Old School Fan
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February 1968
Before the results of the final night of Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament II get posted...
Thinking she had gotten the psychological edge over Renée Martel with the attack against her by the masked assailant sent by her at the third night of Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament II, Fabulous Moolah set the final part of her new scheme to upstage Mildred and her tournament with a second edition of her rival one-night tournament - this time on the same night as Mildred's tournament and this time in San Diego (right within the borders of the shared territory of the AGWA and Worldwide Wrestling Associates), to which she had invited the local media, along with a sports reporter from the Los Angeles Times and reporters from the major wrestling magazines, to once again give her event glowing coverage at the expense of Mildred's tournament:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Women's Classic Tournament @ San Diego International Sports Center*
February 6, 1968 - San Diego, California
Attendance - 13,250
Quarterfinals
Ann Casey defeated Donna Christanello by pinfall following a dropkick.
Quarterfinals
Ella Waldek defeated Olga Martinez by pinfall following a kneedrop.
Quarterfinals
Toni Rose defeated Sweet Georgia Brown by pinfall following a double-foot stomp to the chest.
Quarterfinals
Joyce Grable defeated The Spider** by pinfall with a bridge pin.
Semifinals
Ann Casey defeated Ella Waldek by pinfall following a headscissor takedown.
Semifinals
Toni Rose beat Joyce Grable by pinfall when Rose grabbed a handful of tights for illegal leverage as she pinned Grable with a schoolgirl rollup.
Final
In a rematch from last year's semifinals, Ann Casey defeated Toni Rose to win the tournament when Casey pinned Rose following an airplane spin. By virtue of her tournament win, Casey won the keys to a 1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass four-door sedan and earned a title shot against Moolah, the NWA World Women's Champion, which was to take place immediately after the intermission.
NWA World Women's Championship
The Fabulous Moolah © defeated Ann Casey by forfeit when Casey did not show for the match. After being awarded the match, Moolah took the house mic and verbally ran down Casey for not appearing when she had an opportunity for championship gold, then after engaging in a lot of self-praise, Moolah celebrated and drank in the adulation as the fans in attendance booed her for making the event all about herself.***
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* The San Diego International Sports Center, which originally opened in November 1966 and was later renamed in 1970 to its best-known name of the San Diego Sports Arena, has been known as the Pechanga Arena since December 2018.
** While Moolah originally made use of the masked Spider gimmick IRL in the WWF in 1985 (first by putting the mask and name on wrestler Penny Mitchell, then adopting the identity herself as part of the Original Screwjob plot against Wendi Richter), ITTL, she first put the Spider gimmick on an unknown wrestler as part of this tournament.
*** What happened behind the scenes that led up to the outcome of this match will be explained in an upcoming chapter.
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The updated tournament bracket for the final night of Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament II:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It's prediction time once again:
Handicap match
Baby Rocco* vs. Kathy Starr & Lita Marez
Barbara Walker & Claire Lepage vs. Jane Sherill & Patty O'Hara
Sally Vega vs. Tonette Kadrmas
AGWA Television Championship
Judy Arnold © vs. Diane Syverson
NWA North American Women's Championship
Joan Weston © vs. Shirley Hardman
Plus - who will win the Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament?
Jan Vallow • Renée Martel • Margot Bouchard • Earlene Brown
(The winner to receive the Mildred Burke Invitational Trophy and a title shot against AGWA United States Champion Ann Calvello)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* IRL, Baby Rocco (real name Yolanda Roacho) was a roller derby skater, active between at least 1967 and the 1980s; she died on June 20, 2003; due to her size (200+ pounds), she was at times positioned as a heel rival to Earlene Brown, another large-sized female derby skater. ITTL, Rocco became a professional wrestler and is part of Mildred Burke's AGWA roster.
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Following on the real-life retirement of Vince McMahon from WWE due to the latest scandals involving him making the news (although he publicly claims he's retiring because he, in effect, has basically stated that he's no spring chicken anymore), it'll be interesting to see how this diary unfolds with Stephanie now officially at the helm (and I'd also like to see what kind of involvement HHH will also have, based on his real-life hand in turning NXT into WWE's third big brand alongside Raw and Smackdown).
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The backstage area of the Anaheim Convention Center Arena was fairly busy with activity on the third night of the Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament, with veteran Penny Banner and up-and-coming rookie Tonette Kadrmas warming up in the staging area for their upcoming non-tournament match, which was to follow Renée Martel's tournament quarterfinal bout against Diane Syverson, while nearby, Michèle Richard and Sally Vega were going over their own tournament match when suddenly, while Penny and Tonette were getting ready, a black-clad masked figure suddenly burst through the curtain separating the staging area from the aisle leading to the ring and quickly ran right past them and the other wrestlers, followed a couple of seconds later by Renée, who was yelling "Stop her! Stop her! Get that masked woman!" As Renée ran past, Penny, Tonette, Michèle and Sally soon joined in the chase as they pursued the masked woman through the backstage halls toward the loading dock on the arena's west side.
At the loading area, several arena workers heard the commotion coming in their direction, then saw the masked woman coming and, hearing Renée's shouts to get her, attempted to apprehend the masked woman but were unsuccessful, as she managed to elude them and made it outside, where she jumped down from the dock and sprinted toward a waiting car that had its passenger side door open and its engine running, as though expecting to make a quick getaway. Renée, the other girls and the arena staff made it outside to the dock in time to see the masked woman yell "Okay, floor it!" to someone else behind the wheel, the apparent getaway driver, as she jumped into the car and slammed the door just as the driver gunned the car's motor and sped off into the night. The car had taken off so quickly that no one present had been able to get its license plate number fast enough.
"Did anyone get that car's number?" Penny asked, which no one could answer affirmatively.
"I tried, but it looked like the rear plate's number was covered over with black tape or something," Tonette said.
"Renée, what was that about?" Michèle then asked her friend as she went to check on her, right as Diane and Mae Young also came along moments later. "Whoever that was, she ran by so fast."
"That's what I'd like to know," Renée said as she and the others turned around and went back through the loading area to the locker rooms. "I was getting my hand raised after my match with Diane when I suddenly got jumped from behind and hit hard with a forearm shot. I couldn't see who it was attacking me right away because she'd grabbed me by my hair, pulled me over and started clubbing me across my upper back with more stiff forearm shots. Whoever it was attacking me, she was intending to hurt me on purpose, so I had to act fast to stop her."
"Mae and I saw it as it happened," Diane then joined in. "I'd just stepped through the ropes and I was standing on the edge of the ring when I saw that masked woman dressed all in black run in out of nowhere and attack Renée from behind and assault her like she described. Renée took action after a few seconds, lunged forward and grabbed the masked woman and threw her over her shoulders, then she went on the attack on her. I wasn't sure if that was supposed to be part of the match action or not, but if it was, no one told us."
