July 11, 1987
River City Wrestling #291

Winnipeg, Manitoba

 

The tournament for the vacant RCW Tag Titles continues with one semi-final match, while the Hart Brothers advance into the finals with a bye.

 

-top notch match pitting power against finesse, David versus Goliath. But this time Goliath was just too strong and able to bend the rules enough to take advantage of two-on-ones despite best efforts of referee Buddy Lane to keep this match fair.

 

Champion calls out the Hart Brothers. He gives them a hard time about getting a bye into the finals and says that being well rested is their only hope of beating a superior team like the Terminators. He goes on to say either the Lightning Express or the Midnight Rockers would have beat them. Having taking enough verbal abuse the Hart Brothers stand up from the "late night" style set couch, and begin to shout back at Champion. They call him a do nothing who likes to stick his nose into other people's business. Champion challenges them to take on another semi-final match tonight to make things even. The Harts say they would do it, they don't care, but Champion is not the one who is going to tell them to do anything...

It's all a rouse as the Terminators hit the ring and attack the Hart Brothers from behind. They lay in a good beating to soften them up both physically and mentally before their final match. Champion looks down at the Hart Brothers and says, "I guess it should be even now."

 

-Jewel wanted a little revenge for the spot Lightfoot put him in last week as his tag partner, but Lightfoot got the better of him.

 

RCW Heavyweight Champion Steve Disalvo, and his valet Lisa Caress are none too happy having to defend their title against Vendetta in tonight's main event. Disalvo complains that Vendetta has not been around long enough to be considered a #1 challenger and surely a more worthy opponent like Shawn Cummings, Buck Zumhoffe, or the Red Demon could be found? When asked about the uncanny resemblence in dyanmics between himself and Lisa Caress, and Kevin Kelly and his valet Madusa, Disalvo just looks at Ron Strong and says "huh?".

 

Video:

"Girls, Girls, Girls" by Motley Crue, currently #13 on the charts, provides the music while RCW shows highlites of Tawney England, Madusa Micelli, and Lisa Caress.

 

-hard fought contest with Navarre controlling early and the announcers commenting on Silva's uncharacteristically low interest level. But eventually he just got plain mad and nasty and was too much for Navarre to handle today.

 

Ron Strong attempts to interview Manny Silva, but the Hawaiian is too hot under the collar to speak into the mic, coherently, or in complete sentences. One could only gather from the minute long tirade that Silva does not care that he is the #1 contender now for the TV belt, he doesnt want that belt, he wants only to cripple Vendetta.

 

On Tonight's Evening News:

-Federal Aviation Administration and Canadian officials reported launching investigation into alleged cover-up attempt by Delta crew involved in near miss with Continental flight over Atlantic this week

-"Newsweek" poll reported indicating Colonel Oliver North's favorable standing with American public after 1st week of testimony at Iran/Contra hearings

-Demonstration at Young Republicans convention in Seattle protesting Colonel Oliver North and Iran/Contra operation and conventioneers' response

-Reburial in Detroit of Pvt. Eddie Slovik, only US soldier shot for desertion since Civil War

-United Nations celebration of birth of world's 5 billionth resident, Matej Gaspar, in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, to illustrate planet's growing population crisis

- Kansas City Royals baseball player Bo Jackson reported playing football with Raiders during off season

 

[end of first hour]

 

The Theme From Moonlighting by Al Jarreau currently #24 on the charts plays in the background as Kevin Kelly does his best Bruce Willis, and Madusa Micelli does her best Cybill Sheppard impression in a cheezy promo designed to insult Tawney England as being Canadian trailer trash, in comparison to themselves as the jetsetters.

 

-each girl had a leather strap wrapped around their own wrist, the girls were not hooked together, and the way to win was to get your opponent to submit while being strapped. It was a short, vicious match, that saw England in control for most of it but Micelli used a superkick, and then an exposed turnbuckle to turn the tide of the match. She whipped England across the butt repeatedly until she got the submission.

 

The charasmatic Vendetta gets the crowd revved up for his title match tonight against Steve Disalvo. He promises that between the old Vendetta, and the new additions to his repetoire thanks to the continued work of Vic Gate, that the fans will see a new champion tonight, one they can finally be proud of.

