CWF #17 Page #2
Greg
Goode
went to his first wrestling show when his father took the family to see Lou
Thesz at Fort Lauderdale's War Memorial Auditorium in the early 60's, and became
a hardcore fan from 1968 to 1971. Greg has a website (in desperate need of an
update) here.
Greg also can't claim to be a historian due to the effects of lifestyle in the
later 70's...you know - Woodstock
syndrome: if you remember it you weren't there.
Rick
Kogelschatz was
first introduced to professional wrestling in late 1984 by a friend who dragged
him to his high school gym. He enjoyed notoriety in his neighborhood for dead-on
impersonations of his two favorite CWF wrestlers, Superstar Billy Graham and
Rick Rude. Although he always wanted to step into the ring, his career was cut
short when he replaced a young Kendall Windham as the skinniest man in Florida.
Barry
Rose
attended his first live show on Miami Beach in 1971, and continued to watch CWF
until it’s demise in 1987. Barry, who claims his personality developed from
watching Killer Karl Kox, Jos LeDuc, and King Curtis at such a young age, is
currently the CWF writer on the Kayfabe Memories website. Barry takes no
responsibility for the splotch on Dusty Rhodes' belly or the effect it may have
had on fans.
Mike
Siegel
attended many TV tapings at the Sportatorium in Tampa in the late 1970s as well
as visits to the Ft. Hesterly Armory in Tampa and the Bayfront Center in St.
Petersburg for CWF events. Over 20 years later, still spending 43.5 hours a week
trying to bring mosquitoes to extinction, one can only conclude that he may have
been the volunteer of a sleeper hold demonstration at some point in time.
Obviously, the heel refused to wake him up in a timely manner!
So,
here they are. From number twenty-five all the way down to number one, what the
crew listed above considers “THE TWENTY-FIVE GREATEST ANGLES IN CWF
HISTORY!”
25.
Johnny Valentine and The Great Malenko split. Two legendary heels who formed a
legendary tag team. Malenko turns on Johnny, making JV a face. Those who saw it
say the crowd reactions were possibly the best ever.
Crimson
Mask:
Johnny came down to the ring with tunnel vision, didn't even notice the crowd
was cheering for him. Then he hit the ring and realized. He got this LOOK... “is
THIS for ME?”
He looked to his left. Half the audience as if the arena had been split with a
ruler, roared. He looked right. The other half roared. He got the look on his
face, still shocked, but accepting it. He turned left and thrust his arms into
the air. That half of the house rose to their feet in absolute unison, cheering.
He turned right and thrust up his arms. The other half did the same.
I
have never seen any other performer in ANY medium WORK an audience like that.
Not even close.
Greg
Goode:
25? 25? 25? Barry you polled too many youngsters! As a kid, this was Frankenstein vs. Dracula! I couldn't see
JV as a face - simply two monsters going at it! The split totally had me marking
out to the nth degree. Classic.
24.
Bob Roop unmasked as The Gladiator (1976). Roop, supposedly recovering from a
possible career ending knee injury suffered at the hands of Eddie Graham's
figure four, is unmasked during a television match while wrestling as The
Gladiator. The figure-four, which had been banned because it was deemed a
crippling hold, is reinstated when Roop's plan backfires. More on this angle can
be found here.
Barry
Rose: Back
in the mid 1970s, this Olympian was the epitome of a cool wrestling heel. Roop
was coming off a long, successful run as Florida champion, and in the beginning
of 1976 he aligned himself with The Ortons. Bob Jr.’s career had just taken
off, and he was the current Florida Champ. They made an unbelievable team,
getting amazing heat from ringsiders. Roop had a great spot where he’s leap
over the ropes upon entering the ring, but his foot would always catch the top
rope and he’d fall tumbling to the mat. The Gladiator angle was great because
everyone knew it was Roop under the hood, from the smartest mark in the building
to the beer concession stand guy. The heat he got wearing the mask was
incredible, with fans chanting “ROOP” the entire match. I was sorry to see
him unmasked as I wish The Gladiator would’ve lasted longer.
Mike
Siegel:
Bob Roop played this angle brilliantly. It was cool to see him join Solie at the
Desk while he was "injured". His biased commentaries on the matches
were excellent!
23.
Red Bastien vs. Johnny Valentine feud (1968). Bastien shows up unexpectedly in
CWF vowing revenge on Valentine for "hospitalizing" him in San
Francisco. Red unveils a secret weapon-the sleeper! Valentine reveals his secret
weapon-the sleeper! Great angle from those who saw it. More on this feud can be
found here.
Crimson
Mask:
This played out over a period of months
(couple years if you start from the San Francisco match), and was just the best,
most compelling wrestling angle I ever saw.
Greg
Goode:
This is what made me a regular, a hardcore fan...at least until I discovered
girls, then my attention spanned changed. As much as Malenko scared me -
Valentine gave me absolute nightmares!
22.
Ron Bass heel turn (June 1983). Bass was the special referee of a Rhodes vs.
Race NWA title match, when he unexpectedly turns on his "close pal"
Rhodes just as Virgil is about to score the win. Bass would become one of the
state's top heels from this point forward. For more on this angle go to h
Jeff
Bowdren:
This was a really well done angle, I just don't think anyone bought Ron Bass as
a main event heel.
