McGuirk Wrestling Territory: Week of 12/9-12/15 1968
For the week ending December 15th, 1968: new tag champs Hodge & Parente grant Donovan & Reed several rematches, we learn the identity of El Diablo #1 (don't get too excited, it's very anti-climactic) & more!
Here's a look at the talent roster along with SPOT ratings and FEUD scores for the week. The crew that worked central and southern Louisiana is covered separately towards the bottom of this post.
Other wrestlers advertised for shows this week but not listed in the ratings:
Blue Demon #1, Blue Demon #2, George Curtis, Red McKim and Tony Moreno
Newcomers to the SPOT ratings this week were Bob Griffin and Tom Bradley. Griffin moved back up to this circuit from the lower Louisiana circuit (though he was booked/advertised in both areas).
Removed from the SPOT chart were Jim Dalton and The Mummy (Benji Ramirez). Dalton worked a couple of shows for Gulas later in the month and then went to Florida in January. The Mummy went to Northern California.
In the past I have discussed not knowing the identity of El Diablo #1. His partner, El Diablo #2, seems to have been Treach Phillips. This week in Joplin, Scandor Akbar took on Diablo #1 with the stipulations that if Akbar lost he would shave his beard and if Diablo lost he would unmask. Akbar won the bout and Diablo #1 was revealed to be Tony Moreno. He then stuck around the territory for a few more months wrestling as Moreno. So, who is Tony Moreno? He almost certainly is NOT Tony Marino, who was wrestling in the Pittsburgh area (as himself and as "The Battman"). The only other record I could find of a Tony Moreno in wrestling was a wrestler active in the '30s and '40s who wrestled briefly under the name Tony Moreno but more often was billed as Tony Marino or Count Antonio Marino, so it likely wasn't him either. So while we now know his name, it doesn't appear that he was anyone of note.
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Here's a look at the talent roster along with SPOT ratings and FEUD scores for the week. The crew that worked central and southern Louisiana is covered separately towards the bottom of this post.
Other wrestlers advertised for shows this week but not listed in the ratings:
Blue Demon #1, Blue Demon #2, George Curtis, Red McKim and Tony Moreno
Newcomers to the SPOT ratings this week were Bob Griffin and Tom Bradley. Griffin moved back up to this circuit from the lower Louisiana circuit (though he was booked/advertised in both areas).
Removed from the SPOT chart were Jim Dalton and The Mummy (Benji Ramirez). Dalton worked a couple of shows for Gulas later in the month and then went to Florida in January. The Mummy went to Northern California.
In the past I have discussed not knowing the identity of El Diablo #1. His partner, El Diablo #2, seems to have been Treach Phillips. This week in Joplin, Scandor Akbar took on Diablo #1 with the stipulations that if Akbar lost he would shave his beard and if Diablo lost he would unmask. Akbar won the bout and Diablo #1 was revealed to be Tony Moreno. He then stuck around the territory for a few more months wrestling as Moreno. So, who is Tony Moreno? He almost certainly is NOT Tony Marino, who was wrestling in the Pittsburgh area (as himself and as "The Battman"). The only other record I could find of a Tony Moreno in wrestling was a wrestler active in the '30s and '40s who wrestled briefly under the name Tony Moreno but more often was billed as Tony Marino or Count Antonio Marino, so it likely wasn't him either. So while we now know his name, it doesn't appear that he was anyone of note.