"I belted that masked woman a few times while she was down on the mat, then I tried to grab her mask and pull it off to see who she was, but she pulled away quick and bailed out back up the aisle to the lockers, and that's when I chased after her," Renée added, realizing that she had become the victim of an attempted shoot attack by the unknown assailant. "Thanks to her and her attack, now my upper back feels sore and stiff," she added as she winced in pain from the blows she took.
"Hang tight, I'll get some ice from the ice machine," Michèle said as she hustled off to the ice machine down the hallway.
Moments later, Mildred Burke came along, accompanied by Barbara LaMarche and Claire Lepage, when they saw Renée sitting on a chair in the hallway waiting for Michèle to get the ice while the other wrestlers were checking on her. 'Wait a sec, what's going on here?" a curious Mildred asked. As Barbara and Claire also went to check on their friend, Renée explained what had happened to her following her match, which Diane and Mae confirmed.
"How could something like this happen?" a displeased Mildred exclaimed. "I'm gonna have to have a few words with arena security about this after the show." Turning to Renée, she then asked, "You okay, Renée?"
"I'm a little stiff and sore in my upper back right now, but I'll be alright once I get some ice for it," Renée replied, right as Michèle returned with the crushed ice inside a clear plastic bag and placed it on Renée's upper back to alleviate the pain and loosen the stiff muscles.
"We tried to catch that masked woman, but she outran us and made it to a waiting car at the loading dock to make her getaway," Sally then added. "Tonette also said she noticed the rear license plate had its ID number covered up with black tape. Whoever was behind the attack on Renée intended to keep from being identified and caught."
Mildred shook her head in disbelief at what she heard. "At least Renée wasn't hurt seriously and she did fight back against her attacker before the attacker took off," she said, "but it's making me think, like Sally said, that someone was behind the attack and planned it to try to take her out of the tournament. I know no one here in the company would pull something like that because we all have each other's backs, so I'm thinking that it could be an outside job."
A thought then crossed Penny's mind. "Hold on, you don't suppose..." she said, her suspicions being raised.
"I can't prove it for sure, but it's a possibility with Renée being the one to get targeted," a concerned Mildred said as she also got a nagging suspicion.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Meanwhile at her home on her Columbia, South Carolina estate, Fabulous Moolah was up late as she was expecting a phone call, so she passed the time while waiting by watching The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. She was watching Carson's opening monologue and laughing along when the phone beside her recliner began ringing. Taking her TV set's remote control, she turned down the sound on the TV as she let the phone ring twice before picking up its handset to answer, "Hello?"
"Hey Moolah, it's ______," a female voice replied, which Moolah recognized as her Los Angeles contact.
"Ah, good to hear from y'all again, ______," Moolah said. "Did you do what I requested last time we spoke?"
"I did," the contact said. "I went into the arena with a paid ticket while I made sure not to draw any attention to myself and I also had my getaway plan in place in advance."
"Good, so far," Moolah said. "When did you execute the plan?"
"Right after Martel's match ended, third match on the card," the contact said. "When the fans started cheering, I slipped my mask on while no one was watching, ditched my overcoat and ran into the ring and jumped Martel. Managed to lay a few good hits on her."
"Good, good," Moolah said. "Did you get out of there after that?"
"Not right away," the contact said. "Martel grabbed me and flipped me over, then she walloped me a few times before she grabbed for my mask. I didn't want to risk her exposing me, so I got the hell out of Dodge and bolted up the aisle and through the locker room area to the loading dock where the getaway car was. I'm glad it was there when I needed it because I came close to getting caught by Martel and some of the other wrestlers and some arena staff when they chased after me. I also had the license number on the back plate covered so they couldn't ID the car."
"Well, as long as you got away and you covered your tracks, that's what counts," Moolah said. "And you know, ______, I trained you pretty well when you joined my camp. Acting as my local contact to keep an eye on Mildred Burke and her girls - and especially on that Renée Martel - to keep an eye on what they're doin' and allow me to plan accordingly sure is payin' dividends. The attack on Martel should be enough to rattle her a bit and give Burke and her girls pause."
"Sure, but even if they can't directly prove it, they're gonna suspect that you had something to do with the attack," the contact said. "What do you plan to do in the meantime?"
"Just what I've already been plannin', darlin'," Moolah said confidently with a smirk, "and that plan gets executed the same night as the last night of Burke's tournament - and it'll be happenin' closer than they expect."
-
Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament II - Night Three @ Anaheim Convention Center Arena
January 30, 1968 - Anaheim, California
Attendance - 7,172
NOTE: Highlights from most of these matches were taped to air on the syndicated AGWA Women's Pro Wrestling on the weekend of February 3.
Judy Sowinski defeated Barbara Walker by pinfall following a full-Nelson slam.
Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament, West Division - Quarterfinals
Jan Vallow defeated Claire Lepage by pinfall following a belly-to-belly suplex.
Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament, West Division - Quarterfinals
Renée Martel upset Diane Syverson (with Mae Young) by pinfall with a small package. Post-match, an unexpected incident occurred when, as she got her hand raised in victory by the referee, Martel fell victim to an ambush as a mysterious figure, wearing a black mask and dressed in a full black bodysuit, ran into the ring from out of the crowd and attacked her from behind, attempting to lay a pounding on Martel as the mysterious figure laced into her with several clubbing forearm blows to her upper back while grabbing a handful of her hair, but Renée tapped into her amateur wrestling and shoot training as she grabbed the masked figure by the waist and flipped her over her head, then pounced on her and rained down several blows of her own as the crowd went wild before she flipped her assailant onto her back, then grabbed at the assailant's mask and attempted to pull it off, but the masked woman reacted quickly as she pulled away from Renée, scrambled out of the ring and then took off like a bullet up the aisle toward the locker room area, with a furious Renée in hot pursuit of her masked attacker.*
Penny Banner edged past hotshot rookie Tonette Kadrmas to get the win when Banner pinned Kadrmas with a sunset flip after a hard-fought battle.
Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament, East Division - Quarterfinals
Margot Bouchard (with Mae Young) defeated Sally Vega by pinfall following a spinebuster slam.
Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament, East Division - Quarterfinals
Earlene Brown defeated Mary Jane Mull by pinfall with a big splash.
AGWA Television Championship
Judy Arnold © defeated Georgia Hase (with Mae Young) by disqualification when Margot Bouchard ran in and blindsided Arnold as she had a stepover toehold applied on Hase. Post-match, Hase and Bouchard continued double-teaming Arnold under the direction of Young, but the heels were soon chased out when Renée Martel and Earlene Brown ran in for the save.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Prediction results: (Thanks to all who made their predictions for this card)
The Blonde Bomber - 5/7
Herrbear - 5/7
Lord Byron - 5/7
All-time prediction results:
Herrbear - 66/94
Lord Byron - 26/40
The Blonde Bomber - 16/19
Hitman74 - 10/12
Theheel - 7/10
Dalton - 6/6
auto45 - 5/6
Sco_xY2Jx - 2/6
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* What happened immediately following that match behind the scenes will get explained in detail in an upcoming chapter.
