#UWF Television Championship | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

blowflyfag · 4 months ago

Text

WRESTLING’S MAIN EVENT: March 1990

THE DOWNFALL OF THE STEINER BROTHERS: She Is Woman, Hear Here Roar!

By JIM ARONSON

PHOTOS BY JOE ZANOLLE and DEBRA MOSER

Wrestling fans thought it was cute when an unattractive woman, named Robin Green, started appearing at the CNN Center Stage to root her favorite wrestler, Rick Steiner, onto victory each week. Slowly, Robin got more involved in Rick’s career and more involved in his personal life, too. Fans everywhere got a clue as to what Robin was all about when the ugly duckling turned into a beautiful woman on her first nighttime date with Rick Steiner. Then, she became his second and cost The Steiner Brothers the World Tag Team Championships, when she tripped Scott Steiner at “Clash Of the Champions VIII”. Finally, she showed her true colors when she had her henchmen, Doom and Kevin Sullivan beat Scott up in the backseat of her limousine. Now known simply as ‘Woman’, all she wants is everything the world can give her and nobody better get in her way!

Man’s greatest weakness is Woman. Throughout history, Woman has always caused man’s downfall. Helen of Troy. Jessica Hahn. And now, two more men have fallen at the feet of a woman, named appropriately enough, Woman. Woman isn’t strong, nor is she persuasive. Woman’s power lies in her abilities to appeal to man’s prime instinct: his HEART.

Both the Steiners and Woman traveled long roads to get to this war of betrayal. Rick Steiner, an all-American in wrestling at Michigan, first made a name for himself in wrestling in the UWF, teaming with Sting and Eddie Gilbert.

“Those guys have always been good to me,” says Rick. Rick was not only among good company in the UWF, but he found success there, too. A leading contender for the Rookie of the Year awards, Rick won the UWF Heavyweight Title, the organization disbanded, sending its wrestlers flying in numerous directions and other federations.

Rick decided to stay with the UWF’s NWA ties, and joined forces with Kevin Sullivan and the Varsity Club. Along with Mike Rotunda, Rick Steiner continued to defend this belt until Sullivan, Rotunda and Steve Williams jumped him, and he quit the Varsity Club. “They were mean to me, and called me bad names,” said Steiner.

On his own, Steiner soon rejoined Eddie Gilbert and won his first major singles title–the NWA Television Title. Although he didn’t hold the title long, Steiner did defend the belt well, and acted the role of Champion respectfully.

Scott Steiner, like his brother Rick, was an all-American in wrestling at Michigan. Scotty got his first break in the Memphis area, teaming with the likes of Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Lawler.

While he had much success in the area, Scotty felt as though he needed a bigger challenge, and better competition. What better place to wrestle than in the NWA, he thought. In addition to the competition, wrestling in the NWA would give him the opportunity to team with his brother. “I never got to see Rick much, being down in Memphis. It was time to be reunited with my dog-faced gremlin!” Scotty recalls. As Scott arrived, he was there in time to help Rick wrap up the feud with the Varsity Club. Meanwhile, strange things were going on in the mind of a Woman.

[Despite distractions from Woman, the Steiners recently won the NWA World Tag Team Titles.

Scott Steiner has improved by leaps and bounds since his debut in the NWA.]

Woman originally got involved in wrestling in the early ‘80’s. This was a time when everyone had a valet. Chris Adams had Nicola Roberts (Baby Doll), Jim Garvin had Precious and Kevin Sullivan had Fallen Angel (Woman). Fallen Angel, in the most pleasant terms, was a “nasty wench.” She didn’t just interfere, she aimed to injure Sullivan’s opponents. While other valets and women “managers” were having mud-wrestling matches against each other, she was using foreign objects, like screwdrivers, and going for the heart. Sullivan was her master; she did whatever he commanded. Sullivan spoke the words of the Devil, and she listened intently. Sullivan would launch his attacks on wrestlers like Dusty Rhodes, and she would do whatever she could to aid in the destruction. Then, as strangely as she appeared on the Florida wrestling scene to aid Sullivan, she was gone.

Woman reappeared this year as a typical wrestling fan, named Robin Green. About her background, Woman says she’s never heard of Fallen Angel. Rick Steiner noticed “his biggest fan” at ringside one night, and asked her out on a date. Things went well, until Woman tired of wearing the horn-rimmed glasses and nerdy clothes. At the time of his date with her, Woman revealed the REAL her: low cut blouse, long hair, and seductive smile. Woman was born.

