I remember watching this live when it happened. I was so absolutely mad, I was screaming at the television. I think I was about 11. My mom laughed at me because it was "fake" and that made me even crazier. I hated PS Hayes and his blond hair. I wanted them to die. I can remember the sick feeling in my chest and then thanking God for Tommy Rich. That, my friends, is selling an angle. The heat the Freebirds could generate is hard to describe. I miss these days.
As long as I've been watching wrestling, I've never seen a full episode of Georgia Championship Wrestling. It looks AMAZING though. I LOVE this old school stuff. I've seen other clips, and WWE should buy the rights to this (if they haven't already) and air it on their new network. They already show Mid-Atlantic on Classics onDemand.
I was thrown off by the beginning of the show when they were showing Tommy Rich teaming with Bill Dundee in Memphis. I was thinking that Memphis had took over Georgia wrestling.
I remember seeing this happen live to.........I thought he was dead I remember looking at my oldest brother and saying WILL HE DIE?.........and my brother said DON'T KNOW WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT WEEK TO FIND OUT...........lmfao.........damn I miss those days lmfao
@TheJman2600 exactly I was gonna say the same damn thing. This is so unrealstic in so many ways. smh I know they were going for the effects but in the voice of Cris Carter, c'mon man!
Debiase was an awesome face. He sold those pill-drivers like they were killing him. I love how Gordon Solie said his one leg was now shorter than the other, with a straight face. Best commentator ever.
Solie saying, "oooo" when Dibiase flys out of the ring and when he gets piledriven on the concrete are just some of the little intricacies that make him the best!
The freebirds were such a bad ass wrestling team back then.These guys were most of the time heels,but they were intertaining as hell and made wrestling seem real.I miss the old days of wrestling like geogia and mid-atlantic wrestling.
I remember going to Sunday School the day after this incident seriously asking the Sunday school teacher to pray for Ted Dibiase. I was a kid and thought he was seriously hurt. (too bad wrestling isn't still like this)
What happened 2 the piledriver these days ? It was one of my favorite moves back then. It's not dangerous at all if both wrestlers know what they're doing. These days alot of the finishing moves look less painful than regular moves. Overall wrestling is a joke compared 2 what it once was. The freebirds were one of my favorites.
This must have been before Dibiase and Tommy Rich engaged in that tremendous feud in 1983 into '84. I never knew Dibiase and Rich were tag team partners at all! A great video despite the quality. Very insightful for me.
At least he sold them and did the stretcher job. Fast forward to Tazz vs Lawler in 2000 when Tazz no sold three piledrivers. The credibility of finishers is not protected today.
anybodby remember how debiase, hacksaw duggan, and dr. death teamed up, or that time duggan dressed up like a ape and was sitting in the crowd and jumped inthe ring and saved someone, i forget who.
@c0uchsl0uch It was a "loser of the fall leaves Mid-South" showdown between JYD/Mr Olympia vs Dibiase/Duggan. But Duggan was supposedly in jail in Lake Charles, so Dibiase called a friend of his from out of town, Matt Borne, to replace Duggan. It was at the time of the State Fair in Shreveport. There was a school of kids there & a gorilla from the fair handing out balloons & candy. The Gorrilla later got involved in the match & speared JYD, allowing Dibiase to pin him! The Gorilla was Hacksaw!
Please stop talking about today's WWE bullshit on old videos. It's disrespectful. Keep all the 21st century "sports entertainment" crap on the videos of said "sports entertainment." Videos like this are to discuss the good days of professional wrestling...not the bullshit that's on TV now. Stuipid fucking morons.
@anthony1468 No, the rich feud was over 2 years after this. I don't rmemebr how it started. I think it was just over the national title at first. Could be wrong. Dibiase turned heel about a year after this in Mid-South. It was JYD that he turned against.
Possibly the best angle of the 80's. Ted Dibiase's ability to sell like he was dead made this. The man is a legend and his son Ted Jr seems to have his father's psychology based on his angle with Randy Orton last Monday. He just needs time to develop.
This remains my favorite piece of wrestling history. Over the years I bragged about seeing this match (on TV) to all my friends. Finally, my best friend Vance go the tape for me. It had lost a little of its luster but still makes my heart race. There will never be another Freebirds or Michael PS Hayes. Georgia Championship wrestling ruled my life back then!
If I had seen this as a kid I probly would have been traumatized for life, but the fact that JYD just stood there like a geek doesn't sell this angle seeing it as an adult. Always thought the Stevens/Snuka piledriver angle was very convincing, though.
I remember being a little mark at this time and sending Dibiase a post card while he was in the hospital. I watched this every saturday night back then. Thanks for posting this. Man I was a mark back then lol
One of my earliest wrestling memories. Realism that what's missing in todays wrestling. This made people believe Dibiase was seriously injured. Kid like myself & my brother at the time thought Dibiase was on the verge of death. Gordon sold it perfectly also.