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AEW DYNAMITE
1. AEW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: CM Punk & Bryan Danielson © vs. Men of the Year
2. TNT CHAMPIONSHIP: Eddie Kingston © vs. Ricky Starks
3. The Bunny vs. Ruby Soho
4. Los Ingobernables (Rush & Dragon Lee) vs. Ricochet & Altisimo [fka Samuray Del Sol]
5. Jack Evans vs. Orange Cassidy
AEW RAMPAGE
1. AJ Styles vs. Kota Ibushi
2. Britt Baker & Chelsea Green vs. TayJay
3. Motor City Machine Guns vs. The Butcher & The Blade
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The updated tournament bracket for Night Three of Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament II on January 30:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It's prediction time once again:
Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament - Quarterfinals
West Division bracket:
Jan Vallow vs. Claire Lepage
Diane Syverson vs. Renée Martel
East Division bracket:
Margot Bouchard vs. Sally Vega
Earlene Brown vs. Mary Jane Mull
Non-tournament matches:
Judy Sowinski vs. Barbara Walker
Penny Banner vs. Tonette Kadrmas*
AGWA Television Championship
Judy Arnold © vs. Georgia Hase
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Roller derby skater IRL.
-
On the same night Fabulous Moolah set her new scheme to try to sabotage Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament II in motion, the AGWA crew were on the road again for a house show, and thanks to TV exposure and promotion (via Phoenix independent station KPHO-TV, which carried AGWA Women's Pro Wrestling), ended up drawing a bigger crowd than expected...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
American Girls' Wrestling Association @ Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
January 27, 1968 - Phoenix, Arizona
Attendance - 11,515
NOTE: This event was done in collaboration with the NWA's Arizona office, headed at the time by Phoenix promoter and former NWA All-Star Wrestling co-owner Rod Fenton.
Linda Klein defeated Panama Franco by pinfall with a belly-to-belly suplex.
Georgia Hase & Margot Bouchard (with Mae Young) defeated Sally Vega & Barbara Walker when Hase pinned Vega following a knee lift.
Renée Martel & Claire Lepage defeated Jane Sherill & Patty O'Hara when Martel used the Alligator Clutch on Sherill for the submission while Lepage ran in and dropkicked O'Hara to prevent her from interfering.
AGWA United States Tag Team Championship - Two out of Three Falls
Shirley Hardman & Diane Syverson © (with Mae Young) defeated Kathy Starr & Lita Marez, two falls to one.
- First fall - Syverson pinned Marez following an airplane spin.
- Second fall - Starr evened the match by pinning Hardman with a schoolgirl rollup.
- Third fall - Hardman pinned Starr following a double facebuster by Hardman and Syverson.
AGWA United States Championship
Earlene Brown defeated Ann Calvello © (with Mae Young) by disqualification when Georgia Hase and Margot Bouchard ran in and attacked Brown as she moved for the pin on Calvello following a big splash (Calvello retained her title due to the DQ). Post-match, Hase and Bouchard double-teamed on Brown but quickly got the tables turned on them by the big ex-Olympic athlete when she ducked an attempted double clothesline, rebounded off the ropes and floored Hase and Bouchard with a double clothesline of her own, sending the heels scurrying to ringside as they pulled their stablemate Calvello out of the ring while the fans cheered Brown's efforts in clearing the ring.
NWA North American Women's Championship
Joan Weston © defeated Jan Vallow by pinfall following a backbreaker.
- First fall - Syverson pinned Marez following an airplane spin.
-
At a WWWF event in Philadelphia four days after the second night of the Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament, Fabulous Moolah, who was booked to defend her NWA World Women's title on the card at the Philadelphia Arena, was reading over an overnighted letter, sent by her Los Angeles contact, with two accompanying newspaper clips from the Los Angeles Times, delivered to her by Vince McMahon Sr. from his New York City office, and did not look happy about what she was reading. As Moolah continued going over the letter and articles, Vince walked by in the backstage hallway and took notice. "Should I even ask what it is you don't look happy about?" the WWWF head then asked.
"You might as well look, you brought it to me," Moolah said as she handed the letter and clippings to Vince, who then began reading them and noticed it was about the first two nights of Mildred's tournament in Anaheim. Vince began getting a feeling of deja vu as he read the articles when, as he did last year, he noticed mentions in the articles about the attendance figures for the first two nights, followed by mentions in both articles about Renée Martel and her progress at the event, both in the tournament itself and in the non-tourney tag team match she wrestled in. What particularly caught Vince's attention was that in both clippings, Renée's name was circled in red ink - which had been done by Moolah herself when she first read the articles.
"Lillian, didn't we go over this last year around this time?" Vince asked once he finished reading.
"Did you see the attendance numbers for the first two nights of Mildred Burke's tournament?" a displeased Moolah replied. "They're up even higher than they were for the first two nights last year!"
"Well, then I'd say Mildred's doing well to draw more fans because she's putting on a very good product," Vince said. "It shouldn't even bother you because you're here and her tournament's on the other side of the country."
"Well, it does!" Moolah fumed. "And besides my not being there to headline that event, did you see the other reason I'm not happy about it?"
Vince then glanced for a moment at where Moolah had Renée's name circled in the articles. "It's because of 'the one that got away', right?" he remarked. "Lillian, I'm not bothered that Renée Martel chose not to sign with us, so you shouldn't be bugged about it either - that's just how it goes. I think you're letting this obsession over that get to you and you really ought to let it go, for your sake. If she decides to join us later on, fine - if not, not a big deal."
"Not a big deal to you, Vince, but I still don't like it," a resentful Moolah griped. "But, I do wanna ask you a favor..."
"Wait, let me stop you right there," Vince then said, knowing what was on Moolah's mind. "About holding your own women's tournament to compete with Mildred's event, the wrestlers that I pulled from that card in Boston last year to make room for your tournament let me know in no uncertain terms that they weren't happy about it. Some of them even said they'd quit and go wrestle elsewhere if you tried something like that again to get your way to keep yourself in the spotlight - their words, not mine."
Moolah knew of her reputation for being demanding and for being manipulative to get what she wanted - to stay in the spotlight as the world's top woman wrestler - but she did not care what others thought. "You think I really give a damn what they think?" she retorted. "If they wanna quit, let 'em quit - it's no skin off my nose."
Vince let out an exasperated sigh while facepalming, looking almost like he was about to come down with a headache. "Alright, if you want to do another tournament, go ahead," he said. "But this time around, you're on your own - don't expect me to help."
"That's all I ask," Moolah said with a self-satisfied grin. "Mind if I use your office phone to make the arrangements?"
"Go ahead, but don't be too long," Vince said. "I have to round up the rest of the lineup for a locker room meeting in a few minutes," he added as he walked away.
