McGuirk Wrestling Territory: Week of 2/23/76-2/29/76
For the week ending February 29th, 1976: Danny Hodge hot on the heels of Hiro Matsuda, it's the beginning of the end for the feud between Dick Murdoch and Killer Karl Kox, a 1972 Olympian debuts & more!
Here's a look at the talent roster along with SPOT ratings, Rankings and FEUD scores for the week.
Other wrestlers advertised for shows this week but not listed in the SPOT ratings: Bob Sweetan and midget wrestlers Billy the Kid, Little Coco, Little John and Little Louie. Sweetan is booked as a babyface in Houma based on angles the last couple of weeks, but works as a heel the night before in Loranger. Based on next week's card, it appears a similar angle turned Sweetan babyface this week in Loranger.
Debuting in the territory is Ken Patera. As best as I can tell, this appears to be Patera's first run as a heel. He turned pro in December 1972 and had worked in the AWA, Georgia, East Texas and Mid-Atlantic (all as a babyface) before coming here.
Ken Dillinger finished up his run here last week. His next known whereabouts are in June for Gulas.
The top feud continues to be The Hollywood Blondes (Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown) vs Greg Valentine & Gorgeous George Jr, with their FEUD Score increasing to a 55 this week. The other top feud is Bob Slaughter vs Sonny King, though that one seems to have peaked. Slaughter and King appear to be on opposite trajectories, with Slaughter's SPOT Rating increasing and putting him in the Main Eventer category while King drops a bit into the Upper Mid-Card category.
Danny Hodge moves up the cards this week as he gets title shots against NWA World Junior Heavyweight champion Hiro Matsuda in Tulsa and Shreveport. Hodge won both of those bouts, with the Shreveport newspaper stating he won by disqualification and Tulsa only stating that he won. Given that Hodge and Matsuda have a rematch next week in Tulsa with "no disqualification" rules, it's a safe bet that the Tulsa victory this week was also by dq.
Waldo Von Erich is facing both Dick Murdoch and Bill Watts in various towns around this time, while Ted DiBiase is facing both Killer Karl Kox and Buck Robley. DiBiase had been billed as an ally/protege of Dick Murdoch, so his matches with Kox (and Kox' manager Robley) are a natural extension of Kox' feud with Murdoch. Kox and Murdoch face off four times this week, but it looks like these are the blowoff matches in each of those towns. They do still work a few more shows in a few more towns over the next couple of weeks to finish up the feud around the loop.
Here's a look at the talent roster along with SPOT ratings, Rankings and FEUD scores for the week.
Other wrestlers advertised for shows this week but not listed in the SPOT ratings: Bob Sweetan and midget wrestlers Billy the Kid, Little Coco, Little John and Little Louie. Sweetan is booked as a babyface in Houma based on angles the last couple of weeks, but works as a heel the night before in Loranger. Based on next week's card, it appears a similar angle turned Sweetan babyface this week in Loranger.
Debuting in the territory is Ken Patera. As best as I can tell, this appears to be Patera's first run as a heel. He turned pro in December 1972 and had worked in the AWA, Georgia, East Texas and Mid-Atlantic (all as a babyface) before coming here.
Ken Dillinger finished up his run here last week. His next known whereabouts are in June for Gulas.
The top feud continues to be The Hollywood Blondes (Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown) vs Greg Valentine & Gorgeous George Jr, with their FEUD Score increasing to a 55 this week. The other top feud is Bob Slaughter vs Sonny King, though that one seems to have peaked. Slaughter and King appear to be on opposite trajectories, with Slaughter's SPOT Rating increasing and putting him in the Main Eventer category while King drops a bit into the Upper Mid-Card category.
Danny Hodge moves up the cards this week as he gets title shots against NWA World Junior Heavyweight champion Hiro Matsuda in Tulsa and Shreveport. Hodge won both of those bouts, with the Shreveport newspaper stating he won by disqualification and Tulsa only stating that he won. Given that Hodge and Matsuda have a rematch next week in Tulsa with "no disqualification" rules, it's a safe bet that the Tulsa victory this week was also by dq.