One of wrestling's most memorable matches! How Ted Dibiase could kick out after being piledriven 2 or 3 times by opponent Terry Gordy is unbelievable! And Junkyard Dog stayed in his corner until Tommy Rich threw in the towel. I'm sure his neck was seriously injured after all that thudding. And Gordon Solie's commentating was unbelievable. He stayed on it the whole time!
I remeber watching this as a kid, I thought they killed Ted !
I think they followed it up the next week with a interview with Ted from an Atlanta hospital bed. You wouldn't see that attention to detail today !
The Freebirds did the same thing to Steve Williams in 1986 in the UWF after a match between Dibiase and Williams. Steve was going to Japan and this was the injury angle that explained his absence.
I remember that. Local news even supported an angle or storyline. My girlfriend said the local news use to support cwa in Memphis the same in the late 70s early 80s, helping an angle to get over
this was good stuff . i believe this is actually how dibiase' dad iron mike was killed . he was killed in the ring due to a pile driver gone wrong . i am not 100% sure bout that but it something i have heard for years .
I remember watching this match live when I was twelve years old. This was one of the best wrestling matches EVER!! Today's so called "wrestlers" would have been laughed at back then. These guys could sell a match 100 times better than today's jokes. Gordon Solie was indeed the best wrestling announcers of all time!!!
Awesome! I can remember watching this way back. The Freebirds had some of the best feuds. Oh yeah, I remember Tommy "Wildfire" Rich coming in for the rescue...
Wasn't it Ted, a Fuller, and the Junkyard Dog doing some 6 man matches? I can remember going to the Omni and Michael Hayes was handcuffed to JYD at ringside during a tag team bout...
YEAH,i was surprised to see debiase get up after that to roll back in the ring and let alone to keep taking pds and kicking out. in uwf,when gordy piledrived steve williams on the floor in 86,frank dusek actually recalled THIS incident
tell me about it...i think the pildriver is could still a move that they still could sell today as a devastating move,just like the ddt,i dn't know how the PD became obsolete
The piledriver, and many classic moves, could still be sold as a devastating finisher. I mean Hogan got the legdrop over, The Rock got an elbow smash over. But the move has to be protected. Protecting a finisher means nobody does it like you and, as Gordon used to say, "Once he hits it, IT'S OVER!" And the move must be done well. So much drama can be built around a strong finisher. You can also allow that rare special wrestler you want to push to kick out, but it must take its toll!
For JYD to try to slip Dibiase a foreign object was abhorrent. Luckily cheaters noever win, the Freebirds came up with the big win. You have to admire the Freebirds for hanging in there when everyone was out ot get them. Truly heroic.
Sorry, I clicked thumbs down by accident! Don't worry, everyone thought it was real at some point in their life :) I was about the same age as you and it horrified me.
Just watch the psychology. The piledriver was their finisher. Dibiase kicked out four times, which given the era was a huge push for him. But they still protected the finisher by having him do the stretcher job. Today people kick out at one after being dropped off a skyscraper.
Wrestling is far less realistic today because today's fans -- the ones that grew up with WWF's kiddie, cartoony style antics -- only care about seeing one extreme high spot after another. It's nothing but a series of no-sells (or kick outs) to keep the action going for an extended period before a pin. Whatever happened to the days when even ONE piledriver would send the opponent into convulsions?
NYYTERP. We think alike. Ask Austin what a piledriver can do if the move is botched and the recipient is not properly protected. Today it's: Jeff Hardy with a Senton off the Sears Tower. THE COVER AND MY GOD, MY GOD, UNDERTAKER KICKS OUT! Of course in today's wrestling psychology Undertaker would then get pinned with a snap mare.
Seems like everything they did in Georgia worked and came off well. And for a crowd of 50-100, they were always loud. IIRC this was in 1981 and watching this again, I feel eleven years old again. Thanks!
Like most of you, I saw this on TBS when it was first aired (and I never noticed how short the ring was!). Great sell by DiBiase. Saw Ted in Clinton, MS, in about 2003 and the first thing I could think of to say was to comment about this match. He acted as if he had heard that comment many times before.
As did I see the original broadcast, and because I was so young and hadn't really caught on, I found this to be very emotional and really enjoying to watch DiBiase battle The Freebirds. This was a great feud!
wrestling and wrestling storylines are not like this anymore. These were much better times for wrestling. Wrestling should be more sport oriented, competitive, and seriously taken..there is way too much goofiness and comedy in wrestling today. Although some of that is good, too much gives the wrestlers lack of credibility.
This was one of the great story lines of all time. Ted was able to use this incident for years to come as his justification for turning heel years later. He also used the loaded glove and did an angle where he crushed the face of Bullet Bob Armstrong which led to the famous fued with Brad Armstrong. Maybe someone has the footage of that incident ?
It sure was, which made his heel turn on JYD so much more painful, because, who was his partner that day? JYD. Who threw in the towel? Tommy Rich. Dibiase had feuds with both of them. Ah, thank goodness for video footage to remind us of how wrestling was before the cartoon era began.