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Known house shows for the week:
Monday - Shreveport, LA
-Chief Big Heart & Scandor Akbar vs Jerry Miller & Jim Osborn
-Matti Suzuki vs Sputnik Monroe
-Blue Demon #1 & Blue Demon #2 vs Gerald Brisco & Jerry London
-prelim: Blue Demon #1 vs London
Monday - Tulsa, OK
-US Tag Team titles: Danny Hodge & Lorenzo Parente vs Jack Donovan & Ronnie Reed
-Gorgeous George Jr & Red McKim vs Karl Von Stroheim & Treach Phillips
-El Diablo #1 vs Pedro Valdez
-Kit Fox vs Tom Bradley
Tuesday - Little Rock, AR
-US Tag Team titles: Danny Hodge & Lorenzo Parente vs Jack Donovan & Ronnie Reed
-Bob Griffin & Matti Suzuki vs Karl Von Stroheim & Treach Phillips
-prelims: Griffin vs Von Stroheim and Suzuki vs Phillips
Tuesday - Monroe, LA
-Chief Big Heart & Scandor Akbar vs Jerry Miller & Jim Osborn
-Jerry London vs Sputnik Monroe
-El Diablo #1 vs Kit Fox
-Gerald Brisco vs Pedro Valdez
Wednesday - Fort Smith, AR
-Ring enclosed with steel wire: Scandor Akbar vs Sputnik Monroe
-Chief Big Heart & Kit Fox vs Karl Von Stroheim & Treach Phillips
-prelims: Big Heart vs Von Stroheim and Fox vs Phillips
Wednesday - Greenville, MS
-Grudge match: George Curtis vs Jim Osborn
-Gerald Brisco vs Jerry Miller
-El Diablo #1 vs Jerry London
Wednesday - Springfield, MO
-US Tag Team titles: Danny Hodge & Lorenzo Parente vs Jack Donovan & Ronnie Reed
-Bob Griffin vs Matti Suzuki
-Pedro Valdez vs Tom Bradley
Thursday - Eupora, MS
Jerry London & Tony Moreno vs Jerry Miller & Jim Osborn
-plus two prelims, likely singles bouts involving the four wrestlers in the tag match
Thursday - Longview, TX
-Blindfold battle royal: Chief Big Heart, Gerald Brisco, Karl Von Stroheim, Kit Fox, Scandor Akbar, Sputnik Monroe and Treach Phillips
-plus 3 singles bouts determined by the order of elimination in the battle royal
Thursday - Wichita Falls, TX
-World Junior Heavyweight title: Danny Hodge vs Ronnie Reed
-Gorgeous George Jr vs Jack Donovan
-Lorenzo Parente vs Pedro Valdez
Friday - Oklahoma City, OK
-US Tag Team titles: Danny Hodge & Lorenzo Parente vs Jack Donovan & Ronnie Reed
-Red McKim vs Sputnik Monroe
-Chief Big Heart & Kit Fox vs Karl Von Stroheim & Treach Phillips
-Matti Suzuki vs Tom Bradley
Saturday - Joplin, MO
-US Tag Team title match, Mrs Donovan locked in a steel cage at ringside: Danny Hodge & Lorenzo Parente vs Jack Donovan & Ronnie Reed
-Mask vs Beard: El Diablo #1 vs Scandor Akbar
-Jim Osborn vs Kit Fox
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For central and southern Louisiana, here are the SPOT ratings and FEUD scores for the week.
Other wrestlers advertised for shows this week but not listed in the ratings:
Buddy Austin and midget wrestlers Billy the Kid & Jay Cox
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Known house shows for the week:
Tuesday - Baton Rouge, LA
-Blue Demon #1 & Blue Demon #2 & Bobby Howell & Little John vs Bob Griffin & Chuck Bowman & Manuel Perez & Pepe Perez
-plus 3 prelims, which were likely singles bouts involving some of the participants from the eight-man tag
Wednesday - Alexandria, LA
-The Perez brothers will wear masks (last week the Demons pulled the old switcher so this presumably was to level the playing field): Blue Demon #1 & Blue Demon #2 vs Manuel Perez & Pepe Perez
-No time limit, winner take all: Chuck Bowman vs Little John
-Big John vs Bob Griffin
Thursday - Loranger, LA
-Blue Demon #1 & Blue Demon #2 & Bobby Howell & Little John vs Bob Griffin & Chuck Bowman & Manuel Perez & Pepe Perez
-plus 4 prelims
Friday - Lafayette, LA
-Louisiana tag team titles: Blue Demon #1 & Blue Demon #2 vs Manuel Perez & Pepe Perez