Waldo Von Erich is facing both Dick Murdoch and Bill Watts in various towns around this time, while Ted DiBiase is facing both Killer Karl Kox and Buck Robley. DiBiase had been billed as an ally/protege of Dick Murdoch, so his matches with Kox (and Kox' manager Robley) are a natural extension of Kox' feud with Murdoch. Kox and Murdoch face off four times this week, but it looks like these are the blowoff matches in each of those towns. They do still work a few more shows in a few more towns over the next couple of weeks to finish up the feud around the loop.
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Known house show lineups for the week:
Monday - Monroe, LA
-Bob Slaughter & Buck Robley vs Grizzly Smith & Sonny King
-Butcher Brannigan vs Calypso Joe
-Billy the Kid & Little John vs Little Coco & Little Louie
-Bob Griffin vs Mr Ito
Monday - Tulsa, OK
-NWA World Junior Heavyweight title: Danny Hodge vs Hiro Matsuda
-No disqualification: Dick Murdoch vs Waldo Von Erich
-US Tag Team titles: Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown vs Gorgeous George Jr & Greg Valentine
-Killer Karl Kox vs Ted DiBiase
-Jack Curtis Jr vs Ken Patera
Tuesday - Alexandria, LA
-US Tag Team titles: Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown vs Gorgeous George Jr & Greg Valentine
-Match can only be won by claw hold (Slaughter) or headbutt (King), Buck Robley handcuffed to ringpost: Bob Slaughter vs Sonny King
-Butcher Brannigan vs Grizzly Smith
-Buck Robley vs David Nevins
-Calypso Joe vs Sonny Rogers
Tuesday - Shreveport, LA
-NWA World Junior Heavyweight title: Danny Hodge vs Hiro Matsuda
-No disqualification: Dick Murdoch vs Waldo Von Erich
-Billy the Kid & Little John vs Little Coco & Little Louie
-Killer Karl Kox vs Ted DiBiase
-Bob Griffin vs Ken Patera
Wednesday - Fort Smith, AR
-Bill Watts vs Waldo Von Erich
-Judo jacket match: Danny Hodge vs Mr Ito
-Billy the Kid & Little John vs Little Coco & Little Louie
Wednesday - Vicksburg, MS
-US Tag Team titles, best 3 out of 5 falls: Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown vs Gorgeous George Jr & Greg Valentine
-No disqualification: Dick Murdoch vs Killer Karl Kox
-Claw hold vs Headbutt: Bob Slaughter vs Sonny King
-Buck Robley vs Ted DiBiase
Thursday - Chalmette, LA
-European Heavyweight title: Bill Watts vs Waldo Von Erich
-US Tag Team titles: Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown vs Gorgeous George Jr & Greg Valentine
-Bob Slaughter vs Sonny King
-Calypso Joe vs Ken Patera
-Bob Griffin vs Butcher Brannigan
Thursday - North Little Rock, AR
-Bullrope match: Dick Murdoch vs Killer Karl Kox
-Billy the Kid & Little John vs Little Coco & Little Louie
-Buck Robley vs Ted DiBiase
-David Nevins vs Mr Ito
Friday - Lafayette, LA
-US Tag Team titles: Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown vs Gorgeous George Jr & Greg Valentine
-Claw hold vs Headbutt, Robley barred from building: Bob Slaughter vs Sonny King
-Calypso Joe vs Ken Patera
-Bob Griffin vs Butcher Brannigan
Friday - Lawton, OK
-No disqualification: Dick Murdoch vs Killer Karl Kox
-Billy the Kid & Little John vs Little Coco & Little Louie
-Buck Robley vs Ted DiBiase
Saturday - Loranger, LA
-Lumberjack match: Bob Griffin vs Bob Slaughter
-Bob Sweetan & Butcher Brannigan vs Calypso Joe & Sonny King
