River City Wrestling #549
July 16, 1994
Winnipeg, MB
Ironmen rules; Each matchup is a 30 minute iron man match
Each pinfall/submission fall won is 2 points
Each countout/DQ fall won is 1 point.
Each countout/DQ fall lost is -1 point.
Each pinfall/submission fall lost is 0 points.
Each 30 man ironman matchup has a bonus of 5 points available. Scoring for this is just most falls won (regardless of methods). If its a tie each participant gets 2 points; if one person wins he gets 5 points.
The arena scoreboard was used to keep fans abreast of the score.
Night of the Ironmen
Round 1
Jim Brunzell vs Ben Bassarab
[30 Minute draw]
**this match went back and forth, but after 30 minutes of grueling wrestling there were no falls scored.
Points: Brunzell 2; Bassarab 2
Greg Valentine vs Vampiro Canadienese
**Vampiro got frustrated by not being able to dominate the cagey veteran Valentine. Eventually when Valentine was put into a figure-four Vampiro grabbed the ref and pulled him down to get himself DQ'd
[Valentine wins fall by DQ at 11:39] Valentine +1; Vampiro -1
**Vampiro struck right back though catching Valentine being too cocky, nailed him with a superkick, then a reverse DDT and picked up the pin
[Vampiro wins fall by pinfall at 13:20] Vampiro +2
**as the fall wore down both men battled outside the ring, but Valentine managed to nail his 1970's version of an elbowsmash, that staggered Vampiro, and he beat his opponent back into the ring
[Valentine wins fall by countout at 27:12] Valentine +1; Vampiro -1
[Valentine wins 2 falls to 1] Valentine +5
Points: Valentine 7; Vampiro 0
Standings After Round 1: Greg Valentine 7; Jim Brunzell 2; Ben Bassarab 2; Vampiro Canadienese 0
Special Attraction Match: Midgets
Pee Wee Hanson defeated Frenchy Lamonte 2 falls to 1 at 8:40
**Lamonte wins the first fall after an inside cradle (and a handful of tights) at 3:34
**Hanson wins the second fall by DQ when Lamonte delivered a headbutt to the groin of the referee at 5:01
**Hanson wins the third fall by pinfall after a second rope splash at 8:40
Round 2
Jim Brunzell vs Vampiro Canadienese
**Vampiro tried to gain an edge using a pair of brass knuckles, but got caught by the ref and DQ'd
[Brunzell wins fall by disqualification at 10:58] Brunzell +1; Vampiro -1
**unfortunately the brass knux did a lot of damage and Vampiro controlled the majority of the next portion of the match before nailing a moonsault and getting a pin
[Vampiro wins fall by pinfall at 22:25] Vampiro +2
**it looked like Vampiro might just win this segment, and he even began to stall for time and wrestle defensively. However, Brunzell managed an inside cradle, got a 2 count, then nailed a kneebreaker, kicked Vamp's leg out, and put on the figure-four. It really looked like he would outlast the hold and get to the end as the ring announcer counted down. However, he just couldn't stand it anymore and tapped out with 10 seconds left.
[Brunzell wins fall by submission at 29:50] Brunzell +2
[Brunzell wins 2 falls to 1]
Points; Brunzell 8; Vampiro 1
Greg Valentine vs Ben Bassarab
**very even match. Valentine controlled the first 15 minutes but couldn't get a pinfall. Finally however he capitalized after a Bassarab mistake. The Alberta native tried for a splash from the top rope but Valentine turned with him in mid-air, turning it into a powerlsam and got the pin.
[Valentine wins fall by pinfall at 20:30] Valentine +2
**Bassarab saw it was do or die, and pulled out every stop. Finally he telegraphed a backbody drop, and when Valentine went for a kneelift, Bassarab got out of the way sending Valentine onto his back. Bassarab then gave Valentine a slingshot into the corner, where his head collided with the ringpost, and rolled him up for the fall.
[Bassarab wins fall by pinfall at 27:56] Bassarab +2
**Valentine almost got another fall as he had Bassarab in the figure four for about the last 70 seconds of the match but could not get him to submit. He refused to break the hold however, which brought out Jim Brunzell to break it up, which brought out Vampiro. This turned into a 3 man brawl between Brunzell, Valentine, and Vampiro as Bassarab lay in pain, holding his knee.
[Draw 1 fall each] Valentine +2, Bassarab +2
Points; Valentine 4; Bassarab 4
Standings After Round 2; Greg Valentine 11; Jim Brunzell 10; Ben Bassarab 6; Vampiro Canadienese 1
Special Attraction Match
RCW Tag Team Title Match
Destruction Crew: Mike Enos & Wayne Bloom and Rocky & Bob Dellaserra battled to a no-contest at 10:56
[Destruction Crew retained the RCW Tag Team Titles]
**manager Jon Paul Demans was not on hand (said to be in Vegas getting some R&R). Two villain teams that seemed determined to beat the hell out of each other, and for quite awhile the ref let them have at it. Finally though as all 4 men brawled outside and began to use chairs the match was thrown out.