-Battle royal: Bobby Howell, Buddy Austin, Chuck Bowman, Little John (all of whom will be blindfolded) and midget wrestlers Billy the Kid Jay Cox
Monday - Shreveport, LA
-Chief Big Heart & Scandor Akbar vs Jerry Miller & Jim Osborn
-Matti Suzuki vs Sputnik Monroe
-Blue Demon #1 & Blue Demon #2 vs Gerald Brisco & Jerry London
-prelim: Blue Demon #1 vs London
Monday - Tulsa, OK
-US Tag Team titles: Danny Hodge & Lorenzo Parente vs Jack Donovan & Ronnie Reed
-Gorgeous George Jr & Red McKim vs Karl Von Stroheim & Treach Phillips
-El Diablo #1 vs Pedro Valdez
-Kit Fox vs Tom Bradley
Tuesday - Little Rock, AR
-US Tag Team titles: Danny Hodge & Lorenzo Parente vs Jack Donovan & Ronnie Reed
-Bob Griffin & Matti Suzuki vs Karl Von Stroheim & Treach Phillips
-prelims: Griffin vs Von Stroheim and Suzuki vs Phillips
Tuesday - Monroe, LA
-Chief Big Heart & Scandor Akbar vs Jerry Miller & Jim Osborn
-Jerry London vs Sputnik Monroe
-El Diablo #1 vs Kit Fox
-Gerald Brisco vs Pedro Valdez
Wednesday - Fort Smith, AR
-Ring enclosed with steel wire: Scandor Akbar vs Sputnik Monroe
-Chief Big Heart & Kit Fox vs Karl Von Stroheim & Treach Phillips
-prelims: Big Heart vs Von Stroheim and Fox vs Phillips
Wednesday - Greenville, MS
-Grudge match: George Curtis vs Jim Osborn
-Gerald Brisco vs Jerry Miller
-El Diablo #1 vs Jerry London
Wednesday - Springfield, MO
-US Tag Team titles: Danny Hodge & Lorenzo Parente vs Jack Donovan & Ronnie Reed
-Bob Griffin vs Matti Suzuki
-Pedro Valdez vs Tom Bradley
Thursday - Eupora, MS
Jerry London & Tony Moreno vs Jerry Miller & Jim Osborn
-plus two prelims, likely singles bouts involving the four wrestlers in the tag match
Thursday - Longview, TX
-Blindfold battle royal: Chief Big Heart, Gerald Brisco, Karl Von Stroheim, Kit Fox, Scandor Akbar, Sputnik Monroe and Treach Phillips
-plus 3 singles bouts determined by the order of elimination in the battle royal
Thursday - Wichita Falls, TX
-World Junior Heavyweight title: Danny Hodge vs Ronnie Reed
-Gorgeous George Jr vs Jack Donovan
-Lorenzo Parente vs Pedro Valdez
Friday - Oklahoma City, OK
-US Tag Team titles: Danny Hodge & Lorenzo Parente vs Jack Donovan & Ronnie Reed
-Red McKim vs Sputnik Monroe
-Chief Big Heart & Kit Fox vs Karl Von Stroheim & Treach Phillips
-Matti Suzuki vs Tom Bradley
Saturday - Joplin, MO
-US Tag Team title match, Mrs Donovan locked in a steel cage at ringside: Danny Hodge & Lorenzo Parente vs Jack Donovan & Ronnie Reed
-Mask vs Beard: El Diablo #1 vs Scandor Akbar
-Jim Osborn vs Kit Fox
-----
For central and southern Louisiana, here are the SPOT ratings and FEUD scores for the week.
Other wrestlers advertised for shows this week but not listed in the ratings:
Buddy Austin and midget wrestlers Billy the Kid & Jay Cox
-----
Known house shows for the week:
Tuesday - Baton Rouge, LA
-Blue Demon #1 & Blue Demon #2 & Bobby Howell & Little John vs Bob Griffin & Chuck Bowman & Manuel Perez & Pepe Perez
-plus 3 prelims, which were likely singles bouts involving some of the participants from the eight-man tag
Wednesday - Alexandria, LA
-The Perez brothers will wear masks (last week the Demons pulled the old switcher so this presumably was to level the playing field): Blue Demon #1 & Blue Demon #2 vs Manuel Perez & Pepe Perez
-No time limit, winner take all: Chuck Bowman vs Little John
-Big John vs Bob Griffin
Thursday - Loranger, LA
-Blue Demon #1 & Blue Demon #2 & Bobby Howell & Little John vs Bob Griffin & Chuck Bowman & Manuel Perez & Pepe Perez
-plus 4 prelims
Friday - Lafayette, LA
-Louisiana tag team titles: Blue Demon #1 & Blue Demon #2 vs Manuel Perez & Pepe Perez
-Battle royal: Bobby Howell, Buddy Austin, Chuck Bowman, Little John (all of whom will be blindfolded) and midget wrestlers Billy the Kid Jay Cox
