September3rd in the Time Tunnel:
Happy Birthday to those who have passed on and to those great wrestlers still with us:
In Memoriam:
Nick Gulas 1914
Ike Eakins 1916
Jim LaRock 1924
Steve Rickard 1929
Kat LaRoux 1964
Happy Birthday:
Spiros Arion (85)
Tj Perkins (41)
Mariana Komlos\Mrs Cleavage (36)
RIP Memorial: We stop & remember those who have passed on this day and gave themselves to the business for us, the fans. We salute you and thank you.
Samuel Thomas Hesser\Mighty Jumbo 9-3-1974 at the age of 51
45 Year Flashback
9-3-1980: Stan Lane defeated Kevin Sullivan for the NWA Georgia Junior Heavyweight Championship at the Municipal Auditorium in Columbus, Georgia
This marked Lane's first reign with the title. Sullivan had been the defending champion, going into the match. Sullivan had been the champion since June 8th of 1980 when he defeated Eddie Mansfield in the tournament final at the Omni in Atlanta for the re-established championship. The title had been inactive since 1953. Lane would have a good run with the title until January 1981.
40 Year Flashback
9-2-1985: WCCW Labor Day Star Wars at the Tarrant County Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas
I have been in this venue for many events in the past. It’s a great place for an event, an easy walk to the venue from the surrounding hotels and parking structures. The show drew around 8,000 fans. When the venue is configured for wrestling, it can have up to 18,000 seats.
This was the 19th event in the "Wrestling Star Wars" series for World Class Championship Wrestling, which were typically major holiday-themed cards, this one being Labor Day. Several of the matches were taped for airing on the WCCW syndicated shows for the following weeks. The card included two title changes and furthered the programs and storylines with the Von Erichs, Gino Hernandez and Bruiser Brody.
**Kerry & Kevin Von Erich & Brian Adias defeated One Man Gang, Mark Lewin & Jack Victory for the WCCW World Six-Man Tag Team Titles when Kerry Von Erich pinned Lewin.
Mark Lewin defeated Iceman King Parsons
Kevin Von Erich defeated Chris Adams
Bruiser Brody defeated One Man Gang by DQ
**Gino Hernandez defeated Brian Adias to win the WCCW Texas Heavyweight Championship
John Tatum (ch) defeated Steve Casey to retain the WCCW Television Title
Kelly Kinski defeated Jim Powers
**Title Change
One Thing I Learned Today About Pro Wrestling History
Spiros Arion ended up being a huge star in the WWWF challenging Bruno Sammartino in a few programs in the 1970s. Prior to that, his career really took off working for Jim Barnett and Johnny Doyle and winning the IWA World Heavyweight Title in Australia in 1965.
Thank You for Reading
I'm Tony Richards, Pro Wrestling Historian, Author and Storyteller. I share pro wrestling historical items in each issue of the Time Tunnel Pro Wrestling History Newsletter. Thanks for reading! If you enjoy my information on select events, matches and insights, please share it with folks you think might like to be a subscriber!
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