Crimson
Mask:
Ya know I wish everybody could see this---Dusty knew when it was time to NOT
look strong, as he at first 'in shock' would not fight back as Bass punished
him, just crying, “Why,
Ronnie, why?”
Truly great acting.
Pete
Lederberg: Didn't
really care for this one as I saw it too many times before. Bass just didn't do
it for me.
Robert
VanKavelaar:
This was an angle that I was happy about because Bass was boring as a baby face.
Bass was a redneck from the word go and played a very good and aggressive heel.
21.
Windham-Muraco feud (1981). Begins with veteran Don Muraco piledriving a young
Windham on the concrete floor, and ends with Windham becoming a "man."
This was the year that Barry really started to show what he was capable of, and
this is the feud that made BW a star.
Jeff
Bowdren:
Now this was a terrific angle. At this point, BW and Ted Dibiase were my
two favorite wrestlers in the world.
Crimson
Mask: Yeah
this was terrific all the way through. Muraco kept suckering Barry into 'rookie
mistakes' and beating the hell out of him. The way Barry finally got even was
great booking. Muraco and Humpy had suckered him into doing a run-in on their
promo by claiming Muraco was a great mechanical bull rider (this during the time
of 'Urban Cowboy'), thereby dissing the real Texans and cowboys like Barry and
Dusty. A few weeks later Dusty showed up with photos from Hawaii of himself and
Lord Blears on the beach with surfboards and said Blears had told him he was the
best surfer of any wrestler, thereby dissing Muraco, a real surfer. Muraco took
the bait, Dusty took care of Hump, and Barry came up with a 2 x 4...
Lou
Kring: Barry
did indeed bloom as a worker here. He was beginning to bulk up a bit and was
losing the awkwardness in the ring that a young tall worker has to deal with,
and turned out to be very good.
Pete
Lederberg: Definite
springboard for BW. He took the most incredible bumps back then. I remember him
flying over the top rope, going over so high that his hand missed the top rope.
Awesome.
Barry
Rose: He
was still rail thin, but Windham had the gimmick of being able to take heaps of
abuse and still hang tough in every match. He did some incredible things, and
Muraco should take a lot of credit for making BW look like a major player during
this angle.
20.
Jack Hart losing streak (June 1985). What was the official count? Jack went like
0-150, before he got his first victory and the Florida title. Great booking and
execution by all those involved.
Jeff
Bowdren:
I hated this angle. I thought it was everything that was wrong with CWF by this
point.
Crimson
Mask:
Absolutely. Jack (Barry Horowitz of course) could always wrestle and so the
gimmick which he used his whole career of being the guy who would always shine
during the match but then manage to lose always worked, because his skills were
and still are such that you could imagine him beating ANYBODY any given night.
Greg
Goode:
Funny stuff! I remember in Miami at the matches where fans actually would hold
up cards with his count!
Rick
Kogelschatz: Let's
hear it for one of the best wrestlers to crack the Florida mid-card scene in the 80s. The official count
(according to PWI - March 1986) was 0-131 before he beat Leo Von Stroheim in
Tampa. Then he works his way to the Florida title! What a Cinderella
story. Hart played the crowd like there was no tomorrow. The crowds
went crazy with the "Loser" chants. Still a classic angle.
Hart was a great worker.
Lou
Kring: Barry
Horowitz is a great starmaker and deserved the title. Great angle!
Pete
Lederberg: Enjoyed
this one. It was fun and another long-term deal.
Robert
VanKavelaar:
This was another fun angle to watch. For weeks Jack Hart had been coming out and
doing his best to win a match. I believe his record was somewhere around 0-90
something. Percy Pringle was at the podium with Gordon Solie and said that (if
my memory serves me right), “I can make
him a star.” I think that’s when Hart began wearing his black glove.
After a few weeks of continually losing, he finally gets his win. I just
happened to be at a show on a Wednesday night at the Ocala Jai-Alai Fronton and
when it was Jack’s turn to work, he came out wearing the Florida Title.
Pringle was with him and was yelling "I
knew I could make him a champion, I just knew it"!!!!
19.
King Curtis face turn (1976). The Assassin and Rock Hunter get into a verbal
altercation with Buddy Colt on television, which leads to The Assassin knocking
a handicapped Colt to the ground. Curtis makes the save and a great feud is
born. Curtis would remain a face, until dropping a series of loser leaves town
matches to Hamilton. He'd return three years later as a bald, heavier, more
maniacal version of his former self.
Barry
Rose: King
Curtis, with his flowing black hair and a forehead so scarred that it rivaled
the very best in the blade business, was one of the most intimidating and scary
heels that ever put on a pair of boots. So, the thought of him as a babyface is
improbable, right? Wrong. Not only was Curtis a face, he was a damn good one at
that. King had this really booming bark, similar to what Bruiser Brody would
popularize just a few of years later. When he’d start getting his heat back,
he’d start with this bark, and the crowd would follow every step of the way.
