May 25, 1972 Part Two

When I left you last, we were at Kansas City, Kansas on a Thursday night for the matches. So great was this card that featured the NWA World's Champion Dory Funk Jr. that the opening match could have been a main event anywhere in the region. Benny Rameriz, the former masked star known as "The Mummy," fought a 20-minute draw with Omar Atlas. Most of Omar's moves were airborne, while Benny preferred to mat wrestle.

Betty Niccoli was next in a battle for the ladies’ title against Jean Antone, the 127-pound ball of fire from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. At around the 15-minute mark, with both ladies fighting for all the glory, Jean missed a flying tackle and ended up outside the ring and was counted out. Betty escaped the ring with her belt and made a hasty retreat to the dressing room.

Roger Kirby was next against Billy Howard in a match that Kirby dominated about 75% of the time. Roger was a former NWA Junior Heavyweight Champ who had to retire the belt due to weight restrictions. Billy Howard, on the other hand, held his own against Kirby and gave him agreat match and let him know that he was not just an average wrestler that came to Kansas City looking for a ride.

Angus was next against Terry Martin from Minot, North Dakota. At a little over 10 minutes, I hollered at Angus to meet me on the floor and speak to me. Terry Martin had other ideas about us and grabbed each of us by our hair and slammed our heads together, which sent me falling to the floor. Angus regained composure much faster than me and charged the ring and proceeded to grab Terry every way he could. He suplexed him just about every way he could and then threw him over the top rope to the arena floor. He then turned the referee away from us, and, as Terry was on the ring apron, I jumped up behind him and slammed his head into the ring post, busting his head open.

He fell to the arena floor and was a bloody mess. The referee had no choice but to count him out. Twenty seconds, later I joined Angus in the ring to celebrate our victory. It was long lived as the dressing room emptied out and guys like YellowBear, Rufus, Geigel, O’Connor and Stomper, along with Atlas, came to the ring to help their buddy out. We made a hasty retreat and fought our way back to our dressing rooms and locked the doors.

Promoter Gust Karras came to our room and handed me a fine of $1000 for my injection into the match. I was rampant with fury and demanded a rematch with this "Kid" from North Dakota to get revenge for my money. Of course, Karras wanted to bar me from ringside and chain me to a post and everything else he could think of, but I outsmarted him and kept my $1000 by telling him that Terry would have to fight me for it. That match was set for two weeks later in Kansas City.

Getting back to the super card in Kansas City, Danny Yellowbear and the Stomper, the new North American Tag Team Champs, were next on the card and faced former champions Chati Yokouchi and Yasu Fuji. This was yet another title match on the supercard that could have been a Main Event in any other building.

Stomper started the match out against the much smaller Yokouchi, and, despite the size difference, Chati held his own and battled the odds with many Oriental moves that were not exactly Kosher. Danny Yellowbear had to always stick his nose into the match, like he always does, and nearly got the team disqualified for his actions. Yasu Fuji, the karate champion from Osaka, finally got his chance in the ring and began an assault on Yellowbear and had the moccasin-wearing good guy on his knees begging out for help. One fan made it past a uniformed policeman but was apprehended by a plainclothesman on duty at ringside.

Kansas City was known for its riots and fights as those folks in the Midwest have nothing better to do on Thursday nights. The Stomper finally got into the ring with a tag and began a fight like I have never seen before. Those size 15 boots were beating a path all over Fuji and Yokouchi. I know what they feel like as he has kicked the tar out of me a couple of times when Angus wasn't looking.

This tag team match ended in a double disqualification with both teams fighting inside the ring. It was a violent mess that had more fans clambering to get into the action. Three more arrests were made by the policemen. I just never did understand some fans.

The Main Event was for the World's Championship held by Dory Funk Jr. It was a match that paced itself very carefully. Rufus R. Jones was a fantastic athlete that had given his all for this match. Every strong competitor except Angus had been beaten getting him to this night. I guess it was just fan support that took Rufus to the top and also a lot of help from the one-legged promoter Gust Karras.

Rufus grabbed every hold he knew, but Dory, the consummate wrestler that he was, matched him hold for hold and counter to counter hold. It was a very strong match as you have to be in the best of shape to go any distance with the champ on any night. There were many high spots in the match with Rufus winning the first fall with a huge head butt and pin after 35 minutes of action. Dory won the second fall with a Spinning Leg Lock at the 55-minute mark and had Rufus very well unable to get to his feet.

The bell rang for the third and final fall, and Rufus pleaded for more time to regain a little strength in his leg. Dory knew that he had the best of Rufus and dove to the legs. They became tangled in the ropes and fought to get an advantage over each other. Referee Frank Diamond began a count to get the two apart, and, finally, they separated for a moment. By then, Rufus was able to get back on his knees and fought back against Dory when he tried to get to his legs. At the 58-minute mark, Dory missed a flying drop kick and went into the ropes and turnbuckles and crashed to the mat. Rufus jumped across his shoulders and a two-count was made. Dory took to the ropes and forced the referee to count to nine before getting back into action.

In a valiant attempt to win the gold belt emblematic of the NWA Championship and the best the business had to offer, Rufus grabbed Dory in a full nelson and began a giant swing with him tied up. He turned and turned until he was getting dizzy. The announcer had called the 10-second mark for the match, and Rufus dropped Funk to the mat. He staggered around and finally hit the shoulders as the two-count was given, and the bell rang, signaling the end of the time limit.

Dory Funk retained his belt, and the fans of Kansas City were very happy with the outcome and went home happy after a great evening of wrestling action. The only one that was unhappy was Rufus, who told reporters from the Kansas City Star that he was just one second away from being World's Champ.

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers