Old School Fan Posted December 1, 2023 Author Share Posted December 1, 2023 A few days after the mailout to the NWA's members and to the non-member "observer" promotions regarding the status of the NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship, NWA President Sam Muchnick was in his office conducting a call with management at the Kiel Auditorium regarding an upcoming event for his St. Louis Wrestling Club. Not long after finishing the call, Sam got a page from his secretary over his desk intercom. "Call for you on line one, Mr. Muchnick," the secretary relayed over the intercom speaker. "Did you get the name of the caller, Liz?" Sam asked. "it's Lillian Ellison," Liz, the secretary, replied, tipping Sam off that the Fabulous Moolah was on the line. "She said it's urgent and she wouldn't take no for an answer." Sam, being no stranger to Moolah and her political maneuvering and demands (and the headaches they sometimes caused him), let out an exasperated sigh. "Okay, I'll take the call," he said, then he pressed a button on his desk phone and picked up the handset. "Yes, Lillian, what is it this time?" he said. "I just got that press release of yours in the mail earlier today, Muchnick," Fabulous Moolah replied at the other end of the line. "Who the hell do y'all think you are, sayin' that Toni and Patti are stripped of their tag belts?" "You know why if you read the release, Lillian," Sam pointed out to Moolah point-blank. "You made the decision to refuse to allow wrestlers from outside your camp to challenge for Rose and Neilson's tag team belts, so you're reaping the consequence from that and so are they." "You realize who y'all are dealin' with here, Muchnick?" Moolah then stated. "Yes, Lillian, I do, and so did Frank Tunney, Fred Kohler and Doc Sarpolis," Sam pointed out next, referring to promoters who had previously been the NWA President and who likewise had to deal with Moolah. "That doesn't mean you can throw your weight around with me or the Board of Directors regarding the demands you make of us." "You do realize I have the backing of Vince McMahon, right?" Moolah retorted. "I do, but from what he's told me in phone calls, even he can only tolerate so much from you before he has to pull the reins in on you," Sam said. "That's what you say, Muchnick," Moolah said dismissively. "And it happens to be fact," Sam replied. "Whatever," Moolah remarked snidely. "And what's this about you setting up a tournament to decide new champions and giving the tournament to Mildred Burke to run?" "It's exactly as it says on the press release," Sam said. "Mildred told me, straight up, that she'd open the tournament to all female wrestlers, including your girls - and that includes Rose and Neilson." "So why not allow me to run your tournament then?" Moolah then demanded to know. "That's simple, Lillian - I don't trust you to run the tournament the way it should be run," Sam stated. "If we gave you the tournament, you'd only allow your girls to enter it while you deny entry to Mildred's girls and to Johnny Rougeau's girls, and that's not how the Board of Directors wants it." "And what makes you so sure I'd do what you're claimin'?" Moolah said. "You really want an answer to that question?" Sam said, knowing of Moolah's history regarding her dealings with wrestlers who were not part of her camp - particularly Renée Martel. "Never mind, Muchnick," Moolah said curtly. "If Burke wants to open the doors to other girls besides her own for her tag team tourney, that's her business, but I ain't enterin' any of my girls in it, 'cause as far as I'm concerned, Toni and Patti are still the champions and Burke ain't gettin' my tag belts to use for her tournament - I don't care what you, the Board of Directors or some press release says!" "Then we'll have a new set of belts made to represent the title," Sam said. "I'd also advise you to tread lightly regarding your words, Lillian - and don't start making claims about Rose and Neilson that don't mesh with reality now that they're no longer the NWA champions." Before Moolah could reply, Sam hung up the phone, then pressed a button on his intercom. "Liz, if Ellison tries calling again, tell her I'm out on business," he told his secretary, doing so as he wanted to avoid having to deal with Moolah again for the next while. Looking at his phone for a moment, he then picked up the handset again. "Better give Stanley Weston a call and let him know about the girls' tag belts, just so I can get his ear ahead of Moolah," he said to himself, referring to the publisher of a group of wrestling magazines including The Wrestler and Inside Wrestling, as he began dialing the number of Weston's office in New York City. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * That same day in Montreal, Johnny Rougeau was on the phone in his office talking business when Renée poked her head through the open doorway. "...oh yeah, I think they'll really be happy to hear the news when I tell them," Johnny, who had been expecting Renée after calling her earlier, said as he gestured to her to come in and she did, followed by Michèle Richard, Claire Lepage and France Gall. "Speaking of which, they just came into my office now, so I'll spring the news on them. Okay, thanks Mildred, talk to you later." "So that was Mildred Burke on the phone?" Renée asked as Johnny hung up his phone. "It sure was," Johnny confirmed. "I called the four of you over because of some news I got in the mail recently, but as you were on your way over here, Mildred called to confirm if