Central States #3 Page #2
Luke: "Yeah Baby, I got it now, I came, I saw, I conquered. I am the Central States Champion. But Buzz Tyler, I’m not through with you yet. I got what I wanted, but I want a little bit more of you. I wanna get in that cage with you. But if you’re smart, if you’re smart, you don’t go into a Lion’s Den, you don’t go into the cage with Luke Graham. Cause you’re gonna get hurt. I already took your belt, now I’m gonna take what’s left of you, the rest of it. I’m gonna ship you out of here, in a boxcar, in a box, or something. But you are gonna be gone, Buzz Tyler, you won’t be able to wrestling anymore, anywhere."
On April 26, 1984, Luke Graham wrestled Buzz Tyler in a Steel Cage Match. This wasn’t one of those fancy "Hell In The Cell" type cages either… this was old school tornado fence. The Central States Title was not on the line. Buzz Tyler got in the cage first and Luke Graham came to the ring and got jumped before the bell rang to start the match. Buzz with offense and in less than two minutes, Luke had a cut just above his right eye. Buzz tried to push Luke’s head through the cage. Graham was between the ropes and the cage. Buzz with a few punches to Luke. Luke tried to climb out of the cage and Buzz pulled Luke off the top rope by the tights. Luke with a kick and finally Luke shows some offense. Luke with punches and kicks. Buzz with punches and kicks of his own. Luke with an elbow and he rammed Buzz headfirst into the cage twice and Buzz is bleeding too.
At the five minute mark, Luke with a double axehandle and Buzz and Luke exchange punches. Luke rammed Buzz headfirst into the cage again and Luke reached into his tights and now he’s got his thumb loaded. Buzz rammed Luke’s thumb into the cage and continues pushing Luke’s thumb into the cage. Buzz stomps Luke’s right hand and thumb repeatedly. Luke rammed Buzz headfirst into the cage again. Luke reached into his tights again and gets brass knuckles. He missed with a right hand. Buzz with an atomic kneedrop, Buzz with a powerslam and a three count. Buzz wins the non-title cage match. They were both bleeding heavily and this was shown on Sunday Morning Television before 9 AM!
On Thursday May 3, 1984, Central States Champion "Crazy" Luke Graham put the Title on the line against Buzz Tyler. Kevin interviewed Buzz about it on April 26th for the show that was broadcast on April 29th.
Kevin Wall: "Well, it all comes down to this, you have a chance to get your belt back from "Crazy" Luke Graham."
Buzz: "Let me tell you something Luke Graham, I’ve beat you in every stipulation match that you and I has ever had. And everybody knows in Kansas City that you took my belt. Not with your thumb, because I got my eye on your thumb baby, you took it with the brass knuckles. And this Thursday Night, baby, it’s gonna be a little of something what happened last Thursday. I’m gonna beat you and show the people in Kansas City that I am the Champion cause I can put your shoulders to the mat 1, 2, 3 baby."
Kevin: "Alright this is a match a lot of people around the Central States area have been asking for. It’s coming to Memorial Hall. Let’s look at some videotape as we get a look at the man they call "Crazy" Luke Graham."
Luke: "HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa. Look at this, here’s the title belt right here Buzz Tyler. I got it around my waist, that’s where it’s gonna stay. Yeah, I took it from ya, I took it from ya cause you were a paper champion and when you finally put it up. I took it like I said it would. I came, I saw, I conquered, and I’m gonna add something to that, I’m damn well gonna keep it. You can’t take it away from me. You can never beat me and get this belt, you are through in Professional Wrestling. I am gonna make you feel so humiliated in that Championship match that you will never wanna get in the ring again with Luke Graham. This is my belt, I’m gonna keep it forever."
Luke Graham won the title match and Buzz Tyler left the promotion for a few months soon after this match. He also wrestled in the Mid-Atlantic area of the NWA. Ted Oates became the number one contender for the Central States title.
On May 10th, Kevin Wall interviewed Ted Oates in the ring. This episode was shown on May 13th.
Kevin Wall: "Back on All-Star Wrestling, time to visit now with one of the most popular stars throughout The Central States Area and the country, we’re talking about Ted Oates, and Ted, for the last several weeks we have talked privately about the Central States title currently held by "Crazy" Luke Graham and I know you have some very definite feelings on the subject."
Ted Oates: "Well, y’know Kevin this area has always been very good to me and I’ve always considered it my home. And my brother and myself were the Central States tag team Champions on more times than I can remember. My brother was The Central States Heavyweight Champion. And I was the Central States Heavyweight Champion. And for some reason it seems like I can’t get a match or anything against "Crazy" Luke Graham. And I feel like I have proved myself and everyone here knows that I deserve a title match against..."
At this point, "Crazy" Luke Graham enters the ring.
Ted: "Well, since you’re here you can listen like everybody else. I deserve a title match against you, and I feel like, and I’m sure everybody else feels like if I got a title match with you I’d relieve you of it. I feel very strongly about it..."
Luke Graham had heard enough and he got behind Kevin Wall and Ted Oates and Luke hits Ted Oates with a knee to the back. Luke rips Ted’s shirt and he pulls Ted’s pants off. Ted is wearing his wrestling trunks under his pants. Luke chokes Ted with the remains of his shirt. Luke threatened to hit Kevin Wall and Jerry Oates made the save. Jerry got the mic from Kevin Wall.
Jerry Oates: "Y’know this is totally ridiculous. Luke Graham you proved what a good man you are jumping a man from the back. Let’s see how good you do with him face to face, huh?"
Later in the show, Kevin Wall did an interview with "Crazy" Luke Graham about the No Disqualification match he’s gonna have with Ted Oates on May 17th.
Kevin: "Well everybody on TV saw what you did to Ted Oates."
Luke: "Nevermind that, did you see me humiliate that man? I call him a man, he’s just a boy, he’s a redneck hillbilly and I humiliated him. I tore his clothes off. HAHAHAHAHA in front of everybody. I tore the clothes off, I showed that redneck around his neck, I showed the redneck. I showed everybody his redneck. I tore his pants off. HAHAHAHA I humiliated him..."
At this point, Ted Oates crashes the interview and Kevin Wall gets between both Luke and Ted and Luke walks away.
Ted: "I’m gonna show you, I’m gonna show you..."
Luke: "You ain’t nothing."
Ted: "I’m gonna show you and I’m gonna show everybody in Kansas City, call me a redneck. I dip Copenhagen, I do all of it. But I’m gonna show you, you idiot, you goof. I’m gonna take this [shirt] with me, everywhere I go, to remind myself what you did to me. In 12 years I have never had anything like this happen to me. You tore off my clothes, you took my pants off of me. That’s fine, it’s over with. But I’m gonna do something to you. You love that belt so much. I’m gonna prove to myself, to the President of The Alliance, to the Promoter, to these people, that I can beat you, and I’m gonna beat you, and I’m gonna beat you right in the very ring where you did this."
Later in the show, there was a tag-team match between Ted and Jerry Oates vs. "Crazy" Luke Graham and T.G. Stone. Jerry and T.G. started off. Ted and Jerry dominated on T.G. for a few minutes. Ted caught Luke with punches and kicks when Ted got too close to Luke’s corner. T.G. made a tag to Luke, but Jerry was the legal Oates Brother. Jerry tags in Ted and Ted with some punches and kicks for what Luke did to him earlier. The referee is distracted by T.G. and Jerry with a few punches on Luke for good measure. Luke gets Ted in the corner and Luke and T.G. with a little double teaming. Ted gets the tag and all four men are in the ring at the same time. Luke reaches into his tights and loads his thumb. He hits Jerry in the throat with his thumb and Jerry falls out of the ring. Luke holds Ted down and T.G. climbs to the top rope with the referee checking on Jerry. T.G. with a bombs away kneedrop from the top that the referee didn’t see. T.G. hits another bombs away kneedrop that the referee sees and Luke and T.G. are disqualified.
(At the time, it was a rule that no one could jump off the top rope in Missouri. It not only was an NWA Rule, but also in The WWF in 1984, Jimmy Snuka was disqualified against Roddy Piper in St. Louis when Snuka did the Superfly leap. Jimmy gave the referee a headbutt after the match).
Ted Oates won the non-title No DQ match, which earned him a Central States Title shot on May 24th. Sheik Abdullah The Great came back to The Central States area and became Luke’s manager. Jerry Oates left The Central States area because he was "injured by The Grapplers." He eventually went to Georgia, and along with Ronnie Garvin defeated The Road Warriors for the NWA National Tag-Team Title on July 4, 1984 in Columbus, Georgia.
On June 21, 1984, Ted Oates got another Central States Title Shot against Luke Graham. Oates was sporting blond hair in this match. The match was joined in progress. Luke had the advantage with knees, forearms smashes and a choke on Ted. Ted with a dropkick, and then Ted bodyslammed Luke, went for an elbowdrop and got a 2 count. Luke with a bodyslam and elbowdrop of his own and he got a 2 count also. Ted with a headbutt to Luke’s gut. Ted with an Irish Whip to Luke Graham in the corner. Ted charged the corner and met Luke Graham with a kick that knocked Ted Oates into Referee Tom Andrews and knocked them both down. Sheik Abdullah The Great wedged a chair into the corner and Luke tried to ram Ted headfirst into the chair, but Ted reversed it. Ted with a reverse neckbreaker for the 3 count. Ted Oates won the Central States Heavyweight Title that night. Kevin Wall interviewed Art Crews and Ted Oates after the match.
Ted: "I wanna stand right here, I’ve been waiting for 13 years to fulfill my goal as being The World’s Heavyweight Champion and this right here is gonna be a stepping stone and I wanna tell everybody. I don’t care Art if it’s you, if it’s The Grapplers, if it’s "Handsome" Harley Race, Wahoo McDaniel, I don’t care because I tell you and everybody listening I’ve been pushed around all I’m gonna be pushed around and I’m gonna do, I’m gonna do what I have to do because I’m the only one that pays my bills. Not you, not Terry Garvin, not anybody out there and I’m gonna have what I wanna have, and I’m not gonna be pushed around. I’m sorry but that’s the way it is. I got what I came after, is this [holds up belt] and I’m gonna be the World’s Heavyweight Champion as sure as there’s 2000 people in here."
Ted Oates would follow his brother to Georgia and Ted Oates and "Hustler" Rip Rogers, The Hollywood Blonds, would defeat Jerry Oates and Ronnie Garvin for the National Heavyweight Tag Titles on September 20, 1984.
"Crazy" Luke Graham left the Central States area in 1984, and he retired from Wrestling in 1986, until this year. On June 3, 2000, he returned to the sport to wrestle in a series of tag-team matches with Crazy Luke Graham, Jr. You can keep up with both Luke Graham Sr. and Luke Graham Jr. by going to the KM Links page and finding their banner, "The Madhouse."
NEXT MONTH:
We take a look at Hercules Hernandez