Rise of a Star

[Old School Fan]

Following up on the previous program, the latest edition of the All-Star Wrestling newsletter/arena program has been released - and it sets the stage for the eventual Renée Martel-Michèle Richard rematch as Richard, always one to speak her mind, airs her opinion on the inevitable showdown between the two...

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[Old School Fan]

All-Star Wrestling @ Paul Sauvé Arena
November 23, 1970 - Montreal, Quebec

 

Paul LeDuc defeated Claude Gosselin by pinfall.

Luigi Macera defeated Fidel Castillo (with Eddie "The Brain" Creatchman) by countout.

Baron Mikel Scicluna defeated Jos LeDuc by disqualification when LeDuc was caught using a foreign object on Scicluna - the same object Scicluna had been using on LeDuc earlier until the latter turned the tables on Scicluna and got the object away from him.

Two Out of Three Falls

Renée Martel, Claire Lepage & France Gall defeated Michèle Richard, Miss X & Black Widow, two falls to one.

⦁    First fall - Richard pinned Gall following a spinebuster slam.
⦁    Second fall - Black Widow was counted out after getting double-dropkicked through the ropes to the arena floor by Martel and Lepage.
⦁    Third fall - Martel overcame Richard's dominance of the match when she took Richard down with a crucifix cradle and pinned her to get the win for her team, setting the fans off with loud cheers as they celebrated Renée's pinfall victory over her longtime rival - and in doing so, casting her Canadian Women's title shot against Richard at next week's Women of Wrestling II supercard in granite.

Gino Brito defeated Michel "Le Justice" Dubois (with Eddie Creatchman) via submission with the figure-four leglock.

Two Out of Three Falls

Jacques Rougeau defeated Tor Kamata in two straight falls when Kamata was disqualified in the second fall for attacking the referee.

 

[Old School Fan]

The poster for All-Star Wrestling's Women of Wrestling II supercard is now up - and with it, the moment the 1970 part of this diary has built toward since the start of the year will soon be upon us:

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It's prediction time once again, folks:  😁

Gwen Miller vs. Annette Dupuis

Beverly "The Hammer" Shade vs. Suzanne Dussault

Jane Sherill & Patty O'Hara vs Miss X I & II

Judy Arnold vs. Black Widow

AGWA International Tag Team Championship
Aiko Kyo & Jumbo Miyamoto (C) vs. Georgia Hase & Judy Sowinski

NWA World Women's Lightweight Championship
France Gall (C) vs. Kim Blanchard

NWA United States Women's Tag Team Championship
The Sisters of Love (C) vs. Sabrina Lafleur & Rosalie Paiement

NWA United States Women's Championship
Diane Syverson (C) vs. Claire Lepage

NWA North American Women's Championship
Ashley Sinclair (C) vs. Ann Calvello

Canadian Women's Championship - Two Out of Three Falls
Michèle Richard (C) vs. Renée Martel

 

[The Blonde Bomber]

Gwen Miller vs. Annette Dupuis

Beverly "The Hammer" Shade vs. Suzanne Dussault

Jane Sherill & Patty O'Hara vs Miss X I & II

Judy Arnold vs. Black Widow

AGWA International Tag Team Championship
Aiko Kyo & Jumbo Miyamoto (C) vs. Georgia Hase & Judy Sowinski

NWA World Women's Lightweight Championship
France Gall (C) vs. Kim Blanchard

NWA United States Women's Tag Team Championship
The Sisters of Love (C) vs. Sabrina Lafleur & Rosalie Paiement

NWA United States Women's Championship
Diane Syverson (C) vs. Claire Lepage

NWA North American Women's Championship
Ashley Sinclair (C) vs. Ann Calvello

Canadian Women's Championship - Two Out of Three Falls
Michèle Richard (C) vs. Renée Martel

[Old School Fan]

While awaiting further predictions for Women of Wrestling II, I have a couple of more posts to put up in the meantime before the big event - the second one will be an interview post featuring Renée Martel, but for this post, in response to winning the @piperrulz prediction contest and getting to see the Jim Garvin face turn video over at his AWA 1989 diary, here's the followup video to that one:

 

Edited November 8, 2023 by Old School Fan

[Lord Byron]

My picks:  Annette Dupuis, Beverly "The Hammer" Shade, Jane Sherrill and Patty O'Hara, Judy Arnold, Georgia Hase and Judy Sowinski, France Gall (C), The Sisters of Love (C), Claire Lepage, Ashley Sinclair (C), and Renee Martel...

 

[The Blonde Bomber]

9 hours ago, Old School Fan said:

While awaiting further predictions for Women of Wrestling II, I have a couple of more posts to put up in the meantime before the big event - the second one will be an interview post featuring Renée Martel, but for this post, in response to winning the @piperrulz prediction contest and getting to see the Jim Garvin face turn video over at his AWA 1989 diary, here's the followup video to that one:

 

This was such a well done angle

[Captain Kremmen]

11 hours ago, Old School Fan said:

While awaiting further predictions for Women of Wrestling II, I have a couple of more posts to put up in the meantime before the big event - the second one will be an interview post featuring Renée Martel, but for this post, in response to winning the @piperrulz prediction contest and getting to see the Jim Garvin face turn video over at his AWA 1989 diary, here's the followup video to that one:

 

I wish I could find Cornette's classic promo on this matter.

[Captain Kremmen]

It's prediction time once again, folks:  😁

Gwen Miller vs. Annette Dupuis x

x Beverly "The Hammer" Shade vs. Suzanne Dussault

x Jane Sherill & Patty O'Hara vs Miss X I & II

Judy Arnold vs. Black Widow x

AGWA International Tag Team Championship
x Aiko Kyo & Jumbo Miyamoto (C) vs. Georgia Hase & Judy Sowinski

NWA World Women's Lightweight Championship
x France Gall (C) vs. Kim Blanchard

NWA United States Women's Tag Team Championship
x The Sisters of Love (C) vs. Sabrina Lafleur & Rosalie Paiement

NWA United States Women's Championship
Diane Syverson (C) vs. Claire Lepage x

NWA North American Women's Championship
x Ashley Sinclair (C) vs. Ann Calvello

Canadian Women's Championship - Two Out of Three Falls
Michèle Richard (C) vs. Renée Martel x (By DQ in the 3rd fall)

[Captain Kremmen]

When are we getting more behind the scenes stuff?! 🤔

Zim is getting restless waiting for the next BTS drop:

 

 

[Old School Fan]

9 hours ago, piperrulz said:

When are we getting more behind the scenes stuff?! 🤔

Zim is getting restless waiting for the next BTS drop:

 

 

I've got that TV interview with Renée coming up shortly, so stay tuned...  😁

[Old School Fan]

Now as promised, here's that Renée Martel TV interview, aired on the November 28 edition of Sur le Matelas (translated from the original French)...

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INTERVIEWER:  Coming this Monday night at the Montreal Forum, the second edition of the girls' wrestling supercard, Women of Wrestling, will take place with a bell time of 7:30 p.m.  Among the high profile matches at that event, Montreal's own Claire Lepage will challenge Diane Syverson for the United States Women's title; two more local girls, the Canadian Women's Tag Team Champions Sabrina Lafleur and Rosalie Paiement, will challenge for the United States Women's Tag Team title currently held by the hippie girls from San Francisco, the Sisters of Love; the wily veteran, Ann Calvello, with go up against North American Women's Champion Ashley Sinclair for that title; and the Canadian Women's Champion, Michèle Richard, will defend her title in the main event against my guest at this time, the four-time former Canadian titleholder, Renée Martel.  (Martel comes into the scene)  Renée, you've been waiting for this opportunity to get the Canadian Women's title back ever since you lost it to Richard back in March.

RENÉE MARTEL:  That's right, ______, but it'd be more accurate to say that I was robbed of the title by Richard thanks to her using that loaded elbowpad of hers to knock me cold.  Last I checked, using a weapon during a match was against the rules here, but the only reason Richard got away with what she did was because the referee was knocked out of the ring and he never saw what happened.  Everyone who was there that night to see the match saw what Richard did and they've been calling for a rematch ever since because they also knew I got robbed of the title.

INTERVIEWER:  And such a rematch would've taken place sooner, but you had other commitments during that time.

MARTEL:  Exactly - I was busy defending the Canadian Women's Tag Team title with Claire Lepage and I also took part in and won the Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament, where I also won the World Women's Wrestling Association World Championship, and I defended that title for the next few months all over North America and in Japan.  After that, I came back to Montreal looking to get the Canadian title back, but Richard, you tried to throw a roadblock in my way last Monday night by saying that I had to beat you in order to earn my title shot, and I did exactly that when I pinned you in the middle of the ring during that six-woman tag team match - so now, Richard, I got you in my sights and there'll be no more excuses.  It'll be me and you, one-on-one, Monday night at the Forum, and I'm taking back what was stolen from me back then.

INTERVIEWER:  There is one other thing, Renée - prior to this interview, we got word that Richard has enlisted the notorious manager, Eddie "The Brain" Creatchman, to be in her corner for her match against you on Monday night.  Any comments on that?