The Assassin was the perfect heel opponent for Curtis and their matches were as
bloody and brutal as any I’ve ever seen, and they wrestled in every gimmick
match imaginable from Steel Cage bouts to Texas Death matches. If you sat
ringside for their matches, your shoes had blood splattered on them.
Mike
Siegel: I
remember The Assassin’s manager yelling at Colt “Where’s your wheelchair,
you’re half a man!” Colt responded that even with a bad leg he could take
him right now (this wasn’t too long after the plane crash). As they’re about
to go toe-to-toe, The Assassin knocks Colt to the ground with a forearm sending
him to the concrete.
18.
Buddy Rogers comeback (May 1979). Buddy Rogers returns to his first territory in
many years. Rogers appears as an advisor to Jim Garvin, as well as wrestler for
several months. Rogers feuds with Sonny King and his family before suffering a
“career ending injury” at the hands of King Curtis and Jos LeDuc. Rogers
pops up in the Mid-Atlantic area a month later, wrestling Ric Flair several
times in a battle of the Nature Boys.
Crimson
Mask:
I'll tell ya it was magic just to see Buddy. Even though his matches on TV
followed the same pattern---three dropkicks and the Figure-4---he still had the
look and the vibe. One of his squash TV wins was vs. a promising young Japanese
who had looked very good in previous weeks, by the name of Tenryu.
Lou
Kring: Not
a very long angle, and not Buddy at his best, but It was good to see him one
more time.
Pete
Lederberg: It
was really cool to see this legend return. This one was a little too short lived
for me, but for obvious reasons it was short lived.
Barry
Rose: I
remember the week in Miami Beach when Buddy first showed up. He worked the main
event, which was a six-man tag, and he saw roughly thirty seconds of action.
Physically, he looked pretty good for a man who was in his late fifties, and had
the physique of someone much younger. Even though he was limited and looked
overmatched in several of his matches, we still knew that we were in the
presence of a legitimate wrestling legend.
Mike
Siegel: I think when Leduc punched Rogers, his head flew off and landed in
the parking lot!
17.
The Midnight Rider saga. An angle that started when Dusty Rhodes lost a
loser-leaves-town match to Kevin Sullivan and peaked when Rhodes, under the
hood, defeated Flair for the NWA title on Feb. 9, 1983. Rhodes forfeits the
title when he refuses to unmask. For more on this angle go here.
Jeff
Bowdren:
Finally the years of the "Dusty finish" were smartening us up. I went
down to Miami (really moreso to see Roddy Piper live for the first time--against
Golden Boy Chick Donovan no less) and saw Dusty get screwed again. Told my
friend Craig Hallick---"no cameras...titles not changing hands
tonight."
Crimson
Mask:
I got more of a kick out of Uvalde Slim, tell ya the truth.
Greg
Goode:
I'll never forget the title match in Miami. First time seeing Piper live as he
was on the undercard against Mr. New York (LOL - Chick Donavon, who simply dyed
over his initials "CD" on his boots.) Dave Flaherty and I were front
row and freaked when we watched very clearly Dusty blading himself! MR wins only
to have Bob Geigel come out and tell Dusty on the house mic according to NWA
by-laws he would have to unmask in order to retain the title. Ha! Classic Dusty
finish - po'd the crowd big time!
Pete
Lederberg: Living
in Florida, I saw so many incarnations of Dusty under the mask, Uvalde Slim,
Midnight Rider, etc. I really didn't like this one, however the shock of Dusty
losing a LLT match earlier was interesting.
Robert
VanKavelaar: This was a fun angle to watch. Dusty had lost a loser leave
town match and had come back as the Midnight Rider. Of course everyone knew who
was under the hood but that made it fun to watch. If I'm not mistaken J.J.
Dillon had a bounty on the mask of the Rider. There was a really good build for
this night of wrestling. It was called "Night of the Mask". I was a
kid that lived to see a Florida star win the strap. When the next Saturday
rolled around it was said that the Midnight Rider had defeated Flair for the
strap. Next thing you knew Gordon Solie said that Bob Geigel had stripped the
title from the Rider because he wouldn't reveal his "real" name to the
N.W.A. office. They showed a clip of the Rider w/ out his mask in the lockerroom
with his hands covering his face in disappointment. It was obvious it was Dusty.
16.
The Assassin face turn (January 1977). Superstar Billy Graham and Ox Baker
interrupt The Assassin during an interview with Gordon Solie. After words are
exchanged, Graham holds back Assassin's arms as Baker nails him with an elbow to
the face, "breaking" Hamilton's nose. The Assassin would team with
hated rival Rhodes to face the Baker-Graham combo all over the state. For more
on this angle go here.
Pete
Lederberg: This
was the first angle on the list from when I moved to Florida (August of 76). I
remember it well, and it made a great impact. Man, Baker was scary back then.
Barry Rose: Graham and Baker had both just arrived in the Florida and both were impressive figures. Baker was frightening and had one of the loudest voices I ever heard in my life. Graham’s physique was like nothing any of us had ever seen before. Aligned together, they claimed they were “gonna rule the state, baby” and they were right. The Assassin was probably the most hated man in CWF at this time, having just had major feuds with Dusty Rhodes, King Curtis, and others. This angle, which came out of nowhere, ranks right up there as far as most unexpected. The Assassin was an instant face from this, having been attacked by two “outsiders.” He’d appear on TV the next couple of weeks, still wearing the hood, but with a very large bandage covering his “broken nose,” and vowing revenge. Hamilton’s interviews also rank right up there as some of the best.