The angle, yes, was Dibiase crushing Bob's face. That is not what actually happened. Bob was lifting weights and it fell on his face. He even mentions this in 1984 in Southeastern when he was trying to get back with Ron Fuller.
This was one of the greatest angles ever. I swear to God, even though I knew that wrestling was scripted (NOT fake), I swear to God I thought Ted DiBiase was dead!
I remember when this happened. Didnt they replay it the next week but right when his head hit, it broke into a song. For years I have tried to remember what the song was. Can anybody help. I think it was countryish.
Wow, this brings back childhood memories. One of the all time great old school incidents in wrestling history. The Freebirds were such great heels and Dibiase was so much better in the hard working blue collar, baby face role than the cartoon character Million Dollar Man. Georgia Championship Wrestling was the best.
One of the best angles ever. Years later, in the UWF, Jim Ross would refer to this match and mention that Dibiase had chronic neck problems from the beating. It was a good way to continue the Freebird angle as it made Dibiase seem one step away from being injured permanently whenever he had to face any one of them.
Gordon Solie could make a checkers match, sound like it was the most important event happening today. We need more like Solie. We also need wrestling like this today. It was more believeable then. I hope to post more classic GCW soon, and thank you for the rating.
He was wrestling's most respected journalist. Unlike the today's scripted commentary he wasn't always told what would be happening and had to react live. Plus, he was so technical calling a match, "Side Russian Leg Sweep" "Hard Chop to the Solar Plexus." And, you could always count on certain phrases during an hour of GCW like "Let me tell you something Gordon Solie!" "He just Pearl Harbored the ring!" and, of course, "We'll be back, we'll be back. We've got to get order restored!"
I always felt that all one needs to know about the difference between Solie and Jim Ross could be seen in this angle vs. the angle from Mid-South in 1985 when Dick Murdoch bloodied DiBiase before his match with Ric Flair. Both great angles called brilliantly by Solie and Ross. But the feel is completely different. The difference between "wrestling" and "sports entertainment" in a nutshell.
I grew up watching Mid-South. It was very raw, with really physical matches and solidly told storylines. It was "hardcore" before there was such a term.
I wholeheartedly agree, Hoodooswamp. Gordon Solie was the greatest announcer in wrestling history by far. Georgia Championship Wrestling is to this day the best wrestling show ever!! I still remember the Freebirds/Dibiase angle like it was yesterday. Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy had the best piledriver in the pro wrestling business.
JYD did nothing to help Dibiase. Thinking back I don't blame Dibiase for going heel the next year!
dmenace4life 6 days ago
I loved Gordon Solie back then...great job indeed.
These matchups between The Freebirds and Dibiase and JYD and Tommy Rich were epic
camvantasco 2 weeks ago
I remember watching this live when it happened. I was so absolutely mad, I was screaming at the television. I think I was about 11. My mom laughed at me because it was "fake" and that made me even crazier. I hated PS Hayes and his blond hair. I wanted them to die. I can remember the sick feeling in my chest and then thanking God for Tommy Rich. That, my friends, is selling an angle. The heat the Freebirds could generate is hard to describe. I miss these days.
grantorino2009 1 month ago
As long as I've been watching wrestling, I've never seen a full episode of Georgia Championship Wrestling. It looks AMAZING though. I LOVE this old school stuff. I've seen other clips, and WWE should buy the rights to this (if they haven't already) and air it on their new network. They already show Mid-Atlantic on Classics onDemand.
TrueTalkTV 1 month ago
I was thrown off by the beginning of the show when they were showing Tommy Rich teaming with Bill Dundee in Memphis. I was thinking that Memphis had took over Georgia wrestling.
GregasaurausRex 1 month ago
I remember seeing this on WTBS when I was a kid. Georgia wrestling was one of my highpoints of the week
HymieItsu 2 months ago
Why is the ring so low to the ground and so small
STWFPro 2 months ago
Gordon was the Master, no one is in his league.
mankind2112 2 months ago
Wait, Ted Dibiase Sr. as a Face? Inconceivable!
Slateboard 2 months ago
Comment removed
thepimpmunk 4 months ago
I love how Tommy Rich and JYD turn him over and Rich tries to lift his neck up....duh!!!!
pcolalongfellow 5 months ago
@pcolalongfellow That's what led to DiBiase's heel turn.
iheartpeta1 3 months ago
But see, why did JYD just stand on the apron the whole time???
bighustle 6 months ago
great stuff.....great story lines....Gordon was a master at selling the match.
Fistandantilusdh 8 months ago 5
I remember seeing this happen live to.........I thought he was dead I remember looking at my oldest brother and saying WILL HE DIE?.........and my brother said DON'T KNOW WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT WEEK TO FIND OUT...........lmfao.........damn I miss those days lmfao
Stone469 8 months ago 8
i remember watching this LIVE when i was a kid...........WOW
yamicii21 9 months ago
I could watch this stuff all day...I grew up on it.
