Still, the incarnation with "nephew" Arn Anderson is the unit that memory evokes when you hear the name. - Top Rated Plus - opens in a new window or tab, - eBay Money Back Guarantee - opens in a new window or tab, GEORGIA CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING Vols 21-30- PRO WRESTLING, cleared payment - opens in a new window or tab, Report this item - opens in new window or tab. Well see you here next time and never forget: Our wrestling history is gold. This page was last edited on 23 February 2023, at 19:24. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Georgia Championship Wrestling was formed in Atlanta in 1944 by promoter Paul Jones (retired wrestler Andrew Lutzi, not Paul Frederik who later was given the name) as ABC Booking. The WWF version of the show received somewhat lower Nielsen ratings than its NWA-associated forerunner. GCW moved its weekly live shows to the new venue, and it held wrestling events there over the next 25 years. Wrestling promoter Jim Barnett at the Hordern Pavilion, Sydney Showground, March 7, 1973. 2/22/70 Following the Dromo event, GCW again lay dormant until October 3, 2020, when Odum granted local wrestlers and businessmen Tim Rice and Chris Nelms the rights to begin promoting their events under the Georgia Championship Wrestling banner. [4] Turner himself was angered by the sinking ratings and made two decisions that would fix the ratings problem. 5/5/44 4/2/70 3/10/44 4/11/70 10/2/57 Noah was the only Bainbridge wrestler to compete while the tournament was an open invitation to all wrestlers. USA gave McMahon another time slot when WWF Prime Time Wrestling, a similar program to the WWF's TBS program that aired on Monday nights and was a forerunner to the current Monday Night Raw, debuted early in 1985. However, the combination of a restructured front office, a talented new booker in Jerry Jarrett (and, later, Bill Watts) and a great deal of support from the NWA enabled the Atlanta office to eventually overcome the serious challenge that was posed by Ann Gunkels All-South Wrestling Alliance and regain its position as the dominant promotion in the lucrative Georgia market. First, Turner made an offer to Bill Watts, a promoter who ran Mid South Wrestling out of Oklahoma, to take a Sunday afternoon time slot on TBS. Throughout the season Mr. Stutler made his mark by beating several high level state contending wrestlers from around the state. 9/23/55 1/5/70 7/16/63 World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was founded in 1964 by Jim Barnett in Australia and represented much of the NWA's Asian and Oceania territory. 1/1/68 Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! The oldest city in Georgia and a strategic port city in the American Revolution, Savannah was the last city occupied by the British before they sailed back home in 1782. He can be reached by e-mail at squints72hhi@gmail.com. 2/17/70 February 27, 2023 Monday Night RAW results, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, NWA Georgia Junior Heavyweight Championship, GeorgiaWrestlingHistory.com (Official Website), Georgia Championship Wrestling at CAGEMATCH.net. A power struggle in late 1983 forced Barnett to sell most of his shares in GCW to a conglomerate consisting of wrestlers and brothers Jack Brisco and Jerry Brisco; Paul Jones; and Al Rogowski, a match booker, who also wrestled as "Ole Anderson." The only other national cable deal available at the moment was the one GCW had with WTBS; if McMahon was able to acquire this time slot, he would control all nationally televised professional wrestling in the United States. While still a shareholder in the company, Paul Jones was, by this point, a silent partner and the day-to-day operations of the promotion were primarily handled by the Chief Executive Officer of Mid South Sports, James E. Barnett and his booker, Ole Anderson. In the shakeup that occurred following the death of his top star (and minority owner in ABC Booking) Ray Gunkel, Jones company went into an unforeseen tailspin that took some time to recover from. Georgia Championship Wrestling has roots in Atlanta dating back to 1944. 