TCW I: Zero, Night One Recap

In-Ring Promo from Bryan Danielson: As pyro went off and "Zero" by The Smashing Pumpkins played in the packed arena, the camera zoomed around for a bit before landing on the ring, currently occupied by "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson and Andre the Giant. "Welcome to T-C-W!" Commissioner Dragon shouted, and the crowd rewarded him with a rousing "Tee-See-Dub!" chant. The Dragon went on to explain the format of the three night event and promise that he and Andre would see to good, fair matches as we determine TCW's first singles champions.

TCW World Heavyweight Championship Tournament - Round One

"Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers vs. "The Wild Bull of the Pampas" Pampero Firpo
Pampero Firpo defeated Buddy Rogers via submission (EL GARFIO) at 12:35. **1/4

Rogers was in control early and nearly got the pin after a vicious series of dropkicks, but Lord Ewan McGregor stopped the ref's count. With Rogers' attention turned, Firpo hit him from behind, and controlled a wild brawl from there out. Rogers was locked into EL GARFIO for more than a minute, unable to esacpe, before finally tapping with no hope to escape.

Barry Windham vs. Angelo Poffo
Barry Windham defeated Angelo Poffo via pinfall (LARIAT) at 4:00. 1/2*

Windham controlled most of the match. Poffo got a burst of wind at the end and went for a big turnbuckle move, but Windham recovered quickly, hit a SUPERPLEX, and then followed up with a LARIAT for the decisive win.

Backstage: After the match, the camera cut quickly to the backstage area, where Randy Savage was being attacked by the Bolsheviks. Randy fended off the two on one assault for a while, but the numbers caught up to him. Fortunately for him, though, Angelo Poffo came streaking up the ramp and into the fray, evening the odds and saving his son before any lasting harm could be done.

Bruiser Brody vs. Blackjack Mulligan
Brusier Brody defeated Blackjack Mulligan via pinfall (JUMPING KNEE DROP) at 7:21. **3/4

Despite applying the BLACKJACK CLAW three times and hitting a piledriver outside of the ring, Mulligan just couldn't put Brody away. His frustration got the better of him and he went up top, but Brody caught him and threw him down with a slam before hitting his finisher to end the match.

"Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. The Iron Sheik
Randy Savage defeated The Iron Sheik via pinfall (FLYING ELBOW DROP) at 5:01. **1/4

Savage was fired up after the attack and in control from the opening bell. Despite not getting in much offense, the Iron Sheik took a lot of punishment, withstanding three FLYING ELBOW DROPS before finally staying down for the three count.

"The Whole F'N Show" Rob Van Dam vs. James Snuka
Rob Van Dam defeated James Snuka via pinfall (dropkick) at 4:12. **

This match looked like it was going to be a repeat of the former, with Snuka coming out strong and overwhelming RVD. He hit the SUPERFLY LEAP twice, but couldn't get the pin, so he went up for one more. As he came down, though, RVD sprung up and caught him mid leap with a devastating dropkick, then applied a quick cover to steal the win.

"The God of Wrestling" Lou Thesz vs. The Destroyer
The Destroyer defeated Lou Thesz via pinfall (FIGURE FOUR LEGLOCK) in 3:56. *1/4 stars

The crowd was stunned for this match, which saw the Destroyer rocking Thesz with a kick early on and dominating from that point forward. He locked in the FIGURE FOUR LEGLOCK in the middle of the ring and Thesz, still feeling the effects of the kick, kept his shoulders on the mat as the ref counted three.

"Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig vs. Lord David Taylor
Curt Hennig defeated David Taylor via pinfall (HENNIG PLEX) at 10:00. *1/4

Hennig put on a clinic in this match, dominating Taylor in and out of the ring for ten minutes before putting him down for three with his trademark HENNIG PLEX.

"The King" Harley Race vs. Bobo Brazil
Bobo Brazil defeated Harley Race via pinfall (big hammer punch) at 6:23. *

It was back and forth for the beginning of the match, but after a wild exchange outside of the ring, Bobo took a decisive advantage with a flying clothesline off of the apron. He rolled Race back into the ring and hit a COCO BUTT, then after a huge windup punch, he was able to keep one of the tournament's early favorites down for the win.

TCW US Heavyweight Championship Tournament - Round One

"Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers vs. Angelo Poffo
Buddy Rogers defeated Angelo Poffo via pinfall (roll-up) in 3:17. 1/2*

Rogers was clearly angry after his first round loss, and came out determined to redeem himself. After controlling the action for a couple of minutes, he finished off Poffo with a face-first whip into the turnbuckle and a quick roll-up.

The Iron Sheik vs. Blackjack Mulligan
The Iron Sheik defeated Blackjack Mulligan via pinfall (Loaded Boot) at 3:27. *1/2

Another quick match saw Mulligan dominate a weary Sheik. While on the outside, though, the Sheik adjusted something in his boot, then hit a big kick that knocked Mulligan out and led to a turnound victory.

"The God of Wrestling" Lou Thesz vs. James Snuka
James Snuka defeated Lou Thesz via pinfall (SUPERFLY LEAP) at 4:09. *

Thesz, like Buddy Rogers earlier, seemed determined to wash off the stain of his earlier loss and dominated the action. He seemed ready to put Snuka away with a big powerbomb, but Snuka used the momentum to flip behind him and caught him with a nasty backbreaker. He then jumped up on the buckle and hit the SUPERFLY LEAP to snatch the victory.

"The King" Harley Race vs. Lord David Taylor
Harley Race defeated David Taylor via pinfall (flying cross body) at 2:00. 1/2*

There wasn’t much to this match. Race came out and dropped Taylor with a big right hand, stretched him a little with an Indian Deathlock, and then went up top and hit a flying cross body to score the victory.