McGuirk Wrestling Territory: Week of 1/26/76-2/1/76
For the week ending February 1st, 1976: the new NWA World Heavyweight champion comes in for the week, new tag team champions & more!
Here's a look at the talent roster along with SPOT ratings and FEUD scores for the week.
Here's a look at the talent roster along with SPOT ratings and FEUD scores for the week.
Other wrestlers advertised for shows this week but not listed in the SPOT ratings: NWA World Heavyweight champion Terry Funk, Charlie Fulton and Joe Turner. Funk, who defeated Jack Brisco for the title a month and a half earlier, came in for five nights and faced four different opponents. He faced Dick Murdoch in Tulsa and Shreveport, Danny Hodge in Fort Smith, Greg Valentine in Chalmette (the newspaper article does not explicitly list this as a title bout, but it probably was) and Bill Watts in Lafayette. The only results I have were for the two Murdoch bouts, both of which ended in draws (with Shreveport being a one-hour time limit draw and Tulsa likely the same but the newspaper only states they battled "to a draw").
Haystack Calhoun finished up his run here and went to Mid-Atlantic for a few weeks. He would come back for another brief stint in early 1977. The one newcomer this week was Ken Dillinger. He had been working for Gulas in the fall of '75.
The two biggest movers up the cards this week were Waldo Von Erich and Gorgeous George Jr. With the Murdoch-Kox feud finally cooling off sightly, some new feuds started to heat up. George & partner Greg Valentine began feuding with Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown, while Bill Watts and Waldo Von Erich faced off on a more frequent basis. The feud between Bob Slaughter and Sonny King continued to heat up as well, with a FEUD Score of 40. They main-evented Alexandria and Houma this week, with the matches often being billed as a battle of finishing holds, Slaughter's being the claw hold and King's being a headbutt.
With regards to George & Valentine, they are billed as the new US Tag Team champions beginning this week. As recently as the previous Thursday, Valentine & Bill Watts were the champs of record. Title history listings have Watts being "injured" and Gorgeous George replacing him as Valentine's partner. Looking at house show results, it doesn't appear Watts missed any of his advertised bookings, so this was likely a television angle. Knowing how the territory was generally booked, this is my guess: Watts & Valentine are advertised for a title defense on TV against Roberts & Brown; Waldo Von Erich attacks Watts early in the show, "injuring" him; Valentine is allowed to pick a new partner and chooses George, with them winning the bout. Greg & George are billed as champs this week in Monroe, but not in Shreveport.
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Known house show lineups for the week:
Monday - Monroe, LA
-US Tag Team titles: Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown vs Gorgeous George Jr & Greg Valentine
-Buck Robley vs Sonny King
-Bob Slaughter vs Calypso Joe
-Alex Perez vs Mike Pappas
Monday - Tulsa, OK
-NWA World Heavyweight title: Dick Murdoch vs Terry Funk
-Bill Watts vs Waldo Von Erich
-Bob Griffin vs Killer Karl Kox
-Danny Hodge vs Mr Ito
-Igor Putski & Ted DiBiase vs Ken Dillinger & Sonny Rogers
Tuesday - Alexandria, LA
-Bob Slaughter vs Sonny King
-Bob Griffin vs Buck Robley
-Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown vs Igor Putski & Ted DiBiase
-Alex Perez vs Calypso Joe
Tuesday - Shreveport, LA
-NWA World Heavyweight title: Dick Murdoch vs Terry Funk
-North American title: Bill Watts vs Waldo Von Erich
-Danny Hodge vs Killer Karl Kox
-Gorgeous George Jr & Greg Valentine vs Mr Ito & Sonny Rogers
-Charlie Fulton vs Mike Pappas
Wednesday - Fort Smith, AR
-NWA World Heavyweight title: Danny Hodge vs Terry Funk
-Buck Robley & Killer Karl Kox vs Dick Murdoch & Ted DiBiase
-Igor Putski vs Mr Ito
Thursday - Chalmette, LA
-Greg Valentine vs Terry Funk
-Bill Watts vs Waldo Von Erich
-Bob Slaughter vs Sonny King
-Alex Perez vs Gorgeous George Jr
-Calypso Joe vs Charlie Fulton
-Mike Pappas vs Sonny Rogers
Thursday - North Little Rock, AR
-No disqualification: Dick Murdoch vs Killer Karl Kox
-Buck Robley vs Danny Hodge
-Bob Griffin & Ted DiBiase vs Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown
-Igor Putski vs Mr Ito
Friday - Lafayette, LA
-NWA World Heavyweight title: Bill Watts vs Terry Funk
-Bob Slaughter vs Sonny King
-Bob Griffin & Gorgeous George Jr vs Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown
-Alex Perez vs Calypso Joe
Friday - Lawton, OK
-Dick Murdoch vs Killer Karl Kox
-Buck Robley & Mr Ito vs Danny Hodge & Ted DiBiase
-Igor Putski vs Joe Turner
-Mr Ito vs Ted DiBiase
Saturday - Ardmore, OK
-North American title: Bill Watts vs Killer Karl Kox
-Buck Robley vs Danny Hodge
-Mr Ito vs Ted DiBiase
-Igor Putski vs Joe Turner
Saturday - Greenwood, MS
-Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown vs Greg Valentine & Grizzly Smith
-Gorgeous George Jr vs Ken Dillinger
-plus one other bout, likely a singles match between participants from the tag bout
Sunday - Houma, LA
-Bob Slaughter vs Sonny King
-Alex Perez vs Bob Griffin
-Grizzly Smith vs Ken Dillinger
-Calypso Joe vs Sonny Rogers