Scott never really trusted Woman. The betrayal vegan to develop. The Steiners were wrestling the Freebirds for the World Tag Championship and the brothers were dominating Jim Garvin and Michael Hayes. Then, it happened. To this day, no one really understands how it happened. But, apparently, Scotty was coming off the ropes to elbow smash a weary Garvin, and he tripped–over nothing. Scotty immediately blamed Robin Green/Woman, Robin blamed Missy Hyatt, but nothing was proven, and the matter was dropped. But still, Scotty didn’t quite trust her.

Then, the betrayal blew up–in Scott Steiners’s face. Scotty was waiting in a neighborhood playground for Rick to pick him up. Up pulled Robin, in a long, black stretch limousine. Admiring the vehicle, Scotty climbed in to get a closer look. The last thing Scotty remembers is that three men beat him senseless.

When he woke up, Scotty STeiner was in a lot of pain, his face was bandaged, and his chest hurt. THe ultimate damage: two broken ribs, a broken nose, a black eye, and several bruises. Rovin Green claimed that she no longer existed under that name:she was now called simply “Woman.” Woman hadn't just broke Rick Steiner’s heart, she had injured his flesh and blood. The Steiners vowed to destroy her.

[The Steiners wrestle scientifically rough, using amateur moves and pro wrestling holds.]

Woman claimed she turned against the Steiners to teach them a valuable lesson: not to trust a Woman. She quickly brought in Kevin Sullivan and his Doom squad, to fight the Steiners at the NWA “Halloween Havoc ‘89”. Apparently, these were the same three men who pummeled Scotty. But come the big event things would not go as planned for the Steiners. Although they dominated most of the match, it was difficult wrestling men they didn’t know. Who were these guys under masks? Ultimately when the Steiners thought they had a victory in their grasp, Woman placed a small foreign object in the mask of one of the Doom. A slight headbutt to Rick, and the match was history. A win for Doom–and another win for Woman.

After the match, Woman betrayed yet another man–Sullivan, when she fired him. Apparently, Women used Sullivan like she has used every man, to her own satisfaction and needs. Woman can’t be trusted: she will use anybody, especially males, to get whatever she needs them for. She is only out for one thing: herself. She is a feminist gone radically abnormal. A dangerous untrustworthy lady, Woman won’t stop until she has total domination over all the men in the NWA. The young girl who was a slave to Kevin Sullivan in Florida is gone: she has been replaced by a woman who is nothing more than a USER. Just as Kevin Sullivan or either of the Steiner Brothers.

[In matches with Doom, The Steiners will have to keep one eye on Woman at all times.]

#rick steiner #scott steiner #woman #nancy benoit #the Steiner brothers #magazine scan #magazine transcript #WRESTLING’S MAIN EVENT #WRESTLING’S MAIN EVENT 1990s #1990s #1990

3 notes · View notes

the-scorpions-den · 5 years ago

Photo

In April 1987, failing to compete with Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation, Watts ultimately sold the company to Crockett. The UWF universe (on tape delay) is beginning to blend into the NWA universe here as JCP aligns the UWF to its agenda. No longer is the UWF Heavyweight Title the top prize in Sting’s world, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, which traces its lineage through Hackenschmidt, Gotch, Thesz, Jack Brisco, the Funks, Harley Race, and now “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, is the top of the mountain.

Hot Stuff International are doing pretty well on the card to say the least. They hold most of the gold in the UWF: the Tag Team and Television titles. Only Big Bubba Rogers (who came into the territory after JCP bought UWF) holds the remaining championship. On May 23, 1987 Sting & Steiner demonstrate their dominance in front of some big JCP faces like Magnum T.A.; Dusty Rhodes; and J.J. Dillon, manager of world champion Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen.

4 notes · View notes

mattprivettwrites · 5 years ago

Text

Ode to Ron Garvin, the man with the hands of stone

(originally written 24 Nov 2018)

I’ve been a wrestling fan for over thirty years. Some of my favorite childhood memories include going over to my uncle’s house to watch wrestling on pay-per-view. On Thanksgiving that meant turkey leftovers with barbecue sauce, and in 1987 that meant Starrcade, the premiere event for the NWA (i.e., Jim Crockett Promotions). JCP was based in Charlotte, where we lived. The NWA was a big part of my life.

The hottest period for that territory was undoubtedly 1986 and the early part of the 1987. That was the time in which Ric Flair really solidified what would become his legendary status. He was the man, and his feuds with Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, Ricky Morton, and Barry Windham filled arenas and lit up television screens all over the Mid-Atlantic and southeast.