I'd gotten what she got in the mail herself. We were sent a press release from Sam Muchnick at the NWA head office in St. Louis." "So what's the scoop?" Michèle asked next. "Mr. Muchnick reported that the NWA Board of Directors stripped two of Fabulous Moolah's girls, Toni Rose and Patti Neilson, of the NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship because Moolah refused to allow anyone from outside of her group to challenge for that title," Johnny reported. "He's organizing a tournament to determine the new champions and he wants Mildred to host the tournament." "Wow, that's great!" Renée said as her face lit up with excitement. "Any news about when the tournament's supposed to happen?" "She's getting it set up to start in about the next couple of weeks, and she's sent out invitations to wrestlers from around the United States and Canada and she's trying to get in touch with All Japan Women as well about sending a team or two," Johnny explained. "Shortly after she heard from Muchnick about the tournament, she even tried contacting Moolah about sending some of her girls to take part in the tournament, though she said she has her doubts about that happening." "I wouldn't be surprised if Moolah said no and refused to take part," Claire said. "She's probably fuming over hearing about being stripped of the World Tag Team belts after she got the news." "Neither would I be, Claire," Johnny said. "But anyway, Mildred called me up because she wants the four of you to head down to Los Angeles next week to take part in some cards ahead of the tournament. Renée and Claire, she wants to enter the two of you as a team in the tournament based on your past championship experience together with the United States Tag Team belts." "Awesome!" Renée then said as she and an equally-enthused Claire grasped hands. "Michèle, you'll be entered in the tournament as well," Johnny continued. "You'll probably be teaming with one of Mae Young's girls since you're part of her stable when you wrestle down in L.A." "Sounds good to me," Michèle remarked. "I'll probably be teamed with Georgia when the tournament happens, but we'll see." "And France, Mildred's booking you to defend your World Women's Lightweight title while you're there as well," Johnny said. "She also wants to know how far along you are with learning to speak English because she'd like to have you start doing interviews when you can." "Okay," France said. "Do you have anything in English I can read from?" "Here, try the press release from the NWA that I got in the mail," Johnny said as he handed that letter over to France, who began reading from where it first began talking about the title and went through from there. "...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," France said in her much-improved English as she read from the press release near its end. "Hey, that's really good, France," a pleased Renée praised her friend after she finished reading the letter, at which France grinned. "Looks like all the reading and watching American TV shows in English that you've done really paid off." "So, after the four of you finish up your current run here next week, you'll be heading down to Los Angeles to start with a TV taping in Anaheim on February 2," Johnny said. "At least you'll get to enjoy the somewhat warmer weather down that way..." 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Byron Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 Famous last words, Johnny... (I know what happens a week from February 2nd, 1971 in southern California IRL...) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinnikuniverse Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 4 hours ago, Lord Byron said: Famous last words, Johnny... (I know what happens a week from February 2nd, 1971 in southern California IRL...) Hopefully, they'll be evacuated in time... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted December 2, 2023 Share Posted December 2, 2023 Interesting to see how titles were treated back then. It was pretty serious business. Today, it almost seems like all belts are treated as jokes. Back then, belts really meant something. Today, just props. The title run by Reigns doesn't have the oomph of the lengthy title runs of a Bruno or Hogan. It just doesn't resonate like those did. Moolah just trying to keep the belts amongst her girls is about pure greed. The belts meant money back then. And holding them hostage is her way to more $$$. Has a Buddy Rogers/NWA/WWF/Vince Sr. feel to it over the NWA belt that Vince Senior hi-jacked. Keep going. Good stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartman Posted December 2, 2023 Share Posted December 2, 2023 2 hours ago, piperrulz said: Interesting to see how titles were treated back then. It was pretty serious business. Today, it almost seems like all belts are treated as jokes. Back then, belts really meant something. Today, just props. The title run by Reigns doesn't have the oomph of the lengthy title runs of a Bruno or Hogan. It just doesn't resonate like those did. Moolah just trying to keep the belts amongst her girls is about pure greed. The belts meant money back then. And holding them hostage is her way to more $$$. Has a Buddy Rogers/NWA/WWF/Vince Sr. feel to it over the NWA belt that Vince Senior hi-jacked. Keep going. Good stuff. The NWA World Title absolutely held a ton of clout. The promotions' titles? Nope. They were passed around willy-nilly with the formula of "Big bad heel comes to town, attacks the hero champ, gets title match and