Moolah then walked into Vince's office and picked up the desk phone's handset, then dialed the number to her Los Angeles contact. "Hi, ______, it's Moolah," she replied as the contact answered after three ringtones. "Good, darlin', and yourself? Good, good. I just got your overnighted letter earlier today, my boss brought it to me from New York to Philadelphia. Alright, good. Listen, you remember that tournament I staged in Boston last year, the same one I held to compete against the Mildred Burke tournament I had you sabotage with that staged protest with those Women's Studies students from Berkeley? No, we're not gonna set up another protest this time - I remember you said the Berkeley girls weren't happy about getting arrested by the police or about some of them getting beaten up by Burke's wrestlers and they may get hinky if we try to play that card a second time. No, I have a different idea this time - one that's gonna hit closer to home for Burke and her girls..."
-
Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament II - Night Two @ Anaheim Convention Center Arena
January 23, 1968 - Anaheim, California
Attendance - 6,748
NOTE: Highlights from these matches were taped to air on the syndicated AGWA Women's Pro Wrestling on the weekend of January 27.
Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament, East Division - First Round
Margot Bouchard (with Mae Young) defeated Lita Marez by pinfall follwing an elbow drop.
Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament, East Division - First Round
Sally Vega defeated Lucille Dupree by pinfall following a flying dropkick off the second turnbuckle.
AGWA United States Tag Team Championship - Two out of Three Falls
Renée Martel & Claire Lepage defeated Shirley Hardman & Diane Syverson © (with Mae Young), two falls to one, when Hardman and Syverson were disqualified in the third fall when Young pulled the referee out of the ring to interfere with his pin count as Martel had Hardman pinned following a flying clothesline off the ropes (Hardman & Syverson retain their title due to the DQ).
Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament, East Division - First Round
Earlene Brown defeated Patty O'Hara by pinfall with a big splash.
Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament, East Division - First Round
Mary Jane Mull defeated Barbara Walker by pinfall following a belly-to-back suplex.
NWA North American Women's Championship - Two out of Three Falls
Joan Weston © defeated Georgia Hase (with Mae Young) to retain her title in two straight falls.
- First fall - Weston pinned Hase following a shoulderbreaker.
- Second fall - Hase was disqualified when Margot Bouchard ran in and attacked Weston as she had Hase tied up in a figure-four leglock.
Post-match, Hase and Bouchard continued their attack against Weston, but Renée Martel and Claire Lepage soon ran in to make the save and helped Weston chase the heels out.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Prediction results: (Thanks to all who made their predictions for this card)
The Blonde Bomber - 6/6
Herrbear - 5/6
Lord Byron - 5/6
All-time prediction results:
Herrbear - 61/87
Lord Byron - 21/33
The Blonde Bomber - 11/12
Hitman74 - 10/12
Theheel - 7/10
Dalton - 6/6
auto45 - 5/6
Sco_xY2Jx - 2/6
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
- First fall - Weston pinned Hase following a shoulderbreaker.
-
The updated tournament bracket for Night Two of the Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament II on January 23:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Time again to see who wins and who loses:
Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament II
First round - East Division bracket
Lita Marez vs. Margot Bouchard
Sally Vega vs. Lucille Dupree
Earlene Brown vs. Patty O'Hara
Barbara Walker vs. Mary Jane Mull
Non-tournament matches:
AGWA United States Tag Team Championship
Shirley Hardman & Diane Syverson © vs. Renée Martel & Claire Lepage
NWA North American Women's Championship
Joan Weston © vs. Georgia Hase
-
The Young Bucks vs. Santana & Ortiz
Jay White vs. Frankie Kazarian
Penelope Ford vs. Allysin Kay
Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) vs. Men of the Year
Shawn Spears vs. Sammy Guevara
-
American Girls' Wrestling Association @ Centennial Coliseum*
January 20, 1968 - Reno, Nevada
Attendance - 4,625
Georgia Hase (with Mae Young) defeated Barbara Walker when Hase pinned Walker following a knee lift.
Earlene Brown & Sally Vega defeated Jane Sherill & Patty O'Hara when Vega pinned O'Hara following a cross-bodyblock while Brown came in to prevent Sherill from interfering with the pinfall.
Margot Bouchard (with Mae Young) defeated Kathy Starr by pinfall with a spinebuster slam.
Six-woman elimination match
Judy Arnold, Renée Martel & Claire Lepage defeated Ann Calvello, Shirley Hardman & Diane Syverson (with Mae Young).
- First fall - Syverson pinned Lepage following an airplane spin.
- Second fall - Martel pinned Syverson following a flying clothesline off the ropes.
- Third fall - Calvello was disqualified for piledriving Martel.
- Fourth fall - Hardman pinned Martel (who was still stunned from the piledriver) with a fisherman suplex.
- Fifth fall - Arnold got the win for her team by pinning Hardman with a sunset flip.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* The Centennial Coliseum was the original name for what is now the Reno-Sparks Convention Center.
- First fall - Syverson pinned Lepage following an airplane spin.
-
Sgt. Slaughter (AWA World Champion) vs. Jerry 'The King' Lawler (AWA World Champion)
Larry Zbyszko vs. Greg Gagne
Greg Valentine vs. Baron Von Raschke
Tom Zenk vs. Col. DeBeers
Sam Houston vs. Manny Fernandez
-
In between the first and second nights of the Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament, the AGWA crew hit the road for a couple of house show events over in Nevada. To sum up the location of the first house show - VEGAS, BABY!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
American Girls' Wrestling Association @ Las Vegas Convention Center
January 19, 1968 - Las Vegas, Nevada
Attendance - 6,853
Barbara Walker* and Lucille Dupree fought to a time-limit draw.
Handicap Match
Earlene Brown** defeated Jane Sherill & Patty O'Hara when Brown pinned Sherill following a big splash.
Georgia Hase & Margot Bouchard (with Mae Young) defeated Kathy Starr & Linda Klein when Hase pinned Klein following a knee lift.
AGWA United States Tag Team Championship - Two out of Three Falls
Shirley Hardman & Diane Syverson © (with Mae Young) defeated Renée Martel & Claire Lepage, two falls to one.
- First fall - Syverson pinned Lepage following a fallaway slam.
- Second fall - Martel pinned Syverson following a flying forearm smash off the ropes.
- Third fall - Hardman pinned Lepage, but Hardman received an illegal assist in the pin from manager Young, who tripped Lepage near the ropes as she had Hardman up in preparation for a bodyslam and then held down Lepage's feet near the ropes (while out of sight of the referee) to prevent her from kicking out of the pin. Martel and Lepage, along with the fans, protested the controversial pin post-match, but to no avail as the referee explained that he cannot call what he does not see, while Hardman and Syverson mocked their defeated opponents as they took their belts with them and headed back with Young to the locker room area.