But by the late summer of 1987, in retrospect, you can begin to see the decline of the promotion begin to set in. Flair was finishing up a feud with Jimmy Garvin that made for some entertaining television, and the way it ended set up Jimmy’s storyline brother (real life stepfather) Ron Garvin as Flair’s next challenger.

Flair and Garvin had some fantastic matches in the winter of 85–86, including a good televised bout on the 12/28/85 edition of World Championship Wrestling, and later a cage match that went to a one hour draw, highlights of which were shown on the weekend shows. No one at the time thought Garvin would actually beat Flair to win the title, though. He was just one of several credible challengers Flair could have a great match with.

Fast forward a year and half and not much had changed. Garvin was still capable of being a solid challenger in arena main events with Flair, but no one saw him as a realistic candidate to carry the belt. He had not been booked in any way to elevate his status apart from matches with Flair, and he did not have the natural charisma of a Rhodes or even a Morton, much less the interview skills.

Still, as summer faded into fall in 1987 the booker, Rhodes, had to be thinking about Starrcade on Thanksgiving night. JCP would be moving Starrcade out of Greensboro that year (a pretty big mistake in hindsight), so the desire to make Starrcade memorable, say, with a title change, had to be on their minds. Instead of crowning a new face to hold the title going forward, they decided to have Flair drop the title in the fall so he could win it back at Starrcade.

But who could beat Flair and have that two months on top? Rhodes? No. Been there, done that, and bought the T-shirt. Koloff? Maybe, but he had cooled off considerably after some initial hot months as a babyface. Perhaps “Dr. Death” Steve Williams? I think this could have worked, but he was the UWF World Champion at the time, so the thought of another promotion’s champion was probably a non-starter (even though Crockett had bought the UWF earlier in the spring). Windham? This may have been the best choice in hindsight, as it would have elevated Windham and fans would have bought it after their classic series of matches earlier in the year.

Nevertheless, on Friday, September 25, at JCP’s first event in Detroit, at the Joe Louis Arena, Ron Garvin pinned Ric Flair in a cage match with a sunset flip from the top rope to win the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship.

The match itself was very good. The Starrcade rematch I watched at my uncle’s on Thanksgiving night is criminally underrated. Now, thirty-one years later, Ron Garvin is remembered as a failed champion.

Why?

The blame should, in no way, be laid at the feet of Garvin. He did everything that was asked of him.

The blame is on the late Rhodes and JCP in general — first, for putting Garvin in a position to fail as a champion fans wouldn’t buy; second, for doing little to nothing to support him as champion when he had the belt.

To the first point, Garvin had held the by then defunct Mid-Atlantic Title, then the U.S. Tag Team Titles (with Windham), but had not even really challenged for a major title, much less held one, in the time since that first great series with Flair. Fans had no reason to buy him as Big Gold material.

To the second point, Garvin had zero clean wins over serious competitors on television in the two months he held the title. A disqualification victory over Tully Blanchard is his biggest match. After that, Jim Crockett, Jr. announced Garvin wouldn’t defend the title until Starrcade, to save the big main event. This did nothing to enhance Garvin, though, and by the time he stepped into the cage at Starrcade he was booed more than cheered against Flair, who fans popped big for when he dropped Garvin head first into the post of the cage and fell on him for the pin.

But this post is titled, “Ode to Ron Garvin,” so at this point I just want to say: he deserves better. Garvin should be remembered as a legitimate Worlds Heavyweight Champion. Flair is the greatest, of course, but in the opinion of this writer Garvin is on the short list of people who could have the best matches with Flair (Steamboat and Windham are the others on that list). “The Man with the Hands of Stone” was utterly believable in the ring.

It’s hard to blame him for bolting the NWA in 1988 when it became clear he was being turned heel so Dusty could beat him. It’d be hard to blame Garvin for being a little bitter for the way he was handled as champion. His reign left a bad taste in the mouths of many fans, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that fact has left a bad taste in Garvin’s. His lack of love for Rhodes was later documented.

That said, if you are so inclined after reading this far, do yourself a favor and seek out some of those old Garvin-Flair matches. Start with 12/28/85. And really, if you’ve actually read this far, why wouldn’t you?