MARTEL:  Oh yeah, it doesn't surprise me that Richard's determined to hold on to the Canadian Women's title by any means necessary, even if it means hiring a manager to help her hang on to the belt by hook or by crook.  Well, Richard, let me ask you this - if you need a manager to help you hold on to the title, what does that say about you?  If you're going to rely on Creatchman to stick his nose in the match where it doesn't belong, then I just might have to take some measures of my own to make sure Creatchman can't interfere and you can't benefit from unfair means - then it'll be game, set and match and I'll have the Canadian title back where it belongs.

INTERVIEWER:  Well, there you have it, fans - Renée Martel has odds to overcome once again, but she's determined to face them head-on as she challenges Michèle Richard for the Canadian Women's title at Women of Wrestling II, this coming Monday night at the Montreal Forum!  Tickets are on sale at the Forum and Paul Sauvé Arena box offices and at other local retail outlets in the Montreal area and they're sure to go fast like they did two years ago, so get your tickets before they sell out!  We'll be back with more action right after these words!

 

Edited November 10, 2023 by Old School Fan

[The Blonde Bomber]

With the Brain by her side could that give Michele the extra sauce she needs to beat Renee again? Could Renee employ the use of a manager herself to even the odds? Maybe her father can be in her corner.

[Old School Fan]

6 hours ago, The Blonde Bomber said:

With the Brain by her side could that give Michele the extra sauce she needs to beat Renee again? Could Renee employ the use of a manager herself to even the odds? Maybe her father can be in her corner.

Watch for the upcoming post and see what happens...  😁

[Old School Fan]

Women of Wrestling II @ Montreal Forum
November 30, 1970 - Montreal, Quebec
Attendance - 18,940

 

Annette Dupuis used a springboard reverse elbow off the ropes to knock Gwen Miller to the canvas and score the pinfall win.

Beverly "The Hammer" Shade, making her first Montreal appearance, got more of a fight than she expected from up-and-comer Suzanne Dussault, but Shade still managed to get the win when she took Dussault down with a top rope axhandle and pinned her.

Jane Sherill & Patty O'Hara overcame the masked duo of Miss X I & II when Sherill got the submission from Miss X II with an abdominal stretch while O'Hara ran in to prevent Miss X I from interfering.

Judy Arnold got the best of the masked Black Widow when Arnold made Widow submit to a stepover toehold.

AGWA International Tag Team Championship

Georgia Hase & Judy Sowinski (with Eddie "The Brain" Creatchman, who had been contracted by Mae Young to be in the corner of her Queen's Court clients due to Young not being able to make it to Montreal) challenged titleholders Aiko Kyo & Jumbo Miyamoto, the designated fan favorites in the contest due to the villainous Creatchman's presence in Hase and Sowinski's corner, for their belts.  Kyo and Miyamoto attacked their opponents at the bell.  Soon, however, Hase and Sowinski took control with illegal tactics and some distractions by Creatchman.  They double-teamed Kyo, who escaped their grasp and rolled under the bottom rope and outside the ring.  Kyo took advantage of her location outside the ring by confronting Creatchman.  Miyamoto then entered the ring and began brawling with both Hase and Sowinski. The match ended when Miyamoto held Sowinski in a headlock while Kyo grappled with Hase.  Kyo threw Hase over the top rope and was disqualified; although Hase and Sowinski got the win, they did not get Kyo and Miyamoto's tag belts due to the disqualification.  Not pleased with the loss, Kyo and Miyamoto continued brawling with Hase and Sowinski and eventually chased them from the ring.

NWA World Women's Lightweight Championship

France Gall (C) defended her title against Kim Blanchard (with Tonette Kadrmas), although it was Blanchard who came to the ring in illicit possession of Gall's title belt (which the fans, made aware of the situation via AGWA match footage of the night Blanchard stole the belt from Gall being aired on Superstars of the Mat and Sur le Matelas in previous weeks, did not hold back in letting Blanchard know they knew about as they booed the American heel and called her a thief).  After both wrestlers exchanged takedowns, Gall took the advantage with headlocks, hammerlocks, and shoulder rolls. Obviously being outwrestled, Blanchard retaliated with punches, kicks, knee-drives, and elbowsmashes.  Gall soon returned Blanchard’s tactics with some punches and kicks of her own, and, in a spectacular move, dropkicked Blanchard out of the ring.  Blanchard crawled back in and was immediately tied up into a Boston crab, but she grabbed the ropes to break the hold and rolled out of the ring.  The acrobatic Gall vaulted herself over the top rope to the edge of the ring, ran toward Blanchard and dove off to execute a perfect flying bodypress on her foe, drawing cheers from the Forum crowd.

Both women exchanged punches outside the ring, but when Gall rolled back into the ring, Blanchard refused to follow, ran to the timekeeper's table and again grabbed Gall's title belt before attempting to beat a retreat with Kadrmas back to the locker room area - but the Dynasty duo were cut off when Ann Calvello came out and confronted the heels, then chased them back to the ring.  As Blanchard got back in the ring through the ropes while Calvello chased Kadrmas around ringside, Gall caught her challenger with a double underhook suplex, then transitioned into a cross-armbar on Blanchard's left arm, forcing Blanchard to submit as Gall got the win.  Calvello then got back the World Women's Lightweight title belt, which Kadrmas had dropped while being chased around the outside, and brought it into the ring and handed it back to Gall, who got her arm raised in victory by both Calvello and the referee as the fans cheered her finally regaining rightful possession of her title belt.

NWA United States Women's Tag Team Championship

Sabrina Lafleur & Rosalie Paiement were slated to challenge titleholders The Sisters of Love (with Tonette Kadrmas) for the belts, but as Lafleur and Paiement, the popular Canadian Women's Tag Team Champions, made their way toward the ring, the hippie girls ran up behind their challengers, Pearl Harbored them and tossed them into the ring to continue the beating,  but Lafleur and Paiement turned the tide on the champions, who had more trouble then they ever expected from the young, up-and-coming stars, who put their scientific holds and acrobatic moves to work to take the early advantage before a distraction by Kadrmas allowed the Sisters to get the upper hand.  Viciously, Sister Lavender and Sister Serenity pounded away as they doubleteamed Paiement until she dug deep down and battled back.  Going berserk and doing away with her adversaries, Paiement tagged Lafleur, who rallied with a series of powerful forearm smashes, knocking both of the hippie girls around the ring.  Late in the match, Paiement locked Serenity in a sleeperhold while Lafleur handled Lavender.  Seeing Serenity in trouble, the desperate Kadrmas ran into the ring and belted Rosalie from behind, forcing her to release the hold.  The Sisters were promptly disqualified for Kadrmas' interference (but kept their belts due to the DQ), but this did not stop Kadrmas and Lavender, soon joined by Ashley Sinclair, from taking it to Lafleur and Paiement in a three-on-two attack until Jane Sherill and Patty O'Hara, the team the Sisters had controversially beaten to win the United States tag belts, ran in and went after the Dynasty trio, eventually helping Lafleur and Paiement run Kadrmas, Lavender and Sinclair out of the ring.  Grabbing the still-dazed Serenity and pulling her out to ringside, Kadrmas and her clients then took the Sisters' title belts and beat a retreat to the locker room area while trading threats and taunts with Lafleur, Paiement, Sherill and O'Hara.

NWA United States Women's Championship

After fighting from behind for a good part of the match, Claire Lepage battled back and wore down Diane Syverson (C) (with Eddie Creatchman) and snared her with the figure-four leglock.  As the referee stood by to watch for a sign of submission from Syverson, Creatchman called for help from the back and Georgia Hase ran in from the back to attack Lepage, leading to Syverson's disqualification (though she retained her title).  While Lepage struggled with Hase, Syverson recovered and caught her spunky challenger in a full-Nelson and helped Hase double-team Lepage while Creatchman urged them on, but saving the day for Lepage were Judy Arnold* and Renée Martel, who ran in and chased Hase and Syverson back to their dressing rooms.

NWA North American Women's Championship

Ann Calvello got her time as she was finally set to face off against Ashley Sinclair (C) (with Tonette Kadrmas) for the North American title.  Sinclair, true to her diva-esque persona, had demanded to come out to the ring first and she got her wish as she strolled out with Kadrmas, then upon entering the ring, she demanded and got the arena microphone, then proceeded to verbally berate event promoters Johnny Rougeau and Mildred Burke for not making her match the main event, boasting that a wrestler of her standing should be the one to get the main event match of the evening.  She then went on to get on the bad side of the fans in attendance when she made fun of Montreal, as well as the city's beloved Canadiens for not winning the Stanley Cup the previous NHL season, then dissed the fans by telling them that she found it typical of them to support "losers" by supporting the Canadiens and Renée Martel as the fans loudly booed Sinclair - but she got silenced in a hurry when Calvello came to the ring, wearing the Canadiens' iconic red "C-H" jersey (complete with the number 9, the number famously worn by Canadiens legend Maurice "Rocket" Richard), along with red and blue patches dyed into her hair to match the uniform color, to draw a loud pop from the fans as she stepped through the ropes and acknowledged the crowd to Sinclair's chagrin.