DaveInOCNJ 9 months ago 2
DiBiase kicks out after FOUR piledrivers, including one on the concrete? Who booked this, Paul Heyman?
"Do not move him. Somebody call an ambulance right away." Excellent job by Gordon. Michael Cole couldn't hold Gordon's microphone.
TheJman2600 10 months ago 15
@TheJman2600 probably the clueless Ole Anderson
TheSteeletube 1 month ago
@TheJman2600 exactly I was gonna say the same damn thing. This is so unrealstic in so many ways. smh I know they were going for the effects but in the voice of Cris Carter, c'mon man!
chrishollister80 1 month ago
I so remember this one.... I was in tears to.. but hell I was like 10 at the time..
stewxl 11 months ago
Debiase was an awesome face. He sold those pill-drivers like they were killing him. I love how Gordon Solie said his one leg was now shorter than the other, with a straight face. Best commentator ever.
GhostManBrandonDDpre 11 months ago
someone should make a Gordon Solie soundboard !!! that would rock!
SpoilerNumberOne1978 1 year ago
The Freebirds : Best tag team ever
Bamafandave3450 1 year ago
Dibiase ended up sueing mid south for letting this happen and won Millions, and the Million Dollar Man was created.
Emit79 1 year ago
@Emit79 Wow now that's a scoop! Thanks for the info
eslubin 1 year ago
Solie saying, "oooo" when Dibiase flys out of the ring and when he gets piledriven on the concrete are just some of the little intricacies that make him the best!
leche1230 1 year ago
That's the way you hit a r ing. Tommy Rich, JY
eslubin 1 year ago
why was hayes hitting gordy and roberts?
rand9234 1 year ago
@rand9234 Motavation.
yardlet6 11 months ago
that's funny at 2:25, from 35 feet away..."He's Hemmoraging! He's Hemmoraging!"
TheLiberalsSuck 1 year ago
diabiase did this story line with so many wrestlers lol
bluepastry 1 year ago
The freebirds were such a bad ass wrestling team back then.These guys were most of the time heels,but they were intertaining as hell and made wrestling seem real.I miss the old days of wrestling like geogia and mid-atlantic wrestling.
sammys70 1 year ago
'dont move him, he's haemorrhaging"
one of gordon solie's greatest lines
sayanroy36 1 year ago 6
@sayanroy36 lol good catch
eslubin 1 year ago
@sayanroy36 you mean haemhorraging
eraffel 11 months ago
@eraffel
lol spelling natzi
sayanroy36 11 months ago
@sayanroy36 Sorry, I can't help myself...It's spelled 'Nazi'.
mjbab73 11 months ago
@mjbab73
lol dude i was being sarcastic, like "i can haz cheezburger"......i know its spelled nazi :)
sayanroy36 11 months ago
@eraffel "hemorrhaging" in the US.
mamacornettesmoney 11 months ago
I remember going to Sunday School the day after this incident seriously asking the Sunday school teacher to pray for Ted Dibiase. I was a kid and thought he was seriously hurt. (too bad wrestling isn't still like this)
steburton 1 year ago 2
@steburton he was injured he got a concussion
oldschool6804 7 months ago
What happened 2 the piledriver these days ? It was one of my favorite moves back then. It's not dangerous at all if both wrestlers know what they're doing. These days alot of the finishing moves look less painful than regular moves. Overall wrestling is a joke compared 2 what it once was. The freebirds were one of my favorites.
ReALiTeeChEkk 1 year ago
WOW I remember watching this with my cousin as a kid. She was so upset after it. I miss the old days of wrestling.
jdross516 1 year ago
Man, that hurt my neck and all I did was watch. Lol. On another note, JYD had a chest? Who would've thought? Lollll
mado78 1 year ago
yeah they are lol
jaybrone78 1 year ago
those ropes are looser than Madonna's cunt
JoeyPencils 1 year ago
@JoeyPencils How dare you make a remark like that!....no way those ropes could be that loose
Mp25DIII 1 year ago
@Mp25DIII wow I just reread my comments...I can't believe I typed that
JoeyPencils 1 year ago
Classic, I was a kid, I thought this was real! Michael Hayes acts and kinda looks like David lee Roth.
ed2kou1 1 year ago
@ed2kou1 it was real, he suffered a concussion
oldschool6804 7 months ago
Gordon--"Oh dear, he's hemorraging, don't move him" as JYD stood there with his thumb up his ass the whole time!{LOL]
bcushing 1 year ago 5
Reminds me of the early 90s when the Dangerous Alliance used to beat the brakes off of Ricky Steamboat on a weekly basis.
mrtrin 2 years ago
The Freebirds were awesome back then!! I loved Gordy & Hayes during the UWF days in the 80's.