 

[The Terminators win the RCW Tag Team Titles]

-Terminators started strong beating down the smaller Harts. But Owen turned the match around and controlled Riggs, with leglocks and then a front chancery. He tagged out to Bruce who kept up the momentum with a suplex, and an elbow drop from the 2nd rope. He tried for a figure-four but was kicked off, right into the corner where Wolff clobbered him from behind. Both men were down, and both made a tag in. Owen went to work, but when he tried to send Riggs to the ropes it was reversed and the Terminator nailed Owen with a clothesline. He then choked him with his boot, nailed a shoulderbreaker and got a 2 count. He worked the shoulder with an armbar and some pounding shots before tagging in Wolff. Owen made a comeback but this brought Riggs back in, which brought Bruce in and we had a 4 man brawl. This favored the Terminators when Riggs backdropped Owen over the top rope, and this allowed them to hit their finisher stolen from the Road Warriors and win the belts.

 

Post-Match:

The Terminators were presented with the tag team titles. Chris Champion came down to congratulate them, but left the ring in a hurry when they just growled at him in response.

 

20th Century Fox is proud to release to theatres this weekend, "Revenge of the Nerds 2: Nerds in Paradise", starring Anthony Edwards and Curtis Armstrong.

Get out your white socks! This time our suave college heroes hit the road for fun and fraternity in Florida. Another opportunity for brains to triumph over brawn. How can the girls possibly resist their geeky charms?

 

[Steve Disalvo retained the RCW Heavyweight Title]

These two went at it tooth and nail with neither having a long advantage in the first 7 minutes. Finally Disalvo began to dominate, and tried to finish off Vendetta with a pair of running clotheslines, a sidewalk slam, a DDT from the 2nd buckle, and a flying bulldog, but none would get the 3 count. As he stood there frustrated though Manny Silva suddenly entered the ring with a steel chair and smacked Vendetta across the back, then the head, then the back, then the head, then the back again for good measure.

 

Post-Match:

Steve Disalvo looked disgusted but left the ring, snatched up his belt, and led Lisa Caress away as she watched in horror at what was happening next. Manny Silva nailed Buddy Lane over the head with the chair when he tried to get Silva to stop the attack. Silva then choked Vendetta with the edge of the chair. The Queen City Killers, Vic Gate, and Brian Jewel all arrived to help but each one was given a chair shot by Silva and laid out. Finally Silva wrapped the top and middle ropes around Vendetta's throat. It looked like the Haitian may have got his hand in the way between the constricting ropes and his throat, and that may have been the only thing that saved him. Vendetta was being choked out, his face a crimson mask, bodies were everywhere.

 

That's it for another edition of River City Wrestling.

 

See ya next week!!

 

July 18, 1987
River City Wrestling #292

Edmonton, Alberta

 

-surprisingly quick win for the Bullet who keeps impressing more and more every week.

 

Mike Lozansky appreciates the accolades he is receiving from the fans and hopes he can continue to climb the ladder here in RCW.

 

Marty Goldstein comes out with a huge update. After last week's fiasco he's had enough of Manny Silva. No more fines, no more grudge matches, no mas, no Manny Silva. For his lawlessness including his constant interference in matches that don't concern him, his insanely dangerous method of choking opponents with the top two ropes, and his attack on Buddy Lane last week with a steel chair - he is gone from RCW for good!! The fans greet this with a loud ovation.

However, the bad news is that Vendetta will once again require time to rest his larynyx which was injured by the Silva attack. He is likely gone for 1 or 2 months. This also means that as of right now there is no clear cut #1 contender for the RCW Heavyweight Title.

 

-Eagle makes it 1-1 on the night for the Three Little Indians

 

The Three Little Indians blame the white man for what happened at the tag team tournament and for having turned Brian Jewel into just another whitey wannabe loser. They don't care who the tag champs are, the Harts or the Terminators, they are going to come get what is owing to them.

 

Orion Pictures is proud to release to theatres this weekend the sci-fi film, "RoboCop", starring Peter Weller.

In a dystopic & crime ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg with submerged memories haunting him.

Part man. Part machine. All cop. The future of law enforcement.

 

-huge win for Cummings who had Charland rocking and reeling but couldn't put him away with his dropkicks. Charland also survived both a Boston crab and a slingshot suplex, before being dropkicked out of the ring and deciding he had enough for the night. Rather then return to the ring he simply staggered away.

 

Shawn Cummings gets the crowd going by telling them that together they just proved that you can't mess with a Western Canadian boy, especially if you are a pansy Quebecois. He leads them in a rendition of "Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, hey-hey-hey, good-bye" sung for Charland who had walked out.

 

-rematch from the tag tournament that saw the Russians fair no better, and this time Zhukov who had berated Gordienko about the loss, was on the receiving end of the double team QCK.

 

The Queen City Killers say that growing up in Regina, they are probably the first batch of young wrestlers who actually grew up watching the RCW product, and idolizing guys like The Destroyer, Bonecrusher, Chris Lyon, and Mike Valiant.