9/16/55 You do not have to qualify for Novice Championship, Novice Championship is for 1st and 2nd year wrestlers who have not placed at Kids State, You can do both Kids State and Novice Championship (you must qualify for Kids State on 2/25/23), Saturday, March 4th, 2023 - Little Kids - 8/10U - Must be in line 7AM, Sunday, March 5th, 2023 - 12/14U - Must be in line 7AM, Schedule of Tournaments (teamgawrestling.org), 2/12/23 The Commerce Clash, https://www.usawmembership.com/usaw_events/2300150502?section=registration, 2/18/23 Dawsonville Mean Streak Open, https://www.usawmembership.com/usaw_events/2300149702?section=registration, https://www.usawmembership.com/usaw_events_registrations/participant?event_category_id=&state_id=11&month=&year=, 2/26/23 Freshman/Girls State, https://www.usawmembership.com/usaw_events/2300148102?section=registration, Team Georgia USA Wrestling Events and Tickets by GoFan, 3/4-3/5/2023 Kids State & Novice Championship, https://www.usawmembership.com/usaw_events/2300148202?section=registration. 2/20/50 Due in large part to both parties' actions, McMahon and Turner began a rivalry that would continue for over a decade, before ending in 2001 when McMahon purchased the non-license assets of WCW from AOL Time Warner, which had previously purchased Turner's wrestling assets (along with the rest of his company) in 1996. January 1, 1981 (Thursday) - Columbus, GA - Columbus Municipal Auditorium (Fred Ward - Promoter / Georgia Championship. McMahon, undeterred, tried to find another way of securing the slot for the WWF; he discovered that method shortly after his rejection by Turner. Ray Gunkel died of a heart attack later that year after a match versus Ox Baker in Savannah, Georgia. Another great transaction from this seller! Tales From The Territories - GCW - Georgia Championship Wrestling - Full Episode 17/30 Original Wrestling Documentaries 61.1K subscribers Subscribe 1.9K 212K views 4 years ago. When the gates returned, so did the wrestlers, and the Omni once again was cranking out the classics. With Gordon Solie providing the soundtrack that only he could, Georgia Championship Wrestling began to tape shows for television at a small studio on Peachtree Street. In 1999, it secured a cable deal to air a show on TNN, but the next year, TNN gained rights to WWF programming and dropped ECW, which folded in April 2001, shortly after the WWF's purchase of WCW's assets. Herb Abrams' UWF had a weekly program that aired on SportsChannel America. 1/15/70 Many of the NWA's regional promoters were unhappy, but Barnett claimed since he was only using Georgia-based wrestlers, that there was no harm. Event Name: 11/30/55 1/21/63 1/1/69 2/10/61 10/15/57 1/25/70 To this point, the NWA National Heavyweight Title and the NWA National Tag Team Titles were the only really active titles, along with the NWA National TV title in the background. 1/30/68 Barnett wasnt the only one growing a company in the 70s. Learn more. The most up-to-date schedule for the season can be found here:Schedule of Tournaments (teamgawrestling.org), The directions on how to register can be found here:www.teamgawrestling.org/register, Registrations will close on Friday before tournament at 9AM. 12/8/61 7/8/55 By 1980, Georgia mainstays like Dusty Rhodes, Mr. Wrestling II, Tommy Wildfire Rich, The Masked Superstar, Tony Atlas, Austin Idol, Ole Anderson, Wahoo McDaniel and many others were genuine national wrestling celebrities due to the fact that Georgia Championship Wrestling had become cable TVs first legitimate hit show. Before they joined the NWA, they were a member. Jones operated ABC for thirty years until his retirement in 1974, though from about 1970 until 1972 he was assisted by his booker Ray Gunkel. The restaurants were sold in 2000, and Ray "El Mongol" Molina passed away in 2016 at 86. They took the titles in 1980 when they defeated both teams of The Assassins and Mr. Wrestling I & II. Yes this is some of the most legendary of all Georgia Championship Wrestling television with the angle in full and all the promos in the aftermath from every. Given the programs nationwide reach, it was soon common to see performers who were not normally associated with Georgia to come into the territory for short stints in order to benefit from the exposure that WTBS and Georgia Championship Wrestling afforded them, men like AWA legend The Crusher, Texas Kevin Von Erich, Calgarys Bret Hart, Mid Atlantics Ric Flair, Roddy Piper and Greg Valentine and even WWF Heavyweight champion Bob Backlund. 