The Blonde Bomber Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 I've never heard of Danny Reilly before. Gonna need to look into him after this big win. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Blonde Bomber Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 5 hours ago, The Blonde Bomber said: I've never heard of Danny Reilly before. Gonna need to look into him after this big win. He’s a derby skater isn’t he. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted January 13 Author Share Posted January 13 1 hour ago, The Blonde Bomber said: He’s a derby skater isn’t he. Yep, he was IRL (and died in 2001) - I turned him into a wrestler here due to roller derby never being invented ITTL. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted January 13 Author Share Posted January 13 American Wrestling Association @ Winnipeg Civic Auditorium* March 29, 1971 - Winnipeg, Manitoba Attendance - 4,800 Georgia Hase (with Bobby Heenan) defeated Claire Lepage by pinfall following a knee lift; at Heenan's urging post-match, Hase continued to abuse Lepage, prompting Renée Martel to run out to the ring and chase off Hase to make the save for Claire. Nick Bockwinkel used the Cobra Clutch to defeat Bull Bullinski by submission. Red Bastien defeated Larry Hennig by disqualification when Hennig threw Bastien over the top rope. Hercules Cortez defeated Lars Anderson by submission with a full-nelson. Canadian Women's Championship Renée Martel had to battle from behind for a good part of her return match against Michèle Richard (C) (with Bobby Heenan) thanks to a combination of Richard's brawling tactics and Heenan's distractions of the referee to also allow Richard to sneak some illegal moves (including eye rakes and thumbs to the throat) in against her archrival, but the determined Martel eventually fought back and got Richard on the defensive with forearm smashes, dropkicks and suplexes, but when Martel went for the Alligator Clutch on Richard after backflipping her off the ropes, Heenan called out the troops and Georgia Hase ran out to the ring to attack Martel, who got the win by disqualification (enabling Richard to retain her title). Hase and Richard did not have long to double-team on Renée before Claire Lepage ran in to even the sides as she and Renée duked it out with Heenan's clients for a few moments before clearing them out of the ring, while the Crusher (who was scheduled to face Heenan in the upcoming main event) also showed up to help out Martel and Lepage by chasing Heenan off and keeping him from trying to turn the advantage back to Hase and Richard via interference. Handicap match Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Heenan defeated The Crusher by disqualification when Crusher refused to stop beating on Heenan, who got bloodied late in the bout thanks to Crusher's relentless onslaught against the obnoxious manager. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * IRL, the AWA stopped using the Winnipeg Civic Auditorium for its regular Winnipeg cards near the end of 1970 to move to the larger Winnipeg Arena due to plans to convert the Auditorium for use as the Manitoba Provincial Archives; ITTL, the AWA continued using the Auditorium into early 1971, at which point the above card was the last one held by the AWA at that venue before moving permanently to the Arena. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartman Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 There's a great Heenan history (I hate to call it a documentary) on Original Wrestling Documentaries YouTube channel. Or just search Bobby Heenan. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Blonde Bomber Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 I think this Champion retains on a DQ rule needs to be called into question. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 In the meantime, as Renée Martel and Claire Lepage tour around defending their NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship, the trio of Ashley Sinclair, Kim Blanchard and Sister Serenity, who tried (and, after being found out, failed) to sabotage the final night of the tournament to fill that title's vacancy (and by extension, sabotage the AGWA) at the behest of the Fabulous Moolah, end up getting "rewarded" for their efforts as they join the Moolah crew: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ABC Booking @ Griffin Sports Palace April 24, 1971 - Griffin, Georgia Jim Wilson* battled Nikita Mulkovich to a time-limit draw. Bob Armstrong & Roberto Soto defeated Mike "The Judge" Dubois** & Fidel Castillo when Armstrong pinned Castillo. In a non-title bout, NWA World Women's Champion The Fabulous Moolah defeated Sister Serenity by pinfall with a schoolgirl rollup. Buddy Colt & Crazy Luke Graham defeated El Mongol & Dick Steinborn when Colt pinned Steinborn. Meanwhile, a few hundred miles north that same day... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * World Wide Wrestling Federation @ Philadelphia Arena April 24, 1971 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Akim Manuka defeated Vincente Pometti by pinfall. Manuel Soto defeated Juan Caruso by pinfall. Beautiful Bobby defeated Mike Pappas by submission with a figure-four leglock. Donna Christanello & Vicki Williams defeated Ashley Sinclair & Kim Blanchard when Christanello pinned Blanchard. Bulldog Brower defeated Gorilla Monsoon by pinfall. WWWF Heavyweight Championship Blackjack Mulligan (with Lou Albano) defeated Pedro Morales (C) by countout when Morales could not get back in the ring in time to beat the referee's count after Mulligan slammed the champion on the arena floor (Morales retained his title due to the countout). * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * So, over a month after defecting to Moolah's camp, Ashley, Kim and Serenity would end up finding out, between having to job for Moolah and her girls and not getting paid nearly as much as they did when they were in the AGWA (especially after Moolah cut herself in for her "booking fees" - and you can guess what else they probably had to deal with), that it probably wasn't worth what they did to try to screw over Mildred Burke, her girls and her company after all... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Yep, that Jim Wilson. ** AKA Michel "Le Justice" Dubois (and later to become Alexis Smirnoff) from Johnny Rougeau's All-Star Wrestling. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Blonde Bomber Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 That WWWF World Title looks pretty! Poor ladies, it was time for some turnover in AGWA anyway so this helps shake things up out west. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 The poster for the April 29 AWA event in Winnipeg is now up: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Time now to step up and place your bets on who will win: 😁 Bobby Jones vs. Pete Mymko Dave Muir vs. Bob Tuck Tony Condello* vs. Bobby Heenan Wilbur Snyder vs. The Big K NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship - Two Out of Three Falls Renée Martel & Claire Lepage (C) vs. Georgia Hase & Michèle Richard Two Out of Three Falls Gene Kiniski vs. Blackjack Lanza AWA World Heavyweight Championship - Two Out of Three Falls Verne Gagne (C) vs. Strong Kobayashi * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Tony Condello, who got his start on the Winnipeg indy wrestling scene in the 1960s and was also used as enhancement talent by the AWA, later established his own indy promotion in Winnipeg, the West Four Wrestling Alliance, trained native Winnipegger Don "Cyrus" Callis (who started in his hometown as The Natural) and was one of the co-trainers of Roddy Piper. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 While awaiting predictions on the AWA Winnipeg card (and while I work on a TV interview post preceding that event), here's one of the card's participants, Bobby Heenan, in a TV promo back in his early "Pretty Boy" days: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Blonde Bomber Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Bobby Jones vs. Pete Mymko Dave Muir vs. Bob Tuck Tony Condello* vs. Bobby Heenan Wilbur Snyder vs. The Big K NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship - Two Out of Three Falls Renée Martel & Claire Lepage (C) vs. Georgia Hase & Michèle Richard Two Out of Three Falls Gene Kiniski vs. Blackjack Lanza AWA World Heavyweight Championship - Two Out of Three Falls Verne Gagne (C) vs. Strong Kobayashi 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Byron Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 My picks: Bobby Jones, Dave Muir, Bobby Heenan, Wilbur Snyder, Renee Martel and Claire Lepage (C), Blackjack Lanza, and Verne Gagne (C)... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 Bobby Jones vs. Pete Mymko Dave Muir vs. Bob Tuck Tony Condello* vs. Bobby Heenan Wilbur Snyder vs. The Big K NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship - Two Out of Three Falls Renée Martel & Claire Lepage (C) vs. Georgia Hase & Michèle Richard Two Out of Three Falls Gene Kiniski vs. Blackjack Lanza AWA World Heavyweight Championship - Two Out of Three Falls Verne Gagne (C) vs. Strong Kobayashi * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Great Heenan promo. Wonder if it was scripted by 30 writers? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted January 17 Author Share Posted January 17 While awaiting any further predictions for the upcoming card, here's a recent interview that aired on AWA All-Star Wrestling (as seen on KCND-TV for the Winnipeg market) to promote that event: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * MARTY O'NEIL: Coming up on Thursday night, April 29, the AWA returns to Winnipeg with a seven-match card at the Winnipeg Arena with a double main event and other exciting bouts. In one of the main events, Verne Gagne will be defending his World Heavyweight Championship against the Japanese powerhouse Strong Kobayashi. The other main event will feature Gene Kiniski taking on Blackjack Lanza, who will be accompanied by his manager "Pretty Boy" Bobby Heenan. Also appearing in Winnipeg that night, the World's Most Scientific Wrestler, Wilbur Snyder, will go against the notorious Big K, and in women's tag team action, the duo of Georgia Hase and Michèle Richard, also accompanied by Bobby Heenan, will challenge for the World Women's Tag Team title held by my guests at this time, Renée Martel and Claire Lepage. Welcome back, ladies. RENÉE MARTEL & CLAIRE LEPAGE: (Together) Thank you. O'NEIL: Starting with you, Claire, I understand you and Renée have a bone to pick with Hase and Richard over past events up in Winnipeg. LEPAGE: We sure do, Mr. O'Neil, and it has a lot to do with their manager, Bobby Heenan. He always gets involved in his wrestlers' matches and sticks his nose where it doesn't belong to give them the advantage, and he does the same when Hase and Richard recruit him to be in their corner when we appear in the AWA. He cost me and Renée the United States Women's Tag Team title almost two years ago when he meddled in our match against Hase and Judy Sowinski in Indianapolis, and he did the same in Winnipeg last month when he got involved and caused me to lose my match against Hase, then he got her to continue attacking me after the match. MARTEL: And Heenan, I hold you responsible for causing me to lose my Canadian Women's title to Richard thanks to your distraction of the referee allowing Hase to run in and attack me when I had that match won - then two weeks later, I got my rematch against Richard and I would've gotten the Canadian title back if you hadn't called Hase out to attack me again. Now let's get this straight, Heenan - the only reason you have for being in the corner of your wrestlers is to interfere and distract for them to give them an unfair advantage in their matches; it's wrong, it's unfair to their opponents and it robs the fans of seeing clean matches and clean wins. But on April 29 in Winnipeg, Heenan, that's where it ends when your girls Hase and Richard face me and Claire for our World Tag Team belts, because we have a surprise in store that's going to make sure you don't influence the match in your favor. (Martel points toward the left of the screen and the camera pans to reveal Gene Kiniski) O'NEIL: Well, Gene Kiniski, that is a surprise alright. GENE KINISKI: You bet it is, Mr. O'Neil. That same night in Winnipeg, I got one of the toughest wrestlers in the business, Blackjack Lanza, one-on-one in the ring - or at least it will be one-on-one if his manager Bobby Heenan stays out of it, if he knows what's good for him. But before that, Renée Martel and Claire Lepage asked me to be in their corner for their match against Georgia Hase and Michèle Richard to make sure Heenan doesn't get involved. I've watched match footage of you and your wrestlers, Heenan, and Renée and Claire are right about you - when you get involved, you turn the tide unfairly in your wrestlers' favor to enable them to win, and that's not what this sport is about, so that night in Winnipeg, I'm gonna be in Renée and Claire's corner to make sure, Heenan, that you mind your P's and Q's and you don't get involved more than you have to. After that, it'll be me and Lanza, his clawhold versus my backbreaker, and when it's all said and done, both Lanza and Heenan will find out why they don't call me "Canada's Greatest Athlete" for nothing and why I spent three years as the World's Heavyweight Champion in the NWA. O'NEIL: So there you go, folks, Gene Kiniski, Renée Martel and Claire Lepage lay it on the line against Bobby Heenan and his wrestlers coming up on April 29 at the Winnipeg Arena as Kiniski appears in the corner of Martel and Lepage as they defend their World Women's Tag Team title against Heenan's duo of Georgia Hase and Michèle Richard, before he battles another one of Heenan's group, Blackjack Lanza, right after that... KINISKI: Now before we go, Mr. O'Neil, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow Canadians watching us in Winnipeg and the American viewing audience for inviting me into your homes via TV, I'll see you at the Winnipeg Arena on April 29 when I go against Lanza - and as usual, you did a great job with this interview. O'NEIL: Anything else you'd like to add, Renée? MARTEL: Sure, Mr. O'Neil, for our French-speaking fans out in Winnipeg... (Switching to French) J’aimerais inviter nos partisans francophones de Winnipeg à venir nous voir, Claire et moi, à l’aréna de Winnipeg le 29 avril, lorsque nous défendons notre titre mondial féminin par équipe. O'NEIL: And tickets for that event are on sale at the Arena box office and at the wrestling office at the Marlborough Hotel on Smith Street in downtown Winnipeg, so be sure to get them before they sell out! And on that note, we'll be right back with more action after a word from our sponsors. