GWF Supercard on ESPN

Air Date: 07/29/1991

Location: Global Dome (Sportatorium) in Dallas, TX

Announcers: Craig Johnson & Scott Hudson 

This was a short episode, so I’m sure they took out all the insufferable tourney recap filler. 

GWF Light Heavyweight Title Tournament 2nd Round: Lighning Kid def. Chaz in 9:38. This was the best match in the short history of the promotion, and the first to feel different because of the light heavyweight style. Chaz looked a little green, but solid, and Kid was already awesome. Credit for the tombstone finisher as well. ***

Pedecino did a news segment focusing on the Cartel getting a new member, Stan Lane getting a new tag partner, and the incredibly lame and stupid Handsome Stranger storyline of removing his mask on his wedding night. This is the corniest lame shit you’ll ever see.

GWF Light Heavyweight Title Tournament 2nd Round: The Handsome Stranger def. Rip Rogers in 6:26. Rogers worked a good veteran southern heel match, but Stranger was also still green. Stranger winning clean was probably not what I would have done, but such is life. Rasta the Voodoo Man was out there watching the match for unknown reasons. Rasta was also booked for unknown reasons. *1/2

Rogers was back for an interview with zero mention of the previous match and was hinting at a new member of the Cartel with Makhan Singh, but they decided not to tell Pedecino. They were doing a strong job of building intrigue with this group. 

The Handsome Stranger had another horrible promo, and even briefly sounded like he was going to cut a Buff Bagwell promo on a fan, but perhaps I’m projecting. 

GWF Light Heavyweight Title Tournament 2nd Round: Mike Davis def. Brian Adias in 6:57. We were back to the old-school drab Global match of the early era, complete with Davis winning with his hand on the ropes in a way a referee couldn’t have missed unless he was blind. Davis really is working that Jake Roberts gimmick hard. *

Adrian Street did an interview. He was claiming to be the Global world light heavyweight champ, but the title was vacated because the weight limit was raised from 214 lbs. Okay, buddy. 

Rating: 4.5

The Kid-Chaz match was a lot of fun, and they’re on to something with the Cartel mystery. It’s an extremely low bar, but this was the best show thus far. 

GWF Supercard on ESPN

Air Date: 07/30/1991

Location: Global Dome (Sportatorium) in Dallas, TX

Announcers: Craig Johnson & Scott Hudson 

They aired another long ass tourney recap. I’m starting to think part of the reason they did these tournaments was to have a reason to re-air footage. Jesus. 

Iceman Parsons was interviewed. Other than calling other wrestlers “competitioners”, this was solid. It should be noted that his roody-poo stick says “Roody Poot” on it. I’m not sure if that’s like a particularly inappropriate fart or what, but it is his stick. 

GWF Light Heavyweight Title Tournament 2nd Round: John Tatum def. Terry Garvin in 11:46. This was the first GWF match to have a commercial break during the middle, and they worked it like it was, doing a lot of crowd work for the fans, but not too much movement. Because of this, it was a little slow, and Tatum really looks like he’s mailing it in at this point in his career. 

GWF Light Heavyweight Title Tournament 2nd Round: Jerry Lynn def. Terry Daniels in 7:12. This was another straight babyface match in the tourney, but like the first Daniels match, they worked on the mat. The crowd wasn’t into it because of the babyface dynamic, but they worked fairly well together. *3/4

John Tatum did an interview, teasing the addition of a valet, and asked Boni Blackstone if she wanted the gig. John may be out of shape, but he can still cut a promo here. 

GWF Light Heavyweight Title Tournament 2nd Round: Steve Simpson def. Adrian Street in 8:02. Street tried to keep it interesting on the mat, but the babyface match dynamic was wearing thin. They did a finish in which Street hurt his ribs while trying to give Simpson a bulldog. Very lame. *

Christopher Love cut a promo on getting a partner for Randy Rhodes. Bert Prentice is a total bright spot on the mic. 