Once the bell rang, Sinclair resorted to illegal holds very quickly, but the wily veteran Calvello stood her ground and absorbed several blows.  Calvello’s ability to withstand Sinclair’s lightning charges evidently surprised and weakened Sinclair’s resolve, despite attempts by Kadrmas to turn the tide in her charge's favor.  Finally, Calvello had enough as she snared Sinclair and rammed her against the turnbuckles. Backing up, Calvello delivered a breathtaking dropkick to send Sinclair tumbling through the ropes.  Figuring her night was done, Sinclair raced to the timekeeper's table and grabbed her title belt, then attempted to flee back to the locker room area with Kadrmas as she taunted Calvello over managing to retain her belt by dubious means (i.e. via countout loss) yet again - but this time, as Sinclair got through the curtain, her luck ran out as Jane Sherill and Patty O'Hara made another appearance as they came through the curtain with Sinclair, forcibly escorting her back to the ring and throwing her in.  Moments later, Calvello finished off the universally despised Sinclair with a leg lariat off the ropes and got the pinfall victory to capture the North American title.  As Sherill and O'Hara went into the ring to celebrate with Calvello, Sinclair rolled out to ringside afterward, where she blew her cool and threw a tantrum as the referee handed the title belt to Calvello, who raised it above her head as the crowd cheered.

Canadian Women's Championship - Two Out of Three Falls

Renée Martel finally avenged her controversial loss of the Canadian title on March 16 to Michèle Richard (C) (with Eddie Creatchman) as she defeated Richard, two falls to one, to regain the title.  Prior to the start of the match, to counteract the presence of Creatchman, Renée brought out her father, Marcel Martel, to be in her corner for the match; Richard objected vehemently to Marcel's presence, claiming that he did not have a manager's or second's licence and therefore had no business being at ringside, but Marcel countered Michèle's objections by taking a piece of paper from his coat, which turned out to be a second's licence from the Montreal Athletic Commission, leaving Richard fit to be tied as she pounded on one of the top turnbuckles with both fists in frustration before the bell rang to start the match.

⦁    First fall - Martel captured the fall after several evenly-fought minutes by using a crucifix cradle to pin Richard.
⦁    Second fall - Richard evened the match by pinning Martel following a spinebuster slam.
⦁    Third fall - Taking advantage of Renée having the wind knocked out of her by the spinebuster slam, Richard went hard after her archrival, concentrating her attacks on Renée's back and shoulders, hammering her with hard forearm blows and strikes.  Richard’s forearms rocked Renée, but Renée refused to surrender as Marcel and the fans urged her to rally.  Richard continued to dominate until she missed a clothesline attempt when Renée ducked, rebounded off the ropes and hit a flying clothesline of her own, bringing the Forum crowd alive.  It looked like Renée would get the pin, but Richard kicked out before the referee could finish the three-count.  Renée then whipped Richard to the ropes and used a belly-to-belly suplex to score another near-fall.  As she was being picked up by Renée moments later, Richard came back and rammed a shoulder into her foe's abdomen to knock the wind out of Renée, then stood up and drove a knee into her abdomen again to knock her to the canvas.  Richard tried for a pin, but Renée kicked out.

With Creatchman urging her from ringside to do more damage, Richard then whipped Renée into the ropes and caught her with another spinebuster slam.  This time, Martel just managed to lift her shoulder off the mat to avoid being pinned.  With the fans rallying behind her, Renée fought back and used a fisherman suplex to score another near-fall on Richard.  Martel then got back up and pulled up Richard, who then delivered a punch to the stomach.  Richard then whipped Martel to the ropes for another clothesline attempt, but Renée ducked again and floored her nemesis with a flying forearm smash on the rebound.  Richard fell to the mat and Renée pounced on her a moment later to lock in the Alligator Clutch as the crowd went wild.  Creatchman attempted a run-in, but the fast-acting Marcel caught the heel manager, pulled him back out of the ring before he could try anything against Renée and dropped him to the ringside floor with a right hook.  Richard tried to hold on and resist the Alligator Clutch, but the pressure eventually became too much and she ended up saying uncle, leading the referee to call for the bell as the fans blew the roof off the Forum with the loudest cheers of the night, celebrating as Renée won the Canadian Women's title for the fifth time and finally got a decisive win over her perennial archrival Richard.

As Renée raised her arms in the air to acknowledge the cheering fans and was handed the Canadian title belt by the referee, however, she did not get the chance to celebrate her victory right away as Richard's Queen's Court cohorts Georgia Hase, Judy Sowinski and Diane Syverson, called in by Creatchman after he got back to his feet, all ran in and attacked Renée, with Richard, after slowly getting to her feet due to the effects of the submission hold on her, soon joining in to make it a four-on-one gang attack on the new champion as Creatchman barked out orders to them to get rough with Renée, only for Marcel to again go after the notorious manager and chase him back to the locker room area.  Moments later, help arrived for Renée when Claire Lepage, Judy Arnold, Aiko Kyo and Jumbo Miyamoto ran to the ring and attacked the Queen's Court, brawling with the heel stable for a few moments before clearing them out of the ring, climaxing with Richard ending up the recipient of a dropkick by Renée after getting whipped into the move by Arnold and Lepage.  After rolling out to ringside, a frustrated and irate Richard pounded her fists several times on the edge of the ring over the loss, then made threats against Renée as she, Hase, Sowinski and Syverson also traded insults with Arnold, Lepage, Kyo and Miyamoto as they retreated back to the lockers before Marcel Martel, having dealt with Creatchman, returned to the ring soon after and hugged his daughter in celebration of her title victory, then fan favorites Gwen Miller, Suzanne Dussault, Sabrina Lafleur, Rosalie Paiement, Jane Sherill, Patty O'Hara, France Gall and Ann Calvello ran in to join the rest of the babyfaces in the ring to celebrate Renée's big win with the excited fans as Renée was handed the Canadian Women's title belt again, then hoisted up by Arnold and Calvello onto their shoulders, where she held the title belt up over her head to cap off the night while the fans cheered loudly.

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Prediction results: (Thanks to all who made their predictions for this card)

@The Blonde Bomber - 8/10

@Lord Byron - 8/10

@piperrulz - 6/10

All-time prediction results:

Lord Byron - 98/149

The Blonde Bomber - 94/131

Herrbear - 78/107

piperrulz - 44/74

Hitman74 - 10/12

kinnikuniverse - 9/10

Theheel - 7/10

Dalton - 6/6

auto45 - 5/6

Sco_xY2Jx - 2/6

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* Judy Arnold subsequently defeated Diane Syverson to regain the NWA United States Women's title at an AGWA TV taping in Anaheim, California on December 8, 1970.

Edited November 11, 2023 by Old School Fan

[Old School Fan]

All-Star Wrestling @ Colisée de Québec
December 2, 1970 - Quebec City, Quebec
Attendance - 12,000+

 

Baron Mikel Scicluna defeated Koa Tiki by pinfall after using a foreign object on Tiki.

Gino Brito & Dominic DeNucci defeated The Green Hornets when DeNucci pinned Green Hornet II following an airplane spin.

Michèle Richard, still stinging over losing the Canadian Women's Championship back to Renée Martel two nights earlier in Montreal, made short work of France Gall by pinning Gall following a spinebuster slam.

Jacques Rougeau defeated Fred Atkins by pinfall.

Two Out of Three Falls

Ann Calvello, Renée Martel & Claire Lepage defeated Ashley Sinclair & The Sisters of Love (with Tonette Kadrmas), two falls to one.

⦁    First fall - Sinclair pinned Lepage with a schoolgirl rollup, aided with a handful of Lepage's tights for illegal leverage.
⦁    Second fall - Calvello pinned Sinclair following a leg lariat.
⦁    Third fall - Renée forced Sister Serenity to submit to the Alligator Clutch while Calvello and Lepage ran in to prevent Sinclair and Sister Lavender from interfering.

ASW World Tag Team Championship

In a heel vs. heel matchup, Chin Lee & Sugi Sito defeated Fidel Castillo & Michel "Le Justice" Dubois (C) (with Eddie "The Brain" Creatchman) to win the title when Lee pinned Castillo.

ASW Canadian Heavyweight Championship

Marcel Martel (C) defeated Tor Kamata when Kamata was disqualified for throwing Martel over the top rope.

ASW World Heavyweight Championship - Two Out of Three Falls

Johnny Rougeau defeated Danny Lynch (C) (with Eddie Creatchman), two falls to one, to win the title when Rougeau pinned Lynch in the third fall.

 

[Old School Fan]

Bonus content time again:

As with the first Women of Wrestling supercard in 1968, Johnny Rougeau had planned on doing a syndicated prime time TV special of some of the matches from Women of Wrestling II to air in Montreal on CFCF and CFTM, as well as to network the French version of the special to other Francophone stations in Quebec and to shop out the English version of the special to other stations elsewhere in Canada to air at their leisure.  That said, here's the print ad for the English version of the special as published in the Montreal edition of TV Guide and in the Montreal Gazette (similar to the original ads from 1968, but with some differences):  😁

And the French version of the ad, as seen in TV Hebdo and in Le Journal de Montréal:

And like with the first special, Johnny had a commentary-free version of the English special made to send to TV stations that wanted to use their own announcers for the play-by-play; with that in mind, here's a version of the English ad for the Vancouver version of the special, tailored for newspapers in the Vancouver-Victoria market and for the Western British Columbia edition of TV Guide:

Edited November 15, 2023 by Old School Fan
Specification

[Old School Fan]

On 11/8/2023 at 2:14 PM, piperrulz said:

I wish I could find Cornette's classic promo on this matter.

