And I got back on the phone with The Grapplers, and they say, "Y’know, Mr. Tight Pockets, Mr. Bob Geigel is the promoter here", and I use Mr. very very loosely, "is kinda giving us the run around." Y’know, he’s got alot of crybabies that are coming to his office everyday wanting every type of match in the world. When I sent The Grapplers to Kansas City to win The Central States Tag Team Championship belts, they accomplished that. Y’know, I’m looking at the messages I’ve got on my desk right now. Y’know, they called back and they said Ted and Jerry Oates is in his office crying day, they’re wanting chain matches, wanting handcuff matches, wanting bull whip matches, y’know, they’re the Laurel and Hardy of Professional Wrestling’. You got Buzz Tyler running around, trying to find all kinds of partners. King Kong Brody, he’s calling in wanting matches them, and you’ve got The Uptown Boys, HAHAHAHA, The Uptown, HAHAHAHAHA, what a joke these guys are. Well, let me tell you something, Mr. Geigel, nobody, nobody pushes The Grapplers and Jimmy Hart around. Now I wanna show you how busy I am, I’ve got a little piece of film that I want to show you right now on what a day in the life of Jimmy Hart is because I managed people like Big Jos LeDuc, The Moondogs, Ox Baker, The PYT Express, and it goes on and on and on, and I don’t have time, in my busy schedule to worry about a small time promoter like you.

"Small time promoter?" In addition to being head booker/promoter in The Central States area, Bob Geigel was the President of the National Wrestling Alliance. So Jimmy Hart was brought in to be the manager of The Grapplers.

On the episode of All-Star Wrestling that was broadcast on May 20, 1984, they showed the day in the life of Jimmy Hart from his office. His secretary read Jimmy to do list for that day, and I wondered what the gold albums were doing on the wall. I didn’t know that Jimmy was part of The Gentrys at one time, and those were legitimate gold albums (The Gentrys song "Keep on Dancing" was the last big hit for Sun Studios). There were several 8x10’s of various members of The First Family, including one from 1981 or 1982 of Jimmy Hart, Kevin Sullivan, Chick Donovan, and a masked tag team that I believe is The Interns. At the end of that clip, he had a message for Bob Geigel.

Jimmy: So as you see, Mr. Geigel, or may I call you Bob, I’m a very very busy man, a very important man. Y’know, you pick up any wrestling’ magazine on the stand today and you’re gonna read about The Grapplers or one member of The First Family or Jimmy Hart yours truly. In this briefcase right here, there are contracts for The Grapplers to tour Japan, to go to Puerto Rico, to fly all over the world, to wrestle. Because you see, they are the greatest tag team in Professional Wrestling today. But like I said before, you keep pushing The Grapplers around, and you’re gonna force me to hop on my private Lear Jet, and come to Kansas City, Missouri personally and wring your scrawny little neck.

On Thursday, May 24th, 1984, The Uptown Boys got a title match with The Grapplers, and on the May 20th episode of All-Star Wrestling, Kevin Wall interviewed Marty Jannetty and Tommy Rogers.

Kevin: Well, this is it, the chance you’ve been waiting for.

Marty: This is it, we’ve been waiting a long time to get a shot at them Grapplers, it’s finally come here and we’re gonna give it our best to give it all we got. Me and Tommy are ready for them.

Kevin: Okay, before we go into it further, let’s go to some videotape and check out The Central States Tag Team Champions.

Grappler #1: Let me tell you something people, me and my partner we called our manager Jimmy Hart in Memphis Tennessee, we said Operator Operator give us Memphis Tennessee, let us talk to Jimmy Hart. We said listen here now, Jimbo, y’know we’re wrestling in Kansas City, we got The Uptown Boys, and he just fell out, man, he dropped the phone right there. When he picked it back up he said Wait a minute, Grapplers, let me be there. I wanna be there in Kansas City to see this match, I gotta see these Uptown Boys. Cause he knows you ain’t been around long. You call yourselves The Uptown Boys, with those fancy britches on and that music. He knows you can’t be tough. He said he’s gonna be here to see The Grapplers don’t get pushed around no more. So, Uptown Boys, get ready for it in Kansas City.

Kevin: Well a lot has been made of the new manager of The Grapplers, Jimmy Hart.

Marty: That’s right well we got a surprise for you Grapplers, you got a new manager, we’ve got a new manager too, and she’s gonna be with us Thursday Night.

This new manager is Honey, she had blonde hair that Jimmy Hart would later remark "Some people get their blonde hair on their Mother’s side, some people get their blonde hair on their Father’s side, but she got her blonde hair with Peroxide!"

So, now very quickly both The Grapplers and The Uptown Boys had managers. Marty and Tommy were on getting a push, since Ted and Jerry Oates weren’t a tag team anymore (Ted was getting a singles push and Jerry would be leaving for Georgia).

Marty and Tommy teamed with Referee Sonny Myers and they wrestled The Grapplers and Jimmy Hart in a six man tag team match that wasn’t shown on television (unless I missed it). In another encounter, The Grapplers painted yellow streaks down the backs of Marty and Tommy. In another incident, they showed up with a chicken suit.

