Italian Stallion
National Tag Team Championship Tournament Opening Round: Jerry Lawler & Jimmy Valiant defeated Ox Baker & Mr. Ito
National Tag Team Championship Tournament Opening Round: The Road Warriors (w/ Paul Ellering) defeated Ron Slinker & Frankie Lane
National Tag Team Championship Tournament Opening Round: Scott & Bill Irwin defeated Tommy Rich & Randy Savage
National Tag Team Championship Tournament Quarter Finals: Brad Armstrong & Jacques Rougeau defeated Ted Oates & Rip Rogers
National Tag Team Championship Tournament Quarter Finals: Jerry Lawler & Jimmy Valiant defeated the Road Warriors (w/ Paul Ellering)
National Tag Team Championship Tournament Semi Finals: Scott & Bill Irwin defeated Jerry Lawler & Jimmy Valiant
National Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals: Scott & Bill Irwin defeated Brad Armstrong & Jacques Rougeau to win the titles
NWA US Champion Wahoo McDaniel fought National Heavyweight Champion Ron Garvin to a no contest



GCW @ Atlanta, GA – Omni – December 2, 1984
Eddie Gilbert defeated Jerry Oates
Iron Mike Sharpe defeated the Italian Stallion
Ted Oates & Rip Rogers defeated Tim Constance & Steve Ashley
Rick Rude & Jacques Rougeau (sub. for Ron Ritchie) fought Len Denton & Tony Anthony to a no contest
Jimmy Valiant fought GCW TV Champion Bob Roop to a no contest
National Heavyweight Champion Ron Garvin defeated Ox Baker
Southern Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lawler defeated Kamala
National Tag Team Champions Scott & Bill Irwin defeated Tommy Rich & Brad Armstrong (sub. for Bob Armstrong)
Ole Anderson & Thunderbolt Patterson defeated King Kong Bundy & Giant Frazier

1985​

GCW @ Atlanta, GA – Omni – January 1, 1985
Tommy Rogers fought the Italian Stallion to a draw
Len Denton defeated Jerry Oates
Brian Adidas defeated Chick Donovan
Ron Ritchie defeated Ox Baker via disqualification
Ron Slinker defeated Bob Roop via disqualification
National Tag Team Champions Scott & Bill Irwin won a $50,000 tag team battle royal; other participants included NWA Tag Team Champions Dusty Rhodes & Manny Fernandez, Len Denton & Tony Anthony, Steve Keirn & Stan Lane, Tully Blanchard & Bob Roop, Ted Oates & Rip Rogers, and Tommy Rich & Michael Hayes
Ole Anderson & Thunderbolt Patterson defeated the Terminators
Tommy Rich & Abdullah the Butcher defeated Scott & Bill Irwin
National Heavyweight Champion Ron Garvin defeated Ox Baker (sub. for NWA US Champion Wahoo McDaniel)

 

[BruiserBrody]

Ole was apparently too old to be interviewed by Darkside, but his son has ample notes and serves as Ole's avatar.

 

[BruiserBrody]

The Wax Pack author says the Briscos didn't even get cash for selling to Vince. They were given bank notes as IOUs.

 

[BruiserBrody]

February – Vince McMahon receives a phone call from Jack Brisco to check on the health of a WWF employee who has been sick. During the conversation, McMahon asks Brisco if he and Jerry Brisco would consider selling their stock to him. Brisco indicates that he would if the price is right. McMahon meets with Jack and Jerry Brisco the following day at LaGuardia Airport in Queens, who tell him they can deliver 90 percent of GCW stock. [SEX, LIES AND HEADLOCKS pp. 40]

 

[BruiserBrody]

Late February – Georgia Championship Wrestling loses television in Cincinnati after a dispute between promoter Ole Anderson and station management. Anderson insists on running head-to-head with the WWF television show, a request that the station declines. Because he forces the issue, the network finally just cancels the show entirely. [WON APRIL 1984]

 

[BruiserBrody]

January – Upon hearing rumors that shareholders Jack and Jerry Brisco are looking to cash out of Georgia Championship Wrestling, Ole Anderson meets with the Brisco brothers at a Ramada Inn in Atlanta. The conversation starts harshly, with Anderson confronting Jack Brisco by saying, “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Jack? You can’t run a fucking thing.” [SEX, LIES AND HEADLOCKS, pp. 47] The Briscos are unhappy about their salary and dividends as shareholders of GCW and want a pay increase, a request that Anderson rejects. The three talk through their differences and take a literal “blood oath” at the meeting to stop fighting each other, although “how they do so is the subject of some dispute.” [SEX, LIES AND HEADLOCKS, pp. 47] In the end, the Briscos agree to let Ole continue to run the company if they mail higher profit-sharing checks each week. [SEX, LIES AND HEADLOCKS, pp. 47] January – In a 15-minute meeting, Vince McMahon makes a pitch to Ted Turner to allow the WWF to take over production tasks of World Championship Wrestling on WTBS. Turner does not accept the offer. [SEX, LIES AND HEADLOCKS, pp. 40] ​

March – Vince McMahon has conversations with Botswana and Nigeria promoter “Power Mike” to discuss possible expansion to Africa but this never materializes. [WON APRIL 1984]

Meanwhile, JCP panics over the WWF talent purge and writes Steamboat a check for 10K to come out of retirement.