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted January 17 Author Share Posted January 17 17 hours ago, piperrulz said: Great Heenan promo. Wonder if it was scripted by 30 writers? In today's WWE, it most likely would've been. 😆 But knowing Heenan, if he were still around and healthy today, I think this would've been his response to WWE Non-Creative: "Hey, I don't need no stinkin' scriptwriters to tell me what to say on camera! Just give me a mic and let me do the rest!" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 American Wrestling Association @ Winnipeg Arena April 29, 1971 - Winnipeg, Manitoba Attendance - 11,200 Bobby Jones defeated Pete Mymko by pinfall. Dave Muir defeated Bob Tuck by pinfall. "Pretty Boy" Bobby Heenan defeated Tony Condello by pinfall. Wilbur Snyder needed only four minutes to take down The Big K and defeat him by submission with the abdominal stretch. NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship - Two Out of Three Falls Renée Martel & Claire Lepage (C) defended their title against Georgia Hase & Michèle Richard (with Bobby Heenan), who Martel and Lepage sought revenge against for the events of the last two AWA cards in Winnipeg (particularly Martel's loss of the Canadian Women's title to Richard due to Heenan's distractions and a run-in by Hase) - and Heenan and his clients were fit to be tied when they saw none other than Gene Kiniski accompanying Martel and Lepage, who brought "Canada's Greatest Athlete" with them as their cornerman; thanks to Kiniski making sure Heenan could not get up to his usual shenanigans, Martel and Lepage defeated Hase and Richard, two falls to one, to retain their belts. ⦁ First fall - Richard, benefiting from a distraction by Heenan, pinned Lepage following a spinebuster slam. ⦁ Second fall - Hase and Richard were disqualified for excessive double-teaming on Lepage. ⦁ Third fall - Martel grabbed Hase in a headlock to begin the action in the fall, then Hase used a go-behind switch for a takedown, but Martel maneuvered it into a pin attempt on Hase. Renée twisted Hase’s arm and tagged in Lepage, who quickly turned the armtwist into a standing armlock. Hase finally muscled Lepage into the corner and tagged Richard, who soon fell prey to Lepage’s snap suplex. Richard neutralized Lepage with a hammerlock for some time as she and Hase again kept her tied up in their corner while Heenan kept distracting the referee, but Lepage finally fought back and tagged Martel, who took over her archrival Richard with a belly-to-belly suplex. Martel then tagged Lepage, who floored Richard with a shoulderblock and again with a hiptoss. Lepage then armdragged both Richard and Hase. Finally, Claire and Renée sent the challengers flying with double back-bodydrops. As Martel attempted a rebound off the ropes, a desperate Heenan tripped her up from outside, prompting Kiniski to chase Heenan around ringside and run the notorious manager back to the locker room area. Without Heenan around to interfere for his girls, Lepage engaged both Hase and Richard in solid mat grappling for the latter part of the bout, allowing Martel to clean up with a high-impact offense. After Lepage unleashed a flying bodypress off the middle turnbuckle on Hase, Martel tagged in and sent Hase flying with a backdrop, and then applied the Alligator Clutch against her. As Lepage ran in to keep Richard from interfering, Hase submitted, giving Martel and Lepage the title-retaining win and vindication against their rivals. While the referee handed the champions their belts, Kiniski came in and raised Renée and Claire's arms in victory as the fans cheered - but moments later, Heenan showed back up, this time accompanied by his charge Blackjack Lanza, as the loudmouthed manager started making threats against Kiniski, leading straight to the next match. Two Out of Three Falls Gene Kiniski defeated Blackjack Lanza (with Bobby Heenan), two falls to one. ⦁ First fall - Kiniski pinned Lanza following a backbreaker. ⦁ Second fall - Lanza took advantage of a distraction by Heenan to get Kiniski with a piledriver for the pin to even the match. ⦁ Third fall - Kiniski fended off attempted interference by Heenan before again catching Lanza with the backbreaker to get the pin and win the match. AWA World Heavyweight Championship - Two Out of Three Falls Verne Gagne (C) defeated Strong Kobayashi (with The Big K) to retain his title, two falls to one. ⦁ First fall - Kobayashi pinned Gagne following a backbreaker. ⦁ Second fall - Gagne pinned Kobayashi following a missile dropkick. ⦁ Third fall - Gagne subdued Kobayashi with the sleeperhold to win the fall and the match. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Prediction results: (Thanks to all who made their predictions for this card) @The Blonde Bomber - 6/7 @Lord Byron - 6/7 @piperrulz - 5/7 All-time prediction results: Lord Byron - 126/185 The Blonde Bomber - 113/153 Herrbear - 78/107 piperrulz - 65/103 Hitman74 - 10/12 kinnikuniverse - 9/10 Theheel - 7/10 Dalton - 6/6 auto45 - 5/6 Sco_xY2Jx - 2/6 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 11 minutes ago, Old School Fan said: American Wrestling Association @ Winnipeg Arena April 29, 1971 - Winnipeg, Manitoba Attendance - 11,200 Bobby Jones defeated Pete Mymko by pinfall. Dave Muir defeated Bob Tuck by pinfall. "Pretty Boy" Bobby Heenan defeated Tony Condello by pinfall. Wilbur Snyder needed only four minutes to take down The Big K and defeat him by submission with the abdominal stretch. NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship - Two Out of Three Falls Renée Martel & Claire Lepage (C) defended their title against Georgia Hase & Michèle Richard (with Bobby Heenan), who Martel and Lepage sought revenge against for the events of the last two AWA cards in Winnipeg (particularly Martel's loss of the Canadian Women's title to Richard due to Heenan's distractions and a run-in by Hase) - and Heenan and his clients were fit to be tied when they saw none other than Gene Kiniski accompanying Martel and Lepage, who brought "Canada's Greatest Athlete" with them as their cornerman; thanks to Kiniski making sure Heenan could not get up to his usual shenanigans, Martel and Lepage defeated Hase and Richard, two falls to one, to retain their belts. ⦁ First fall - Richard, benefiting from a distraction by Heenan, pinned Lepage following a spinebuster slam. ⦁ Second fall - Hase and Richard were disqualified for excessive double-teaming on Lepage. ⦁ Third fall - Martel grabbed Hase in a headlock to begin the action in the fall, then Hase used a go-behind switch for a takedown, but Martel maneuvered it into a pin attempt on Hase. Renée twisted Hase’s arm and tagged in Lepage, who quickly turned the armtwist into a standing armlock. Hase finally muscled Lepage into the corner and tagged Richard, who soon fell prey to Lepage’s snap suplex. Richard neutralized Lepage with a hammerlock for some time as she and Hase again kept her tied up in their corner while Heenan kept distracting the referee, but Lepage finally fought back and tagged Martel, who took over her archrival Richard with a belly-to-belly suplex. Martel then tagged Lepage, who floored Richard with a shoulderblock and again with a hiptoss. Lepage then armdragged both Richard and Hase. Finally, Claire and Renée sent the challengers flying with double back-bodydrops. As Martel attempted a rebound off the ropes, a desperate Heenan tripped her up from outside, prompting Kiniski to chase Heenan around ringside and run the notorious manager back to the locker room area. Without Heenan around to interfere for his girls, Lepage engaged both Hase and Richard in solid mat grappling for the latter part of the bout, allowing Martel to clean up with a high-impact offense. After Lepage unleashed a flying bodypress off the middle turnbuckle on Hase, Martel tagged in and sent Hase flying with a backdrop, and then applied the Alligator Clutch against her. As Lepage ran in to keep Richard from interfering, Hase submitted, giving Martel and Lepage the title-retaining win and vindication against their rivals. While the referee handed the champions their belts, Kiniski came in and raised Renée and Claire's arms in victory as the fans cheered - but moments later, Heenan showed back up, this time accompanied by his charge Blackjack Lanza, as the loudmouthed manager started making threats against Kiniski, leading straight to the next match. Two Out of Three Falls Gene Kiniski defeated Blackjack Lanza (with Bobby Heenan), two falls to one. ⦁ First fall - Kiniski pinned Lanza following a backbreaker. ⦁ Second fall - Lanza took advantage of a distraction by Heenan to get Kiniski with a piledriver for the pin to even the match. ⦁ Third fall - Kiniski fended off attempted interference by Heenan before again catching Lanza with the backbreaker to get the pin and win the match. AWA World Heavyweight Championship - Two Out of Three Falls Verne Gagne (C) defeated Strong Kobayashi (with The Big K) to retain his title, two falls to one. ⦁ First fall - Kobayashi pinned Gagne following a backbreaker. ⦁ Second fall - Gagne pinned Kobayashi following a missile dropkick. ⦁ Third fall - Gagne subdued Kobayashi with the sleeperhold to win the fall and the match. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Prediction results: (Thanks to all who made their predictions for this card) @The Blonde Bomber - 6/7 @Lord Byron - 6/7 @piperrulz - 5/7 All-time prediction results: Lord Byron - 126/185 The Blonde Bomber - 113/153 Herrbear - 78/107 piperrulz - 65/103 Hitman74 - 10/12 kinnikuniverse - 9/10 Theheel - 7/10 Dalton - 6/6 auto45 - 5/6 Sco_xY2Jx - 2/6 When writing about Verne Gagne using the sleeper, mister, it's supposed to be Gagne Sleeper (TM). 