AGWA United States Championship
Judy Arnold defeated Ann Calvello © (with Mae Young) by disqualification when Shirley Hardman and Diane Syverson ran in and attacked Arnold as she had Calvello locked in a sleeperhold (Calvello retained her title due to the DQ). Post-match, Young joined Hardman and Syverson to triple-team Arnold until Renée Martel and Claire Lepage ran in for the save and helped Arnold chase Young and her charges out of the ring.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Ring name used by Barbara LaMarche when wrestling in the United States (Walker, in fact, is the Anglicized form of her last name, LaMarche).
** IRL, Earlene Brown was an Olympic athlete who competed in the Olympics in 1956, 1960 and 1964, then became a roller derby skater, nicknamed "747" for her size and weight (5'9", 250 lbs.), from 1965 to 1975; she died on May 1, 1983. ITTL, she was also an Olympic athlete, but became a professional wrestler following her Olympic career.
- First fall - Syverson pinned Lepage following a fallaway slam.
-
Mae Young is the manager of winners!!
One of the reasons why she's proving ITTL why two of her nicknames in her wrestling prime IRL were "The Queen" and "The Great".
-
AGWA United States Tag Team Championship (for use in Rise of a Star)
-
Not much to go on for Tully Blanchard Enterprises logo wise so far so based it on the logo Tully's wearing here. Looking around they might have gone to a Black, Red & White logo (Hard for me to tell because I'm colour blind)
Tully also used the Tully Blanchard Enterprises name as far back as 1986 (
) while he was with Crockett. That said, good work on the logo.
-
Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament II - Night One @ Anaheim Convention Center Arena
January 16, 1968 - Anaheim, California
Attendance - 6,120
NOTE: Highlights from these matches were taped to air on the syndicated AGWA Women's Pro Wrestling on the weekend of January 20.
Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament, West Division - First Round
Jan Vallow defeated Kathy Starr by pinfall following a powerslam and legdrop.
Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament, West Division - First Round
Claire Lepage defeated Panama Franco by pinfall with a crucifix cradle.
Georgia Hase & Margot Bouchard (with Mae Young) defeated Sally Vega & Lita Marez when Bouchard pinned Marez following an elbow drop.
Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament, West Division - First Round
Diane Syverson (with Mae Young) defeated Linda Klein by pinfall following an airplane spin.
Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament, West Division - First Round
Renée Martel defeated Jane Sherill by pinfall following a flying forearm smash off the ropes.
AGWA Television Championship
Judy Arnold © defeated Mary Jane Mull to retain her title when Arnold pinned Mull with a small package.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Prediction results: (Thanks to all who made their predictions for this card)
The Blonde Bomber - 5/6
Herrbear - 4/6
Lord Byron - 4/6
All-time prediction results:
Herrbear - 56/81
Lord Byron - 16/27
Hitman74 - 10/12
Theheel - 7/10
Dalton - 6/6
The Blonde Bomber - 5/6
auto45 - 5/6
Sco_xY2Jx - 2/6
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
In this year's second annual Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament, the prize for winning the tournament, in addition to the Mildred Burke Invitational Trophy, will be a match for the AGWA United States Championship, currently held by Ann Calvello. Here is the bracket for the tournament, starting January 16:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Now it's prediction time:
Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament II
First round - West Division bracket
Kathy Starr vs. Jan Vallow
Claire Lepage vs. Panama Franco
Linda Klein* vs. Diane Syverson
Renée Martel vs. Jane Sherill**
Non-tournament matches:
Sally Vega & Lita Marez vs. Georgia Hase & Margot Bouchard
AGWA Television Championship
Judy Arnold © vs. Mary Jane Mull
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Linda Klein is the daughter of wrestler Lou Klein, who previously wrestled as Lou Bastien as part of the Bastien Brothers tag team with kayfabe "brother" Red Bastien, who were three-time holders of the Capitol Wrestling version of the NWA United States Tag Team Championship (later the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship).
** Jane Sherill previously wrestled as Hatfield Hattie, prior to starting using her own name upon turning heel.
-
January 1968
Political and social unrest on the world stage continued to pick up steam heading into 1968. In the Vietnam War, Communist Viet Cong guerrilas, under the direction of North Vietnam and its army, launched the Tet Offensive with attacks on various targets in South Vietnam before being routed by the South Vietnamese, American and allied armies, though a propaganda campaign instigated by North Vietnam targeting American media outlets quickly led to a decline in support for the war in the United States and led to then-President Lyndon B. Johnson's decision to not seek re-election in the 1968 Presidential election, and student protests against the war continued across the country. Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, triggering riots and civil unrest in Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore and other major US cities while his killer, James Earl Ray, fled to Canada and then to the United Kingdom, where he was arrested in London and extradited back to the US. Robert F. Kennedy, who had announced his candidacy to become the Democrat Party's nominee for the 1968 election, was assassinated in Los Angeles by Sirhan Sirhan, who was immediately apprehended and taken into police custody. The Democrats' national convention in Chicago, which nominated Vice-President Hubert Humphrey to run for the presidency, saw clashes between Chicago police and anti-Vietnam War protesters and led to the arrests of hundreds of protesters. Radical feminists travelled to Atlantic City, New Jersey to protest and disrupt the 1969 Miss America Pageant under claims of it being "exploitive" and "oppressive" of women. Several Communist countries, led by the USSR, invaded and occupied Czechoslovakia to brutally suppress that country's Prague Spring reform movement. Andy Warhol was shot at his New York City studio by radical feminist Valerie Solanas but would survive the assassination attempt, while Solanas turned herself in to police and was charged with attempted murder. Richard Nixon, the Republican nominee for the US presidency, won the 1968 election, defeating Humphrey and former/future Alabama Democrat governor George Wallace (who ran as a third-party candidate in that election). Pierre Trudeau became the Prime Minister of Canada after winning a Liberal Party leadership convention following the resignation of previous Prime Minister Lester Pearson after he announced his retirement from politics.
In entertainment, Batman, Lost in Space, The Lucy Show, The Monkees, I Spy, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Andy Griffith Show all ended their runs on their respective networks, while Hawaii Five-O, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Adam-12, Here's Lucy, 60 Minutes, The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour, Mayberry RFD and the syndicated version of What's My Line? made their debuts. On Star Trek, series stars William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols shared what would be the first interracial kiss on American television in the episode "Plato's Stepchildren". Elvis Presley's comeback special aired on NBC, the Beatles (whose Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band won a Grammy for Album of the Year) travelled to India to meet the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and later began recording The White Album, and The Who begin recording the rock opera Tommy. Following the breakup of the Yardbirds, group guitarist Jimmy Page founded the New Yardbirds, which soon evolved into the iconic Led Zeppelin with lead singer Robert Plant as frontman. 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Odd Couple and the original Planet of the Apes premiered in theatres and became box office hits, while the original Night of the Living Dead, the horror film that launched the modern zombie film genre, was released and entered the public domain immediately upon its premiere due to the film's distributor forgetting to include a copyright notice on prints of the film.
