Brought to you by Queensbury Athletic Club
Sanctioned by the American Wrestling Association
Saturday, August 18th, 1977
Airing across Canada on CHCH Channel 11 from 1pm to 2pm
Hosted by Lord Athol Layton
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The opening plays, accompanied by Herb Alpert’s
A Bandita. We see short clips of some of the stars that have appeared on Maple Leaf Wrestling over the years, like Whipper Billy Watson, Gene Kiniski, Bruno Sammartino, Johnny Valentine, The Sheik, Jack Brisco and many more.
We then join Lord Athol Layton standing behind a podium with the Maple Leaf Wrestling logo on it, behind him, the Maple Leaf Wrestling logo and a big red and green Maple Leaf.
Layton: "Cheery-O everyone. Welcome to Maple Leaf Wrestling. I'm Lord Athol Layton. Whether you're on the East coast, the West coast, or anywhere in between, we thank you for inviting us into your homes each and every week. We have a great show in store for you today. The Portugese Champion Carlos Rocha and the Freight Train, Rufus R. Jones, will both be in singles action, and in our feature bout, it's a rematch from last week. The Assassins stole a victory from Dino Bravo and the Masked Canadian, and today, Bravo and the masked man will be looking to settle the score!"
Voice from off-screen: "Forget about all that, Layton. Let's talk about what's really going on around here."
The camera pans out, and Greg Valentine is standing with Layton, dressed to the nines, in a suit and tie, dark sunglasses on.
Layton: "I'm joined at this time by Greg Valentine..."
Valentine: "That's MR. Valentine to you, Layton"
Layton: "Of course, how foolish of me. MR. Valentine, last week, Rufus R. Jones came out here with a contract, a contract that you signed I might add, that stipulates the two of you will face off in a Lumberjack match on August 30 at Maple Leaf Gardens."
Valentine: "I'll bet you had a good laugh over that, didn't ya Layton? I'll bet you, Rufus R. Jones and everybody else thinks that he pulled one over on me, don't ya? Well, let me tell you something Layton, nothing could be further from the truth! You see, I told you last week that I would take matters into my own hands, and that's exactly what I've done! I've got a plan in place, a plan that you will see unfold right here on this very program!"
Layton: "Could you elaborate at all on what this plan is, Mr. Valentine?"
Valentine smiles, he resembles a cat that just ate the canary.
Valentine: "Forget it, Layton. You can wait and see, just like everybody else."
Valentine walks off.
Layton: "Well fans, I'm not sure what to make of that, Greg Valentine says that he has "a plan" in place, that we will see unfold right here today. I suppose we can only wait and see. We'll be right back with our first match, after these messages."
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COMMERCIAL BREAK
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MATCH #1 - 1 fall, 10 minute time limit:
Carlos Rocha defeats Golden Boy Apollo after hitting Apollo with three consecutive dropkicks, leading to the pinfall. After the match, The Crusader walks out, with the Canadian title belt over his shoulder…and look who he's got with him!
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IT'S WHIPPER BILLY WATSON! The Crusader and Watson walk over and join Layton on the set.
Layton: "Last week, we heard from Nick Bockwinkel, he's agreed to give you a rematch for the AWA World Heavyweight Title on August 30 at Maple Leaf Gardens, this time the match will have NO time limit."
Crusader: "That's right, Lord. The last two matches that I've had with Bockwinkel, they've both gone the distance. Even a 90-minute time limit didn't solve anything. I feel that I've got Nick Bockwinkel's number, he hasn't been able to beat me. In fact, in both of our previous matches, I was close to pinning him, only to have the time limit run out. One second away, that's all it was, Lord, if I had pinned Nick ONE SECOND sooner, I'd be standing here right now as the World Heavyweight Champion! That's tough to deal with, being that close, only to have victory snatched away at the last possible second."
Layton: "This time, there will be no time limit, so even if the match goes two hours, it won't stop."
Crusader: "That's right. I knew that I needed to train especially hard for this match, like you say, it could go for two, three, even four hours! I called my mentor, the man who took me under his wing almost a decade ago, and got me into this great sport. He also happens to be a 2-time former World Champion. I asked The Whip if he would help me train for this upcoming match, I knew that if anyone could get me into shape, it would be him! On August 30, there won't be a time limit to save Nick Bockwinkel's title. With Whipper Watson's help, I'm confident that I can beat Nick Bockwinkel and leave Maple Leaf Gardens as the new Heavyweight Champion of the World!"
Layton: "Whipper Billy Watson, what about it?"
Watson: "Lord, I've been overseeing this man's training for the last couple of weeks now, and I feel that he's ready for Bockwinkel. August 30th is going to be his day!"
Layton: "You've certainly got your work cut out for you, Nick Bockwinkel has been the most dominant World Heavyweight Champion in recent memory, but if anyone can take the World Title from him, I'd say it's you"
Crusader: "Thank you, Lord, I appreciate that."
Crusader and Watson leave the set.
Layton: "That's going to be a match that you certainly do not want to miss, fans. On August 30, the Crusader challenges Nick Bockwinkel, this time with no time limit, and we could very well see a new World Heavyweight Champion crowned! Right now, we've got to take a quick break, but when we come back, we'll see Rufus R. Jones, the Carolina Freight Train as they call him, in singles action."