 

"Animal" by Def Leppard is the music, set to hihglites so far of The Queen City Killers in action, as well as backstage footage of them preparing for their matches, meeting their fans, and playing around with guitars of their own.

 

[end of first hour]

 

[you've got to see this to believe it!!]

chalk full of great music and fashion, and taking full advantage of the aerobics craze

 

[Ben Bassarab retained the RCW Television Title]

-terrific match that saw Champion take some stalling and heel tactics straight out of the book of Larry Zbyszko, but also saw him employ some impressive martial arts attacks including knife hand chops, and savate and scissors kicks. He almost won the belt twice after scissors kicks but both times the champ got a shoulder up. Bassarab made a strong comeback and took to the air to keep the challenger off balance. A flying knee from the 2nd buckle, flying headscissors, and an elbow drop from the 2nd buckle set up a German suplex, and then the finisher.

 

Post-Match:

Chris Champion was visibly upset after the loss, pounding the mat, complaining about a fast count, and kicking the bottom rope. The fans taunted him with chants of "baby" before he left in a huff.

 

The last six minutes of a match featuring Madusa Micelli v. Bambi, courtesy of AWA and ESPN.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdmwmdcZAdo 

 

-impressive win for Kelly, an impressive specimen himself, but no real reason for this rematch as Kelly has proved himself superior.

 

Kevin Kelly basically challenges Steve Disalvo, while Madusa challenges Orca. The "bronzed" couple is looking for some gold to wear.

 

[The Terminators retained the RCW Tag Team Titles]

-typically the Terminators used their power and double teaming to keep the Harts off balance for most of this match. But in the last couple minutes the Harts were able to fight fire with fire, meet force with force, took the legs out from the tag champs, and had them gasping for air due to the increased pace. The new tag champs sensing they were in danger of losing stopped any semblence of following the rules and refused to leave the ring, so referee Buddy Lane counted to 5 and then disqualified them. The fans were not happy with the result, and probably the high number of unsatisfactory main events as of late, and poured down jeers from the seats.

 

That's it for another edition of River City Wrestling.

 

See ya next week!!

 

 

 

July 25, 1987
River City Wrestling #293

Calgary, Alberta

 

Opening Bout:

-even Zumhoffe did not provide much competition for the champ. The only real drama in the match came when Kevin Kelly's valet Madusa came out to watch the action. If looks could kill then Lisa Caress would be on an epsiode of Law & Order. Right after the match Disalvo spotted her and left the ring to confront her but she walked away before he could get there.

 

Steve Disalvo says he is bored with the competition, or lack thereof in RCW. He says its not his fault that Vendetta and Manny Silva went on a path of mutual assured destruction, and Bassarab and Navarre have come up short. When asked about Kevin Kelly the champ says that he is a wannabe who needs to prove himself some more.

 

Pre-Match:

After the interview Steve Disalvo and Lisa Caress pulled up chairs at ringside and waited. The reason turned out that it was Kevin Kelly who had the next match. When he and Madusa came out instead of entering the ring they walked over to where Disalvo sat and stared at his title belt. Disalvo got to his feet and the two men just stared at each other for a good 20 seconds before inside the ring referee Jurgen Hermann began the 10 count for a countout.

 

-squash match, Kelly sending a message to Disalvo who watched the whole match standing up, then left for the back with his title belt.

 

Kevin Kelly & Madusa say that the champs Steve Disalvo and Orca are ducking them, but they can only hide for so long. Kelly refers to himself and Madusa as this year's model compared to Disalvo and Caress who are now no longer under warranty.

 

-third straight one-sided match tonight although Renslow had a few good moments of offense

 

Interview:

The Queen City Killers, Jett Black and Alex Cambridge say they have proven themselves to be top contenders for the tag belts, and will wait for the result of the Hart Brothers and Terminators rematch tonight to see who they are gunning for next.

 

Champion is still bitter and embarrassed at losing to Bassarab last week even though he tries to appear normal. He asks Bassarab what's next for him, as he has held the secondary title for over a year now, and has exhausted his attempts to win the big one. He points out that Bassarab has also held the tag titles, it is only the Heavyweight title that stands between him and a sure spot in the hall of fame. Bassarab says he doesnt care about accolades like that, its a long career yet he hopes, and he will still have shots at the big title. Champion laughs and says that was spoken like a man who has given up, maybe waiting for Disalvo to lose his title to a new champion, maybe someone smaller. Bassarab takes some offense to this but Champion just laughs and tells him to sit down.