🙃 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted January 19 Author Share Posted January 19 May 1971 After finishing up a trip out west for NWA All-Star Wrestling in Vancouver (with a side trip to Winnipeg for the April 29 AWA card), Renée Martel and Claire Lepage returned to Montreal for a few days off from the ring, during which time Johnny Rougeau called them over to meet with him at his office. "So, how did things go out in Vancouver?" Johnny asked the girls shortly after they arrived. "They went great, as usual," Renée replied as she handed over a documentation of the matches she and Claire appeared in. "Criss-crossing around that part of the country to defend our tag belts was a real adventure, but we heard from Gene Kiniski that our status as the World Women's Tag Team Champions helped boost the houses for our appearances at a lot of places - Port Alberni, Nanaimo, Victoria, Kamloops, Chilliwack and especially Vancouver." "We also did great on our side trip to Winnipeg for the AWA," Claire reported. "We helped draw over 11,000 for our match against Michèle and Georgia Hase, and we had Gene in our corner to counteract Michèle and Georgia having Bobby Heenan in their corner." "Excellent," Johnny remarked with a grin. "I'm glad things went well out there for you." "Before we came back to Montreal, though, Michèle told us she and Georgia had to head back down to Los Angeles for a while," Renée said. "Ah, yes," Johnny said. "Michèle had to go there because Mildred Burke booked her to appear at some events of hers over the next while. Mildred's got her annual tournament going on down in L.A. right now and she has Michèle booked as one of its participants. She wants to book you and Claire to appear for some events later on to defend your tag belts, but she doesn't need you right away - at least not until the final night of her tournament on the 25th." "Ah, I see," Renée said with a nod. "That's actually just as well too," Johnny then added, "because I'm going to need you and Claire here for the next while for some events before you both head back down South." "Why, what's up?" Claire asked. "Well, I haven't really wanted to tell you this until now," Johnny said, "but things have been kind of brewing backstage over the last little while. Some of my guys - particularly the Vachons - have been doing some grumbling over their place on the roster during that time, and at least a couple of them - and I'm not going to say who - have said they resent having to share the spotlight with female wrestlers as a regular part of my cards. Those anonymous wrestlers even complained about having to be kept off of major Forum cards to make way for the all-girl events I put on last year and back in '68." "Really?" Claire said, starting to feel somewhat small over hearing that bit of news. "I told those guys who came to me and complained about that that this is the 1970s, that this is a different time from a decade ago and that women have as much of a place in the wrestling ring as the guys do, like they did back when Mildred Burke was wrestling," Johnny said. "I told them that if they have a problem with that, it's their problem, but I'm standing by my girls and that's just how it is." "Well, good," Renée said. "I'm glad you did. If those guys who said they don't want to share the ring or the locker room area with the girls can't deal with that, that's on them - they can go wrestle elsewhere." "And it appears that's exactly what some of them have done," Johnny said. "With the success they were having as World Tag Team Champions over in the AWA, the Vachons announced they're going to set up shop here in town in direct opposition to us. They already held their first event over in Granby a few days ago and they invited the disgruntled wrestlers from our roster to defect and join them." "So what're you going to do then, Johnny?" Claire then asked. "Well, the Vachons have only put on a couple of events outside of Montreal so far," Johnny said, "but we'll wait and see what happens*..." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * And exactly what happens will be revealed with an event post at some point. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinnikuniverse Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 (edited) I know that part of quebec hsitory all too well. The promotion wars there almost killed the territory, because they all wanted to get the Forum and the favors of the montreal athletic commission. It did lead to some of the biggest wrestling shows in Quebec wrestling history, but alas, both Grand Prix (the vachons's promotion) and All-Star Wrestling went bust. Only Gino Brito managed to save Quebec wrestling by founding Lutte International with Marc Valois and Andre the Giant and brought in his guys Rick Martel, Dino Bravo and the Rougeaus (Jacques Jr and Raymond), along with Billy Robinson, Pierre Mad Dog Lefevbre, Meng (AKA King Tonga in quebec), Richard le Magnifique Charland, the Road Warriors and the Garvins back in the province. At least, in this world, the Women's division will at least give All-Star Wrestling a popular element and cost-effective measure so that Johnny wouldn't have to overpay to bring in guys and still put people int he seats. Plus, the 70s saw Quebec and its own feminist movement led by Lise Payette emerging into prominence, so the women's division would be even more popular here. Edited January 19 by kinnikuniverse 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Blonde Bomber Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 Wow we got a proper wrestling war in Quebec going down. Excited to see what kind of matches the Vachons will be putting up! Also curious which wrestlers defected from Rougeau. Will this lead to the end of Quebec wrestling? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinnikuniverse Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 1 hour ago, The Blonde Bomber said: Wow we got a proper wrestling war in Quebec going down. Excited to see what kind of matches the Vachons will be putting up! Also curious which wrestlers defected from Rougeau. Will this lead to the end of Quebec wrestling? The ones who did IRL initially were the Vachons, the Leducs, Édouard Carpentier and they brought in Billy Two Rivers, Killer Kowalski, the original Hollywood Blondes and their ace in the hole, Andre the Giant, which Carpentier brought over from France. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Blonde Bomber Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 57 minutes ago, kinnikuniverse said: The ones who did IRL initially were the Vachons, the Leducs, Édouard Carpentier and they brought in Billy Two Rivers, Killer Kowalski, the original Hollywood Blondes and their ace in the hole, Andre the Giant, which Carpentier brought over from France. Star studded lineup. Rougeau may be screwed if this follows real life. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinnikuniverse Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 1 hour ago, The Blonde Bomber said: Star studded lineup. Rougeau may be screwed if this follows real life. He still has the garvins, the women, gino brito and Ivan Koloff. Plus, he could always use New York nearby to bring Pat Patterson back in the province and ally with the Cormiers in Halifax. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted January 20 Author Share Posted January 20 16 hours ago, kinnikuniverse said: At least, in this world, the Women's division will at least give All-Star Wrestling a popular element and cost-effective measure so that Johnny wouldn't have to overpay to bring in guys and still put people int he seats. Plus, the 70s saw Quebec and its own feminist movement led by Lise Payette emerging into prominence, so the women's division would be even more popular here. Yep, there's that - and it also raises some possibilities (including getting in touch with Vince Sr. and the Cormiers - though Vince Sr.'s friendship with the Fabulous Moolah could complicate things somewhat given the bad blood between Renée and Moolah)... 🤔 11 hours ago, The Blonde Bomber said: Wow we got a proper wrestling war in Quebec going down. Excited to see what kind of matches the Vachons will be putting up! Wait'll you see the first Grand Prix card that gets posted. 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted January 20 Author Share Posted January 20 All-Star Wrestling @ Hull Arena* May 13, 1971 - Hull, Quebec Luigi Macera defeated Dick Medrano by disqualification when Medrano threw Macera over the top rope. Paul LeDuc defeated Don Serrano by pinfall following an elbow drop. The Kelly Twins (Pat & Mike Kelly) defeated Sugi Sito & Chin Lee by disqualification when Sito threw powder in Mike Kelly's face. NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship - Two Out of Three Falls Renée Martel & Claire Lepage (C) defeated Miss X I & II, two falls to one. ⦁ First fall - Miss X I pinned Lepage following a powerslam. ⦁ Second fall - Lepage pinned Miss X II following a flying bodypress. ⦁ Third fall - Martel forced the submission of Miss X I with the Alligator Clutch. Jacques & Johnny Rougeau defeated Tor Kamata & Dick Taylor by disqualification when Taylor was caught using a foreign object on Johnny Rougeau. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Hull Arena, which opened in Hull (now part of Gatineau) in 1952, was later renamed the Robert Guertin Arena and has since switched to its current name of the Robert Guertin Centre; it was supplanted as Gatineau's main arena with the opening of the Centre Slush Puppie in 2021. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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