What The World Was Watching: USWA Championship Wrestling – January 28, 1995

Reviews, Shows, Top Story, TV Shows

Dave Brown and Corey Maclin call today’s action from the WMC-TV 5 studio in Memphis. Macklin usually served as the ring announcer on these shows, but he would stand in for Lance Russell when Russell was absent. He was WMC-TV’s sports reporter.

Part of the footage of this show is missing. A new heel, Gorgeous George III, made his debut and won a squash match. George was a Gene Anderson and Ivan Koloff trainee who broke into the business on the Carolina independent circuit. His great-uncle was the famous Gorgeous George of 1950s fame and he copied the gimmick.

Opening Contest: Scott Studd (4-0) pins Edric Hines after a missile dropkick at 3:13:

Studd gives another generic split screen promo as the squash airs, putting over the competition in the USWA, reminding fans that he loves them, and challenging George to a match. Maclin’s trademark was drawing out a wrestler’s last name, so we get a lot of “Stuuuuuuudddd” calls. Studd takes Hines to the mat, works the arm, hits a powerslam, and finishes with a missile dropkick.

A video shows us the second and third falls of the two-out-of-three falls match for the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship between Sid and Brian Christopher at the Mid-South Coliseum. Christopher wins the second fall with a schoolboy, but Sid won the third fall with a sidewalk slam after Bill Dundee came down and pushed Christopher’s foot off the bottom rope.

Brown interviews USWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Christopher, who is not happy with what Dundee did to him on Monday night. He calls out Dundee and Dundess obliges, saying that he only came down at the Coliseum to help him out because Sid was getting the best of him. He denies pushing Christopher’s foot off the bottom rope. The focus of the segment moves to a first-ever marathon match at the Memphis Coliseum on Monday where Christopher and Dundee will wrestle for twenty minutes, then Dundee and Jerry Lawler will wrestle for twenty minutes, and after that Lawler and Christopher will wrestle for twenty minutes. The man with the most falls between those combinations will be declared the winner and will get a title shot against Sid. Lawler interrupts the segment, saying that he has wrestled in a lot of sixty-minute matches, to which Dundee says that proves Lawler beat no one. Lawler reverts to attacking Dundee’s WCW stint until Christopher hypes himself as a USWA regular and the man of the future. This was a fantastic segment that carried a shoot-like edge to it.

Diamond Mike says that Jack Hammer will beat Christopher in the next match, so Christopher better get his application for McDonald’s ready.

USWA Southern Heavyweight Championship Match: Brian Christopher (Champion) (4-3) beats Jack Hammer (w/Diamond Mike) (3-0) after hitting Hammer with a chain at 4:30:

With Doug Gilbert and Tommy Rich feuding with PG-13, Christopher does not have a strong challenger for his title, so Hammer gets a title shot a few weeks after coming into the company. Hammer uses his size advantage to pound away in the early going but Christopher keeps mounting comebacks. A ref bump sees Mike try to get involved, but heel miscommunication results and Christopher uses a chain to retain. That is curious behavior for a babyface but at least it provides some protection for why Hammer jobbed. Rating: **

USWA Tag Team Champions Doug Gilbert & Tommy Rich talk to Maclin. They put over a “hood match” with PG-13, with Rich telling PG-13 that they have bitten off more than they can chew. Gilbert adds that the PG-13’s hood is where people asked the welfare office how to cook their food stamps.

PG-13 (4-3-1) defeat the Hickersons when Wolfie D pins Lee after a double bulldog at 1:30:

This is the second time that PG-13 have wrestled the Hickersons this year. The big men manage to pound on Wolfie D in the corner until he avoids a double clothesline, tags J.C. Ice, and they finish Lee with a double bulldog.

A video hypes the Jerry Lawler-Bill Dundee-Brian Christopher marathon match that will take place at the next Mid-South Coliseum show.

The Last Word: The highlight of the show was the interview segment between Jerry Lawler, Bill Dundee, and Brian Christopher. The matches were nothing to get excited for, but Christopher put in a good effort against Jack Hammer to defend the USWA Southern Heavyweight title.

Here were the results of the Memphis Coliseum show that took place on January 30. According to prowrestlinghistory.com, the show drew 1,100 fans.

-Moondog Spot (1-0) beat Jim Harris

-King Cobra beat the Spellbinder (1-1) via disqualification

-Moondog Rex & Miss Texas defeated Reggie B. Fine & Sweet Georgia Brown

-Gorgeous George III (1-0) beat Scott Studd (5-0)

-PG-13 (5-3-1) defeated USWA Tag Team Champions Doug Gilbert & Tommy Rich (3-2) in a non-title “hood” street fight

-Jerry Lawler defeated Brian Christopher and Bill Dundee in a triangle marathon match to earn a USWA Unified World Championship match against Sid Vicious on the next Memphis show. Lawler won three falls to two for Christopher and Dundee. Christopher had a chance to tie the match, but Dundee broke up the pin.

Up Next: USWA Championship Wrestling for February 4!

Logan Scisco has been writing wrestling reviews for Inside Pulse since 2005. He considers himself a pro wrestling traditionalist and reviews content from the 1980s-early 2000s. Most of his recaps center on wrestling television shows prior to 2001. His work is featured on his website (www.wrestlewatch.com) and he has written three books, available on Amazon.com.