StGeorgesNL 2 years ago
This must have been before Dibiase and Tommy Rich engaged in that tremendous feud in 1983 into '84. I never knew Dibiase and Rich were tag team partners at all! A great video despite the quality. Very insightful for me.
kenpalmer1965 2 years ago 3
Ted was always one of my favorites. Really a hard worker very convincing.
livendapast 2 years ago 2
DiBiase really sold the piledriver, but I wish he wouldn't have kept kicking out. It made it look better if he had not kicked out constantly.
mrhollister09 2 years ago
At least he sold them and did the stretcher job. Fast forward to Tazz vs Lawler in 2000 when Tazz no sold three piledrivers. The credibility of finishers is not protected today.
mongoose704 2 years ago 4
anyone who no sells a lawler piledriver is an asshole
jfizzay 1 year ago
anybodby remember how debiase, hacksaw duggan, and dr. death teamed up, or that time duggan dressed up like a ape and was sitting in the crowd and jumped inthe ring and saved someone, i forget who.
c0uchsl0uch 2 years ago
@c0uchsl0uch It was a "loser of the fall leaves Mid-South" showdown between JYD/Mr Olympia vs Dibiase/Duggan. But Duggan was supposedly in jail in Lake Charles, so Dibiase called a friend of his from out of town, Matt Borne, to replace Duggan. It was at the time of the State Fair in Shreveport. There was a school of kids there & a gorilla from the fair handing out balloons & candy. The Gorrilla later got involved in the match & speared JYD, allowing Dibiase to pin him! The Gorilla was Hacksaw!
mamacornettesmoney 11 months ago
I could hear Gordon break it down all day.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
slyzzy1 2 years ago
Please stop talking about today's WWE bullshit on old videos. It's disrespectful. Keep all the 21st century "sports entertainment" crap on the videos of said "sports entertainment." Videos like this are to discuss the good days of professional wrestling...not the bullshit that's on TV now. Stuipid fucking morons.
BiscuitsMcGillicuddy 2 years ago
Well said my friend
slydewinder 2 years ago 2
hOW DID THE RICH-DIBIASE FUED START? WAS IT FROM HERE WHEN RICH THREW IN THE TOWEL?
anthony1468 2 years ago
@anthony1468 No, the rich feud was over 2 years after this. I don't rmemebr how it started. I think it was just over the national title at first. Could be wrong. Dibiase turned heel about a year after this in Mid-South. It was JYD that he turned against.
mamacornettesmoney 11 months ago
Possibly the best angle of the 80's. Ted Dibiase's ability to sell like he was dead made this. The man is a legend and his son Ted Jr seems to have his father's psychology based on his angle with Randy Orton last Monday. He just needs time to develop.
RSXemperor 2 years ago 2
dibiase got wrecked.
note hayes whacking Gordy in the face at the beginning. The cult leader rousing his golem into dreadful action
eslubin 2 years ago 7
This remains my favorite piece of wrestling history. Over the years I bragged about seeing this match (on TV) to all my friends. Finally, my best friend Vance go the tape for me. It had lost a little of its luster but still makes my heart race. There will never be another Freebirds or Michael PS Hayes. Georgia Championship wrestling ruled my life back then!
michaelanthonyshow 2 years ago
If I had seen this as a kid I probly would have been traumatized for life, but the fact that JYD just stood there like a geek doesn't sell this angle seeing it as an adult. Always thought the Stevens/Snuka piledriver angle was very convincing, though.
MrDeray5 2 years ago
Looks like this booking did more to ruin the piledriver than anything else.
EGarrett01 2 years ago
@MrDeray5 This would be the catalyst when Ted DiBiase went heel on Junkyard Dog in Mid-South. Part of the work was that he blamed JYD for the injury.
mkl62 1 year ago
I remember being a little mark at this time and sending Dibiase a post card while he was in the hospital. I watched this every saturday night back then. Thanks for posting this. Man I was a mark back then lol
chianarulz 2 years ago 12
They actually took DiBiase to the hospital and doped him up to sell the angle. Priceless!
yardlet6 2 years ago 2
@chianarulz that was a concrete floor with no pad you think he didn't get a concussion
oldschool6804 7 months ago
@chianarulz Ahhh but those were the good ole days of rasslin'...i guess i was a mark too...lol
Styme2002 3 months ago
@chianarulz i think he really did get hurt in this why are you doubting it?
oldschool6804 2 months ago
You gotta be SUPERHUMAN to take 5 Piledrivers (1-Concrete floor)
anthony1468 2 years ago
That ring looks so small that it makes the wrestlers look like giants.
xxcelinux 2 years ago
Man, THIS was real wrestling. You really bought it back then. It was high drama. The wrestlers and even the announcers totally sold these old angles.
huntercentury 2 years ago 2
hell yes they did. But they didn't have PPV's every other week either. WAY more time to flesh out angles back then.