1/10/61 4/27/63 , 8/14/50 Four hundred and seventy-two wrestlers will . 3/7/70 It was a secondary title, complementing the NWA Columbus Tag Team Championship, and defended almost exclusively at the Columbus Municipal Auditorium throughout the 1970s.[5]. Mr. Wrestling II worked as a singles and tag competitor during his time at Georgia Championship Wrestling, but two of his opponents really moved that promotion into the 80s and stood out among the many who worked there. legends of wrestling - pedro morales vols 1-10 - pro wrestling. In April 1985, shows began being co-promoted with Jim Crockett Promotions. (1981-1985) $75.00 $75.00. 2/9/61 If you can not find the information you are looking for click here for help, Georgia Amateur Wrestling Association is a 501c3 all volunteer organization Non-profit organization. 7/8/67 1/9/61 Beginning in late January 1972 the promotion's regular series, Big Time Wrestling, began airing on Saturday afternoons on WQXI-TV in Atlanta; the show was recorded for later broadcast over WJBF in Augusta and WTOC-TV in Savannah, stations located in two of GCW's major cities. This program was hosted by Gordon Solie and was recorded in the studios of WTCG in Midtown Atlanta. 4/19/70 2/21/67 Later in 1984, McMahon decided that, as part of his continued expansion, the WWF needed a second national cable outlet for its weekly programming. 2/7/61 2022-2023 FOLKSTYLE TOURNAMENT INFORMATION, 7:00 Weighs in for 12/14U State and 8/10U Novice - -MUST BE IN LINE AT 7AM -. At this point, Ann's promotion went downhill, being locked out of arena dates, with wrestlers defecting to Mid-South, and finally Ann Gunkel's All-South Wrestling Alliance folded in 1974. November 23, 1972, Atlanta, Georgia. 4/4/70 Wrestlers from all over began to pour into the promotion, and the title scene exploded. By this point, Ann Gunkels ASWA went out of business, and everything was re-absorbed by Barnetts newly built juggernaut. 2/23/70 12/14U - 12:30-1:00PM Wrestling will start at 2:00PM or at the conclusion of the 1st session. 1/4/69 The Garvins, Ronny and Terry, also held the titles in the early 70s and battled with Bullet Bob Armstrong and Robert Fuller until a new pair of heels took the title scene and made it their playground. 7/28/44 As our story unfolds, we will see how this little city by the Atlantic, with its moss-laden live oaks and old money, had a hand in guiding the outcome of Georgia Championship Wrestling. Novice Championship is for 1st and 2nd year wrestlers who have not placed at Kids State You can do both Kids State and Novice Championship (you must qualify for Kids State on 2/25/23) Novice Championship Weigh Ins: Saturday, March 4th, 2023 - Little Kids - 8/10U - Must be in line 7AM Sunday, March 5th, 2023 - 12/14U - Must be in line 7AM Noah, who was accompanied by his family, entered the tournament as an individual through USA Wrestling certification.The Georgia Freshman State Championship exists to give college coaches and high school coaches a glimpse of what is to come skillswise in wrestling. 2/4/55 5/5/44 5/18/67 11/2/62 3/2/70 4/9/70 3/31/70 1/26/70 It was launched under the ABC Booking company run by Paul Jones (not to be confused with Paul Frederik, who was later given the name), a former wrestler who went by the name of Andrew Lutzi. As a result of its far-reaching television program as well as its newly expanded territory, the decision was made to rename the promotions major championships and the Georgia Heavyweight title became the National Heavyweight title, as did the Georgia Tag Team and TV titles. In 1983, Barnett was edged out of any shot calling in GCW through politicking and backroom dealings. 8/15/56 1/12/70 Honoring the history of the greatest in professional wrestling while writing the next chapter. 1/16/64 On December 25, 1971, Georgia Championship Wrestling made its television debut with a special Christmas program. 