Round 3
Ben Bassarab vs Vampiro Canadienese
**at first this looked like this could be a throw away, as these two rivals locked up. It was an intense brawl with neither man seeming to care at first about pinfalls or disqualifications. The bad blood between the two has spilled forward from their Heritage title matches. Finally though Vampiro went for a moonsault, but Bassarab raised his knees, then nailed two consecutive German suplexes and got the pin.
[Bassarab wins by pinfall at 12:13] Bassarab +2
**After a few minutes it became obvious to Vampiro that a fair fight was not going to win him the night, so he began to cheat more and more. Finally, he went as far as to grab a steel chair, bring it in the ring and hit Bassarab twice over the head busting him wide open.
[Bassarab wins by disqualification at 18:10] Bassarab +1, Vampiro -1
**there is supposed to be a 30 second time out before the next fall starts but Vampiro would not let it go and continued to beat on Bassarab. The ref was joined by security in breaking it up. Finally the ref grew so frustrated that he disqualified Vampiro again. It finally took Baron von Raschke coming down the ring with Vampiro's Heritage title and threatening to strip it from him if he didn't calm down and let the match continue.
[Bassarab wins by disqualification again at 18:10] Bassarab +1, Vampiro -1
**the rest of the bout was vicious, with Bassarab bleeding like a sieve, but there were no more falls counted
[Bassarab wins 3 falls to 0]
Points; Bassarab +9, Vampiro -2
Standings going into final match; Ben Bassarab 15; Greg Valentine 11; Jim Brunzell 10; Vampiro Canadienese -1
Greg Valentine vs Jim Brunzell
**many possibilities running down the final match. It's a 3 way battle for the crown with Bassarab having to sit back and wait and watch. This match started off fairly tentative, both men showing signs of fatigue and their age. Lots of bad blood between these two but neither were in the mood to complain to the ref, they just wrestled it straight up and tough, with Valentine of course breaking all the rules he could. Quite a few wear down holds were used as well to stretch things out. As the match got to the 15 minute mark with no falls being scored the crowd began to wonder if Bassarab would be crowned the Ironman tonight. Realizing that their time was running up the veterans picked the match up a notch. Several criss cross segments, and suddenly Brunzell took Valentine down with a flying crucifix into a pin.
[Brunzell wins by pinfall at 19:10] Brunzell +2
**if there were no more falls scored then Brunzell would walk away with 7 points and the Ironman title. This made Valentine step things up a notch, but in doing so he made several uncharacteristic mistakes that Brunzell pounced on. Valentine had to survive an Indian deathlock, and finally after Brunzell missed a flying dropkick, Valentine managed to smash the knee repeatedly against the ringpost, and then slap on the figure-four. Brunzell lasted as long as he could in the hold but ended up having to submit.
[Valentine wins by submission at 27:46] Valentine +2
**with two minutes left this segment is a draw which means that if the match ended now Bassarab and Valentine would be tied, with Brunzell one point below. Brunzell needs a fall to win the whole thing. Valentine can also win the whole thing by winning another fall regardless if by pinfall or DQ/Countout. And he tried to do that by throwing Brunzell out of the ring. He attacked Brunzell's leg, left him outside the ring, and slid back in. The crowd anxiously awaited as the ref applied the 10 count. But Brunzell made it back in at the count of 9, unable to stand on the leg. Valentine delivered a kneebreaker and tossed him back out of the ring. Again the count was applied (a very slow count) but the ref was only at 6 when the time limit bell rang.
[Draw 1 Fall Each] Valentine +2, Brunzell +2
Points; Valentine +4, Brunzell +4
Standings; Ben Bassarab 15, Greg Valentine 15; Jim Brunzell 14; Vampiro Canadienese -1
There was much confusion and commissioner Baron von Raschke came down to the ring. Normally a tiebreaker would be how the two men faired against each other, but in their segment they also wrestled to a draw. The only solutions were to declare it a draw, or to have them face off one on one again, next fall wins. Greg Valentine, winded from just wrestling 30 minutes, wanted nothing to do with that possibility, but the fans, Bassarab, and Raschke all wanted it badly. They gave Greg Valentine a five minute break before resuming the match.
Sudden Death Final Fall
Ben Bassarab defeated Greg Valentine by pinfall after a diving crossbody at 5:05
**with no title on the line neither man held back. It was a five minute brawl. Valentine went for a figure-four too early and Bassarab was able to kick him off, followed up with a hip toss, two knee drops, slingshot suplex, German suplex, then nailed his finisher in convincing style.
[Ben Bassarab wins the Ironman Tournament]