-Special hold against hold challenge match: Grizzly Smith (Cobra hold) vs Bob Slaughter (Claw hold)
-Grizzly Smith vs Mr Ito
-plus one other bout, likely a singles match involving participants from the tag bout
Sunday - Houma, LA
-Bob Slaughter & Butcher Brannigan vs Bob Sweetan & Grizzly Smith
-Bob Griffin vs Mr Ito
-Calypso Joe vs Sonny Rogers
Monday - Monroe, LA
-Bob Slaughter & Buck Robley vs Grizzly Smith & Sonny King
-Butcher Brannigan vs Calypso Joe
-Billy the Kid & Little John vs Little Coco & Little Louie
-Bob Griffin vs Mr Ito
Monday - Tulsa, OK
-NWA World Junior Heavyweight title: Danny Hodge vs Hiro Matsuda
-No disqualification: Dick Murdoch vs Waldo Von Erich
-US Tag Team titles: Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown vs Gorgeous George Jr & Greg Valentine
-Killer Karl Kox vs Ted DiBiase
-Jack Curtis Jr vs Ken Patera
Tuesday - Alexandria, LA
-US Tag Team titles: Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown vs Gorgeous George Jr & Greg Valentine
-Match can only be won by claw hold (Slaughter) or headbutt (King), Buck Robley handcuffed to ringpost: Bob Slaughter vs Sonny King
-Butcher Brannigan vs Grizzly Smith
-Buck Robley vs David Nevins
-Calypso Joe vs Sonny Rogers
Tuesday - Shreveport, LA
-NWA World Junior Heavyweight title: Danny Hodge vs Hiro Matsuda
-No disqualification: Dick Murdoch vs Waldo Von Erich
-Billy the Kid & Little John vs Little Coco & Little Louie
-Killer Karl Kox vs Ted DiBiase
-Bob Griffin vs Ken Patera
Wednesday - Fort Smith, AR
-Bill Watts vs Waldo Von Erich
-Judo jacket match: Danny Hodge vs Mr Ito
-Billy the Kid & Little John vs Little Coco & Little Louie
Wednesday - Vicksburg, MS
-US Tag Team titles, best 3 out of 5 falls: Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown vs Gorgeous George Jr & Greg Valentine
-No disqualification: Dick Murdoch vs Killer Karl Kox
-Claw hold vs Headbutt: Bob Slaughter vs Sonny King
-Buck Robley vs Ted DiBiase
Thursday - Chalmette, LA
-European Heavyweight title: Bill Watts vs Waldo Von Erich
-US Tag Team titles: Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown vs Gorgeous George Jr & Greg Valentine
-Bob Slaughter vs Sonny King
-Calypso Joe vs Ken Patera
-Bob Griffin vs Butcher Brannigan
Thursday - North Little Rock, AR
-Bullrope match: Dick Murdoch vs Killer Karl Kox
-Billy the Kid & Little John vs Little Coco & Little Louie
-Buck Robley vs Ted DiBiase
-David Nevins vs Mr Ito
Friday - Lafayette, LA
-US Tag Team titles: Buddy Roberts & Jerry Brown vs Gorgeous George Jr & Greg Valentine
-Claw hold vs Headbutt, Robley barred from building: Bob Slaughter vs Sonny King
-Calypso Joe vs Ken Patera
-Bob Griffin vs Butcher Brannigan
Friday - Lawton, OK
-No disqualification: Dick Murdoch vs Killer Karl Kox
-Billy the Kid & Little John vs Little Coco & Little Louie
-Buck Robley vs Ted DiBiase
Saturday - Loranger, LA
-Lumberjack match: Bob Griffin vs Bob Slaughter
-Bob Sweetan & Butcher Brannigan vs Calypso Joe & Sonny King
-Special hold against hold challenge match: Grizzly Smith (Cobra hold) vs Bob Slaughter (Claw hold)
-Grizzly Smith vs Mr Ito
-plus one other bout, likely a singles match involving participants from the tag bout
Sunday - Houma, LA
-Bob Slaughter & Butcher Brannigan vs Bob Sweetan & Grizzly Smith
-Bob Griffin vs Mr Ito
-Calypso Joe vs Sonny Rogers