15.
Kox turns face (Oct. 1978). As Pak Song has Steve Keirn in a claw, Keirn's
father, a retired military man, enters the ring to free his son. Song attacks
the elder Keirn. Kox, also a retired military man, has "flashbacks" to
the Korean War and enters the ring to save the Keirns. Within a couple of weeks,
Kox is teaming with Rhodes and is the number two babyface in the promotion.
Pete
Lederberg: Another
well-done turn, but I hated when Kox was a babyface.
Barry
Rose: Kox
was great no matter what role he was in, because he never changed his character
(maybe a little less crazy as a face). Kox did a TREMENDOUS interview shortly
after saving Keirn’s father, where he and the elder Keirn (I believe his name
was Richard) are sitting and discussing the war, and what it meant to be in the
US service. CWF had an incredible knack of being able to get over the most hated
heel in a babyface role, and this was once again proof of that.
14.
Ernie Ladd heel turn (June 1977). Ladd teams with Rhodes to face Ivan Koloff and
Buddy Wolff in the main event, and after weeks of hints, Ladd finally turns on
Rhodes almost creating a near-riot on Miami Beach. More on this angle can be
found here.
Pete
Lederberg: This
one wasn't unexpected, but was well done. Very early in my days watching CWF.
Barry
Rose: Ladd
understood how to work a crowd, and Rhodes, playing the innocent victim, made
this one work. After a slow build of close to a month, when the payoff finally
came, I remember jumping up and down, screaming my head off. Ernie arguing with
ringsiders really heated everything up, and I remember this was the closest I
ever saw the Beach to breaking down. Ladd’s commentary was priceless, as he
tried to claim that Solie had doctored the film that showed his turn. “"That
was not in the match when the match took place, you could do anything to the
film.. What are you trying to make this thing look like? A Watergate situation?
The man was out signing autographs again. You saw before the match started, he
was so worked up and geared over the fans. It's good to be concerned about the
fans, I'm concerned about the fans, but I'm more concerned about getting in the
ring and wrestling. This man was outside signing autographs and where this come
from I do not know! A situation like this was not in the match in Miami Beach."
In
my top five of all time, based on the electricity that Ladd created on the Beach
when he finally turned.
Mike
Siegel: Ernie Ladd and the Taped Thumb always cracked me up! His comments on
the air during the replay of this
match on TV were tops!
13.
Briscos feud with Graham and Keirn. Great semi-scientific feud, with both teams
getting wins from this series. Jack and Jerry played subtle heels, and while
still cheered by a good percentage of the crowd, it was obvious that Graham and
Keirn were the favorites.
Crimson
Mask:
Yeah,
these were GREAT matches. It was very very strange, even subtle as it was, to
see Jack and Jerry turn heel.
Lou
Kring:
I was there and this was unusual stuff. Briscos could have been awesome heels if
they chose, LOTSA wrestling in this series.
Pete
Lederberg: I
loved this one, as I was Keirn's fan club president at the time. I didn't think
it would rank this high, and it was an unusual scientific feud. Briscos were
quasi heels until both teams saved each other, I believe.
Barry
Rose: This
was fun, because it was pretty obvious that these four guys were enjoying the
hell out of working together. Jack was a bit more reserved (in a Dory Jr. kind
of way), but Jerry took delight in sneering to the crowd, while Graham and Keirn
played pure babyfaces. You can’t
say the Briscos were full out heels, because they weren’t, but whatever
category they fell into worked. It was also fun to see how the audience was
divided. Mike and Steve got the majority of the cheers, but Jack and Jerry still
had their fans. As a matter of fact, Pete Lederberg and I were at odds when
these two teams wrestled.
12.
Terry Funk wins the NWA Title from Jack Brisco on December 10, 1975 as a last
minute substitution (replacing Dory Jr.) on Miami Beach.
Michael
Bauman:
It was the first time that the NWA title had ever changed hands on Miami Beach
and it was a history making event. I was shocked and couldn’t believe it, but
was happy to see it along with my father who was taking pictures by ringside
that night.
Crimson
Mask:
I don't wanna hear it again, okay? Yeah, I
had the car keys in my hand that night, and decided to skip the matches at the
last minute because I had seen Jack vs. Dory so many times, and yeah, that was
the night Terry 'late subbed' (a work) for Dory, and... OH SHUDDUP!
Barry
Rose: I
was there, having just turned twelve and sitting ringside with my dad. When the
announcement came that Dory wasn’t going to make it, and Terry was his
substitution, a collective groan let out from the audience. Terry had just finished a run in CWF, losing lots of matches and NO
ONE in the audience figured that he had an actual shot at walking out of the
ring with championship gold. Besides, this was Jack’s home turf, so he
wasn’t expected to lose the strap. When we saw the cameras, we knew something
was up (whenever a match was filmed for TV it was a dead giveaway that a
memorable occurrence was going to happen). I consider this the most important
match that I ever saw. I also would’ve liked to have seen this rank higher,
but I guess it made more of an impact on those that were there that night.
