FILM REVIEW
by David Chappell
Mid-Atlantic Gateway
PART THREE
Greg "The Hammer" Valentine continued to narrate over the Greensboro Coliseum film clip after reminding the fans to remember the he and Paul Jones were the legal men in the ring. "Now here goes the big suplex...everybody knows that's my finishing maneuver. Right there...blam! Jones is unconscious," Valentine explained. "Now, the big bionic elbow right across the throat; now I'm gonna get a little insurance elbow here, one more time right across that skinny throat of Paul Jones and I've got him beat right there," Greg opined.
Things really get chaotic in the film at this point, as Ricky Steamboat bails out "Number One" with a well timed save to keep the match alive for the good guys. Valentine commented, "Now here comes Steamboat with a legal save; there's no complaint right there 'cause that's a legal save. Raschke throws Steamboat out of the ring." The Baron interjected, "He is interfering in this match!"
Valentine then honed into the point of contention on the film, "Now watch this, the referee is with Raschke and here comes that sneaky little Steamboat, that creepy little Hawaiian sneakin' back in the ring." Greg then admonishes Steamboat, "Now watch what you do Steamboat, you chop me right across the gut." Valentine then adds, "Jones rolls out of the ring, and watch, [Steamboat] gives me a double thrust, an illegal karate thrust...and then a small package. And here comes that blind [Sonny] Fargo, the referee with the one, two, three count."
When thinking back to Valentine just telling the fans to remember that he and Jones were the legal men in the ring, it was becoming clear where the bad guys were headed next when the film showed that Steamboat captured the winning pinfall. An extremely animated Baron von Raschke then addressed the good guys, "There was no tag, was there?!? Admit it Jones, admit it Steamboat! There was no tagging,
das richtig, ja?!?" Jones and Steamboat did not have a rapid-fire response back to the Baron, who was laughing loudly at this juncture.
An exuberant Valentine needled Paul, "Hey, you speechless or somethin' Jones, huh?!? Can't you talk?!?" Caudle interjected, "All right Paul and Ricky, what do you say about that?" Jones, clearly flustered, tepidly responded, "Let me tell you something Bob, this here, is one of the lowest things I've ever seen done." Steamboat continued in kind, "Both of us cannot express how many times WE'VE been cheated out of the belts." Paul, now seething, attempted to fire back before being interrupted, "Let me tell you something Valentine and Raschke, I wish I could say right here on TV, I wish I could say right here on TV..."
A quite confident Valentine butted in, "You don't have to say nothing,
David will say it all, he's got a telegram right there from the
President!" Raschke clarified, "Bob Geigel, the President!" Greg
confirmed, "He'll say it all!" David Crockett then carefully began to
read from the telegram received from NWA President Bob Geigel that had
just been mentioned. "All right, it's from Bob Geigel, to Jim Crockett
Promotions, Incorporated, 421 Briarbend Drive, Charlotte," the announcer
began reading. "Reference...match between Baron von Raschke/Greg
Valentine versus Paul Jones/Ricky Steamboat, September 3, 1978 in
Greensboro, North Carolina," David continued.
Like a Clerk of Court being handed the jury's verdict to announce to a hushed Courtroom of spectators, David Crockett's next utterances from Bob Geigel's telegram had the spectators at the WRAL TV studios and the two tag teams captivated, not to mention all the fans around the Mid-Atlantic area watching this drama unfold on their TV screens on Saturday, September 9, 1978. Crockett paused, and then slowly read Bob Geigel's words, "After viewing the film of the match, it is my decision that the National Wrestling Alliance Tag Team Title..."
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 4