Say, that reminds me...  😎

 

[Old School Fan]

Since it's getting closer to that time of year anyway, I'm currently working on a Christmas-themed behind the scenes post that'll be coming up soon - but until then, here's an early-'80s video from All-Star Wrestling in Vancouver, featuring one of the early appearances of the future "Ravishing" Rick Rude:

 

[Old School Fan]

At last, going behind the scenes for the start of the Christmas season...

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December 1970

Back in Montreal at Michèle Richard's apartment, Michèle had Renée Martel, Claire Lepage and France Gall over for dinner and to help decorate the Christmas tree she had put up in her living room during a day off the girls had from the wrestling ring.  The wrestling program on CFTM, Sur le Matelas, was playing on Michèle's TV set, but the girls were not paying much attention to the show as they kept busy decorating the tree.  "Hey Michèle, you need some tinsel for the tree?" Renée asked as she pulled out a handful of tinsel from a box of Christmas decorations near the tree.

"Umm...  Nope, I think I'll stick with the garland this time," Michèle replied as she looked between the tree and the decoration box.

"Okay," Renée said.  "What do you like for the garland, gold or silver?"

"Hmm...  Let's do gold this time," Michèle said, taking a handful of gold garland out of the box to hand to Renée.  Just then, the sound of whistling from a tea kettle could be heard coming from the kitchen.  "Oh, that's the water for the hot chocolates, I better go get it," Michèle then said as she got up to run into the kitchen.

"Well, between tree decorating and hot chocolate, now we know we're in the Christmas season," Renée remarked with a giggle as she got up to start hanging the garland on the tree.

"That's okay, I like it," Claire agreed as she paused from hanging glass ornaments on the tree to allow Renée to get the garland on.  "And we agree it's our favorite time of the year."

"Yep, between decorating trees and houses with ornaments and lights..." Renée said.

"Christmas bonuses from work - like what we pulled in from the Forum show a few days ago..." Claire added.

"Spending time with family and friends..." France joined in as she sorted through some painted wooden ornaments for the tree.

"Christmas dinners - especially with turkey and stuffing..." Claire said next.

"Snow falling on the ground outside..." a wistful-looking Renée said.

"Which you have to shovel from the sidewalks and clear from the roads and driveways," Michèle, who had heard the girls talking from the kitchen, then added as she emerged carrying a tray with four hot chocolates topped with mini marshmallows.

"Then there's the exchanging of gifts..." France said as she took one of the mugs of hot chocolate from Michèle's tray.

"And going into hock getting all those gifts," Michèle added.  "And don't forget the big crowds at the department stores, especially during Christmas rush."

"You sound like you speak from experience, Michèle," Claire said while taking a mug off the tray.

"Morgan's girl, remember?" Michèle said, indicating herself.  "The Christmas season's always a busy one at the gift-wrapping department at Morgan's."

"Hey, I figured after being on the road touring and wrestling all this time, you'd enjoy getting a break from it by going back to a 9-to-5 job wrapping gifts," Renée pointed out while helping herself to a mug.

"When you have to deal with the Christmas rush at a department store, whether you're a shopper or a store employee - believe it or not, the wrestling ring's actually safer," Michèle said.  Renée raised an eyebrow at the remark, then smirked, figuring her friend was exaggerating a little.

"So what do you plan to do for Christmas, Michèle?" Claire then asked.

"The moment Morgan's closes at six on Christmas Eve, I'm jumping in my car and driving to Sherbrooke to spend the holidays with the family," Michèle said.  "Christmas at the Richard house is always a big thing when family and relatives get together there."

"Same thing for me back in Lachute," Claire agreed, talking about her hometown near Montreal.  "I'm going a few days earlier though, to help my folks out with preparing Christmas dinner and getting things ready for family to arrive."

"And for me when I head back to Drummondville," Renée said.  "Mom loves it when I return home for the holidays because I get to help her and Papa out with Christmas dinner prep as well."  Turning to France, she then asked, "How about you, France?  What're you going to do for Christmas?"

"I thought about flying back to Paris for the holidays, but what money I have saved for traveling to Europe, I have to use for wrestling tours," France explained, looking a little sad as she did so.  "The best I can do right now is write my family a letter and mail out their Christmas gifts to them by express parcel."

"Wait a sec - so you're saying you're not gonna be able to go back to France for the holidays?" Michèle asked.

"No," France said after hesitating a moment, shaking her head.

"And you're gonna be alone for the holidays?" Michèle added.  France said nothing, but burst into tears and began to cry.

"Well, that's not right," Renée said as she, along with Claire, got up and went over to France to give her a hug and comfort her as she wept.  "Nobody should be alone for Christmas," Renée added while offering France her shoulder to lean her head on.

"It's okay, France, we'll figure something out," Claire then said, trying her best to be strong for France to keep from crying herself as she and Renée continued to comfort their friend.

With Claire's suggestion, Renée figured out what she could do.  "Hey, I know what to do," she then spoke up.  "France, how would you feel about coming with me to spend Christmas with my family in Drummondville?"

"Wait - you really want to do that?" France said with a sniffle as she looked at Renée.

"Sure, that's what a friend would do for another in a time of need," Renée said.

"I don't know," France said.  "I wouldn't want to impose on you and your family..."

"No, you wouldn't be imposing," Renée said.  "I just have to talk to my folks and explain about your situation, and I'm sure they'll understand - you have nothing to worry about."

Although she was still shedding tears, France smiled at Renée's offer.  "Well...okay," she said with an embarrassed giggle.  "But if I'm going to be staying with you and your family for Christmas, I should bring something along to contribute to dinner too so I'm not being a burden."

"Well, my folks and my aunts and uncles will contribute most of the food," Renée pointed out, "so I think they'll be happy if you brought over buns, cold cuts and sliced cheese."

"And Sherbrooke's not far from Drummondville by car," Michèle said, "so the two of you could come on over to Casa Richard for Boxing Day and spend the day with me and my family."

"Yeah, great idea," Renée spoke up with a grin.

"And you've got an invitation to come over to Lachute to spend the day with me and my family the day afterward," Claire then offered, "and the four of us can all get together to ring in the New Year back here in town."

"You see, France?"  Renée said.  "You're not going to be alone for the holidays, no way we'd let that happen - you've got three invitations to join each of us to spend the holidays with us and our families.  I'd say that's pretty good all around, right?"

France let out another embarrassed laugh as she thought about all the invitations she got.  "Well, thank you, thank you all so much," she said with a grin as she began hugging Renée and Claire again, with Michèle now joining in on the group hug.  "I really appreciate it."

"That's alright, we're happy to do it," Renée said with a smile.

"So that's the reason France mentioned of why Christmas is our favorite time of year," Michèle said, "because it's the time we get to spend with friends as well as family."

"Oh, and there's another reason that we didn't bring up yet," Claire then said.  "Like watching Christmas specials on TV, like A Charlie Brown Christmas - that's on tonight at 7:30, just before the hockey game on channel 2."

"Hey, yeah!" said Renée, who made a point to watch that special every year when it came on.  "Sounds good to me - and after Charlie Brown, who're the Habs playing tonight?"

"They got Boston," Michèle said.  "So however far along we are with the tree, we drop everything at 7:30 for Charlie Brown, then the game - sound like a plan?"

"Perfect," Renée said with a nod, at which Claire and France agreed.

"And just before Charlie Brown starts, I'll phone in for the pizza so that it'll be here early in the game," Michèle said.  "So, the usual combo - pepperoni, mushroom and green pepper?"

"Works for me," Renée said.  "Got my share of the pizza money here."

"Same here," Claire agreed, as did France.

Just then, the buzzer on Michèle's apartment intercom began sounding.  "Gee, I wonder who that could be?" Michèle said with a wry smirk as she got up to answer the intercom, "Talk to me."

"It's Jean," a male voice answered at the other end.  "I came with a little surprise for you-know-who."

"Okay, come on up," Michèle said as she buzzed the caller in.

"'You-know-who' - is there something you're not telling us, Michèle?" a curious Renée wondered aloud as she raised an eyebrow.

"Well, we'll find out soon enough," Michèle said with a knowing grin.  About a minute later, a knock came on the apartment front door and Michèle went to answer it - and Renée soon realized who the caller on the intercom was when the door opened - it was Jean Malo*, the dark-haired and handsome All-Star Wrestling ring announcer who Renée had been crushing on since January.

"Hi, Jean, Merry Christmas," Michèle said as she greeted Jean with a kiss on the cheek and invited him in.

"Merry Christmas, Michèle," Jean said as he came in, carrying a potted poinsettia plant with him.  Looking over and spotting Renée, he then remarked, "Ah, there's who I came to see."

Upon seeing Jean, Renée's cheeks turned red as she grinned a shy grin.  "Hi," she said coyly with a wave of her hand, then she got up and, gesturing to Michèle, said, "Michèle, can we talk in the kitchen a minute?"  Upon the two girls stepping through the swinging door into the kitchen, Renée asked while keeping her voice down, "Did you know about this?"