11.
Briscos feud with the Funks. Going back to 1969, when Dory won the NWA Title in
Tampa, the Briscos and the Funks would meet for the next decade in CWF rings.
Who could forget Jack chasing Dory Jr. and the strap for four years? Or the
series of broadways they had-sixty minute, ninety minutes draws. The apex may
have occurred when Terry defeated Jack for the NWA Title on Miami Beach, but
even as late as 1982 these two teams were still feuding over tag titles in CWF.
Michael
Bauman: One
of the greatest feuds in wrestling. Jack wrestled Dory, Jr. for the first time
back in 1967 at The Texas Stadium in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and 2 years
later, Dory was NWA World Champ. Jack and Dory met so many times during their
reigns as NWA champion, and each match was a classic. One of the best matches
that I ever saw was a draw between the two on Miami Beach.
Crimson
Mask:
Just
years worth of incredible matches that went all the way from purely scientific
to all-out bloody punchouts and everything in between.
Greg
Goode:
Surprised to see this listed so low! This had more legs than Eddie &
Malenko's long program. My favorite match from this era was when Dory was champ
and all the Funks took on Jack, Jerry & Eddie Graham (playing the Brisco's
father figure) in a 6 man tag match at the Miami Beach Auditorium. Incredible
heat! ...and there were no over-the-top antics, just solid wrestling with some
roughhousing thrown in! This was a text book example on how to draw heat and a
return crowd which is a totally lost art today.
Lou
Kring: ANY
match with the Funks and Briscos in any combination was magic stuff. Jerry was
every bit as good a worker as the other three in those days and I was blessed to
see much of this.
Pete
Lederberg: Classic
matches, classic multifaceted feud (family, TX Vs OK, Cowboys Vs Indians), great
wrestlers, what else can you say?
Barry
Rose: Whenever
they hooked up, it was a guarantee that ANY combination of these four wrestlers
would go all out and fans would get to see REAL wrestling. I was lucky enough to
see many matches between the Briscos and the Funks, many of them NWA Title
matches. This angle/feud was my number five pick and covers ALL the bases from a
historical perspective to drawing money. This truly was wrestling’s finest
hour!
10.
Magnificent Muraco unmasked (1979). Everyone knows the angle, but there is
argument over who actually unmasked him. Some recall Steve Keirn doing the
unmasking, while others swear that Jack Brisco was responsible. Twenty-three
years later, this angle has turned into a whole new controversy. For more on the
original angle, as well as the current discussion, go here.
Crimson
Mask:
Yeah, not gonna start that again. The thing I remember is the shape Muraco was
in. He was so huge and ripped he barely looked human. The moment when JACK
ripped the hood off and revealed Muraco's totally-shaven head was a shock, too.
Barry
Rose: It
was very obvious that it was Don under the hood, but when the mask came off and
Muraco’s bald noggin shined under the Sportatorium lights, I was literally
stunned. The previously handsome Muraco now looked evil-very evil! Muraco seemed
much more comfortable as a heel, and his interviews picked WAY up during this
period.
9.
Humperdink and The Super Destroyer cigar angle with Mr. Florida (April 1980). As
Mr. Florida and the SD wrestle on CWF, Humperdink jumps on the ring apron. Mr.
Florida nails him, causing SOH's cigar to fall to the mat. SD picks it up and
proceeds to rub it in the eyes of Paul Jones.
Jeff
Bowdren:
One of the reasons I remember this angle so much is that I had sort of stopped
watching wrestling for a period of time and picked it up just a few months
before this angle. I remember thinking how hardcore it was, and how I had
no idea whatsoever that Mr. Florida was Paul Jones (thereby making me, at that
point in time...the dumbest mark in the U.S.)
Barry
Rose: I
wasn’t a huge fan of Mr. Florida at the time, but this angle was innovative
and well executed by everyone involved. Super (Scott Irwin) Destroyer was a
great worker, and these two had some pretty good matches throughout the state.
Mike
Siegel:
One of the best examples of Gordon Solie knowing how to "Sell". No one
on earth could sell an angle better than Gordon Solie.
8.
Enter The Rooster. After Dusty Rhodes defeats Ivan Koloff in Lakeland, Hump
becomes the property of Rhodes for thirty days. When his time is up, SOH goes to
reclaim his family, only to have guys like Jaggers and Volkoff turn on him.
Rooster Humperdink becomes one of CWF's rare babyface managers and feuds with
Lord Al Hayes and his stable.
Michael
Bauman:
This was a great angle with Humperdink getting beaten on by Bobby Jaggers after
ordering Nikolai Volkoff to come back to the House Of Humperdink with him. SOH
was such a fan favorite at the time.
Barry
Rose: In
the blink of an eye, Hump goes from hated heel manager to lackey for CWF’s
biggest star to one of the top babyfaces in the promotion. Masterfully acted by
all, and Hump has to rate as one of the greatest wrestling managers in the
history of the business.
7.