Jarsfan1997 2 years ago 2
One of my earliest wrestling memories. Realism that what's missing in todays wrestling. This made people believe Dibiase was seriously injured. Kid like myself & my brother at the time thought Dibiase was on the verge of death. Gordon sold it perfectly also.
datdamnleroygreene 2 years ago 2
such great memories.
okrabay 2 years ago
One of wrestling's most memorable matches! How Ted Dibiase could kick out after being piledriven 2 or 3 times by opponent Terry Gordy is unbelievable! And Junkyard Dog stayed in his corner until Tommy Rich threw in the towel. I'm sure his neck was seriously injured after all that thudding. And Gordon Solie's commentating was unbelievable. He stayed on it the whole time!
north5880 2 years ago
I remeber watching this as a kid, I thought they killed Ted !
I think they followed it up the next week with a interview with Ted from an Atlanta hospital bed. You wouldn't see that attention to detail today !
The Freebirds did the same thing to Steve Williams in 1986 in the UWF after a match between Dibiase and Williams. Steve was going to Japan and this was the injury angle that explained his absence.
86lenny 2 years ago 2
Yep, and it set up the great feud between Dr. Death and Gordy. Those two had several unbelievable matches.
mamacornettesmoney 2 years ago
that was a cheap-looking ring. reminds me of ECW
skinwalkerxxx 2 years ago
One of the most memorable angels ever to me...to this day , when I see someone in a neck brace, I think of DiBiase in one for weeks after this angle.
Clean49 2 years ago
Yea back then, many fans still believed it was real and actually cared. Back then, heels were booed and faces were cheered.
N0GGINB0NKER 2 years ago 3
When I first saw this, man the emotion! Great angle, The Freebirds-DiBiase/JYD feud was wonderful!
MeAndMyRC 2 years ago
Gordon sells it perfectly!!!!!!!!
jesseroman3 2 years ago 2
HAHAHHA..Yeah..but NO MATTER WHAT Junk Yard Dog won't 'break the rules' and go through the ropes. God forbid.
headlygrange3 2 years ago
HAHA..this was on the NEWS in Altanta .Unbelievable. LOL
headlygrange3 2 years ago
I remember that. Local news even supported an angle or storyline. My girlfriend said the local news use to support cwa in Memphis the same in the late 70s early 80s, helping an angle to get over
datdamnleroygreene 2 years ago 2
No wonder Ted went heel on JYD and Tommy Rich. JYD didn't help Ted, and Rich threw in the towel!
VolumedMusicMan 2 years ago 2
Great stuff dude ! Very funny !
86lenny 2 years ago
damn,my neck hurts watching that. that deca does a good job.
diesel021234 3 years ago
this was good stuff . i believe this is actually how dibiase' dad iron mike was killed . he was killed in the ring due to a pile driver gone wrong . i am not 100% sure bout that but it something i have heard for years .
steelcurtain1977 3 years ago
I think Iron Mike had a heart attack. Harley Race came into the ring and attempted CPR to try and save him.
samsdaddy0525 3 years ago
Yeah that was 7-2-69 in the Amarillo territory.
86lenny 2 years ago
wow in ecw it would just seem stupid but for some reason its almost believable here
thefriendsociety 3 years ago
ansd so superman was born ... kicked out of 5 piledrivers.
stoney43 3 years ago
I remember watching this match live when I was twelve years old. This was one of the best wrestling matches EVER!! Today's so called "wrestlers" would have been laughed at back then. These guys could sell a match 100 times better than today's jokes. Gordon Solie was indeed the best wrestling announcers of all time!!!
jhuff7522 3 years ago 4
nice ring.
killerdugong 3 years ago
DiBiase bit into a condom that he had in his mouth to make it look like he was internally injured.
mkl62 3 years ago
gordon solie was really good at selling these angles with his serious commentary compared to someone like lance russell who i thought was terrible
phi1166 3 years ago
you thought lance russell was terrible,,,,,, OUCH!!!!!
nochu2 3 years ago
nobody spiked an opponent quite like Terry Gordy... best piledriver in the biz, ever.
DiamondJoeQuimby 3 years ago 3
Say there Hoodooswamp,do you got any videos
of HAYES vs GORDY fude of '81? Do you have
video of The FREEBIRDS vs OLE ANDERSON and
STAN HANSEN from '82? What about GORDY's run
-in on The SAMOANS and goin'at them because
they hurt HAYES on Tour? These things were
before FREEBIRDS left WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
WRESTLING for WORLD CLASS WRESTLING.
zisoul 3 years ago
look at the ring! lol
foreverhulkamania 3 years ago
wrestling was real at that time.
fl4m31ngfly4 3 years ago 3
ru ribbing me
stoney43 3 years ago
I'm shocked Dibiase got up from that Piledriver on the concrete floor.
Astraldragon1 3 years ago
The piledriver was considered so devastating, it was actually Kayfabe banned in some promotions.
nowayjose470 3 years ago 2
Awesome! I can remember watching this way back. The Freebirds had some of the best feuds. Oh yeah, I remember Tommy "Wildfire" Rich coming in for the rescue...
