From: danm@pdaxs.techbook.com (dan mcdonald)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.pro-wrestling
Subject: "Championship Wrestling USA" (Portland Wrestling) 7/25/92
Keywords: Weekly Update and Opinions
Date: 28 Jul 92 14:58:52 GMT
Article-I.D.: pdaxs.TgNmoB1w165w
Organization: Portland Public Access sponsored by TECHbooks Bookstore

Here's another weekly update from Championship Wrestling USA
(Portland Wrestling).
 
The TV production skills seem to be improving (or maybe I'm just
becoming accustomed :-).
 
This is for the 7/25 TV show, or the 7/18 matches (billed last week
as the 7-match Summer Spectacular, but announced on TV as the
6-match Summer Spectacular).
-----------
Match "0", before the TV show:  CW Bergstrom def. Damien Knight.
 
Match 1: Mike Star (new heel, 267 lbs) vs. Jesse Barr (face, 265 lbs).
    Sandy Barr introduces Mike Starr as from San Francisco, CA.  He 
(Mike)
    is wearing hot pink tights, and the chant of "faggot...faggot..." is
    started immediately.
 
    This seems to be a recurring theme as this is at least the 2nd or 3rd
    person to breeze into Portland with this angle.  The last I remember
    was "Johnny Holiday from the Virgin Islands".  Both had bleached 
hair,
    a hairbrush prop that could be used in the matches, an effeminate
    gait, etc.  We'll see where this goes.
 
    Match went to time-limit draw.
 
    Bart Sawyer later challenges Mike Star, saying he (Bart) is the only
    one who can wear hot pink in Portland.
 
Match 2: Mike Winner (face) vs. Buddy Wayne (new personality for 
me...face?).
    A pretty good match, I guess.  These guys seemed well matched, and 
did
    lots of amateur-type moves.  This was noted by Don and Al, the
    commentators, then followed with another quotable Portland quote:
    "But when an amateur move is applied by a professional, it just has
    a lot more ...(pause)... power behind it."
 
    Buddy Wayne wins with a swinging reverse body slam of some kind.  
Most
    unusual.  Mike had grabbed him off the ropes and spun him around to
    slam him down when Buddy somehow gained his feet and instead, spun
    Mike around and slammed _him_ down.  All 3 in the ring seemed 
genuinely
    surprised and basically stood around for a little bit scratching
    their heads in wonder about how Buddy pulled it off.
 
Match 3: The Return of "All-Asia Champ" Ryuma Go (256 lbs, face(?)) vs
    Ron Harris.
    Ryuma Go takes control of the match at first for a while.  Then Ron
    Harris takes over control for a while.  Then they battle back and
    forth for a while.  Eventually, Ryuma Go gets Ron Harris in a
    Figure 4.  Then Don Harris runs in, breaks it up, and the Harris
    Boys kick Ryuma Go around for a while.  Eventually Jesse Barr
    runs in for the save with a metal folding chair.  He doesn't
    hit anybody with the chair.
 
    Later on in an interview, Ron or Don says (regarding their upcoming
    trip to Japan):
    "When we get you in Japan, we're going to beat you in your own
    stinking country, you stinking Jap."
 
    Well, so much for taste and class...
 
Match 4: Jim and Karl Pope (newly trained locally, face) vs. John
    Rambo and Sumito (heel).
    Match filled with well-choreographed but not-quite-well-timed
    moved.  A few body slams/suplexes by the Popes (for demonstration
    of strength, I suppose).  Eventually all 4 get in the ring, and
    the Popes contrive around a bit and sooner or later get lined up
    to fling the other two into each other.  This they do.  One of the
    Popes gets Sumito solidly pinned, but Rambo interferes while the
    Referee is putting the other Pope back into his corner.  Timing is
    all off and not too believable.  With more practice and training,
    these guys could become at least believable.
 
---------------
"Next Week's" Matches (for 7/25/92, TV show on 8/1/92)
 
    Return of Brickhouse Brown, from his "World Tour"
    Amos Moses (new to town) vs. Al Madril
 
---------------
My Observations and Misc. Angles and Commentary:
 
    They are finally giving the local promotion a little push.  Better
    camera work, better push for Channel 32.
 