In sports, the Montreal Canadiens swept the St. Louis Blues in four games to capture their 15th Stanley Cup, NFL Champions the Green Bay Packers defeated AFL Champions the Oakland Raiders to win Super Bowl II, and the USC Trojans defeated the Indiana Hoosiers to win the Rose Bowl and become the college football national champions. The infamous "Heidi Bowl" football game, held between the Oakland Raiders and the New York Jets, was left in progress in the Eastern and Central time zones by NBC so the network could start the family-oriented TV movie Heidi as scheduled, leading to many angered fans on the East Coast when they were unable to watch as New York, leading Oakland 32-29 late in the 4th quarter, saw its lead decimated as the Raiders scored two consecutive touchdowns after NBC's cutaway in the East to win the game 43-32. The Detroit Tigers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, four games to three, to win the World Series, while the Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, four games to two, to win the NBA Championship and the Pittsburgh Pipers defeated the New Orleans Buccaneers, four games to three, to become the first ABA Champions. At the 1968 Summer Olympics (which actually took place in the fall of that year) in Mexico City, the United States won both the most gold medals and the most medals overall, but this achievement was eclipsed when American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, after winning gold and bronze medals respectively in the men's 200-metre dash final, raised black-gloved fists in a black power salute, done in protest of racial inequality, on the medal podium during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner", for which the athletes were later suspended from the US Olympic Team, expelled from the remainder of the games and criticized for making what was deemed at the time as a political statement at the apolitical Olympics.
In wrestling, Gene Kiniski (who, with Sandor Kovacs and Portland promoter Don Owen, took over NWA All-Star Wrestling in Vancouver at the start of the new year) celebrated two years as NWA World Heavyweight Champion in January and Bruno Sammartino celebrated his fifth year as WWWF World Heavyweight Champion in May. Verne Gagne lost his AWA World Heavyweight Championship to Dr. X (Dick Beyer, AKA The Destroyer) for two weeks in August, but regained the belt to start his ninth reign, which would also be his longest at seven-plus years. The third Madison Square Garden held its final wrestling event, headlined by Sammartino defeating Prof. Toru Tanaka to retain his WWWF title, before closing in February, and the current MSG opened the same month, with the first wrestling event at the new venue main evented by Sammartino defeating Bull Ramos. All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling was launched by the Matsunaga brothers as the successor to previous all-female promotions in Japan dating back to 1948; during the early part of the year, Fabulous Moolah travelled to Japan on tour and traded her NWA World Women's Championship with native star Yukiko Tomoe. San Francisco-based Big Time Wrestling joined the NWA in August, while Los Angeles-based Worldwide Wrestling Associates rejoined the NWA that same month and was renamed NWA Hollywood Wrestling. Future AWA World Champion Nick Bockwinkel appeared as a contestant on the NBC version of The Hollywood Squares and was that night's winner, earning a Pontiac Firebird convertible, kitchen appliances and $1,300 cash for his win. George Hackenschmidt, the first holder of the original World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship, died on February 19 in London, England at age 90, while Wladek Zbyszko, a former holder of the original version of the American Heavyweight Championship, died on June 10 in Savannah, Missouri at age 76, and Dick Shikat, who held the original World Heavyweight title and also held the National Wrestling Association and New York State Athletic Commission versions of the World Heavyweight title, died on December 3 at age 71.
Meanwhile, two and a half years into her wrestling career, Renée Martel went into the new year continuing on her current development and pace, not knowing at the time that what was ahead for her in wrestling in 1968 would be bigger than what she had experienced the previous year...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Back in Montreal at Renée's apartment during a few days off from the ring, Renée, Michèle Richard and Claire Lepage were watching TV in the living room, checking out an episode of Batman and getting wrapped up in the adventure and the tongue-in-cheek humorous moments involving the Dynamic Duo in their battle against crime, and had just finished watching a brawl pitting Batman and Robin against the Joker and his henchmen. "Wow, sometimes I wonder why I continue watching Batman when I get the chance," Michèle said with a laugh when the commercial break began. "I mean, the fights between Batman and Robin and the villains look so hokey and over the top."
"Well, the way the show's written and presented, it wasn't really meant to be taken too seriously by the audience," Renée pointed out, "even though Batman, Robin and the other characters take the situations seriously in-show."
"And the audience likes watching the show because it's entertaining, especially to the kids who watch," Claire added.
"Or because of the featured villain's 'moll of the week', who's really just there as eye candy for the guys," Michèle quipped, drawing laughter from all three girls.
"Now you're making me wish I could be the Riddler's eye candy," Claire then joked, eliciting more laughter from Renée and Michèle over her mention of the wacky and riddle-obsessed Batman villain played by Frank Gorshin.
"And speaking of eye candy, I can think of someone in this room right now who'd be perfect to play Catwoman," Renée remarked with a sly grin and a raised eyebrow as she looked at Michèle.
"Rrowrrr," Michèle replied in a playful manner while imitating Catwoman, complete with raising her right hand like a cat's paw with claws unsheathed, bringing a fresh round of laughter from the girls.
"Hey, the show's about to start again," Claire said, alerting Renée and Michèle while glancing at the screen of Renée's TV set.
"Good, I wanna see who next week's villain's gonna be," Renée said as the girls turned their attention back to the TV.
As Batman returned from the commercial break, however, Renée's phone began ringing. "It figures the phone would start ringing while the show's on," she said with a sigh as she got up from her sofa to answer the phone. "Hello? Oh, hi Johnny," she replied after picking up the handset, catching Michèle and Claire's attention as they figured Johnny Rougeau was on the other end. "Good, and yourself? Ah, good. Nope, it's just Batman night at my place and Michèle and Claire are here watching the show with me." Renée then paused to listen to Johnny for a moment. "Really? She did?" Her face then lit up as she continued to listen. A moment later, she let out a squeal of excitement over something she heard, then she said, "That's great, Johnny. Sure, I'll tell them the news. Alright, 'bye."
"Whatever that was, it sounds like good news," Michèle said as she and Claire both got up and walked over to Renée as the latter hung up her phone. "What's up?"
"Johnny just told me Mildred Burke called him up earlier," Renée explained with a hint of excitement.
"And?" Claire then asked.
"She's having her second annual invitational tournament later this month and she wants the three of us to head back to Anaheim to take part!" Renée revealed, causing all three girls to jump around squealing with excitement over the news.
"That's great news," Michèle said. "Did Johnny say anything else?"
"He said Mildred asked for four girls to be sent over, so he called Barbara first to let her know," Renée said, "and she'll be coming with us. The tournament starts on January 16, so we can get over there a day or two before."
"So if we go two days before the tournament, what'll we do with that extra time?" Claire wondered.
"What else? We're going to Disneyland!" Michèle remarked with a grin, which got Renée and Claire laughing again.