wins, the hero chases for about a month, gets the match and wins it back. Maybe the heel loses the rematch before leaving town, maybe not. That's how a lot of the territory's stars have 20-30 title reigns with a belt. The wrestler would draw the money not the title as it was basically shorthand for the new viewer who just moved to the area or the kid getting old enough to tune in on Saturday mornings that he was the big deal. Reigns' title reign has actually been impressive just because it is something no fed has done since the mid-90s, a multi-year title reign. The Attitude Era really obliterated a lot of wrestling norms. The issue with Reigns' title reign isn't the title losing meaning, though having a 2nd world title due to the brand split didn't help that, is that he wrestles one match with every PLE match being the same one just with a different face losing. Flair suffered from that in the 90s, but he was freaking Ric Flair and could talk you into the building. Reigns needs Paul "Everyone stop bringing up Lawler beating the hell out of me for real in Memphis" Heyman to do it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted December 3, 2023 Author Share Posted December 3, 2023 On 12/1/2023 at 10:49 AM, Lord Byron said: Famous last words, Johnny... (I know what happens a week from February 2nd, 1971 in southern California IRL...) On 12/1/2023 at 2:57 PM, kinnikuniverse said: Hopefully, they'll be evacuated in time... Thankfully, since AGWA TV tapings only take place every two weeks and they'll be on tour out-of-state at that time (as was planned at that point anyway, not knowing then that an earthquake was going to happen), they will be. 🫢 On 12/1/2023 at 5:14 PM, piperrulz said: Moolah just trying to keep the belts amongst her girls is about pure greed. The belts meant money back then. And holding them hostage is her way to more $$$. Has a Buddy Rogers/NWA/WWF/Vince Sr. feel to it over the NWA belt that Vince Senior hi-jacked. Classic Moolah 😠 across the board. Of course, just because she claims that her girls Toni Rose and Patti Neilson are "still the champions" does not make her word gospel with the NWA since Muchnick took action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Byron Posted December 3, 2023 Share Posted December 3, 2023 Oh, yeah, Moolah is being Moolah--and this is before you take her other activities into account... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted December 3, 2023 Author Share Posted December 3, 2023 (edited) AGWA TV taping @ Anaheim Convention Center Arena February 2, 1971 - Anaheim, California Attendance - 7,195 Aired the weekend of February 6, 1971 on AGWA Women's Pro Wrestling: Dark match Sylvia Hackney defeated Casey Andrews by pinfall following a dropkick. Colleen Murrell used her Boomerang finisher to pin and defeat Janet Russ. Georgia Hase & Judy Sowinski (with "The Queen" Mae Young) defeated Texas Red & Samantha Sheridan when Hase pinned Sheridan following a knee lift. Ethel Johnson & Marva Scott made their first AGWA appearances as they defeated Elise Dorsett & Shae Driscoll when Johnson pinned Dorsett following a clothesline. NWA World Women's Lightweight Championship Kim Blanchard (with Tonette Kadrmas) scored a controversial victory as she defeated France Gall (C) to win the title by pinfall with a schoolgirl rollup, aided by putting her feet on the bottom rope for illegal leverage (which the referee did not spot). NWA United States Women's Tag Team Championship - Two Out of Three Falls In the TV main event (joined in progress during the second fall), Ann Casey & Bonnie Watson defeated The Sisters of Love (C) (with Tonette Kadrmas) in two straight falls. ⦁ First fall - Watson pinned Sister Serenity following a cross-bodyblock. ⦁ Second fall - The Sisters were disqualified when Kadrmas ran in and attacked Casey as she had Sister Lavender pinned following an airplane spin (The Sisters of Love retained their belts due to the DQ). Aired the weekend of February 13, 1971 on AGWA Women's Pro Wrestling (except in Los Angeles, where it was postponed to February 20 due to news coverage of the San Fernando earthquake of February 9) : Dark match Jan Vallow defeated Carrie Lloyd by pinfall following a bodyslam and legdrop combo. Marie Vagnone defeated Lorna Dale by pinfall with a cross-bodyblock. Following the match, Mildred Burke joined DIck Lane at ringside to announce an upcoming tournament to fill the vacated NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship, which would start with first-round bouts the following week. Ella Waldek & Terry Majors defeated Margo Vincent & Laurie Reed when Waldek pinned Reid following a powerslam. Vicki Steppe used an elevated hammerlock to defeat Terri Grayson by submission. In a non-title match, Renée Martel & Claire Lepage defeated AGWA Interstate Tag Team Champions Paula Steele & Patty Stevens (with Mae Young) when, after overcoming the brutal tactics of Steele and Stevens, Martel pinned Stevens following a belly-to-belly suplex while Lepage ran in to cut Steele off. AGWA Television Championship Shirley Hardman (C) defeated Michèle Richard (with Mae Young) by disqualification in the TV main event when Georgia Hase and Judy Sowinski ran in and attacked Hardman while she had Richard over her shoulders in position for a fallaway slam. Post-taping dark match NWA North American Women's Championship Ann Calvello (C) defeated Ashley Sinclair (with Tonette Kadrmas) by disqualification when Kadrmas ran in and attacked Calvello as she had Sinclair pinned following a leg lariat; Kadrmas ended up paying for her interference post-match when Calvello fought back and laid her out with a piledriver to the fans' delight. Edited December 3, 2023 by Old School Fan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Blonde Bomber Posted December 3, 2023 Share Posted December 3, 2023 I see this show was used to hype up teams for the upcoming tournament. Nice to see Ethel & Marva debut. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted December 4, 2023 Author Share Posted December 4, 2023 American Girls' Wrestling Association @ Las Vegas Convention Center February 9, 1971 - Las Vegas, Nevada Attendance - 7,020 Beverly "The Hammer" Shade used her top-rope axhandle move to level Colleen Murrell for the pinfall win. Ethel Johnson & Marva Scott defeated Irma Acevedo & Panama Franco when Scott knee-dropped and pinned Acevedo. Michèle Richard (who was going solo for this event due to her manager, Mae Young, being on duty at another AGWA event elsewhere*) defeated Sylvia Hackney by pinfall following a spinebuster slam. NWA World Women's Lightweight Championship France Gall defeated Kim Blanchard (C) (with Tonette Kadrmas) by countout when, after getting cannonballed off the ropes by Gall, Blanchard bailed out to ringside, grabbed her title belt from the timekeeper's table and hightailed it back to the locker room area (Blanchard retains her title due to the countout). NWA United States Women's Tag Team Championship - Two Out of Three Falls Renée Martel & Claire Lepage defeated The Sisters of Love (C) (who were not accompanied for the match by Tonette Kadrmas, who was prepping for the main event later), two falls to one. First fall - Lepage was counted out when she did not get back in the ring in time after getting slammed on the ringside floor by Sister Lavender, who caught Lepage in midair as the latter attempted a flying bodypress off the ring apron. Second fall - Martel pinned Lavender following a flying forearm smash off the ropes to even the match at one fall apiece. Third fall - The Sisters were disqualified when, as Lepage had Sister Serenity tied up in a figure-four leglock, Kadrmas ran in and attacked Lepage (The Sisters of Love retained their belts due to the DQ); Ann Calvello stormed the ring moments later and chased Kadrmas out while Martel and Lepage also sent the Sisters running for cover. NWA North American Women's Championship Ann Calvello (C) defeated Tonette Kadrmas by disqualification when the Sisters of Love and Kim Blanchard ran in and attacked Calvello as she had Kadrmas tied up in a STF; a four-on-one gang attack by the Dynasty ensued for a few moments until Renée Martel, Claire Lepage and France Gall ran in from the back to even the odds and help Calvello clear the heels out. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * At this point, the AGWA was able to run up to two events per night (with different rosters at different locales) on some nights due to the promotion having a large enough promotional roster and enough popularity to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted December 5, 2023 Author Share Posted December 5, 2023 Here is the tournament bracket for the upcoming NWA World Women's Tag Team Title Tournament, starting on February 16*: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Now, onto the predictions: 😎 NWA World Women's Tag Team Title Tournament First Round - West Division bracket Ann Casey & Bonnie Watson vs. Judy Sowinski & Diane Syverson Sally Vega & Lita Marez vs. Paula Steele & Patty Stevens Non-tournament matches: Michèle Richard vs. Marie Vagnone Renée Martel & Claire Lepage vs. Beverly Shade & Vicki Steppe AGWA Shooting Star Championship** Ashley Sinclair (C) vs. France Gall AGWA Television Championship Shirley Hardman (C) vs. Jane O'Brien NWA United States Women's Championship Judy Arnold (C) vs. Ella Waldek (As shown in the tournament bracketing chart above, four teams in the tournament - The Sisters of Love, Aiko Kyo & Jumbo Miyamoto, Jane Sherill & Patty O'Hara and Ashley Sinclair & Kim Blanchard - have received first-round byes in the tournament and will face the respective first-round winners in the quarterfinals) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Due to the Anaheim Convention Center Arena being unavailable on this date due to its use as an emergency shelter in the wake of the February 9 San Fernando earthquake, Mildred Burke booked the San Diego Sports Arena to host the opening matches in the NWA World Women's Tag Team Title Tournament. ** The AGWA Shooting Star title, last held by Marie Vagnone, was vacated on December 31, 1970 to put up for grabs in a battle royal at an AGWA TV taping on January 19 in Anaheim; the battle royal and the vacant title were won by Ashley Sinclair by last eliminating Colleen Murrell, making Sinclair a three-time champion. Also, with the battle royal to fill the title vacancy, a rule change was implemented for the Shooting Star title, scrapping the rule restricting wrestlers with three or more years of experience from challenging for the title in favor of allowing wrestlers who have not yet reached their 25th birthday to challenge for the belt, regardless of experience level (thereby allowing France Gall, currently in her sixth year in the sport but who has not yet turned 25, to challenge for the belt and would also allow under-25 competitors like Renée Martel and Michèle Richard to challenge for the title). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Byron Posted December 5, 2023 Share Posted December 5, 2023 My picks: Ann Casey and Bonnie Watson, Sally Vega and Lita Marez, Michele Richard, Renee Martel & Claire Lepage, Ashley Sinclair (C), Shirley Hardman (C), and Judy Arnold (C)... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted December 5, 2023 Share Posted December 5, 2023 NWA World Women's Tag Team Title Tournament First Round - West Division bracket Ann Casey & Bonnie Watson vs. Judy Sowinski & Diane Syverson Sally Vega & Lita Marez vs. Paula Steele & Patty Stevens Non-tournament matches: Michèle Richard vs. Marie Vagnone Renée Martel & Claire Lepage vs. Beverly Shade & Vicki Steppe AGWA Shooting Star Championship** Ashley Sinclair (C) vs. France Gall AGWA Television Championship Shirley Hardman (C) vs. Jane O'Brien NWA United States Women's Championship Judy Arnold (C) vs. Ella Waldek 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartman Posted December 7, 2023 Share Posted December 7, 2023 A very petty Mildred Burke would have those 4 bye spots be announced in the arena as "Moolah's Girls (insert names) were scheduled to be here, but Moolah was too gutless to allow her girls come out and here and face real competition so they are now byes. Maybe they'll have the balls to appear next time." Just rub her nose in it 4 times and have the arena boo her which will magically appear in the newspaper write-ups so she'll see them back in NYC when they arrive in a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted December 7, 2023 Author Share Posted December 7, 2023 AGWA TV taping @ San Diego Sports Arena February 16, 1971 - San Diego, California Attendance - 11,970 NOTE: Highlights from these matches were taped to air on AGWA Women's Pro Wrestling (with production facilities provided by San Diego's then-ABC affiliate XETV, which carried the show locally) on the weekend of February 20. Michèle Richard (with "The Queen" Mae Young) knocked off Marie Vagnone with a spinebuster slam to get the pinfall win. As a warmup for their first-round tournament match next week, Renée Martel & Claire Lepage took on Beverly "The Hammer" Shade & Vicki Steppe. Shade and Steppe found Martel and Lepage’s fast-paced scientific moves hard to combat, but the heel tandem had a few tricks of their own - and they found their biggest advantage in Steppe tying a microphone cord around Martel’s neck in an attempt to strangle Renée while Shade distracted the referee. After Martel and Lepage retook the advantage, Lepage dropkicked Shade into Steppe, and Renée won the match for her team immediately after by rebounding off the ropes and blasting Shade with a flying clothesline to score the pinfall win. NWA World Women's Tag Team Title Tournament, West Division - First Round Ann Casey & Bonnie Watson went the distance against Judy Sowinski & Diane Syverson (with Mae Young) as the two teams battled to a 20-minute time limit draw; as a result of the draw, both teams were eliminated from the tournament and the Sisters of Love, who received a first-round bye and would have faced the winner of this match in the quarterfinals, instead go straight through to the semis. AGWA Shooting Star Championship Ashley Sinclair (C) (with Tonette Kadrmas) was kept off-guard and off-balance by the spunky France Gall, who put her technical and acrobatic moves to use during much of the match to fluster the flamboyant rulebreaker, but Kadrmas' meddling proved to be the difference maker as Sinclair, taking advantage of the referee being distracted by Kadrmas getting up on the ring apron to argue with him, took a foreign object out from her right boot and clocked Gall with it, knocking the French fan favorite out of the ring. When Gall returned to the ring, she was suplexed by Sinclair. The champ then attempted a pin, and for extra leverage placed her feet on the middle rope. The referee was unaware of the illegal pin and awarded the match to Sinclair, who gloated at Gall about her ill-gotten win as she obnoxiously engaged in a victory celebration. France, who was displeased over having the match stolen from her by Sinclair's shenanigans, then went over, pushed Sinclair and got in her face as the two combatants began arguing until Kadrmas ran in and ambushed Gall from behind with a forearm smash to her back, enabling the Dynasty duo to begin double-teaming on Gall for a few moments until Sinclair and Kadrmas saw Renée Martel and Claire Lepage coming running from the back and they bailed out to ringside as Martel and Lepage made the save for Gall. NWA World Women's Tag Team Title Tournament, West Division - First Round Paula Steele & Patty Stevens (with Mae Young) powered their way past Sally Vega & Lita Marez when Steele, after manhandling both Vega and Marez during the course of the match, powerslammed and pinned Marez to advance her team to the quarterfinals to face the Japanese duo of Aiko Kyo and Jumbo Miyamoto (who got a first-round bye). AGWA Television Championship In the TV main event, Shirley Hardman (C) defeated Jane O'Brien by pinfall in a hard-fought battle after taking O'Brien down with a fallaway slam. Post-taping dark match NWA United States Women's Championship Judy Arnold (C) held off a tough challenge from Ella Waldek before taking the veteran heel grappler down and defeating her by submission with the spinning toehold. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Prediction results: (Thanks to all who made their predictions for this card) @Lord Byron - 5/7 @piperrulz - 5/7 All-time prediction results: Lord Byron - 103/156 The Blonde Bomber - 94/131 Herrbear - 78/107 piperrulz - 49/81 Hitman74 - 10/12 kinnikuniverse - 9/10 Theheel - 7/10 Dalton - 6/6 auto45 - 5/6 Sco_xY2Jx - 2/6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted December 8, 2023 Author Share Posted December 8, 2023 The first quarterfinal match in the NWA World Women's Tag Team Title Tournament has been set (and the Sisters of Love, who automatically advanced to the semifinals due to the draw in the other first-round contest, will await the winner of that quarterfinal bout) - so now, here's the updated tournament bracket: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * It's prediction time once again: 😁 NWA World Women's Tag Team Title Tournament First Round - East Division bracket Ethel Johnson & Marva Scott vs. Georgia Hase & Michèle Richard Renée Martel & Claire Lepage vs. Ella Waldek & Terry Majors Non-tournament matches: Colleen Murrell vs. Paula Steele Jane Sherill & Patty O'Hara vs. Irma Acevedo & Panama Franco NWA World Women's Lightweight Championship Kim Blanchard (C) vs. Gwen Miller AGWA Interstate Championship Mary Jane Mull (C) vs. Ashley Sinclair NWA North American Women's Championship Ann Calvello (C) vs. Patty Stevens 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Byron Posted December 8, 2023 Share Posted December 8, 2023 My picks: Georgia Hase & Michele Richard, Renee Martel & Claire Lepage, Colleen Murrell, Jane Sherill & Patty O'Hara, Kim Blanchard (C), Ashley Sinclair, and Ann Calvello (C)... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kremmen Posted December 10, 2023 Share Posted December 10, 2023 NWA World Women's Tag Team Title Tournament First Round - East Division bracket Ethel Johnson & Marva Scott vs. Georgia Hase & Michèle Richard Renée Martel & Claire Lepage vs. Ella Waldek & Terry Majors Non-tournament matches: Colleen Murrell vs. Paula Steele Jane Sherill & Patty O'Hara vs. Irma Acevedo & Panama Franco NWA World Women's Lightweight Championship Kim Blanchard (C) vs. Gwen Miller AGWA Interstate Championship Mary Jane Mull (C) vs. Ashley Sinclair NWA North American Women's Championship Ann Calvello (C) vs. Patty Stevens 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted December 12, 2023 Author Share Posted December 12, 2023 (edited) AGWA TV taping @ Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena February 23, 1971 - Oakland, California Attendance - 13,640 NOTE: Highlights from these matches were taped to air on AGWA Women's Pro Wrestling (with production facilities provided by San Francisco independent station KTVU*, which carried the show locally) on the weekend of February 27; this event was also locally promoted by Big Time Wrestling promoter Roy Shire in co-operation with the AGWA. Colleen Murrell got the win via reverse decision when Paula Steele (with "The Queen" Mae Young), who originally won the match via referee stoppage when Murrell was ruled unable to continue after being battered in a one-sided thrashing, was disqualified after the match for throwing the referee aside when he tried to intervene to stop Steele, who refused to stop beating on Murrell until more referees and several security guards ran in to separate Steele from the unconscious Murrell, who subsequently had to be removed from the ring on a stretcher. Jane Sherill & Patty O'Hara (who had a first-round bye in the NWA World Women's Tag Team title tournament this week and will face the winner of the first match listed below) defeated Irma Acevedo & Panama Franco when O'Hara pinned Franco following a clothesline to the back of the head. Following the match, Dick Lane was at ringside for an interview with Paula Steele, who Lane chastized for her earlier actions against Colleen Murrell; after Steele told Lane to shut up, she then bragged about the beating she gave Murrell and added that was exactly what she and Patty Stevens would do next week to Aiko Kyo and Jumbo Miyamoto in their tournament quarterfinal match, describing the Japanese duo in politically-incorrect terms while making her threats against them. NWA World Women's Tag Team Title Tournament, East Division - First Round Georgia Hase & Michèle Richard (with Mae Young) got more than they bargained for from Ethel Johnson & Marva Scott in their first-round match as the latter team held much of the advantage, but late into the bout, Scott and Hase collided in the center of the ring, knocking Hase out of the squared circle; Richard then leaped into the ring and upended the dazed Scott with a spinebuster slam for the pinfall victory to advance to the quarterfinals, where they will meet Jane Sherill and Patty O'Hara. NWA World Women's Lightweight Championship Kim Blanchard (C) (with Tonette Kadrmas) took a tainted win over Gwen Miller, who got pinned with a schoolgirl rollup by Blanchard with the aid of a handful of tights for illegal leverage (which the referee did not notice). NWA World Women's Tag Team Title Tournament, East Division - First Round Renée Martel & Claire Lepage came back from behind against Ella Waldek & Terry Majors and triumphed over the veteran heel tandem when Lepage forced Majors to submit to a figure-four leglock. Following the match, Kim Blanchard came out to ringside, got hold of the arena mic and told Martel and Lepage that they got lucky against Waldek and Majors, but they would not be so lucky next week in the quarterfinals when they faced her and Ashley Sinclair; Renée and Claire shrugged off Blanchard's threats and told her to bring it on next week. AGWA Interstate Championship In the TV main event, Mary Jane Mull (C) defeated Ashley Sinclair (with Tonette Kadrmas) by disqualification when Kadrmas and Kim Blanchard ran in and attacked Mull as she had Sinclair pinned following an overhead suplex; Renée Martel and Claire Lepage arrived soon after from the back and fought off Kadrmas and Blanchard, sending the Dynasty girls running out to ringside for the save for Mull. Post-taping dark match NWA North American Women's Championship Ann Calvello (C) withstood the challenge of Patty Stevens (with Mae Young) and ended up getting the win, despite Young's attempts at meddling from outside against her former Queen's Court client, when she caught Stevens with a flying shoulderblock off the second turnbuckle and scored the pin to retain her title. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Prediction results: (Thanks to all who made their predictions for this card) @Lord Byron - 6/7 @piperrulz - 4/7 All-time prediction results: Lord Byron - 109/163 The Blonde Bomber - 94/131 Herrbear - 78/107 piperrulz - 53/88 Hitman74 - 10/12 kinnikuniverse - 9/10 Theheel - 7/10 Dalton - 6/6 auto45 - 5/6 Sco_xY2Jx - 2/6 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * KTVU became a Fox affiliate upon that network's formation in 1986 and became a Fox O&O in 2014 with the network's purchase of the station. Edited December 13, 2023 by Old School Fan Minor typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted December 13, 2023 Author Share Posted December 13, 2023 (edited) Here's the updated tournament bracket for the quarterfinals of the NWA World Women's Tag Team Title Tournament: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * And here come the predictions: 😎 NWA World Women's Tag Team Title Tournament - Quarterfinals West Division bracket: Aiko Kyo & Jumbo Miyamoto vs. Paula Steele & Patty Stevens East Division bracket: Jane Sherill & Patty O'Hara vs. Georgia Hase & Michèle Richard Renée Martel & Claire Lepage vs. Ashley Sinclair & Kim Blanchard Non-tournament matches: France Gall vs. Beverly "The Hammer" Shade AGWA Television Championship Shirley Hardman (C) vs. Tonette Kadrmas NWA United States Women's Tag Team Championship The Sisters of Love (C) vs. Ethel Johnson & Marva Scott NWA United States Women's Championship Judy Arnold (C) vs. Judy Sowinski Edited December 13, 2023 by Old School Fan 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Blonde Bomber Posted December 14, 2023 Share Posted December 14, 2023 West Division bracket: Aiko Kyo & Jumbo Miyamoto vs. Paula Steele & Patty Stevens East Division bracket: Jane Sherill & Patty O'Hara vs. Georgia Hase & Michèle Richard Renée Martel & Claire Lepage vs. Ashley Sinclair & Kim Blanchard Non-tournament matches: France Gall vs. Beverly "The Hammer" Shade AGWA Television Championship Shirley Hardman (C) vs. Tonette Kadrmas NWA United States Women's Tag Team Championship The Sisters of Love (C) vs. Ethel Johnson & Marva Scott NWA United States Women's Championship Judy Arnold (C) vs. Judy Sowinski Ethel & Marva winning the titles would make me pop! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartman Posted December 14, 2023 Share Posted December 14, 2023 Wait, I don't think I've ever noticed that before, but you're running Tornado Tag rules either the whole time or just for the tournament? (Since Richard jumped into the ring and got the win after her partner fell out of the ring) I'm fine with it, just never seen it noted anywhere. I didn't think that was a common tag style, at least it wasn't in the 80s outside of Texas which is why it was dubbed the Texas Tornado Tag match for most of my life until they just dropped the Texas part (wish we could drop Texas as a whole). Those East Semis are going to be brutal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Byron Posted December 14, 2023 Share Posted December 14, 2023 My picks: Aiko Kyo & Jumbo Miyamoto, Georgia Hase & Michele Richard, Renee Martel & Claire Lepage, France Gall, Shirley Hardman (C), The Sisters of Love (C), and Judy Arnold (C)... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted December 18, 2023 Author Share Posted December 18, 2023 (edited) While awaiting any further predictions, here's some All-Star Wrestling match footage from Vancouver from 1989 (shortly before All-Star folded up its tent), featuring a young Chi Chi Cruz (then going by CC Quinn) taking on John "Earthquake/Avalanche/Shark" Tenta, just over a year or so before he'd be main-eventing against Hulk Hogan (also heard on color commentary here is future Smackdown, NXT and MMA play-by-play man Mauro Ranallo in his early years): Edited December 18, 2023 by Old School Fan Info added Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted December 20, 2023 Author Share Posted December 20, 2023 AGWA TV taping @ Long Beach Arena March 2, 1971 - Long Beach, California Attendance - 13,250 NOTE: Highlights from these matches were taped to air on AGWA Women's Pro Wrestling on the weekend of March 6. Beverly "The Hammer" Shade defeated France Gall by pinfall after dropping her to the canvas with a top-rope axhandle move, but that win did not come without controversy as Kim Blanchard, with whom Gall has been feuding over the NWA World Women's Lightweight Championship, came out to ringside during the match to watch as Gall, who had mounted a comeback against Shade late in the bout, got thumbed in her throat by Shade and was gasping for breath against the ropes; as the latter kept the referee occupied while being chastized by him for the thumb to the throat, Blanchard seized her opportunity as she jumped up on the apron and staggered Gall with a punch