    They have taken the time to film and air some local commercials.
 
    It seems as if the show may have been on cable for a few or several
    weeks before Channel 32.  I won't get cable, so I don't know.
 
    Mentioned that a reporter from Japan came with Ryuma Go to do a story
    on his trip.
 
    Sandy Barr is setting up some kind of international promotion.  At 
one
    point, he had a poster from Japan showing lots of Japanese Wrestlers
    alongside Portland Wrestlers.  He said that he is sending a group
    of locals to Japan, as a continuation of an exchange-type thing.
    Group to include Bruise Brothers and Karl Pope, and probably more.
    Claims to have "agreements" with "Championship Wrestling-Japan" and
    "8 more" organizations around the world.  Promises to have wrestlers
    from all over the country and the world tripping through Portland.
 
    Talk of belts, finally.  Mentioned that old Pacific Northwest Titles
    are now defunct, and Sandy Barr will organize a tourney for the new
    Championship Wrestling USA belts.  Plans to have a "USA" belt and
    a "World" belt to include international competitors.  This show is
    first mention on TV that Sandy Barr is the promoter.
 
    It looks like the entire general admission bleachers are vacant
    for the TV show.  It's got to be tough to put on a promotion with
    such dismal house attendance.  Maybe the profits from the Flea
    Market are subsidizing the show. (Sandy Barr's ads claim 6-8,000
    people a weekend at the Flea Mart...@ $1/head...hmmmmm).
 
    Moondog Moretti has developed an interesting referee trait:  when
    he does the "2-count, boy, that was close" count, that's all he
    does--2 counts.  They come fast: bang!-bang!, and he makes no
    visible efforts or pretensions to go for a 3rd.  These can come
    fast:  shoulder down--bang!bang!--shoulder up--shoulder down--
    bang!bang!--shoulder up, etc.  I guess I got used to Sandy Barr
    and his 20+ years of refereeing, he could really milk those 2-counts
    and make it look like he was going for 3.
 
Al Madril has been interesting as heel commentator.  Actually,
    he is not pulling the heel act off as well as he used to.  As
    commentator, he seems as kind of a nice guy.  While announcing
    shows, he will get carried away when a heel
    pulls a good one in the ring.  He'd say "Wow!  Did you see that,
    Coss?" to, for example, a big hair-pull by a heel in the ring.
    Then, he'd try to recover by saying something like "well, I didn't
    see anything, I was just remarking on that excellent take-down.
    I didn't see any hair being pulled."  And stuff like that.  He's
    still into the "Wow! Did you see that!" mode.  Pretty entertaining.
 
Commercials aired during show:
    1. Nat King Cole music collection
    2. Wrestling "Pick-a-Match" 1-900 number.  For $1.49/call, you
        can call and vote for a match to be held 1-2 weeks in the
        future:  Jesse Barr and Bart Sawyer vs Bruise Brothers,
        or       Jesse Barr vs. Bart Sawyer.
    3. Sandy Barr's Flea Market, with Sandy himself pushing it.
       "I get 6 to 8,000 people a weekend coming to my flea market.
       Your junk could be their treasure."
    4. Your bad credit cleared up!  Personally announced by Don Coss,
       including over the house speakers in the wrestling arena.
    5. Air Power Video collection
    6. Sandy Barr's Flea Market again.
    7. Sandy & Tito's Gym and Wrestling School. ("the only local 
wrestling
       school"), featuring clips of Bettlejuice (Art Barr) and Jimmy Jack
       Funk (Jesse Barr) in costume.
    8. Singles Northwest, a 1-900 dial-a-date
    9. Pick-a-Match again
   10. Saturday Night Live video collection
   11. Hank Williams CD Collection (Junior or Senior?  I don't know)
   12. Mr. Formal (local tux store--provides outfit for Don Coss)
   13. Sandy Barr's Flea Market again.
 
dan
 

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