Kox heel turn on Jimmy Garvin (1979). After teasing the turn for several weeks,
including costing Garvin the NWA title in a St. Pete match with Harley Race, Kox
finally turns on Jimmy during a TV match for the Florida title with King Curtis.
Garvin is destroyed, Curtis wins the belt, and Kox is again a heel. For more on
this angle go here.
Crimson
Mask:
The
vignettes during their association were great. Koxie was the D.I.-type trainer
making Jimmy work his ass off
(“Oh, no! ANOTHER twenty-five miles?”) while
he sipped a drink in the shade on a hammock. Never forget the turn itself. Jimmy
was wrestling either LeDuc or King Curtis Iaukea, I forget which, and just after
the bell Koxie called him back to the corner for 'more instructions'... and then
you saw Koxie's hand behind Jimmy's back waving the opponent in.
Pete
Lederberg: I
really enjoyed this one, including the slow build, and having KKK as a heel
again. Having the King of Swing back was awesome.
Barry
Rose: Loved
how they dragged this out for several weeks
and Kox was brilliant as the
older veteran who felt he was overshadowed by his young protégé. This was the
angle that made Garvin a main event wrestler, and Kox should get tons of credit
for putting Jimmy over in all of the revenge matches. In a word-flawless!
6.
Eddie Graham and Great Malenko feud (1962 -1971). The stuff legends are made out
of. Highlights include Eddie punching Malenko's false teeth right out of his
mouth and then stomping them into the mat as well as a series of brutal and
bloody chain matches that witnesses would tell you were as close to real as pro
wrestling gets. Malenko also injured Graham (serious back injury-an accident, no
doubt). Many consider this the feud that put CWF on the map.
Michael
Bauman: The
Malenko-Graham feud has to be one of the greatest feuds of all time. I remember
reading about Eddie stomping on Malenko’s false teeth during a TV match in
1967. Malenko was biting Sam Steamboat on the ear, and Eddie came out and nailed
Malenko, causing his teeth to fall out. He then stomped them into the mat, and
their feud continued.
Crimson
Mask:
Yes, I believe the injury WAS legit. These guys were so stiff and tight and
brutal in their matches it's not hard to understand how it happened. We couldn't
BELIEVE anybody could do that to Eddie Graham. They beat the living hell out of
each other for years.
Greg
Goode:
Ah! The stuff of childhood legends! I would kill to get a copy of this on tape.
I wasn't hooked too bad on wrestling when this occurred but my dad & I would
always watch. Malenko scared me when I was a youngster!
Lou
Kring: The first chain/cage match that I ever attended at the armory in
Tampa was lights out between Boris and Eddie. Although I had wised up to the
business, I still thought that these guys were killing each other. I was hooked
and attended many matches in Tampa until the early '80s. They were really,
really good at what they did-two of the very best and I miss them.
Pete
Lederberg: I wasn't down in FL for
this, heck I was born in 61, but I know all about this one, and it's what every
one talks about (the false teeth gimmick).
Barry
Rose: The only thing that prevented me from seeing any of this feud was
being born a little too late. I remember going to the matches in the early 1970s
and listening to all the old-timers sitting around ringside and talking about
Graham VS. Malenko. They would discuss it with a passion I’d never seen before
(and rarely since), constantly comparing what was going on then with this
legendary feud. According to them, there was no comparison.
5.
Dusty Rhodes and El Santo (January 1981). Mexican great El Santo (Assassin Jody
Hamilton having lost a ton of weight) appears on CWF to present a plaque and
several "Mexican" souvenirs to Dusty Rhodes. Santo slams Rhodes with
the plaque and reveals himself as Rhodes' arch-nemesis.
Crimson
Mask:
This was great. Jody pretended not to
understand English, so when Gordon asked him for the baseball (the first 'gift'
for Rhodes), Jody gave this blank look and Gordon said very slowly, “EL...
BEIS-BOL,” and Jody nodded in comprehension
and got it out of his shopping bag. Then Gordon said, 'The plaque, ', Jody gave
him the blank look again, and Gordon, lost, went, 'EL... ' and described the
plaque in the air with his hands. Jody waved his arm in comprehension, got the
plaque and smashed Rhodes over the head with it. A hush fell. Jody stood over
him yelling in suddenly-perfect English, “Get him out of here! Get this
garbage out of here!”, and out of the hush a kid in the audience thought he recognized the
voice and said audibly, “MURDOCH?”
Then Jody took the Assassin mask out of the bag and cut a typical brilliant
promo about going to Mexico and drinking the water so he could get dysentery and
lose the weight so he could get his revenge. He had lost at least 100 pounds.
(Sure didn't KEEP it off, though!)
Greg
Goode:
I remember popping big time on this angle. Dusty & Jody showed they were
masters of psychology in this angle.
Pete
Lederberg:
Classic, classic angle. I loved The
Assassin faking the Spanish accent too. Great way to "welcome" him
back.
Barry
Rose: This
was one of those angles that literally had me jumping up and down when it aired.
I couldn’t put my finger on who was under the mask, but there was something so
familiar about him. The Assassin was so good and so talented in the ring, he
could’ve had a good match with anyone. When you hear the names of great
wrestlers of the past, Hamilton is one that deserves to be mentioned much more
frequently.