#rongarvin #ricflair #nwa #wrestling

2 notes · View notes

biggoldbelt · 4 years ago

Text

Exclusive: Former NWA Champion Nikita Koloff Introduces The Koloff Dynasty

Former UWF, NWA, and WCW Star “The Russian Nightmare” Nikita Koloff held numerous titles over the years, including the NWA United States Championship, NWA National Heavyweight Championship, NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (4 times), NWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times), NWA World Television Championship, and UWF World Television Championship. In addition he was inducted into the…

View On WordPress

#bodyslam.net #News #Rumors #Wrestling News #Wrestling Rumors #WWE News

0 notes

lamzillasreelthoughts · 6 years ago

Photo

Bunkhouse Stampede 1988 Review

In late 1987, the battle between Jim Crockett Promotions and the WWF reached an all time high. When Crockett announced plans to have their signature Starrcade event on pay-per-view for the first time, Vince McMahon had other plans. To counter the announcement, McMahon told PPV carriers that anybody offering Starrcade wouldn’t be allowed to carry Wrestlemania in ‘88. While they caved in that moment, the companies pushed back and refused to carry either product if that happened again. Crockett quickly put together his next pay-per-view, taking his signature match right to McMahon’s backyard at the Nassau Coliseum. This is Bunkhouse Stampede 1988!

1. Nikita Koloff vs. Bobby Eaton for the NWA World Television Championship: Wasting zero time, we jump right in to this first match. Typically, the first match is supposed to get the crowd excited for the rest of the show, put this match is more likely to put someone to sleep. While the story telling is solid, there are just too many rest holds. The crowd is pretty dead the entire match, and every time they get some heat, they slow it back down with an extended rest hold. Jim Cornette gets all the heat from the crowd, which is pretty damning for the in-ring action. This match is just about everything bad about southern style “wrasslin’.”

2. Larry Zybszko vs. Barry Windham for the UWF Western States Championship: This match was a pleasant surprise, as I’ve never been a fan of Windham. These two guys came in, got the crowd hot, and delivered a great match. If this match was on a better card, it would probably be lost in the shuffle, but with nothing else of quality on the show, it was easy for this to be a show-stealer. It isn’t perfect, and some of the rest hold spots come at awkward times, but this was easily the match of the night.

3. Road Warrior Hawk vs. Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship: If you ever need an example of why Flair is considered one of the greatest to step between the ropes, look no further than this match. Flair carries this entire match, doing all of the work himself. That being said, this match was a slog to get through. Hawk was easily a better worker than Animal, but that isn’t saying much. He could have been swapped out for a dummy, and the match wouldn’t have changed much. Hawk’s reputation for no-selling rings true, as he takes an unbelievable amount of low-blows with testicles made of steel. The fact that the WWE Network version has some missing footage only hurts what little is already here.

4. The 1988 Bunkhouse Stampede Finals: This match is one of the most contrived matches in all of professional wrestling. Taking a battle royal and adding a steel cage is one of the worst innovations ever created. The match itself is all over the place. The whole thing is just 25 minutes of boring brawling, and contrived eliminations. Having to get around the steel cage to throw somebody out slows everything down, and makes everything look silly. Thankfully, this is a match that stayed dead, and I hope that it never rears its ugly head again.

Overall, this experiment to go head to head with the WWF was a failure. This should have been treated like a major event, but instead we get a boring card with only one decent match. Mix in the poor production value on top, and it becomes easy to see why Crockett couldn’t believably compete with the WWF. The namesake match is abysmal, and the Bunkhouse Stampede would never again see the glory of PPV. A hidden secret that is better left a secret.

#1988 #bunkhouse stampede #dusty rhodes #ric flair #the four horseman

0 notes

beahkawaizxu · 5 years ago

Text

Classic Shields UWF Television Title Championship Wrestling Belt ( 80 Bids ) https://t.co/1JVz9sQ5bn

— Beahka.Waizxu (@BWaizxu) June 13, 2019

via http://twitter.com/BWaizxu/status/1139067677199228929 from Twitter https://twitter.com/BWaizxu

#IFTTT #Twitter

0 notes

duiytuviovwo · 5 years ago

Text

Classic Shields UWF Television Title Championship Wrestling Belt ( 80 Bids ) https://t.co/TNWMJFhcOc

— Duiytu.Viovwo (@duiytu) June 13, 2019

from Twitter https://twitter.com/duiytu via http://twitter.com/duiytu/status/1139024710912622592

#IFTTT #Twitter

0 notes

gdwessel · 7 years ago

Text

ROH/NJPW War of the Worlds Night 2 - 5/11/2018; Minoru Suzuki 30th Anniversary: Suzuki v. Okada; Podcast Recording Today

The second stop on this year’s War of the Worlds tour happened last night.