Champion acts like a lightbulb just went on and suggests to Bassarab that maybe holding that TV title is what is holding him back. It acts like a security blanket, so he wont wrestle with the same sense of urgency and recklessness that he would if he didn't have it. It also means he has to split his training up. Champion suggests to Bassarab that he should relinquish the title, he has held it long enough, has nothing left to prove, and to put his full efforts back to winning the Heavyweight title.

Bassarab seems to think about it for a minute before saying there is nothing Champion would like more then for him to give up this title, well it isnt going to happen.

Champion though won't give up on the idea and he calls out Steve Disalvo. The champion comes to the ring with a snear on his face. When Champion puts the situation to Disalvo the big man rubs his hands together, nods his approval, and seems to think it over. Finally the champ says there might be something to that, and he would be willing, out of the goodness of his heart, to give Bassarab one more shot at the title, since there is no clear #1 challenger anyway, if he were to show the dedication of giving up his title.

Bassarab says neither one of them wants him to win the belt, so they can stop playing games. Champion though won't give up and calls Bassarab chicken too cowardly to grab life by the horns. Bassarab finally relents and says that there might be some merit to what he is saying. He tells Champion he will think about it and give him and Disalvo their answer next week!

 

-squash match

 

[end of first hour]

 

-the Three Little Indians controlled most of this match as both Jewel and Lozansky had turns playing Ricky Morton. But the good guys made a spirited comeback at the end to win the bout.

 

The Hart Brothers announce that they have been granted a rematch for the RCW Tag Titles in tonight's main event against the Terminators. The Harts say they really had the champs number last week and thats why they got themselves intentionally disqualified to save their titles. But tonight will be different because Marty Goldstein has put in a special condition on the match. If the Terminators get themselves disqualified, or walk out of the match, then they will be stripped of their tag titles!! Ron Strong points out that the titles can not change hands by disqualification or countout. The Harts say that is correct, but that doesn't mean they can't be stripped of the titles for not defending them fairly, and that is what will happen if there is a repeat of last week.

 

Pre-Match:

Boris Zhukov is already in the ring. Marty Goldstein comes to the ring. He says that originally it was going to be Hawaiian Punch against Zhukov but a last minute substitue has arrived in town. Goldstein says he is so happy to have this guy, to improve the level of competition in RCW that he has come out himself to make the introduction. At 385 pounds, he is Big John Studd!!!

 

-Zhukov left the ring at the start and refused to lock up. Finally Studd left the ring to go after him and Zhukov caught him coming back into the ring. For the first minute it looked like Studd would not live up to the hype, but then he fired back with big hamhock forearms. He surprised Zhukov with a variety of attacks including a double underhook suplex, a side suplex, and a hiptoss off the top rope. The Russian lasted only about 20 seconds in the bearhug before giving up.

 

Ron Strong interviews John Studd. He asks him if he's turned over a new leaf wrestling the likes of Boris Zhukov, and if he has gone away from using that controversial heartpunch. Studd just laughs. He says he doesnt care if he's wrestling Zhukov or Zumhoffe or Zebraman, he wrestles like he wrestles, he fights like he fights, and he loses to no man. And rest assured you will see the heartpunch again. When askes what has brought him to RCW, he drops a bombshell. He says he has come to collect a bounty!! When asked by a stunned Strong who the bounty is on, Studd just walks away.

 

 

The Terminators: Riggs & Wolff (champions)

v

The Hart Brothers: Bruce & Owen

 

Bruce started the match and had a hard time with the power and double teams of the champions. Owen got the hot tag in and seemed to fair better lifting the tempo of the match and almost single handedly winning the titles. But eventually he was taken down after a blind tag, Riggs ducked and Wolff hit Owen with a thundering dropkick. They tried for their doomsday device but Bruce entered the ring and took out Wolff who was holding Owen over his knee. The Terminators though then pounded on Bruce, and chucked him over the top rope. Owen fought back one on two while Buddy Lane tried to restore order. Bruce managed to recover and drag Wolff by the leg out of the ring. Buddy Lane left the ring to try and restore order outside where Bruce and Wolff were exchanging chair shots.

Chris Champion appeared, ran into the ring and nailed Owen in the back with a steel chair, then left the ring.

Lane eventually turned around and saw Riggs nail Owen with a backbreaker, so he returned to the ring and counted the 1, 2, 3 !!

[The Terminators retained the RCW Tag Team Titles]

 

The Terminators pose with their title bouts and call for Chris Champion to return to the ring. Wolff offers a handshake to a smiling Champion, but then spins him right into the arms of Riggs who nails him with a belly-to-belly suplex. They lay the boots to him and then chuck him through the ropes to the floor below. The crowd gives the Terminators a mixture of cheers and jeers as they resume their celebration.

 

That's it for another edition of River City Wrestling.

 

See ya next week!!