Robert
VanKavelaar:
This is probably my all-time favorite angle that I got to watch unfold from day
one. When the segment started, Dusty was standing with Gordon and looked
thrilled to be there to accept the award. As Santo was about to present the
award, he WHACKED Dusty in the head. Santo then grabs (if my memory is right) a
mannequin head with the mask of the Assassin. Then we get a brief history of the
Assassins career and long time feud with Dusty. This is my all-time favorite era
for wrestling and thought these two gave it there best. One cool angle they had
was around July of '81 and the Assassin had Dusty’s shoulders pinned for about
7 sec. I believe the match took place in Jacksonville. This set up for a good
series of matches between the two. For "big" guys, they both moved
with pretty good agility.
4.
Freebird heel turn and interview (March 1985). This interview has taken on a
legend all it's own, with the word “tasteless” most often used. Shortly
after Eddie Graham's suicide, The Freebirds slammed both Mike and Eddie during
an interview on CWF, with Buddy Jack Roberts calling EG “a loser.” Mike is
attacked and does a nice blade job, and then gets beaten with boots.
Jeff
Bowdren: This whole angle has taken a life of its own within my group of
friends that goes to the matches...we'll all assume the roles of the different
wrestlers and yell out the dialogue. Buddy Roberts: "Face
it Mike Graham...your father was a.....a LOSER!!!" Mike Graham: "They
said things about my father...that I'll NEVER LET STAND!!" And the fact
that poor Mike is standing there waving his hand in front of the camera, holding
his blade...just makes it all the more priceless. Truly, wrestling has no
shame.
Greg
Goode:
Best part of the TV interview is Mike holding the blade and waving it around
prior to the Freebirds attack...right up there with the Von Erichs when it came
to exploitation of a tragedy!
Rick
Kogelschatz: Boy,
this is the angle I will always remember. The Freebirds had just cleaned
out the nasty Commies and were feuding with the Pringle Dynasty. They were
riding high! The ladies loved Hayes and the guys wished they could drink
as much as the other "brothers." Until that fateful taping!
Although I still think it is pretty tasteless, it lit the Freebirds heel flame!
Everyone hated them for going off on Mike. The ladies loved Hayes from a
distance, we still wished we could drink like the other brothers, but we wanted
to see Mike get even with them!
Lou
Kring:
Eddie probably fondly looked down and saw this as natural, but it was not what
one would expect of Mike.
Pete
Lederberg:
Definitely shocking but awesome
interview, my only argument with this one is that it went no where after that.
Barry
Rose: I
remember first seeing this when it aired on TV and being stunned that Mike would
give his okay to those kind of comments and this kind of angle. Looking back,
it’s certainly tame by today’s standards. The blade shot may be the most
obvious I’ve ever seen on television, and the usually laid-back Mike gives one
of his most passionate interviews of all-time right after the beating. Overall,
with everything that went on in CWF over the years, this angle definitely
doesn’t deserve to be so high on this list, if even at all.
Robert
VanKavelaar:
Without a doubt the most tasteless angle I think I've ever seen. Eddie Graham
was a god to wrestling fans (and non-fans as well) in the state of Florida. His
suicide was a total shock to anyone who kept up with wrestling. I remember Mike
Graham being interviewed on television and the Freebirds came out and said (if
memory serves me right) it was their turn to be interviewed. Well, of course I
saw an angle coming but I had no idea that it would be done in such a
distasteful manner. To actually say derogatory remarks about Mikes dad on TV
just to "get over" was beyond pathetic. This was actually when I
started to not care too much about the CWF product.
3.
Jos LeDuc heel turn (Jan. 1979). As Gordon talks to Garvin about whether LeDuc
is "owned" by Sonny King or not, CWF airs footage of King managing
LeDuc in Memphis and paying him heaps of cash. An enraged LeDuc storms the set,
traps Garvin in a bearhug, and poor Jimmy bleeds from the mouth. It takes
several chairshots from Killer Kox to get Jos to break his grip. For more on
this angle go here.
Crimson
Mask:
What I remember most about this was the Memphis clip, which was LeDuc throwing
Jerry Lawler over the top rope and what looked all the way across the studio and
through a table, and then the wild-eyed maniacal promo he cut while taking the
money from King... “Money!
HAHAHAHAHAHA! How does it feel to be in hospital, Lawler? HAHAHAHA! I have never
been in hospital in my life!”
Pete
Lederberg:
I loved this angle, taking LeDuc, who
was always a face in Florida until this time, and making him into a maniac. I
also loved the airing of the Memphis footage.
Barry
Rose: I
always liked Jos LeDuc as a babyface, but as a lunatic heel, Jos LeDuc was as
good, if not better, than anybody EVER in that role. If I had to pick just one
face/heel turn as my absolute favorite, this is the one.
Mike
Siegel: Fantastic
execution of an angle by all the talents involved.
2.