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COMMERCIAL BREAK
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George Cannon and the Assassins walk out and join Layton on the set.
Layton: "I'm joined at this time, by George Cannon and his Assassins. Mr. Cannon, last week, the Assassins stole a victory from Dino Bravo and the Masked Canadian, but this week, we'll see a rematch, and one has to assume that Bravo and the Canadian will be ready for any tricks this time around."
Cannon: "When will you stop spreading your slanderous lies, Layton? There was nothing going on last week, no "tricks" as you say. These men won the match fair and square, but that doesn't stop you from lying to all these people, does it Layton?"
Layton: "Now hold on just a moment, I'm simply calling it as I saw it, Mr. Cannon."
Cannon: "Well, I'd say you need glasses then. These men won the match, because they were the better team, just like they will be victorious again on this program."
Suddenly, Greg Valentine makes his way out!
Valentine motions to Cannon to move away from the microphone, and they begin talking, although the microphone doesn't pick up what's being said.
Layton: "I'm not sure what business Greg Valentine has out here, perhaps this has something to do with the "plan" that he alluded to earlier on the broadcast."
A big smile comes across Cannon’s face, and he and Valentine shake hands. Cannon walks back over to where Layton is standing.
Layton: "Mr. Cannon, what was that all about?"
Cannon: "Mind your own business, Layton!"
With that, Cannon motions to the Assassins, and the three men walk off the set.
Layton: "Well, that was rather unusual. However, let's move on to other business. Fans, I'm sure you remember a number of months ago, Johnny Powers suffered an injured neck at the hands of Tiger Jeet Singh. Recently, Johnny was cleared to return to action, and was asked by his close friend Leo Burke to come out to Atlantic Canada and help Burke and his brothers clean up that territory. During that time, Powers became involved in quite a bitter feud with the current International Tag Team Champions The Love Brothers. Now, on August 30, that feud will come to Toronto, as Johnny Powers makes his return to Maple Leaf Gardens, and teams up with Portugese Champion Carlos Rocha to challenge the Love Brothers for the International Tag Team Championship. That's going to be classic match-up, but right now, we've got to cut away for a commercial break. When we come back, we'll see Rufus R. Jones in action, and we'll see our feature bout as well, as the Assassins take on the team of Dino Bravo and the Masked Canadian in a rematch from last week."
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COMMERCIAL BREAK
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MATCH #2 - 1 fall, 10 minute time limit:
Rufus R. Jones defeats Gary McLaughlin after nailing McLaughlin with three consecutive headbutts, leading to the pinfall. After the match, The Assassins and George Cannon hit the ring!
Layton: "What in the World is this?!?! The Assassins have hit the ring, and jumped on Rufus R. Jones! This is uncalled for! Let's get some help out here for Rufus."
The two masked men double-team Rufus. Jones fights back valiantly, but it’s no use, eventually they get the better of him and pound him into the mat!
One of the Assassins holds Rufus on the mat while the other Assassin comes off the top rope with a kneedrop, right onto the throat of Jones!
Layton: "Oh my! He came down right on his throat! Rufus R. Jones' career could be in serious jeopardy, we need some help out here, we need to put a stop to this!"
Suddenly, Dino Bravo and the Masked Canadian hit the ring! They knock Cannon to the ground, then slide into the ring and put the run on the Assassins!
After the Assassins and Cannon have left the ringside area, Bravo and the Canadian check on Rufus, then when he’s back up to his feet, Bravo and the Canadian head over to where Layton is standing on the set.
Bravo: "Layton, let's get those yellow-bellied cowards, the Assassins back out here, let's get this match started RIGHT NOW!"
Layton: "A vicious attack by The Assassins on Rufus R. Jones just moments ago. We've got to cut away for a moment, but when we return, it looks like we'll have our feature bout! Don't go away."
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COMMERCIAL BREAK
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Layton: "We're back. Just before the break, the Assassins attacked Rufus R. Jones after his match, and proceeded to give him a brutal beating! The Assassins have come back out, and it looks like we're ready for the feature bout, so let's go to the ring!"
MATCH #3 - 1 fall, TV Time Remaining:
Dino Bravo & The Masked Canadian defeat The Assassins by DQ.
Bravo has the match well in hand, until George Cannon gets up on the ring apron, and hits Bravo with the helmet he wears to the ring. The referee sees this, and immediately disqualifies the Assassins! .
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COMMERCIAL BREAK
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Layton: "That does it for another week of Maple Leaf Wrestling. Next week, we'll have another action-packed hour of
AWA wrestling for you. Hopefully we'll have an update on Rufus R. Jones and his condition after that vicious assault, perpetrated by the Assassins. One has to wonder if that was the plan that Greg Valentine had been referring to earlier on this program. Hopefully next week we can get some answers. In action on next week's show will be Carlos Rocha, Edouard Carpentier, Billy Red Lyons and the Assassins. All that and much, much more, right here next week on AWA Maple Leaf Wrestling. Until then, I'm Lord Athol Layton, saying so long and we'll see you at ringside."
ROLL CREDITS/CLOSING THEME
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AWA "Maple Leaf Wrestling" TV 8-18-77 (Read 287 times)