"I did, because I set it up," Michèle said.  "You've been mooning over Jean since early this year but you haven't made any real moves to get with him, so I moved things along at the Forum on Monday night before the show began by mentioning to him that you were interested in him."  Renée, stunned over the surprise Michèle sprang on her, was at a loss to find words.

"Oh, and there's one other thing," Michèle added, then she whispered in Renée's ear, "...he doesn't have a girlfriend, he's not seeing anyone right now."

On hearing that bit of news from Michèle, a wave of relief came over Renée.  "Ohh, that was close," she said with a sigh.  "I would've died of embarrassment if he'd said he already had a girlfriend - or worse, if he was married."

"Well, now you're free and clear to make your move, no excuses," Michèle remarked with a grin.  "And you'll never know if you're made for each other or not unless you go out there and find out."

"Yeah, good point," Renée said as she looked toward the kitchen door.

"And if things work out and he ends up popping the big question eventually, just remember to keep me in mind as your maid of honor," a still-grinning Michèle quipped.

Renée's mouth dropped open in shock.  "Michèle, I'm not even at the first stage yet!" she said under her breath.

"That's alright - baby steps, remember?" Michèle said as she steered Renée toward the door and followed her out to the living room.

"Hi, we're back," Renée said to Jean with an embarrassed giggle as she stopped in front of him.  "Me and Michèle just talked a bit in the kitchen."

"Yeah, I figured," Jean replied with a smirk and a chuckle.  "Anyway, I got this for you as a little gift," he added as he gave the poinsettia to Renée.

"Oh, that's nice," Renée said with a grin as she looked at the plant.  "Thank you, Jean - this will look great on my coffee table back at home."  After a pause, she then added, "Hey, I was wondering - do you want to stick around for a while and join us for a bit of TV?  A Charlie Brown Christmas is coming up in a few minutes, then the Canadiens are playing Boston after that on 2 - and we're ordering pizza for the game, so you can join us for dinner too."

"Well, that sounds great and all, and I'd love to join you girls for that - but unfortunately, I can't," Jean said with a hint of regret as he reached into an inner pocket of the winter coat he was wearing and pulled out a piece of paper.  "It just happens that I have a ticket to that game," he added as he showed Renée and the other girls the ticket, "and I'm meeting some friends at the Forum for it, that's why I could only make a quick stop here on my way there."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know," Renée said with a bit of disappointment, then let out an embarrassed giggle.  "But you're getting to see the game in person, so that's a plus."

"Yeah, there's that," Jean agreed with a nod.  "But maybe, you could walk with me back down to the main entrance on my way out..."

Renée let out a small gasp of surprise.  "I could?" she said with wide-eyed expectation.

"Sure, why not?" Jean said with a grin.  "It'll give us a chance to talk on the way down."

"Ah, okay," Renée said with a giggle and a shy grin as she went to get her winter boots near the front door.  "I'll be right back," she then said to Michèle, Claire and France before stepping out the door.

After Renée left with Jean, France then whispered something in Claire's ear, at which the two girls giggled.  Glancing over at Claire and France, a curious Michèle then asked with a raised eyebrow, "Okay, I'll bite - what's so funny?"

"Oh, just curious about Renée and Jean, that's all," France said with a grin before she and Claire giggled again.

Looking toward the front door, Michèle thought for a moment.  "Yeah, me too," she then said with a smirk as she rubbed her chin.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

About a couple of minutes later, the door to the elevator in Michèle's apartment building opened on the ground floor and Renée and Jean stepped through the elevator doorway out into the lobby.  "...so, have you thought about what you're going to do after wrestling?" Jean asked as he stepped into the lobby first.

Renée smirked as she thought about the question.  "I don't know, I haven't really thought that far ahead, to be honest," she replied.  "I suppose I could become a trainer in the future, help bring along the next generation of girl wrestlers - I'm also good on the mic, so I could be a color commentator for TV wrestling shows if either All-Star Wrestling or the AGWA are still in business by then.  Right now though, wrestling's front and center for me."

"Sounds like you know what your future goals are," Jean said.

"Well, those and, if I find the right guy and click with him, get married and start a family - eventually," Renée said.  "But as far as more immediate goals go, I'd still like to become the World Women's Champion at some point.  If I get to do that, then I'll know I've really made it in wrestling."

"Yeah, but to do that, you'd have to get past Fabulous Moolah, and I've heard she's a very hard nut to crack," Jean pointed out.

"Only because she fights dirty in the ring and she plays politics behind the scenes," Renée said.  "But from what Mildred Burke's told me, the NWA is starting to tire of Moolah and her games and they want some fresh blood on the World Women's title scene.  She said my name's popped up for consideration, but there are others the NWA Board are looking at with more experience under their belts, like Ann Calvello, Ann Casey, Mary Jane Mull, Joan Weston, Bonnie Watson, Judy Arnold - it's quite a list."

"Well, who knows - maybe you'll get lucky and get the nod," Jean said with a grin.

"Sure, if the NWA decides that's what they want," said Renée, nodding her head.  After pausing a moment as she and Jean stood by the apartment building's main entrance, she then asked, "So, I was thinking... Do you want to get together for coffee sometime?"

Jean grinned and chuckled a little as he heard Renée's question.  "How's tomorrow sound?" he replied.  "There's quite a few coffee shops around town that're open on Sundays that we could go to."

"Ohh, great," Renée said, right as she felt her cheeks begin to flush again.  "Sounds perfect.  I'd give you my number, but I don't have a pen or some paper with me..."

"No problem, I do," Jean said as he reached into his coat pocket and took out a pen and a small pad of paper to give to Renée, who then wrote down her phone number to give to him.  "Thanks, Renée, much appreciated," he then said as he got his pen and paper back.

"You're so welcome," Renée replied, tilting her head back in a feeling of bliss as she did so - at which point she then spotted something above her and Jean.  "Uh, Jean, do you know where we're standing right now?" she then said.

"Uh, right near the main entrance - why?" a puzzled Jean then asked.

"Look up," Renée said, pointing toward the ceiling.  Jean did as instructed - and spotted a sprig of mistletoe above his and Renée's heads.  Jean then looked back at Renée, who grinned.

"Did you know about that?" Jean said about the mistletoe.

"I'm as surprised about it as you are," Renée remarked in reply, then she giggled.

Meanwhile, down the ground floor hallway a distance, Michèle, who was peeking out discreetly from the doorway to one of the apartment building's stairwells after coming down (in her sock-clad feet so as not to make noise on the stairs) from her sixth-floor apartment, watched with interest as Renée and Jean talked underneath the mistletoe - which she had placed near the main entrance prior to Renée, Claire and France arriving to help with decorating her Christmas tree.  As she continued to watch Renée and Jean talk, Michèle's plan to get the two together hit pay dirt as she saw them, influenced by the mistletoe, begin to kiss beneath it.  Grinning at the success of her matchmaking plan, Michèle then slipped away to quickly return to the sixth floor before Renée could return via the elevator after she said goodbye to Jean, who had to leave for the hockey game at the Forum.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Soon afterward on the sixth floor, the elevator door opened and a wistful-looking Renée emerged from the elevator, strolling slowly and blissfully down the hallway.  Having heard the elevator arrive as its bell dinged upon opening, Michèle emerged from her apartment to meet her friend in the hallway.  "So, how'd it go with Jean downstairs?" she asked, pretending she had not been down at ground-floor level to watch Renée and Jean talk and then kiss.

"Oh, it was great," Renée, looking like her head was in the clouds, said as Michèle guided her back into the apartment.  "We made a date to go for coffee tomorrow."

"Wow, way to go, Renée!" a pleased Claire remarked from the living room sofa on hearing the news, while France also grinned.  "I bet you'll have a lot to talk about then - and not all of it shop talk either."

"Yeah, we talked shop a bit on the way downstairs," Renée admitted.  "Tomorrow, though, I think we'll try and avoid the subject of wrestling as much as possible."

"Good luck with that - especially if you get recognized by coffee shop customers and you get asked for autographs," Michèle quipped with a smirk.  "Meanwhile, let's see about that pizza," she added as she went over to her telephone and picked up its handset to start dialing the number of the girls' favorite pizza parlor.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

* IRL, Jean Malo was a singer and television host from Sherbrooke, Quebec, active during the late-1960s and early-1970s, and he was also Renée Martel's boyfriend/fiancé during that period before their breakup in 1971; as noted ITTL, he became All-Star Wrestling's ring announcer for the promotion's Montreal events after being hired by Johnny Rougeau early in the year and finally gets identified here.

[Old School Fan]

Renée Martel Career Record - 1970 (114 documented matches)

All-Star Wrestling/Les As de la Lutte:
01/26    Montreal, QC - beat Ashley Sinclair
01/28    Quebec City, QC - beat Ashley Sinclair
01/29    Hull, QC - beat Ashley Sinclair
02/16    Montreal, QC - double countout vs. Michèle Richard (FKA Margot Bouchard)
02/17    Chicoutimi, QC - double countout vs. Michèle Richard (TV taping)
02/20    Quebec City, QC - beat Michèle Richard by DQ

Maple Leaf Wrestling:
02/22    Toronto, ON - vs. Michèle Richard
03/08    Toronto, ON - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Michèle Richard & Miss X

• Martel replaced Barbara LaMarche as Lepage's Canadian Women's Tag Team Championship partner at this point after LaMarche was injured in a match against Fabulous Moolah on 1970/02/16 in Montreal

All-Star Wrestling/Les As de la Lutte:
03/13    Quebec City, QC - lost to Michèle Richard by countout
03/16    Montreal, QC - lost to Michèle Richard

• Lost the Canadian Women's title

Stampede Wrestling:
03/19    Regina, SK - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Shirley Hardman & Diane Syverson
03/20    Calgary, AB - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Shirley Hardman & Diane Syverson
03/23    Lethbridge, AB - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Shirley Hardman & Diane Syverson
03/24    Red Deer, AB - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Shirley Hardman & Diane Syverson
03/25    Saskatoon, SK - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Shirley Hardman & Diane Syverson

American Wrestling Association:
03/26    Winnipeg, MB - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Shirley Hardman & Diane Syverson

Stampede Wrestling:
03/27    Calgary, AB - beat Diane Syverson
03/28    Edmonton, AB - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Shirley Hardman & Diane Syverson

All-Star Wrestling/Les As de la Lutte:
03/30    Montreal, QC - lost to Michèle Richard (Canadian Champion) by countout
03/31    Chicoutimi, QC - lost to Michèle Richard (Canadian Champion) by countout (TV taping)
04/03    Quebec City, QC - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Marianne Duchesne & Annette Dupuis
04/05    Granby, QC - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Marianne Duchesne & Annette Dupuis
04/06    Montreal, QC - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Marianne Duchesne & Annette Dupuis

American Girls' Wrestling Association:
04/17    San Bernardino, CA - w/. Claire Lepage, beat the Sisters of Love
04/18    San Diego, CA - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Georgia Hase & Judy Sowinski
04/21    Anaheim, CA - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Irma Acevedo & Panama Franco (TV taping)

American Girls' Wrestling Association/Big Time Wrestling - Promoter Jack Adkisson:
04/24    Houston, TX - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Georgia Hase & Judy Sowinski by DQ
04/27    Fort Worth, TX - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Georgia Hase & Judy Sowinski by DQ
04/28    Dallas, TX - w/. Claire Lepage & Julie Payne (Julie Painchaud), beat Georgia Hase, Judy Sowinski & Michèle Richard
04/29    San Antonio, TX - w/. Claire Lepage & Julie Payne, beat Georgia Hase, Judy Sowinski & Michèle Richard
04/30    Corpus Christi, TX - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Georgia Hase & Judy Sowinski by DQ

American Girls' Wrestling Association:
05/05    Anaheim, CA - beat Patty Stevens (Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament - first round)
05/08    Tucson, AZ - w/. Claire Lepage, beat the Sisters of Love by countout
05/09    Phoenix, AZ - w/. Julie Payne & Claire Lepage, beat Georgia Hase, Judy Sowinski & Michèle Richard (six-woman elimination match)
05/12    Anaheim, CA - w/. Judy Arnold & Julie Payne, lost to Ashley Sinclair & The Sisters of Love (six-woman elimination match)
05/15    Las Cruces, NM - w/. Claire Lepage, beat the Sisters of Love by DQ
05/16    Albuquerque, NM - w/. Judy Arnold & Claire Lepage, beat Ashley Sinclair & The Sisters of Love
05/19    Anaheim, CA - beat Jane O'Brien (Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament - quarterfinals)
05/26    Inglewood, CA - beat Ashley Sinclair (Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament - semifinals)
05/26    Inglewood, CA - beat Tonette Kadrmas (Mildred Burke Invitational Tournament - final)

• Won the WWWA World title; presented the belt by Mildred Burke

05/29    Reno, NV - beat Tonette Kadrmas
05/30    Las Vegas, NV - beat Ashley Sinclair

NWA All-Star Wrestling:
06/03    Burnaby, BC - w/. Judy Arnold, beat Patty Stevens (Peggy Patterson) & Jane O'Brien (TV taping)
06/04    Tacoma, WA - w/. Judy Arnold, beat Patty Stevens & Jane O'Brien
06/05    New Westminster, BC - w/. Judy Arnold, beat Patty Stevens & Jane O'Brien
06/06    Victoria, BC - w/. Duncan McTavish, beat Bob Brown & Patty Stevens (mixed tag)
06/08    Vancouver, BC - w/. Judy Arnold, beat Patty Stevens & Jane O'Brien
06/10    Burnaby, BC - drew Jane O'Brien (TV taping)
06/11    Tacoma, WA - beat Jane O'Brien

All-Star Wrestling/Les As de la Lutte:
06/15    Montreal, QC - beat Jane O'Brien
06/16    Cap-de-la-Madeleine , QC - beat Michèle Richard by DQ
06/18    Hull, QC - beat Michèle Richard by DQ
06/19    Quebec City, QC - beat Michèle Richard by DQ

NWA All-Star Wrestling:
06/23    Chilliwack, BC - beat Patty Stevens
06/24    Burnaby, BC - beat Patty Stevens (TV taping)
06/25    Tacoma, WA - beat Patty Stevens
06/29    Vancouver, BC - beat Patty Stevens

Stampede Wrestling:
07/03    Calgary, AB - beat Jane O'Brien
07/04    Edmonton, AB - beat Patty Stevens
07/06    Lethbridge, AB - vs. women's battle royal winner
07/07    Medicine Hat, AB - w/. Claire Lepage, vs. Patty Stevens & Jane O'Brien
07/09    Regina, SK - beat Jane O'Brien
07/09    Regina, SK - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Patty Stevens & Jane O'Brien
07/10    Calgary, AB - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Patty Stevens & Jane O'Brien
07/11    Edmonton, AB - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Patty Stevens & Jane O'Brien

NWA All-Star Wrestling:
07/13    Vancouver, BC - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Irma Acevedo & Marie Vagnone
07/14    Port Alberni, BC - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Irma Acevedo & Marie Vagnone
07/15    Burnaby, BC - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Irma Acevedo & Marie Vagnone (TV taping)
07/16    Tacoma, WA - w/. Claire Lepage, drew Irma Acevedo & Marie Vagnone
07/18    Victoria, BC - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Irma Acevedo & Marie Vagnone
07/20    Vancouver, BC - w/. Eric Froelich, beat Jack Bence & Marie Vagnone (mixed tag)
07/21    Chilliwack, BC - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Irma Acevedo & Marie Vagnone
07/21    Richmond, BC - drew Marie Vagnone
07/21    Richmond, BC - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Irma Acevedo & Marie Vagnone

Studio Wrestling - Promoters Rudy Miller & Zoltan Friedman:
07/24    Pittsburgh, PA - beat Jane O'Brien
07/25    Weirton, WV - w/. Claire Lepage, vs. Jane O'Brien & Patty Stevens

American Wrestling Association:
07/30    Winnipeg, MB - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Jane O'Brien & Patty Stevens

All-Star Wrestling/Les As de la Lutte:
08/03    Montreal, QC - w/. Claire Lepage, lost to Miss X & Black Widow

• Lost the Canadian Women's Tag Team title

08/04    Chicoutimi, QC - vs. Michèle Richard (TV taping)
08/05    Quebec City, QC - no contest vs. Michèle Richard
08/08    Granby, QC - beat Michèle Richard by DQ
08/09    Ste.-Marie-de-Beauce, QC - beat Michèle Richard by DQ
08/10    Montreal, QC - beat Michèle Richard by DQ

American Girls' Wrestling Association:
08/25    San Diego, CA - beat Georgia Hase
09/01    Los Angeles, CA - beat Judy Sowinski by DQ (TV taping)
09/04    Reno, NV - beat Patty Stevens
09/05    Las Vegas, NV - beat Paula Steele by DQ
09/07    Tucson, AZ - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Patty Stevens & Paula Steele by DQ
09/08    Phoenix, AZ - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Patty Stevens & Paula Steele by DQ
09/10    Salt Lake City, UT - beat Patty Stevens
09/12    Denver, CO - beat Paula Steele by DQ
09/15    Anaheim, CA - w/. Claire Lepage & Earlene Brown, beat Patty Stevens, Paula Steele & Baby Rocco by DQ (TV taping)

Mid-Pacific Promotions - Promoters Ed Francis & Lord James Blears:
09/21    Hilo, HI - beat Jane O'Brien
09/23    Honolulu, HI - beat Paula Steele by DQ

All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling - Promoters the Matsunaga Brothers:
09/27    Kawasaki, Japan - beat Jumbo Miyamoto
10/05    Saitama, Japan - beat Chiyo Obata
10/13    Yokohama, Japan - beat Miyoko Hoshino
10/15    Tokyo, Japan - lost to Aiko Kyo

• Lost the WWWA World title

10/21    Fukuoka, Japan - lost to Aiko Kyo (WWWA World Champion)

American Girls' Wrestling Association:
10/27    Anaheim, CA - beat Paula Steele by DQ (TV taping)
10/29    San Bernardino, CA - beat Paula Steele by DQ
10/30    Bakersfield, CA - beat Paula Steele by DQ
10/31    San Diego, CA - beat Judy Sowinski
11/03    Provo, UT - beat Judy Sowinski
11/05    Salt Lake City, UT - beat Patty Stevens by DQ
11/06    Reno, NV - beat Patty Stevens by DQ
11/07    Las Vegas, NV - double DQ vs. Patty Stevens
11/10    Anaheim, CA - w./ Claire Lepage, Judy Arnold & Earlene Brown, beat Georgia Hase, Diane Syverson, Paula Steele & Patty Stevens (TV taping)

American Wrestling Association:
11/13    Winnipeg, MB - beat Michèle Richard (Canadian Champion) by DQ

Maple Leaf Wrestling:
11/15    Toronto, ON - beat Michèle Richard (Canadian Champion) by DQ

All-Star Wrestling/Les As de la Lutte:
11/16    Montreal, QC - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Miss X & Black Widow by DQ
11/17    Chicoutimi, QC - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Miss X & Black Widow (TV taping)
11/18    Quebec City, QC - w/. Claire Lepage, beat Miss X & Black Widow by DQ
11/23    Montreal, QC - w/. Claire Lepage & France Gall, beat Michèle Richard, Miss X & Black Widow
11/25    Quebec City, QC - w/. Claire Lepage & France Gall, beat Michèle Richard, Miss X & Black Widow
11/30    Montreal, QC - beat Michèle Richard

• Won the Canadian Women's title (5)

12/02    Quebec City, QC - w/. Ann Calvello & Claire Lepage, beat Ashley Sinclair & The Sisters of Love

 

[Old School Fan]

January 1971

In one of the big headlines of the year, Charles Manson, along with three female members of his Manson Family cult, were found guilty of the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders, which Manson had masterminded while several members of the cult committed the killings, and were sentenced to death for the crimes (though their sentences would later be commuted to life in prison when California abolished the death penalty in 1972).  The Apollo 14 spacecraft, carrying astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa and Edgar Mitchell, successfully landed on the Moon (the third crewed mission in the Apollo program to do so) and later returned to Earth following the mission.  The United States, the United Kingdom, the USSR and other countries signed the Seabed Treaty, which outlawed the use of nuclear weapons on the ocean floor.  An earthquake, measuring between 6.5 and 6.7 on the moment magnitude scale and centered at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, struck the Los Angeles area, killing 64 people and leaving about 2,000 injured.  An outbreak of several tornadoes occurred in the Mississippi Delta, killing 123 people and injuring more than 1,590.  A bomb was detonated in the men's washroom in the United States Capitol building, with the Marxist terrorist group Weather Underground claiming responsibility for the blast.  Montreal and the southern part of Quebec, along with neighboring parts of Ontario, the Maritimes and the northeastern US, were hit by a winter storm that dumped 16½ inches of snow on the southern Quebec region in a 24-hour period, paralyzing Montreal for several days and resulting in the deaths of 30 people across the province (including 17 in Montreal alone) due, directly or indirectly, to the blizzard.  The Northeast Mall, the first super-regional shopping mall in Texas, opened in the Dallas/Fort Worth suburb of Hurst, Texas.  East Pakistan declared its independence from Pakistan and renamed itself as Bangladesh.  The Starbucks coffee house chain was formed in Seattle.  Amtrak was founded to deliver intercity passenger rail service in most American states.  An earthquake in Bingöl, Turkey killed more than 1,000 people and left more than 10,000 homeless.  The United States ended its trade embargo with Communist China, which was later admitted to the United Nations as a member, displacing the Republic of China (AKA Taiwan).  The Soviet Soyuz 11 mission was successfully launched to the Salyut 1 space station, but the mission crew, consisting of Vladislav Volkov, Georgi Dobrovolski and Viktor Patsayev, all died en route back to Earth when the crew capsule depressurized during re-entry preparations.  Anti-Vietnam War protests took place in Washington, DC and San Francisco.  The Mariner 9 spacecraft became the first spacecraft to successfully orbit around Mars.  A man identified as D.B. Cooper parachuted from a passenger plane he had hijacked with $200,000 in ransom money as the plane flew over Washington state during a storm; Cooper disappeared after his departure and has not been seen since.  The Quebec village of Saint-Jean-Vianney was abandoned after being partly destroyed by a landslide, killing 31 people, while its survivors were resettled to the nearby town of Arvida (now part of Saguenay).

In entertainment, the big story of the year saw the "Rural Purge" reshape the American television landscape as a number of programs (on all three networks, though primarily on CBS), popular primarily with older and rural-based audiences, are cancelled, including Family Affair, That Girl, Julia, The Beverly Hillbillies, Hogan's Heroes, Mayberry RFD, Dark Shadows, Green Acres, The Johnny Cash Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Banana Splits, Lassie, Hee Haw, Let's Make a Deal, Wild Kingdom and The Lawrence Welk Show (though the last five in that group would subsequently move to first-run syndication for new episodes), while new shows debuting that year (skewing in favor of younger and urban-based audiences) included All in the Family, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, McMillan & Wife, The New Dick Van Dyke Show and O'Hara, US Treasury.  The Big Three networks lost a half-hour of weeknight prime time programming as the Monday-to-Saturday 7:30 p.m. slot was returned to network affiliates to program as they wish due to the institution of the Prime Time Access Rule (whose implementation also played a large part in the Rural Purge).  A prohibition on cigarette advertising on American radio and television by the FCC took effect.  In Canada, French-language private commercial TV network TVA was launched with founding stations CFTM Montreal, CFCM Quebec City and CJPM Chicoutimi.  Stuntman Evel Knievel set a world record with a successful jump over 19 cars on his motorcycle at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California.  Top-drawing films at the box office included Fiddler on the Roof, Billy Jack, The French Connection (which won the 1971 Oscar award for Best Film while its star, Gene Hackman, won for Best Actor), Summer of '42, the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever, Dirty Harry, A Clockwork Orange, Carnal Knowledge, The Last Picture Show and the horror film Willard; also released to theatres that year were Escape from the Planet of the Apes (the third film in the original Planet of the Apes film series), sci-fi film THX-1138 (marking the directorial debut of George Lucas), musical fantasy film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and the blaxploitation crime/action film Shaft.  The Monkees, by then down to two official members (Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones), officially ended with Jones' departure for a solo career, after which he made a guest appearance on the Brady Bunch episode "Getting Davy Jones".  British rock group Queen made their first public appearance with a concert in London.  Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, was found dead in a bathtub in his apartment in Paris on July 3 at age 27.  Rap music had its genesis with the recording by Gil Scott-Heron of the song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" (which made reference to the Rural Purge as part of the song).  The Rolling Stones announced the launch of their self-titled record label, Rolling Stones Records, as part of a press conference to announce their contract signing with Atlantic Records.  Former Beatle John Lennon left his native England to move permanently to New York City.  Duane Allman, the original leader of the Allman Brothers Band, was killed on October 29 at age 24 when his motorcycle collided with a truck in Macon, Georgia.  Led Zeppelin recorded its untitled fourth studio album, later to be known as Led Zeppelin IV, which featured the group's most famous song "Stairway to Heaven" and made it the group's biggest-selling album.  British progressive rock band Yes recorded and released its iconic album Fragile.

In sports, the Baltimore Colts defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 16-13, to win Super Bowl V, while the Nebraska Cornhuskers defeated the Louisiana State Tigers, 17-12, to win the Orange Bowl and the college football national championship.  The Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series by defeating the Baltimore Orioles, four games to three, with Game Four, played on October 13 in Pittsburgh, being the first night game in World Series history.  The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Baltimore Bullets (now the Washington Wizards) in a four-game sweep to win the NBA Championship, while the Utah Stars won the ABA Championship by defeating the Kentucky Colonels, four games to three, and the UCLA Bruins defeated the Villanova Wildcats, 68-62, to win the 1971 March Madness tournament and the NCAA Division I basketball championship.  The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Chicago Black Hawks, four games to three, to win their 17th Stanley Cup, while the USSR defeated Czechosolvakia to win the World Hockey Championship, and the World Hockey Association was founded as a major league competitor to the NHL.  The Calgary Stampeders defeated the Toronto Argonauts, 14-11, to win the Grey Cup.  As part of his return to boxing after his forced exile from the sport, Muhammad Ali lost to Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden in the first of three meetings between the two boxing legends.