-
While I'm working on the latest chapter, here's a pair of YouTube clips involving a couple of Pacific Northwest legends:
(from All-Star Wrestling taping in Burnaby, BC, December 1979)(from the same All-Star Wrestling taping) -
Renée Martel Career Record - 1967 (103 documented matches)
American Girls' Wrestling Association - Promoter Mildred Burke:
01/12 Anaheim, CA - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Shirley Hardman & Diane Syverson by DQ
01/19 Anaheim, CA - beat Barbara Baker (Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament - first round)
02/02 Anaheim, CA - beat Georgia Hase (Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament - quarterfinals)
* The event this match took place at was postponed to February 2 due to the event, originally scheduled for January 26, being disrupted by protesters who blockaded the arena and prevented fans from entering02/16 Los Angeles, CA - beat Ann Calvello (Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament - semifinals)
02/16 Los Angeles, CA - lost to Judy Arnold by countout (Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament - final)
All-Star Wrestling/Les As de la Lutte:
02/22 Quebec City, QC - w/. Claire Lepage, drew Kay Noble & Margot Bouchard
02/27 Montreal, QC - w/. Claire Lepage, drew Kay Noble & Margot Bouchard
NWA All-Star Wrestling:
02/28 Victoria, BC - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Kay Noble & Margot Bouchard
03/03 New Westminster, BC - lost to Margot Bouchard
03/04 Seattle, WA - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Kay Noble & Margot Bouchard by DQ
03/06 Vancouver, BC - drew Kay Noble (AWA World Champion)
03/07 Chilliwack, BC - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Kay Noble & Margot Bouchard
03/10 New Westminster, BC - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Kay Noble & Margot Bouchard
All-Star Wrestling/Les As de la Lutte:
03/15 Quebec City, QC - lost to Shirley Hardman
03/20 Montreal, QC - lost to Shirley Hardman
03/22 Quebec City, QC - beat Shirley Hardman by DQ
03/27 Montreal, QC - beat Shirley Hardman by DQ
03/29 Quebec City, QC - w/. Julie Patrick, beat Shirley Hardman & Miss X
04/03 Montreal, QC - w/. Julie Patrick, beat Shirley Hardman & Miss X
American Wrestling Association:
04/28 Winnipeg, MB - w/. Judy Arnold, drew Georgia Hase & Margot Bouchard
05/01 Moline, IL - beat Georgia Hase by DQ
05/03 Denver, CO - beat Margot Bouchard by DQ
05/05 Milwaukee, WI - w/. Judy Arnold, beat Georgia Hase & Margot Bouchard
All-Star Wrestling/Les As de la Lutte:
05/10 Quebec City, QC - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Miss X I & II
05/15 Montreal, QC - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Miss X I & II
AWA/All-Star Wrestling - Promoter Joe Dusek:
05/17 Lincoln, NE - beat Margot Bouchard by DQ
05/17 Lincoln, NE - w/. Rick Hunter & Judy Arnold, beat Stan Pulaski, Georgia Hase & Margot Bouchard (mixed six-person tag)
American Wrestling Association:
05/20 St. Paul, MN - w/. Judy Arnold, beat Georgia Hase & Margot Bouchard
05/26 Milwaukee, WI - lost to Georgia Hase
05/26 Milwaukee, WI - w/. Judy Arnold, beat Georgia Hase & Margot Bouchard
05/31 Denver, CO - w/. Judy Arnold, beat Georgia Hase & Margot Bouchard
06/02 Chicago, IL - w/. Judy Arnold, beat Georgia Hase & Margot Bouchard
06/05 Davenport, IA - w/. Judy Arnold, beat Georgia Hase & Margot Bouchard
06/08 Winnipeg, MB - w/. Judy Arnold, beat Georgia Hase & Margot Bouchard
NWA All-Star Wrestling:
06/14 Burnaby, BC - beat Toni Rose (TV taping)
06/17 Nanaimo, BC - w/. Donna Costello (Donna Christenello), beat Toni Rose & Margot Bouchard
06/19 Vancouver, BC - beat Margot Bouchard by DQ
06/26 Vancouver, BC - w/. Donna Costello, beat Toni Rose & Margot Bouchard
06/27 Chilliwack, BC - w/. Donna Costello, beat Toni Rose & Margot Bouchard
06/30 New Westminster, BC - w/. Donna Costello, vs. Toni Rose & Margot Bouchard
07/01 Burnaby, BC - drew Margot Bouchard (TV taping)
07/01 Seattle, WA - w/. Donna Costello, vs. Toni Rose & Margot Bouchard
07/03 Vancouver, BC - beat Toni Rose by DQ
07/04 Victoria, BC - w/. Donna Costello, vs. Toni Rose & Margot Bouchard
Stampede Wrestling:
07/10 Lethbridge, AB - w/. Julie Painchaud, beat Margot Bouchard & Miss X
07/11 Calgary, AB - beat Miss X
07/12 Calgary, AB - w/. Julie Painchaud, beat Margot Bouchard & Miss X
07/14 Saskatoon, SK - w/. Julie Painchaud, beat Margot Bouchard & Miss X
07/15 Edmonton, AB - w/. Julie Painchaud, beat Margot Bouchard & Miss X
All-Star Wrestling/Les As de la Lutte:
07/17 Montreal, QC - drew Judy Sowinski
07/21 Quebec City, QC - won a 14-woman battle royal
07/24 Montreal, QC - won a 14-woman battle royal
07/26 Chicoutimi, QC - beat Judy Sowinski by DQ (TV taping)
07/28 Quebec City, QC - beat Judy Sowinski by DQ
07/29 Montreal, QC - w/. Julie Painchaud & Claire Lepage, beat Margot Bouchard, Marianne Duchesne & Miss X (six-woman elimination match - Expo 67 show)
07/31 Montreal, QC - beat Judy Sowinski by DQ
08/02 Chicoutimi, QC - lost to Mae Young (TV taping)
08/04 Quebec City, QC - lost to Mae Young
08/07 Montreal, QC - lost to Mae Young
American Wrestling Association:
08/10 Winnipeg, MB - w/. Julie Painchaud, beat Mae Young & Miss X by DQ
08/11 Chicago, IL - w/. Julie Payne (Julie Painchaud), beat Mae Young & Miss X by DQ
08/14 Davenport, IA - w/. Julie Payne, beat Mae Young & Miss X by DQ
08/19 Minneapolis, MN - w/. Julie Payne, beat Mae Young & Miss X by DQ
08/24 Duluth, MN - w/. Julie Payne, beat Mae Young & Miss X by DQ
All-Star Wrestling/Les As de la Lutte:
08/28 Montreal, QC - w/. Julie Painchaud, drew Mae Young & Margot Bouchard
08/29 Chicoutimi, QC - w/. Julie Painchaud, drew Mae Young & Margot Bouchard (TV taping)
08/31 Trois-Rivières, QC - w/. Julie Painchaud, beat Mae Young & Margot Bouchard by DQ
09/01 Quebec City, QC - beat Mae Young by DQ
09/02 Chicoutimi, QC - beat Mae Young by DQ (TV taping)
09/03 Donnaconna, QC - beat Mae Young by DQ
09/04 Montreal, QC - w/. Julie Painchaud, beat Mae Young & Margot Bouchard by DQ
09/08 Quebec City, QC - w/. Julie Painchaud, beat Mae Young & Margot Bouchard by DQ
09/11 Montreal, QC - w/. Barbara LaMarche, beat Miss X I & II
