Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling: Somewhere Around June-July 1986

Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling: Somewhere Around June-July 1986

1) Cuban Assassin vs. Bobby Crawford
This was a lot of Crawford working around the Cuban and doing armbars. A lot of armbars. Which is fine, really. The commentator noted that the Cuban Assassin had not as of yet been able to solve the riddle that is Bobby Crawford. Which apparently is a riddle that involved a lot of armbars. The match climaxed at the end when the Cuban put Crawford away with “a reverse brainbuster of sorts” which I guess is what you’d call the DDT he did a year before anyone in the Maritimes had seen Jake Roberts do it on WWF television.

2) Rocky Delasara and Stompin’ Paul Peller vs. Gerry Efifier (Gerry Morrow) and The Great Malumba
Gerry is probably the smoothest worker I’ve seen on either show so far. No wonder Lance Storm raves about him. Nothing seemed like it was just killing time. Malumba had more time in this match and was ok.

3) Leo Burke vs. The Spoiler
I was pretty sure starting out that this was Don Jardine, with the only thing making me think otherwise being what appears to be a red beard. But he’s huge and moves well. They also announce him as being tag champion with Nikita Kalmikov and Jardine’s title histories list that as being him. Fun match. Burke was working hard and these guys worked well together, including a sunset flip out of the corner that was impressive on someone as big as Spoiler. Disqualification ending when The Iranian Sheik (Angel of Death) ran in, speaking of huge guys. And it’s the Cuban to the rescue.

4) International champion Maniac Frenchy Martin vs. Buddy Lane
I can’t fathom Martin being anything other than a heel. He calls himself the “Republic’s Greatest Athlete” with the Republic being Quebec, at the time the heels of Canada. But then they gave us poutine and there was peace and love. Martin dominates the match with dirty heel tactics like choking Lane with tape. He finishes him with a shoulder-breaker, pins him and then drops a leg for fun. He grabs the mic and tells Leo Burke to “stay away from the madman, stay away from the Frenchman”.

5) Chuck Simms and Nikita Kalmikov vs. Sunny War Cloud and Cousin Mike (Shaw)
This match is most falls to curfew. It’s fascinating seeing a team of an American and a supposed Russian (which in pro wrestling means he was from Quebec or Northern Ontario) teaming in the Maritimes. Both are outside super-powers in that area. Sunny War Cloud is constantly doing his Native dance when he’s in the ring, he shows a lot of good energy Young Mike Shaw is fun, it’s a shame he didn’t really get to have a good heel run in the Maritimes a few years later as he’s a big guy who could move. He gets a fall over the heels and then they go back and forth a little more until curfew.