Wasn't it Ted, a Fuller, and the Junkyard Dog doing some 6 man matches? I can remember going to the Omni and Michael Hayes was handcuffed to JYD at ringside during a tag team bout...
Tekneek74 3 years ago
I was 11 when this came on. It was June 1981, and it was so wild, they kept re-showing it on their Sunday show.
Back then, one pile driver did you in. Nowadays, they don't know the first thing about ring psychology.
Maestrohbill 3 years ago
YEAH,i was surprised to see debiase get up after that to roll back in the ring and let alone to keep taking pds and kicking out. in uwf,when gordy piledrived steve williams on the floor in 86,frank dusek actually recalled THIS incident
mindbeyond 3 years ago
Mindbeyond: A SPIKE PILEDRIVER on the concrete.
Come 1992 you have Undertaker doing zombie situps after two DDTs. Come 2000 Taz fully no-sells two piledrivers and barely sold the third.
nowayjose470 3 years ago
tell me about it...i think the pildriver is could still a move that they still could sell today as a devastating move,just like the ddt,i dn't know how the PD became obsolete
mindbeyond 3 years ago
The piledriver, and many classic moves, could still be sold as a devastating finisher. I mean Hogan got the legdrop over, The Rock got an elbow smash over. But the move has to be protected. Protecting a finisher means nobody does it like you and, as Gordon used to say, "Once he hits it, IT'S OVER!" And the move must be done well. So much drama can be built around a strong finisher. You can also allow that rare special wrestler you want to push to kick out, but it must take its toll!
nowayjose470 3 years ago 15
Comment removed
mongoose704 1 year ago
@nowayjose470 Well said noway. How can a finisher be a finisher if it doesn't finish the match?
mongoose704 1 year ago
Totally agree. The piledriver,DDT, brainbuster should be still used today as the ultimate finisher. Look more crippling than 97% of finishers today.
datdamnleroygreene 2 years ago 4
everybody got a price to pay for the million dollar man!!
Nocholas4sale 3 years ago
Ted bit into a condom filled with blood to make it look like he had internal injuries. Great angle for its time, though.
mkl62 4 years ago
For JYD to try to slip Dibiase a foreign object was abhorrent. Luckily cheaters noever win, the Freebirds came up with the big win. You have to admire the Freebirds for hanging in there when everyone was out ot get them. Truly heroic.
Upstatebound 4 years ago
Right on nyyterp. I remember Chief Jay Strongbow doing a stretcher job after just ONE Ray "The Cripper" Stevens piledriver.
nowayjose470 4 years ago 2
I remember asking for prayer for Ted Dibiase on that Sunday during Sunday school. I was only 9 and I thought he was really hurt.
steburton 4 years ago 6
Sorry, I clicked thumbs down by accident! Don't worry, everyone thought it was real at some point in their life :) I was about the same age as you and it horrified me.
nowayjose470 4 years ago
Just watch the psychology. The piledriver was their finisher. Dibiase kicked out four times, which given the era was a huge push for him. But they still protected the finisher by having him do the stretcher job. Today people kick out at one after being dropped off a skyscraper.
nowayjose470 4 years ago 5
Wrestling is far less realistic today because today's fans -- the ones that grew up with WWF's kiddie, cartoony style antics -- only care about seeing one extreme high spot after another. It's nothing but a series of no-sells (or kick outs) to keep the action going for an extended period before a pin. Whatever happened to the days when even ONE piledriver would send the opponent into convulsions?
nyyterp 4 years ago 6
NYYTERP. We think alike. Ask Austin what a piledriver can do if the move is botched and the recipient is not properly protected. Today it's: Jeff Hardy with a Senton off the Sears Tower. THE COVER AND MY GOD, MY GOD, UNDERTAKER KICKS OUT! Of course in today's wrestling psychology Undertaker would then get pinned with a snap mare.
nowayjose470 4 years ago 4
Seems like everything they did in Georgia worked and came off well. And for a crowd of 50-100, they were always loud. IIRC this was in 1981 and watching this again, I feel eleven years old again. Thanks!
nowayjose470 4 years ago
Wrestling from Georgia was the best! This was huge at the time. Great post
taylormade1218 4 years ago
Like most of you, I saw this on TBS when it was first aired (and I never noticed how short the ring was!). Great sell by DiBiase. Saw Ted in Clinton, MS, in about 2003 and the first thing I could think of to say was to comment about this match. He acted as if he had heard that comment many times before.
RunsHorses 4 years ago 2
As did I see the original broadcast, and because I was so young and hadn't really caught on, I found this to be very emotional and really enjoying to watch DiBiase battle The Freebirds. This was a great feud!
MeAndMyRC 4 years ago
what a weird ring?? It is the shortest I've ever seen.
