At the time, he was no doubt, the most hated man in Chicago wrestling. He was just an unbelievable heel in those days. Ernie Ladd was the ultimate face and in that time played a kind of part that Andre the Giant would later play, the gentle giant who could really get mad and hurt you if he wanted to. Ladd and Vachon traded the first two falls and Vachon reached into his bag of tricks to pull out a very unpopular victory by pinning Ladd in the final fall.

Main Event Time!!! No DQ! No Time Limit! AWA Title at Stake! There Must Be a Winner! The Assassins, (Guy Mitchell and Joe Tomasso) made their way to the ring with manager Bobby Heenan. As became their custom, Bruiser and Crusher waited a good five minutes before leaving the locker room. The Amphitheatre, 12,000 strong, would just build up to a thunderous response when B & C entered the ring. It was a wild brawl as was expected with the teams trading the first two falls and Bruiser bringing Heenan into the ring in the final fall while Crusher mopped up one of The Assassins. Bruiser off the top rope for the pin and the fans went home happy. Heenan and his men were bloody messes, as they would be for years to come in Chicago.

AUGUST 5, 1966
CHICAGO AMPHITHEATRE

Another big crowd was on hand to see the following double main event. The Crusher going after the AWA title held by Mad Dog Vachon and Wilbur Snyder and Vern Gagne teaming up to face The Big K (Stan Kowalski) and The Alaskan (Jay York) with the winner of this match promised a title shot against Bruiser and Crusher.

The opener saw Luis Martinez beat Joe Tomasso with his octopus hold. Solid match from two veterans.

Then Chris Markoff beat Doug Gilbert in a pretty good one. I didn't know it at the time, but Markoff was being groomed to later team with Angelo Poffo to become The Devils Duo.

The Destroyer (Dick Beyer) made his Chicago debut by beating Jack Pesek with his figure four leglock. Killer Kowalski then returned to Chicago after a long absence to beat Guy Mitchell in a one-sided match. It's interesting to note that both Mitchell and Tomasso wrestled without their Assassin masks on that night.

Then a big tag match. Gagne and Snyder against Alaskan and Big K! Everybody thought that this match was to one sided and we were l looking forward to Bruiser and Crusher defending the straps against Gagne and Snyder in the future. What a match that would have been. But in maybe the biggest upset I have ever seen, The Alaskan and the Big K took 2 of 3 falls from Gagne and Snyder! Gagne and Snyder each lost a fall in this match. As we settled back into our seats in disbelief, we took comfort knowing that Bruiser and Crusher would get even and pound The Alaskan and The Big K soon.

Main event time. Crusher versus Mad Dog Vachon, 2 of 3 falls. It was an absolute bloodbath with Crusher and Vachon trading the first 2 falls. In the third fall, Crusher just opened up the cut on Vachon's forehead and just would not stop, making referee Stan S Sabernak DQ The Crusher.

Finishing off the month of August was another card in The Amphitheatre.

AUGUST 26, 1966

The Assassin # 1 ( Joe Tomasso) over Calvin "Prince" Pullins.

Luis Martinez beat Chris Markoff.

Killer Kowalski went 15 minutes to a draw with Doug Gilbert.

Wilbur Snyder pinned Golden Moose Cholak with a reverse cradle. This was a grudge match due to a match a few months earlier where Cholak accidentally hit Snyder during a tag match they had with The Assassins. This caused the two to fight each other while The Assassins stood there for the win via countout.

Verne Gagne beat The Alaskan by DQ when the ref caught The Alaskan using his thumb on Gagne.

In a no DQ match for the AWA title, Mad Dog Vachon pinned The Crusher in a best of 3 fall match. This was another bloodbath between these two. Vachon pulled out the victory with a foreign object to the Crusher's head.

NEXT MONTH:

Results of matches in small WWA towns.