In wrestling, Ivan Koloff, with Captain Lou Albano in his corner, scored a stunning upset as he defeated Bruno Sammartino to win the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship at Madison Square Garden on January 18, ending Sammartino's nearly eight-year reign with the title; Koloff, in turn, would lose the title three weeks later on February 8 to Pedro Morales at MSG.  Dory Funk Jr. celebrated his second full year as NWA World Heavyweight Champion, while Verne Gagne celebrated his third full year as AWA World Heavyweight Champion.  NWA Hollywood Wrestling held its first supercard, the Memorial Coliseum Spectacular, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which drew 25,847 fans to witness the climax of the Fred Blassie-John Tolos feud as Blassie defeated Tolos, the NWA Americas Heavyweight Champion, via referee stoppage in a non-title best-of-three falls match, two falls to one.  The WWWF rejoined the NWA as a member (as a condition of its membership, the NWA Board of Directors required the company to stop calling its WWWF Heavyweight Championship a world title), while Ray Morgan, the play-by-play announcer for syndicated WWWF program Heavyweight Wrestling, quit the company prior to a TV taping due to a pay dispute with WWWF owner Vince McMahon Sr., leading to Morgan's replacement at the mic with Vince McMahon Jr., who would become the main voice of WWWF/WWF TV programming for the next more than a quarter-century until shortly after the Montreal Screwjob.  Heavyweight Wrestling ended its run in syndication in September and was replaced one week later by WWWF All-Star Wrestling.  The Mongols, the reigning WWWF International Tag Team Champions, left the promotion and took the belts with them to defend in Studio Wrestling in Pittsburgh; it was replaced later in the year with the WWWF Tag Team Championship as the promotion's tag team title.  Yvon Robert, a multiple-time World Heavyweight Champion in several territories (including Montreal) and one of the biggest stars in Quebec wrestling history (and who served as guest referee for the match where Renée Martel regained the Canadian Women's Championship from Françoise Hardy in November 1968), died at his home in Laval, Quebec on July 12 at age 56 due to heart problems, and Hercules Cortez, an AWA World Tag Team Champion with Red Bastien, was killed in a car accident near St. Cloud, Minnesota on July 23 at age 39; he was replaced as Bastien's championship partner by the Crusher in August.

Meanwhile, more locally, Renée Martel would begin another calendar year in wrestling as she did previous years, not knowing at the time that two big events would be happening during the year - the first, directly involving her, to happen early in the year, while the other, impacting her home promotion All-Star Wrestling, would happen prior to the start of the summer (and without spoiling anything, anyone familiar with the history of pro wrestling in Quebec will know what that event is)...

 

Edited November 28, 2023 by Old School Fan

[Old School Fan]

All-Star Wrestling @ Paul Sauvé Arena
January 11, 1971 - Montreal, Quebec

 

Dick Taylor defeated Paul LeDuc by pinfall.

Len Shelley & Luigi Macera defeated The Green Hornets when Macera pinned Green Hornet I.

Tor Kamata defeated Antonio Baillargeon by pinfall following a karate chop.

Canadian Women's Championship

Renée Martel (C) defeated Annette Dupuis by pinfall following a belly-to-belly suplex.

In a non-title match, Jacques Rougeau & Gino Brito defeated ASW World Tag Team Champions Chin Lee & Sugi Sito when Jacques pinned Sito following a knockout punch.

Two Out of Three Falls

In a non-title match, Jos LeDuc defeated ASW World Heavyweight Champion Johnny Rougeau, two falls to one, when LeDuc pinned Johnny following a backbreaker.

 

[Captain Kremmen]

1 hour ago, Old School Fan said:

All-Star Wrestling @ Paul Sauvé Arena
January 11, 1971 - Montreal, Quebec

 

Dick Taylor defeated Paul LeDuc by pinfall.

Len Shelley & Luigi Macera defeated The Green Hornets when Macera pinned Green Hornet I.

Tor Kamata defeated Antonio Baillargeon by pinfall following a karate chop.

Canadian Women's Championship

Renée Martel (C) defeated Annette Dupuis by pinfall following a belly-to-belly suplex.

In a non-title match, Jacques Rougeau & Gino Brito defeated ASW World Tag Team Champions Chin Lee & Sugi Sito when Jacques pinned Sito following a knockout punch.

Two Out of Three Falls

In a non-title match, Jos LeDuc defeated ASW World Heavyweight Champion Johnny Rougeau, two falls to one, when LeDuc pinned Johnny following a backbreaker.

 

I wanna go with Jos. But, I think Johnny retains in the their title clash (this time).

[Old School Fan]

Exactly one week after the card at the Paul Sauvé Arena, there came a press release of an urgent matter from the NWA head office in St. Louis...

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 18, 1971

From the office of National Wrestling Alliance President Sam Muchnick

CC:

• Jim Crockett, Jim Crockett Promotions - Charlotte
• Paul Jones, ABC Booking - Atlanta
• Fred Ward, Fred Ward Promotions - Macon
• Edward Gossett, Championship Wrestling from Florida Inc. - Tampa
• Vincent James McMahon, Capitol Wrestling Corporation - New York City (non-member observer)
• Nick Gulas / Roy Welch, Gulas-Welch Enterprises - Nashville
• Lee Fields, Gulf Coast Wrestling - Mobile
• Jack Adkisson, Southwest Sports Inc. - Dallas
• Paul Boesch, Gulf Athletic Club - Houston
• Dory Funk, Sports Unlimited - Amarillo
• Leroy McGuirk, Leroy McGuirk Enterprises - Tulsa
• Bob Geigel, Heart of America Sports Attractions - Kansas City (Kansas)
• Edward Farhat, World Wide Sports - Detroit
• William Afflis, Championship Wrestling of Indiana Inc. - Indianapolis (non-member observer)
• Wally Karbo, Minneapolis Boxing & Wrestling Club - Minneapolis (non-member observer)
• Mike London, Fundamentals Inc. - Albuquerque
• Rod Fenton, Arizona Wrestling Inc. - Phoenix
• Mike LeBell, Hollywood Wrestling Office - Los Angeles
• Mildred Burke, International Women's Wrestlers Inc. - Los Angeles
• James Blears, Mid-Pacific Promotions - Honolulu
• Roy Shire, R&S Booking - San Francisco
• Don Owen, Don Owen Sports - Portland
• Harry Elliott, Seattle Booking Office - Seattle
• Sandor Kovacs, Northwest Wrestling Promotions - Vancouver
• Stu Hart, Foothills Athletic Club - Calgary
• Frank Tunney, Queensbury Athletic Club - Toronto
• Johnny Rougeau / Bob Langevin, Eastern Sports Enterprises - Montreal (non-member observer)
• Al Zinck, Eastern Sports Association - Halifax
• Salvador Lutteroth Jr., Arena Mexico SA - Mexico City
• Lillian Ellison, Girl Wrestling Enterprises Inc. - Columbia
• Takashi Matsunaga, All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling Corporation - Tokyo
• Junzo Hasegawa, Japanese Wrestling Association - Tokyo
• James Barnett, World Championship Wrestling - Sydney

Re:  NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship

Since its establishment in 1952 under the late Billy Wolfe, the National Wrestling Alliance World Women's Tag Team Championship has served as the tag team championship of record for female wrestlers, with many well-known stars of women's wrestling, including June Byers, Mary Jane Mull, Millie Stafford, Penny Banner, Lorraine Johnson, Bonnie Watson and Ethel Johnson, having held the title, which was challenged for by all women's wrestlers competing in the tag team ranks at a high level of competition.

After a period of inactivity after 1961, when Penny Banner and Lorraine Johnson were last recognized as the champions, the title was re-established in May of last year under the control of the NWA Board of Directors, with Lillian Ellison (wrestling as the Fabulous Moolah) and Toni Rose first laying claim to the title, before Ellison relinquished her share of the title to Patti Neilson to allow Ellison to concentrate on her defenses of the NWA World Women's Championship.  While, as in times past, the NWA has opened contention for the World Women's Tag Team Championship to all female wrestlers, Ellison, who controls the booking of Rose and Neilson (hereafter called "the Champions") through her Girl Wrestling Enterprises booking office, has seen fit to restrict the booking of the Champions only to wrestlers employed by her booking office and has refused to book the Champions against female wrestlers trained and/or booked by either Mildred Burke (through her International Women's Wrestlers office, DBA the American Girls' Wrestling Association) or Johnny Rougeau, who has trained female wrestlers for his Eastern Sports Enterprises company (DBA All-Star Wrestling and Les As de la Lutte) in Montreal and has utilized them for his events as well as supplied some of those trainees to Mrs. Burke.

In spite of the willingness of Mrs. Burke to open her AGWA promotion to wrestlers from the Ellison camp, Ellison has steadfastly refused to allow her wrestlers, including Rose and Neilson, to willingly compete for the AGWA, which has prompted some wrestlers previously under the employment of Ellison to defect from her office to either join the Burke camp or to go it alone.  The unwillingness of Ellison to allow the World Women's Tag Team Championship to be defended outside of her camp, a situation which led to the creation of the NWA United States Women's Tag Team Championship (which, although under the control of the AGWA, is open to all female wrestlers, either within the NWA or freelancing, to contend for) as an alternative, is a situation which is indefensible under the opinion of this office and the Board of Directors.  After being sent a letter from this office requesting the rectification of that situation, Ellison did not reply to the letter, in effect ignoring the request of this office while continuing on her current course.

As a result of the choice by Ellison to continue to book Rose and Neilson to defend the World Women's Tag Team Championship only against other wrestlers from her camp and to ignore challenges from other wrestlers outside of her camp, it is the decision of this office and the Board of Directors that, effective as of the date of this letter, Toni Rose and Patti Neilson are hereby stripped of recognition* as the NWA World Women's Tag Team Champions.  Mrs. Burke has been contacted via telephone regarding the hosting by her AGWA group of a tournament to determine new champions, which will be held at a time to be determined, and she will open the tournament to all female wrestlers willing to participate, including those from the Ellison camp.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

* Well, this development promises to be intriguing - we'll see what happens as it progresses.  Thoughts, comments...