09/12 Chicoutimi, QC - w/. Barbara LaMarche, beat Miss X I & II (TV taping)
09/17 La Prairie, QC - w/. Barbara LaMarche, beat Miss X I & II
09/25 Montreal, QC - w/. Judy Arnold, beat Georgia Hase & Margot Bouchard
09/29 Quebec City, QC - w/. Judy Arnold, beat Georgia Hase & Margot Bouchard
10/03 Chicoutimi, QC - w/. Judy Arnold, beat Georgia Hase & Margot Bouchard (TV taping)
NWA All-Star Wrestling:
10/06 New Westminster, BC - lost to Margot Bouchard
10/09 Vancouver, BC - lost to Margot Bouchard
10/10 Victoria, BC - lost to Margot Bouchard
10/11 Burnaby, BC - beat Margot Bouchard by DQ (TV taping)
10/16 Vancouver, BC - beat Margot Bouchard by DQ
American Wrestling Association:
10/20 Winnipeg, MB - beat Margot Bouchard by DQ
All-Star Wrestling/Les As de la Lutte:
10/23 Montreal, QC - double countout vs. Margot Bouchard
American Girls' Wrestling Association:
10/26 Anaheim, CA - beat Casey Andrews (TV taping)
All-Star Wrestling/Les As de la Lutte:
10/30 Montreal, QC - lost to Diane Syverson
10/31 Chicoutimi, QC - lost to Diane Syverson (TV taping)
11/01 Quebec City, QC - lost to Diane Syverson
11/06 Montreal, QC - drew Diane Syverson
11/07 Chicoutimi, QC - drew Diane Syverson (TV taping)
11/08 Quebec City, QC - drew Diane Syverson
American Wrestling Association:
11/10 Winnipeg, MB - drew Diane Syverson
All-Star Wrestling/Les As de la Lutte:
11/13 Montreal, QC - w/. Julie Patrick, beat Diane Syverson & Margot Bouchard by DQ
11/14 Chicoutimi, QC - w/. Julie Patrick, lost to Diane Syverson & Margot Bouchard (TV taping)
11/15 Quebec City, QC - w/. Julie Patrick, beat Diane Syverson & Margot Bouchard by DQ
11/20 Montreal, QC - beat Black Widow
11/21 Chicoutimi, QC - beat Black Widow (TV taping)
11/22 Quebec City, QC - beat Black Widow
12/11 Montreal, QC - w/. Julie Patrick & Terri Lynch, beat Shirley Hardman, Diane Syverson & Margot Bouchard (six-woman elimination match)
12/12 Chicoutimi, QC - w/. Julie Patrick & Terri Lynch, beat Shirley Hardman, Diane Syverson & Margot Bouchard (six-woman elimination match - TV taping)
12/13 Quebec City, QC - w/. Julie Patrick & Terri Lynch, beat Shirley Hardman, Diane Syverson & Margot Bouchard (six-woman elimination match)
12/18 Montreal, QC - w/. Barbara LaMarche, beat Miss X & Black Widow
-
In the months following the Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament, Mildred Burke had set out to try to get TV exposure for her American Girls' Wrestling Association, initially by recording house show matches to shop around to promoters she had booking deals with while she also negotiated with local TV stations in Los Angeles to get a show of her own on the air (while also making sure to get the blessing of nearby Worldwide Wrestling Associates in exchange for continuing to supply female talent to that promotion). Eventually, Burke cut a deal with Los Angeles independent station KHJ-TV to produce a one-hour wrestling show for that station, which would also syndicate the program (which was titled AGWA Women's Pro Wrestling) to other stations regionally in California, Nevada and Arizona beginning in September 1967. The AGWA taped two shows at a time every two weeks with the Anaheim Convention Center Arena as its home base, following the standard formula of main event stars and upper midcarders taking on jobbers, with a TV main event match between top talents highlighting each episode along with a non-televised main event match following the taping session.
For the TV taping presented below, Burke contacted Johnny Rougeau in Montreal a few weeks in advance to send her some of his female talent, to which Rougeau agreed as he sent Renée Martel, Margot Bouchard and Claire Lepage over once again, this time joined by masked grappler Miss X.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
AGWA TV taping @ Anaheim Convention Center Arena
October 26, 1967 - Anaheim, California
Attendance - 6,720
Aired the weekend of October 28, 1967 on KHJ-TV Los Angeles and in regional syndication:
Dark match (not televised)
Patty O'Hara defeated Liz Connor* by pinfall following a clothesline.
Panama Franco defeated Serena Harris* by pinfall following a knee drop.
Claire Lepage defeated Kim Blanchard* by pinfall following a sunset flip.
In a non-title match, AGWA United States Tag Team Champions Shirley Hardman & Diane Syverson (with Mae Young) defeated Sandra Hale* & Jane Travis* when Syverson pinned Hale following an airplane spin.
Jan Vallow defeated Linda Terrell* by pinfall following a bodyslam and legdrop.
AGWA Television Championship
Judy Arnold defeated Margot Bouchard © (with Mae Young) to win the title when Arnold pinned Bouchard with a small package. Post-match, Young ran in and helped the incensed Bouchard double-team Arnold before Penny Banner ran in to make the save for Arnold.
Aired the weekend of November 4, 1967 on KHJ-TV and in regional syndication:
Dark match (not televised)
Miss X defeated Jackie Long* by pinfall following a powerslam.
Sally Vega defeated Janet Russ* by pinfall following a dropkick.
Georgia Hase (with Mae Young) defeated Margo Vincent* by pinfall following a kneelift.
Kathy Starr & Lita Marez defeated Lorna Dale* & Jen Scott* when Starr pinned Dale following a cradle suplex.
Renée Martel defeated Casey Andrews* by submission with the Alligator Clutch.
AGWA United States Championship
Penny Banner defeated Ann Calvello © (with Mae Young) by disqualification when Margot Bouchard ran in and struck Banner with a foreign object as Banner had Calvello caught in a stepover toehold (Calvello retained her title due to the DQ). Post-match, Calvello and Bouchard, then joined by Young, triple-teamed Banner for a moment before the heels were chased out by Judy Arnold and Renée Martel.
Post-taping dark match
NWA North American Women's Championship
Joan Weston © defeated Judy Sowinski by pinfall following a backbreaker.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* All wrestlers so indicated were created for this diary, basically serving as "enhancement talent" for the AGWA stars.
Rise of a Star
in Total Extreme Wrestling 2020 Dynasties
Posted
Exactly the plan I have for Renée.
Wait'll you see what comes up next...