Rating: 3.0

The show was back to normal levels without a Kid match, but the promos may have been the best collection on any show yet. Once again – not a high bar, but that did help make the show a little better.

GWF Supercard on ESPN

Air Date: 07/31/1991

Location: Global Dome (Sportatorium) in Dallas, TX

Announcers: Craig Johnson & Scott Hudson 

Tournament recap central. 

Mike Davis was out cosplaying Jake Roberts again on the mic. 

GWF Light Heavyweight Title Tournament 3rd Round: Lightning Kid def. The Handsome Stranger in 12:19. You could really tell Kid was already a pretty polished worker, as he switched to a more old-school style. He played to the crowd perfectly and worked over Stranger’s shoulder. Rasta the Voodoo Man was out, and used voodoo to hurt Stranger’s shoulder further and force him to fall off the top, somehow. Lame finish to an okay match. *3/4

Joe Pedecino plugged a big lumberjack coming in, only a lumberjack that liked to plant trees more than chop them down. What in the fuck? How horrible was this?

GWF Light Heavyweight Title Tournament 3rd Round: Steve Simpson def. Mike Davis in 6:55. Both men knew how to work to the crowd, even if it was a little slow. Simpson won with a splash off the top. *1/2

Adrian Street did a promo talking about having problems in the US, I guess, since he lost in both tournaments. I’m not a fan of this version of Adrian Street. 

Christopher Love cut another awesome promo for Randy Rhodes, telling Boni Blackstone he liked her better when she was a man in Atlanta. Bert was a lot of fun in this role. 

GWF Light Heavyweight Title Tournament 3rd Round: Jerry Lynn def. John Tatum in 8:16. Man, Tatum wasn’t in good shape, but sure can work a wrestling crowd. They had a dumb finish where Tatum was DQ’d for accidentally superkicking the ref. Couldn’t we just beat John Tatum? *1/4

Rasta the Voodoo Man was interviewed and didn’t answer the announcers’ questions because, apparently, practicing voodoo means being a mute. This gimmick is so ungodly horrible. 

Rating; 3.0

The entire presence of Rasta the Voodoo Man is the drizzling shits, but we got another decent Kid match and a fun Chris Love promo. Still, too many guys weren’t even really working modern in 1991. It’s too bad guys like Tatum and Iceman weren’t in shape to help the in-ring more. 

GWF Supercard on ESPN

Air Date: 08/01/1891

Location: Global Dome (Sportatorium) in Dallas, TX

Announcers: Craig Johnson & Scott Hudson 

They recapped the whole fucking tournament. They may have thrown in the entire Freebirds vs. Von Erichs feud for all I m know. 

GWF Light Heavyweight Title Tournament Semifinal: Lightning Kid def. Steve Simpson in 6:51. Simpson worked at a faster pace than normal, and Kid was great at adjusting to Simpson as well. This didn’t get much time, but it was much faster-paced than previous Simpson GWF matches. **1/4 

They did the coin flip like the TV title tournament, this time with Jerry Lynn getting the bye. 

Jerry Lynn did a promo before the finals with Kid. It was pretty bad, but he was young, and I don’t mind it in this instance. At least it was short. 

GWF Light Heavyweight Title Tournament Finals: Lightning Kid def. Jerry Lynn in 9:38. This match was a lot of fun, and this entire feud helped put both on the map. It was fast-paced, aerial, and Kid was so good at playing his character. Kid winning with a chain helped get him his heat. ***1/2

Kid did a bratty promo after the match. It was a little rough, but there’s something so dick unlikable about him in this role. It wasn’t polished, but it all worked. 

Rating; 6.5 

Not only did we have the best match in the short history of the promotion, but we got two Kid matches and a fun promo after winning the title. GWF has a lot of problems, but they made Kid and the Patriot by not just winning their respective tournaments, but also by how they were featured. In this episode, Kid felt special and like a rising star in pro wrestling as a whole.  I couldn’t go any higher because of the tourney recap that took up a third of the show, but the fresh content was a major plus.