before beating a retreat back to the locker room area, leading to Gall's controversial pinfall loss. NWA World Women's Tag Team Title Tournament, West Division - Quarterfinals Aiko Kyo & Jumbo Miyamoto (making their first appearance in the NWA World Women's Tag Team title tournament after coming off a first-round bye) overcame and defeated Paula Steele & Patty Stevens (with "The Queen" Mae Young) when Miyamoto leaped from the middle turnbuckle at Stevens with a flying forearm smash and scored the winning pinfall while Kyo ran in to keep Steele from interfering with the pin; with the victory, Kyo and Miyamoto advance to the semifinals next week to face the Sisters of Love. AGWA Television Championship Shirley Hardman (C) defeated Tonette Kadrmas by disqualification when, as she had Kadrmas tied up in an abdominal stretch, Ashley Sinclair and Kim Blanchard ran in from the lockers and attacked Hardman; during the ensuing triple-team, Sinclair threw Hardman over the top rope to the floor, but as she went over, Hardman's lower back hit the edge of the ring and she fell to the arena floor, where Sinclair followed her out and continued attacking her before Renée Martel and Claire Lepage ran out for the save and chased the Dynasty trio off. Martel and Lepage then went to check on Hardman, who appeared to be having difficulty trying to get up from the floor, at which point the match referee, two other referees and a first aid tech came in from the back to check on Hardman's condition; at that point, a stretcher and a backboard were brought out and Hardman was put on the backboard before being loaded onto the stretcher and taken back to the locker room area, with Martel and Lepage accompanying the apparently injured Hardman. NWA World Women's Tag Team Title Tournament, East Division - Quarterfinals Georgia Hase & Michèle Richard (with Mae Young) went toe-to-toe against Jane Sherill & Patty O'Hara in the next quarterfinal match as both teams slugged it out, with neither side holding the advantage for long, but Hase and Richard ended up taking the win and moving on to the semifinals (to await the winner of Renée Martel and Claire Lepage vs. Ashley Sinclair and Kim Blanchard) when Hase scored the winning pin on O'Hara following a knee lift. NWA United States Women's Tag Team Championship Ethel Johnson & Marva Scott scored an upset over The Sisters of Love (C) (with Tonette Kadrmas) to win the title when, after Kadrmas was ejected from the match and sent back to the lockers when she was caught tripping Johnson off the ropes, Johnson, after dropkicking Sister Serenity, got her in position upon her shoulders and executed a fireman's carry slam on Serenity, then went for the title-winning pin while Scott ran in to keep Sister Lavender from interfering. NWA World Women's Tag Team Title Tournament, East Division - Quarterfinals Renée Martel & Claire Lepage had to deal with not only the dirty tactics and double-teaming of Ashley Sinclair & Kim Blanchard in the TV main event, they also had to deal with the Dynasty duo's manager Tonette Kadrmas getting involved at every opportunity by interfering from ringside whenever one of her girls distracted the referee. Making use of a foreign object given them by Kadrmas as well as keeping Lepage in their corner to double-team her while making sure the referee was kept occupied by preventing Martel from making the save for her partner, Sinclair and Blanchard held the early advantage. But France Gall, who had been watching the match from backstage via TV monitor, grew incensed at Kadrmas’ interference and the Dynasty's cheating and ran out to ringside to chase Kadrmas around the ring and back to the lockers, allowing Lepage to take advantage of Sinclair and Blanchard being distracted by the ringside action and lunge to her corner to tag in the fresh Martel, who gave the heel tandem payback with fists, kicks, clotheslines and bodyslams until Blanchard scratched at Renée's eyes to retake the advantage for the Dynasty. Blanchard came up from behind Martel and tried to pick her up for a bodyslam, but Gall returned to ringside and began arguing with Blanchard, berating her rival for costing her her earlier match against Beverly Shade; with Blanchard distracted, Martel took advantage and rolled her opponent up into a schoolgirl pin while Lepage ran in to keep Sinclair from breaking up the pin attempt, allowing Renée and Claire to get the win and move on to the semifinals against Georgia Hase and Michèle Richard next week. While Sinclair threw a fit over the loss and complained in vain to the referee (who told her that Gall did not get physically involved in the match), Gall then came into the ring to join Martel and Lepage and help celebrate her friends' win. Post-taping dark match NWA United States Women's Championship Judy Arnold (C) defeated Judy Sowinski (with Mae Young) when Sowinski, who had the advantage late in the match, attempted to pick Arnold up off the mat when Arnold snagged her and rolled her up into a small package pin for the three-count to retain her title. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Prediction results: (Thanks to all who made their predictions for this card) @The Blonde Bomber - 7/7 @Lord Byron - 5/7 All-time prediction results: Lord Byron - 114/170 The Blonde Bomber - 101/138 Herrbear - 78/107 piperrulz - 53/88 Hitman74 - 10/12 kinnikuniverse - 9/10 Theheel - 7/10 Dalton - 6/6 auto45 - 5/6 Sco_xY2Jx - 2/6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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