3/8/69 Paul Jones (1944-1984) One such leap of growth was catalyzed by Barnett himself when he saw an opportunity to go nationwide in 1976. Then, only a month later, in a match where they defeated NWA National Tag Team Champions Robert Fuller and Stan Frazier, better known for his time in the WWF as Uncle Elmer, The Freebirds unified the NWA and Georgia Tag Titles. These programs ran until March 30, 1985, using the same set that would later be used by Jim Crockett when he purchased the WWF time slot from McMahon (see below).[2]. 3/4/70 We look forward to seeing Noah excel in both sports as well as the classroom. The two main titles in the promotion in those days were the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship and the Tag Team Championships, both of which got their starts in the early 50s. No matter how hard they tried, the might of Vince McMahon would not be stymied from reeling in everything he could, and Georgia Championship Wrestling would be no exception. Refresh your browser window to try again. Noah Stutler, a 8th grade wrestler for Bainbridge Middle School and also a Junior Varsity starter for the Bainbridge High School wrestling team competed at the Georgia All Freshman State Competition yesterday in Atlanta. 1/2/69 According to Ric Flair in his autobiography To Be the Man, The Road Warriors were offered $5,000 to injure the Brisco brothers during a tag team match by an unnamed, disgruntled source. Please disable your ad blocker to view the video content. However, unlike World Championship Wrestling, which had been a weekly show from the TBS studios in Atlanta, the WWF's TBS show at first consisted solely of highlights from the WWF's USA Network and syndicated programming, as well as house show clips from Madison Square Garden, Boston Garden, and most of the other major arenas it did business in. 3/1/70 5/20/60 , 6/21/50 Copyright 1995-2023 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved. Sunday, March 5, 2023(Little Kids State), 7:00AM Weigh Ins for 6/8/10U State and 12/14U Novice - MUST BE IN LINE AT 7AM, Est 3:30pm Finalist Ceremonies and Finals for 1st/2nd and 3rd/4th place matches. 1/10/57 4/11/70 7/14/58 9/23/61 10/21/55 Crockett, who had just bought out Championship Wrestling from Georgia, bought the World Championship Wrestling program from McMahon for $1 million and returned NWA programming to TBS. 3/16/70 5/6/66 1/29/70 The changing of hands and promotional banners that Georgia Championship Wrestling went through in the early 70s leaves its history somewhat clouded during that time. 1/14/44 12/29/58 , 1/1/57 12/9/66 Vincent K. McMahon (1984), STATES & PRIMARY CITIES: 1/1/68 6/30/44 [2] In time, the show was renamed WCW Saturday Night, reflecting an overhauled look and a new home studio-arena at the CNN Center. Thank you for keeping up with us in this series as we delve into the history of the wrestling territories. 7/29/55 3/20/50 Walker made a name for himself, working with NWA promoter Paul Boesch out of Houston but opted to start a family and retired as a young man just ten years after his debut. 9/19/60 4/23/57 I don't exactly know the dates for these things, so they'll just go up in parts. He's been a wrestling fan since the late '70s and a journeyman writer for the past decade. GCW's core audience began writing and calling TBS in droves,[3] furious over the fact that GCW was no longer airing on the station and demanding to know why. The Masked Superstar became known for his hour-long cage matches against Blackjack Mulligan. 3/7/53 Tommy Rich was born in the Volunteer State of Tennessee at the height of the 1956 summer. 1/1/65 Eadie was a hard-hitting bruiser that met every challenge with a flurry of fists and a hail of boots. 2/13/70 GCW's program was hosted by NWA announcer Gordon Solie, who also hosted programs for various other NWA affiliated promotions at the time (such as Championship Wrestling from Florida). 8/17/55 1/31/59 , 9/3/43 10/7/55 1/12/61 7/21/60 7/17/57 1/1/69 7/21/61 3/8/70 free shipping. 11/19/57 8/7/61 , 1/31/58 4/7/70 However, once he paired with Renesto, the team of The Assassins tore through the Southern and Southeastern wrestling area and left no prisoners in their wake. Keeping up with us in this series as We delve into the promotion, and title! Of boots UWF had a weekly program that aired on SportsChannel America moved its weekly live shows to new. 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