JIMMYLINE 4 years ago
wrestling and wrestling storylines are not like this anymore. These were much better times for wrestling. Wrestling should be more sport oriented, competitive, and seriously taken..there is way too much goofiness and comedy in wrestling today. Although some of that is good, too much gives the wrestlers lack of credibility.
dromx707 4 years ago
Those piledrivers were meant to damage - see his head impact and his neck snap.
amazed92 4 years ago
I remember this ... and thats when I started to watch wrestling saturday afternoons
woodslover 4 years ago
This was one of the great story lines of all time. Ted was able to use this incident for years to come as his justification for turning heel years later. He also used the loaded glove and did an angle where he crushed the face of Bullet Bob Armstrong which led to the famous fued with Brad Armstrong. Maybe someone has the footage of that incident ?
Gunner4evr 4 years ago 2
It sure was, which made his heel turn on JYD so much more painful, because, who was his partner that day? JYD. Who threw in the towel? Tommy Rich. Dibiase had feuds with both of them. Ah, thank goodness for video footage to remind us of how wrestling was before the cartoon era began.
bacardilvr 4 years ago
The angle, yes, was Dibiase crushing Bob's face. That is not what actually happened. Bob was lifting weights and it fell on his face. He even mentions this in 1984 in Southeastern when he was trying to get back with Ron Fuller.
hammermjh 4 years ago 2
This was one of the greatest angles ever. I swear to God, even though I knew that wrestling was scripted (NOT fake), I swear to God I thought Ted DiBiase was dead!
RonMotta1972 4 years ago 2
I remember when this happened. Didnt they replay it the next week but right when his head hit, it broke into a song. For years I have tried to remember what the song was. Can anybody help. I think it was countryish.
Splat13 4 years ago
Wow, this brings back childhood memories. One of the all time great old school incidents in wrestling history. The Freebirds were such great heels and Dibiase was so much better in the hard working blue collar, baby face role than the cartoon character Million Dollar Man. Georgia Championship Wrestling was the best.
mtownthug 4 years ago
I've heard about this for years, I truly can't thank you enough for posting it.
muta157 4 years ago
I remember watching this when I was a kid. THIS was wrestling.
wvoutlaw2002 4 years ago
One of the best angles ever. Years later, in the UWF, Jim Ross would refer to this match and mention that Dibiase had chronic neck problems from the beating. It was a good way to continue the Freebird angle as it made Dibiase seem one step away from being injured permanently whenever he had to face any one of them.
nyyterp 4 years ago
i love solie and how he goes oooooooo !!!!!
bonscott55 4 years ago
finally found it i waited for years to see this again thank u thank u thank u !!!!
bonscott55 4 years ago
After 26 years i have finally seen it..thank you!!!
aragin1966 4 years ago
The search is over! THANK YOU for posting!
TemplesofIce 4 years ago
Awesome!!! I have been looking for this video forever. Thank you for posting it.
daawesome1aac 4 years ago
everything looked so freakin real except jyd standing on the apron looking like a goof no offense i mean jyd was awesome but it just made it look bad
DTMTroy 4 years ago
Gordon Solie could make a checkers match, sound like it was the most important event happening today. We need more like Solie. We also need wrestling like this today. It was more believeable then. I hope to post more classic GCW soon, and thank you for the rating.
Hoodooswamp 4 years ago
Isn't that the truth.
rudedog4b 4 years ago
He was wrestling's most respected journalist. Unlike the today's scripted commentary he wasn't always told what would be happening and had to react live. Plus, he was so technical calling a match, "Side Russian Leg Sweep" "Hard Chop to the Solar Plexus." And, you could always count on certain phrases during an hour of GCW like "Let me tell you something Gordon Solie!" "He just Pearl Harbored the ring!" and, of course, "We'll be back, we'll be back. We've got to get order restored!"
mtownthug 4 years ago 5
I always felt that all one needs to know about the difference between Solie and Jim Ross could be seen in this angle vs. the angle from Mid-South in 1985 when Dick Murdoch bloodied DiBiase before his match with Ric Flair. Both great angles called brilliantly by Solie and Ross. But the feel is completely different. The difference between "wrestling" and "sports entertainment" in a nutshell.
rifperry 4 years ago
I would hardly call Mid-South"sports entertainment" even with Ross calling it. He had a background announcing college football.
yardlet6 2 years ago
Mid-South was the furthest thing from the crap WWE gives us. Bill Watts treated it as a real sport and with logical storylines.
Sargebri 2 years ago 30
I grew up watching Mid-South. It was very raw, with really physical matches and solidly told storylines. It was "hardcore" before there was such a term.
huntercentury 2 years ago 3
@Sargebri
You haven't watched WWE in awhile
michiyoyoshiku 1 year ago
@Sargebri
I totally agree. And feuds were FEUDS that last for months
kirkoa 10 months ago
I wholeheartedly agree, Hoodooswamp. Gordon Solie was the greatest announcer in wrestling history by far. Georgia Championship Wrestling is to this day the best wrestling show ever!! I still remember the Freebirds/Dibiase angle like it was yesterday. Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy had the best piledriver in the pro wrestling business.
danielsan61 3 years ago
Good post.
endofthelinejoel 4 years ago