The Uptown Boys asked Bob Geigel for a title shot, and he needed a week to think it over. The next week, The Uptown Boys, their manager Honey, Bob Geigel and Kevin Wall were in the ring together. Bob Geigel agreed that The Uptown Boys deserved a title shot against The Grapplers and Honey kissed Bob for granting the match. This news caused The Grapplers and Jimmy Hart to make their way to the ring. The Grapplers and Jimmy stayed on the apron. Jimmy Hart was quite upset at this news.

Jimmy: Now let me tell you something right now, see, that’s what I’m trying to tell ya, he loves these kids right here. You’re the promoter we’ve gotta play by your rules. Now we’ve gotta be forced into a title match with these two young punks. I’m telling you, we ain’t gonna sign a match, you can forget it baby.

Kevin: Now wait a minute, now wait, Bob Geigel, Jimmy Hart said they’re not gonna sign the match.

Bob: Well, y’know, they brought out a chicken suit, they had a can of yellow paint, they painted these kids. I’m neutral, maybe, but then again, I got the chicken suit right here by the way. They’re either gonna wrestle these two people with the titles on the line, or they’re not wrestling here in Kansas City again.

Kevin: So let me get this straight, they will be suspended, they will be suspended if they do not defend their titles against The Uptown Boys?

Bob: No, they won’t be suspended, Kevin, but they won’t be allowed to defend the titles until they defend them against...

Kevin: Hold on.

Jimmy: Bob Geigel, lemme tell you what, you pushed us too far this time. You want a title match, I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you one under one stipulation. You see that chicken outfit you got in your hand, you see that bleached blonde skinny little wimp over there? Let her be in their corner, and I promise you if my men beat them, which they will, then she’ll have to wear that chicken suit. Now that’s what we’ll agree to.

Kevin: Wait a minute, Jimmy Hart, what you’re saying then is that if The Grapplers should win, Honey would have to wear the chicken outfit?

Jimmy: It would probably make her look twice better that she looks already.

Marty: Wait just a minute, wait a minute, we’ll do that. We’ll do exactly that, if we lose, she’ll wear the suit. But how ‘bout this, with your big mouth there, how ‘bout if your team loses you’ll wear the suit?

Kevin: Wait a minute, Jimmy Hart, you put the stipulation in, you put the stipulation in. He has come back with another stipulation, will you accept it?

Jimmy: I’ll tell you what, big boy, let me tell you something. Forget about her, she’s goofy enough. Let me tell you something, Mr. Big Time Promoter Bob Geigel, I’ll tell you what, why don’t we make the stakes really high? I’m a gambling man. If my team loses, I’ll wear the chicken outfit for 30 days but if these guys lose, we want Bob Geigel in their corner and he’ll wear the suit for 30 days.

Kevin: It’s up to you.

Bob: That’s pretty heavy, I don’t know about that.

Kevin: Well it’s up to you Bob Geigel

Bob: Well, in that case...

Jimmy: You’re a chicken Bob Geigel, you just showed your true colors, you are yellow, just like The Uptown Boys. Chicken! Chicken! Chicken!

(Jimmy Hart starts clucking and acting like a chicken to emphasize his point).

Bob: Well, they’re putting me on the spot, Kevin. Let me just clarify this a little bit. I will be in their corner and, I will agree to the terms.

Kevin: What you are agreeing to, beware.

Bob: I know what I’m talking about.

Kevin: If The Grapplers should win you will have to wear the chicken suit for 30 days. But if The Uptown Boys should win, Jimmy Hart will wear the chicken suit for 30 days.

The chicken suit match took place on a special Saturday Night show at The Memorial Hall in Kansas City on June 23rd, 1984. The Thursday Night shows were taped for All-Star Wrestling, so the Chicken Suit match wasn’t shown on television. Also on that special Saturday Night show was a 25 man two ring battle royal. Everyone (except for the last wrestler) had to be thrown out of Ring #1 into Ring #2 and the last man in Ring #1 would wrestle the last man in Ring #2 and the winner won $25,000. All 25 wrestlers each had to pay $1000 to get in the battle royal. Harley Race, Chief Wahoo McDaniel, and Crusher Blackwell were among the participants. The Grapplers had $2,000 on the line. Grappler #1 said

Grappler #1: Bob Geigel, you gonna look real real funny running around Kansas City in that chicken suit driving your Cadillac around, and we’ve got 25,000 dollars we might just rent a car, follow you around and laugh at you Bob Geigel. Get ready for it people, get ready for that big two ring battle royal, cause we’re bringing the money home.

Unfortunately, I don’t know who won the 25,000 dollar two ring battle royal, but Bob Geigel didn’t have to wear the chicken suit. It was alot of buildup to The Uptown Boys getting a title shot. The Uptown Boys defeated The Grapplers for The Central States Tag Team Titles on June 21st, 1984. The Grapplers regained the belts on July 26, 1984 and The Uptown Boys won the belts a second time from The Grapplers on August 23, 1984.

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