- 5/11/2018, Ted Reeve Arena, Toronto, Ontario, CAN

Cheeseburger d. Bully Ray (DQ)

Tetsuya Naito [Los Ingobernables] d. Beer City Bruiser

Matt & Nick Jackson [Bullet Club] d. Evil Uno & Stu Grayson

Tenille Dashwood & Jenny Rose d. Alexia Nicole & Xandra Bale

Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky d. Rocky Romero, SHO & YOH [CHAOS]

Cody Rhodes [Bullet Club] d. Jushin Thunder Liger

EVIL, SANADA & Hiromu Takahashi [Los Ingobernables] d. Jay Lethal, Kenny King & Colt Cabana

Another haphazard card. The Ingobernables v. ROH Babyfaces match became the main event because Herb Flip Gordon had flight issues, and didn’t make the show, so Colt Cabana stepped in, the match became a 6-man, and BUSHI didn’t work except to spit mist in Cabana’s face for the finish. The IWGP US title match was shifted to opening the show, maybe because of this, maybe because ROH booking is dumb. You make the call. The advertised ROH 6-Man title match didn’t happen either as SoCal Uncensored took on RPG3K and The Kingdom didn’t wrestle at all.

On 6/23/2018, Minoru Suzuki will wrestle in his 30th Anniversary Match. Suzuki trained in amateur wrestling, as well as the NJPW dojo, making his debut on 6/23/1988 v. the man now known as Takashi Iizuka. He would soon leave, of course, to become founding members of not only the original UWF, but also Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi and, very notably, Pancrase, one of the first legitimate MMA promotions.

Thirty years later, he is celebrating this as part of the Great Pirate Festival in Yokohama, a free, outdoor event that will have two three-match cards across the two days. There’s quite an array of talents here, from NOSAWA Rongai to Rocky Kawamura, who not only wrestles but also currently runs Pancrase. (As for the Great Pirate Festival, keep in mind Minoru Suzuki is a HUGE fan of the comic One Piece...) The main event of that first day will be his 30th Anniversary Match, facing against none other than Kazuchika Okada. All three matches that day will be refereed by the legendary AJPW ref Kyohei Wada as well. Suzuki also said there is a 30th Anniversary version of his signature theme “Kaze Ni Nare” that will be performed live at this show.

Suzuki gave a press conference about this, and rather than quote it here because I cannot do it justice, just read the whole thing. It is amazing. Suzuki outside of kayfabe, totally putting over not only Okada, but Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tetsuya Naito as well. Just read it. The cards are below:

Great Pirate Festival - 6/23/2018, Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse

Mitsuhisa Sunabe [Pancrase] v. Marines Mask [K-DOJO]

Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. [SZKG] v. Rocky Kawamura [Pancrase] & Hikaru Sato [FREE]

Minoru Suzuki 30th Anniversary Match: Minoru Suzuki [SZKG] v. Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS]

- 6/24/2018, Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse

Sanshiro Takagi & Super Sasadango Machine [DDT] v. Jun Kasai [FREEDOMS] & Rocky Kawamura [Pancrase]

Aja Kong v. Hiroyo Matsumoto

Minoru Suzuki [SZKG] & Hikaru Sato [FREE] v. NOSAWA Rongai & MASADA

We’ll talk about this, Wrestling Dontaku, and the upcoming Best of the Super Juniors later today when we record the next episode of the Podcast.

Tonight, meanwhile, is the third night of War of the Worlds. Who knows if the card will stay this way. Keep in mind, tomorrow’s show is in Chicago, along with the Bullet Club All In press conference at 1pm EDT on Facebook and Twitch, and tickets will be going on sale for All In at 4pm EDT tomorrow.

- 5/12/2018, Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak, MI

Adam Page [Bullet Club] v. Punisher Martinez

Cody Rhodes [Bullet Club] v. Hiromu Takahashi [Los Ingobernables]

Shane Taylor v. EVIL [Los Ingobernables]

Jay Lethal v. Kenny King v. Matt Taven v. Marty Scurll [Bullet Club]

Matt & Nick Jackson [Bullet Club] v. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley v. SHO & YOH [CHAOS]

Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky v. Jushin Thunder Liger, Cheeseburger & Flip Gordon

ROH World Tag Team Championship: Jay & Mark Briscoe (c) v. Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI [Los Ingobernables]

#njpw #new japan pro wrestling #ring of honor #war of the worlds #rohwotw #minoru suzuki #kazuchika okada #one piece #all in #podcast #strong style story podcast

0 notes