March – Vince McMahon sends Lord Alfred Hays to Europe to set up an outpost and explore expansion opportunities. [WON APRIL 1984]
March – Ole Anderson expresses concern to lawyers that Georgia Championship Wrestling has a clause allows a majority of shareholders to rescind the Buy-Sell agreement, in which shareholders must offer their shares to other existing shareholders before selling to someone else. Attorneys ensure Anderson that stockholder approval takes precedent over the majority clause, and that this is not a concern. [INSIDE OUT-HOW CORPORATE AMERICA DESTROYED PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING]

 

[King Kamala]

March – Vince McMahon has conversations with Botswana and Nigeria promoter “Power Mike” to discuss possible expansion to Africa but this never materializes. [WON APRIL 1984]

Rene Goulet probably breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that he wouldn’t have to legit get the shit beat out of him by Power Uti.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

I’ve heard about this event but haven’t read up too much on it. Looking forward to the episode.

 

[BruiserBrody]

April 9 – All GCW board members except Ole Anderson, who has flown to Minneapolis because his mother passed away, [INSIDE OUT-HOW CORPORATE AMERICA DESTROYED PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING] hold a meeting in Atlanta where they sell shares in the company to Vince McMahon, giving him controlling interest in the company. Anderson contacted Jack and Jerry Brisco before traveling to Minneapolis and provided them with a way to reach him if they needed to speak. [INSIDE OUT-HOW CORPORATE AMERICA DESTROYED PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING] Anderson’s attorneys tell him they need $160,000 in legal fees to block the sale, which Anderson claims he cannot give them due to a pending court case where a judge forbid Anderson from writing any checks larger than $2,000. According to Anderson, the attorneys advise him to “backdate it”, because it is the only way to save his company. [INSIDE OUT-HOW CORPORATE AMERICA DESTROYED PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING]
April 10 – Vince McMahon and Gorilla Monsoon attend a TV taping of World Championship Wrestling. McMahon attempts to tell Ole Anderson that this is all “just business” and that he should come work for the WWF. Ole Anderson forcefully denies the suggestion. [INSIDE OUT-HOW CORPORATE AMERICA DESTROYED PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING]

 

[BruiserBrody]

So the basic gist of the Dark side episode was:

1> Barnett was using company money to live the high life. However, the biz was different yet and he had access to top stars to bolster houses and thus made enough money that he could pay off his partners to keep them happy. (I don't think it was said, but Barnett was also NWA treasurer until he went with Vince.

2> Ole took over the money by force, and then tried to book cheaper talent to give the company some cash in the coffers. (It isn't said, but Ole was trying to push North and west to expand and probably wanted capital to whether some losses/maybe some syndication fees(?) etc
With Vince starting to buy up talent, Ole didn't have as large of a roster to pull from. Quick fixes like Andre were no longer easily booked.

3> The Briscos didn't see Ole's long term view and wanted pay outs instead of waiting for a bigger payday possibly down the road if things worked out.

4> I'm not sure I heard Ole actually sold his shares to Vince at the end of the law suits. I wonder how that worked? Was Ole still getting some pay offs from WTBS even with Vince running the show or something? I can't see Vince giving him proceeds from GA house shows as he didn't even want to pay his promoter partners in areas where he had made friendly deals with them.

One of the Wrestling Classics posters says in the early 80s during a soft business period Barnett asked all the shareholders to give 2000 bucks into the company. The Briscos checks bounced.

 

[BruiserBrody]

WCW was always WCW

Loss4Words -

June 9 – Georgia Championship Wrestling returns to the Baltimore Civic Center, running head to head with the WWF at the Capital Center. In the main event, NWA World Champion Ric Flair defeats Ron Garvin “after a bloody 35 minutes of action”. [WON 1984-07-09] Promotion for the event is terribly fumbled, as the Flair-Garvin WTBS match with Garvin planned to defeat Flair but promoter and booker Ole Anderson changes plans, with Flair backing out of the match because he does not want to wrestle Garvin. The angle does not air until 7:00pm, by which time the Baltimore card starts in less than an hour. In addition, the Road Warriors defeat Jerry Lawler and Austin Idol while Wahoo McDaniel and Harley Race have a “bloody 5-minute brawl” ending in disqualification that is the “best match” on the card. [WON 1984-07-09] The event is plagued by no-shows of Butch Reed, Jimmy Valiant, and Ole Anderson himself, who has to appear in court. The card draws 5,400 fans. On the WWF card, Sgt. Slaughter defeats the Iron Sheik in a boot camp match, which draws 10,000 fans. The card is later broadcast on the USA Network. ​

 

[BruiserBrody]

I'm pretty surprised Jerry Brisco didn't take a lower card role on house shows after Jack quit, even if it wasn't going to be anything that would be pushed on TV.

I'm also surprised Jack never returned to work for Baba on a part time basis.

How much damn money was owning a piece of a Georgia worth? If Crockett paid a million, would that indicate the Briscos may have got something like 150K each? Barnett, Ole and Bill Watts, and others owned slices of it.