Kevin Sullivan Devil gimmick. Hard to say exactly where the angles started and
ended, but, with the exception of one, every judge had Sullivan and his devil
based gimmick listed at least once. From Mike Davis impersonating the American
Dream, to the Purple Haze rising from the depths of the sea, Nivek Navillus was
the lead heel for CWF in the 1980s. Add the throwing of ink in Rhodes' sister's
eyes, the introduction of Luna & Lock, the Jake Roberts association, Maya
Singh, Superstar Billy Graham, as well as the "stabbing" of both
Rhodes and Mulligan. More on this angle can be found here.
Jeff
Bowdren:
I mean...c'mon, has Vince ever done anything THIS controversial? That's
saying a lot, isn't it? My favorite part was the whole "Nivek
Navillus" deal. Jake Roberts gives a hint as to who is paying the
"$1,100 bounty" (and just what in the blue hell is it that made them
come up with that amount??) and Gordon Solie looks into the camera and says...."Nivek
Navillus....there is something very familiar about that name..."
Was terrific stuff in the beginning that ended up going overboard.
Crimson
Mask:
This REALLY pushed the envelope for wrestling angles. Underneath the bizarreness
though, a lot of what kept it viable for SO long was Kebbin's ability in the
ring. He's really underrated as a wrestler.
Greg
Goode:
Got into this at the beginning but tired of it at the end. Wasn't Buzz Sawyer
briefly in there somewhere as being under Sully's influence? Kevin's gimmick
really wore this course out with Blackjack Mulligan.
Rick
Kogelschatz: Although
I've only seen the original incarnation of this on videotape, it is an awesome
angle and one for the books! This angle and everything involved with it
are classic psychological wrestling at its best. Sullivan and his cronies
swept through the Bible belt of Florida and put the fear of the Devil in
everyone. The first time around, it was great, very original.
However, when I saw it again in late 85, the thrill had worn off, but it was
still exciting!
Lou
Kring: Long
running angle, but there was a lot of entertaining stuff going on by a lot of
top stars. Jake was insanely good at psycho promos, maybe the best that I have
ever seen.
Barry
Rose: The
beginning of this angle was pure genius and as original and innovative as
anything I’ve ever seen, and giving Sully credit, he sustained it for many
years. By the end, though, it all kind of seemed rehashed to me and I wasn’t
buying some of the guys like Tombstone, Incubus (or was it Succubus?), and
Kharma. Blackjack Mulligan also had no business in a wrestling ring by the mid
1980s, either. Creative booking all around, though.
Mike
Siegel:
Sullivan bringing the Purple Haze out of the ocean was great! Sullivan was
performing miracles right in front of our eyes!
Robert
VanKavelaar:
Coming from the eyes of a 12 year old, Kevin Sullivan, Jake Roberts, the Purple
Haze and later Maha Singh used to scare the living **** out of me. Kevin made
you think that he was the actual devil himself. He not only played his gimmick
on TV, but he lived it in front of the fans that would see him after the shows.
I still have an autograph from him signed Kevin X. His phrases like "chew
upon the beetle nut" and "I'll hang Rhodes from the tree of woe"
are classical. He put a lot of time into his character and that’s probably why
it worked so well. Mark Lewin as The Purple Haze was a perfect fit for this
group. The main events never (IMO) got stale until around late 84 early 85.
1.
Dusty Rhodes face turn. Rhodes teams with Pak Song against the Grahams in Tampa
in May 1974, and when Song nails his partner with an errant chop, Dusty begins
one of the greatest face runs of all time.
Jeff
Bowdren:
Having just watched a "Best of Dusty Rhodes" video (geez, talk about
your guilty pleasures), I had a chance to see this again. The commentary
from Dusty really sold the angle tremendously. As he's laying on the
floor, and then hits the ring to attack Song, he comments "and look there Gordon Solie...its that Gary Hart...a minor league
wino from Chicago!" of course...in Dusty lingo, it comes off as... "Gawden...its
Gary Hard...a minor league wino...from Chee-cog-O!" really good stuff,
and he takes the time to get Mike Graham over also...."and
now they got me down Gordon...and Michael Graham....a MAN Gordon...NOT a boy...a
MAN...comes to the aid...of the American Dream."
Crimson
Mask:
You could see it coming. Dusty's incredible humor and creativity and just plain
hipness on the stick AND in the ring had already made him incredibly popular
even as a heel.
Lou
Kring: Both Rhodes and Song were unusual workers. Lotsa noise, spit, and
claw holds to the armpit. It was great to be in the arena when these two guys
worked against each other.
Barry
Rose: This was my number one pick based on a historical perspective, and few
angles in wrestling EVER had the ramifications that this one had. Really good
angle that was perfectly executed by everyone from the main players like Rhodes
and Song, to the supporting cast like Gary Hart and Mike Graham. This turn
changed the direction of CWF and professional wrestling forever, as Rhodes would
become the most popular wrestler in the world for the next decade.
There
you have it. Whether you agreed or disagreed with the judges’ picks, you have
to admit that all of the above were great angles. Hey, at least Kendall Windham
and Tyree Pride didn’t make the list!
Special Thanks to everyone who contributed
to this article.
“The
Voice Of The People!”
All questions, queries, and comments are welcomed at Manof1000holds@aol.com.