On Sept 9, 1980 Bob Roop defeated the Macho Man with some assistance from Ronnie Garvin. According to video tapes I watched recently, Savage claimed a fast count was initiated somehow by Garvin. I did see the final match and for the life of me can't remember what Garvin did to make Savage lose. Several stars of the group left in the calendar year 1980 from the promotion. Those of main importance were Boris Malenko, Tony Peters, Terry Gibbs and Berry Orton. I actually do not remember any of these gentlemen wrestling for the promotion after the conclusion of the TV tournament.

New blood was infused into the group with two new additions to the wrestling world in the late 1980 /early 81 time frame. A large individual, Crusher Broomfield, was brought into the mix under the contractual control of Bob Orton Jr. and Randy Savage. His mission was to fend off any potential challengers to Savage's ICW world belt. Orton, who accompanied Crusher to the ring frequently, would try to get the big man to punish (piledrive, legdrop etc.) his mid card and jobber foes he had pinned already. Crusher really didn't seem to have a mean streak in him, and usually disobeyed the orders handed out by the two heels.

The second newcomer to generate some interest among the fans was Buddy Landel, wrestling just as his namesake... no nature boy at this point. Given the matches I remember, this must have been his first real break in the business. I don't remember him getting any mic time, and being relegated to mainly tag matches and opening events. His hair was his natural color, dark brown, for anyone out their caring about this fact.

Smaller towns seemed to be the hotbeds of the promotion during its early years. Cards were promoted in towns such as Pikeville, Ky ( Marlows County World), Manchester, Ky (Ernie Couch's Entertainment Center), Flemingsburg, Ky and a western part of the state swing which included Paducah Ky and Cape Girardeau MO. These last two towns were always promoted together with the same stars wrestling both places, given its extreme distance from the Lexington based group. From what I could determine from photos and talking to the wrestlers and fans, these towns actually drew better than the larger events held in Lexington and Louisville. Frankfort,Ky however seemed to support the group well ,with monthly cards held there for a 3 year period. 

Several masked men also made their mark on the ICW events. A Tennessee stud, cloaked in green and yellow, was a frequent opening match loser. If I had to guess I would speculate this was Steve Cooper under wraps, as I read somewhere Steve wrestled frequently under a mask for the group. I remember a Black Avenger who tagged with Rip Rogers on occasion, challenging the US champs at the time, Lanny and Weingeroff. The Avenger was a large wrestler, at least 6'4" and 350 lbs. I often wonder if it was not the same person who wrestled as Willie Monroe for the group in mid 1982.

NEXT MONTH:

The events of early 1981, with a large outflow of talent occurring near the end of the year. Also, a look at the champions of that year and who challenged them for their titles.