Florida Wrestling
Ringside Retribution

Coming April 9
on
iN DEMAND

In the early 70s the hottest promotion in the World was located in Tampa, Florida. 

Florida Wrestling Glory Days features some of the greatest stars in history in the legendary battles from the Homer W Hesterly Armory. 

As a special treat, enjoy original commentary from the great Gordon Solie and special commentary from Jack Brisco.  

Ringside Retribution Complete Lineup
(Click link for more match information)

Submission Match: Dory Funk Jr. vs Jerry Brisco

Battle of the Legends: Lou Thesz vs Johnny Valentine

Lights Out Match: Dusty Rhodes & Buddy Colt vs Paul Jones & Eddie Graham

Florida tag title: Bobby Shane & Bearcat Wright vs Jack Brisco & Bob Roop

Johnny Valentine & Buddy Colt vs Paul Jones & Jack Brisco

World Junior Heavyweight Championship: Danny Hodge vs Jerry Brisco

World Heavyweight Championship: Jack Brisco vs Harley Race

World Heavyweight Championship: Jack Brisco vs Don Muraco

World Heavyweight Championship: Jack Brisco vs Buddy Colt

$8,000 Winner-Take-All Battle Royal

Bob Orton Jr. vs Hiro Matsuda

Southern Heavyweight Championship: Tim Woods vs Zodiac (Bob Orton Sr.)

No Disqualifications: Tim Woods vs Paul Jones

Grudge Match: Johnny Valentine vs Bearcat Wright

Click here for a complete schedule of show times.

Submission Only Match
Dory Funk Jr.
(Seconded by Cowboy Bill Watts)

Jerry Brisco
(Seconded by Jack Brisco)

In a Submission Match with a bizarre twist, Dory Funk Jr. matches holds with Jerry Brisco. Funk is begrudgingly seconded by Cowboy Bill Watts while Jack Brisco is in his brother's corner. Funk and the younger Brisco are considered two of the finest technical wrestlers of that era. But that doesn't dim the fire of their white hot feud. They meet here to inflict the ultimate humility on their rival, make them say "I Quit" in front of a capacity crowd.

Battle of the Legends
Lou Thesz
vs.
Johnny Valentine

Two of the greatest legends in the history of wrestling collide when Lou Thesz challenges Johnny Valentine. Thesz set records that may never be broken. Youngest World heavyweight champion ever. The most time spent as World heavyweight champion. The last man to legitimately claim the undisputed World heavyweight championship. The first man to hold the World title six times. The case can be made for Lou Thesz being the greatest professional wrestler ever. A case can be made that Johnny Valentine was the greatest wrestler never to hold the World title. A legend everywhere he went, Valentine is regarded as the most rugged individual to ever lace up a pair of boots. It's the irresistible force in Lou Thesz meeting the unmovable object in Johnny Valentine. It is a battle for the ages.

Lights Out Match
Non-Sanctioned
Anything Goes
Dusty Rhodes & Buddy Colt
vs.
Eddie Graham & Number One Paul Jones

Before he became one of Florida's favorite sons, Dusty Rhodes was one of the most feared wrestlers in the Sunshine State. He teams with Buddy Colt to meet Eddie Graham and Paul Jones in a Lights Out match. A Lights Out Match didn't mean the combatants wrestled in the dark. Rather, it was one of the most dangerous matches in wrestling. At the end of the regular card, the lights were momentarily dimmed to signify the end of the card. The lights were then turned back on and the opponents came to the ring. Because the card was over, this was an unofficial encounter. This means that the men can do anything they want to their opponent and the sanctioning bodies were powerless to stop it. Buddy Colt is Dusty Rhodes' partner here. He is a multiple time Florida, Georgia, and Southern champion and renowned for being one of the most sadistic grapplers on the planet. His merciless style made him the perfect partner in this dangerous encounter. Eddie Graham was the one of the most popular wrestlers in the history of the South and absolute legend in Florida. But before he was beloved, he was one of the most hated men in Madison Square Garden history. He pulls out all stops here.  Number One Paul Jones is the first man to hold the Florida heavyweight championship and the Southern heavyweight championship simultaneously. He is an absolute legend in the Carolinas. His knowledge of martial arts comes in handy in this street fight. This war between four Florida legends lives up to the brutal billing.  

Florida Tag Team Championship
Bobby Shane & B
vs.
Jack Brisco & Bob Roop

See why Bobby Shane was such a great wrestler in his prime when teams with Bearcat Wright to defend the Florida tag team championship against Jack Brisco and Bob Roop. Every wrestling historian and every top wrestler from this era says Bobby Shane was destined for national superstardom before his untimely death in a plane crash. He was charismatic, colorful, and could wrestle. Bearcat Wright was one of the most underrated stars of his era. He was big, athletic, and tough. He is one of the first black wrestlers to become a villain, paving the way for such stars as Butch Reed. Jack Brisco's credentials are legendary. Here the former NCAA champion  teams with another great amateur, Bob Roop. Roop wrestled for the United States in the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City after winning the AAU wrestling title. He became a great professional and was the master of the shoulder breaker. .  

Tag Team Grudge Match
Jack Brisco & Number One Paul Jones
vs.
Johnny Valentine & Buddy Colt

Jack Brisco was less than a year from becoming one of the greatest NWA World heavyweight champions of all time. Here, he is involved with four men that would pose some of the greatest challenges to his title. He teams with Paul Jones, the man who beat Brisco for the Florida heavyweight title and would become the first man to hold the Florida title and Southern title simultaneously. He would later go to the Carolinas and dominate the United States heavyweight championship, considered by some to be right behind the NWA World heavyweight championship in importance in the NWA. Johnny Valentine had come within seconds of winning the World title so many times from Buddy Rogers, Lou Thesz, Gene Kiniski, and Dory Funk Jr. He has a point to prove in this encounter with two of the leading contenders for that World title. Buddy Colt is regarded by many as the greatest Georgia state champion ever. He became a multiple time Florida and Southern champions and one of the greatest box office attractions in the south. He would later come closer than anyone to beating Jack Brisco for the NWA title before Terry Funk pulled off the upset. 

NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
Danny Hodge
vs.
Jerry Brisco

See rare footage of the greatest World junior heavyweight champion of all-time, Danny Hodge, as he defends against Jerry Brisco. When people discuss the greatest amateur wrestlers ever, Danny Hodge is always on the short list. He was the first man to go undefeated in his college career. In fact, he was never taken down in college. The best wrestler in college today is awarded the Danny Hodge Award, amateur wrestling's answer to the Heisman Trophy. Hodge was equally brilliant as a professional. From 1960 to 1976, Danny Hodge was World junior heavyweight champion 13 years, the most dominant champion in any professional division. Here he meets another Oklahoma wrestling great, Jerry Brisco. Jerry Brisco would go on to become a World junior heavyweight champion in his own right. He and and Jack Brisco are one of only two brother combinations to be individual NWA World champions and World tag team champions. Fans today know Jerry Brisco from his comedy role as Vince McMahon's stooge in the WWE. Here you can see why he was one of the most respected professional wrestlers of his era. 

NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Jack Brisco
vs.
Harley Race

Harley Race scored one of the greatest upsets in wrestling history when he ended Dory Funk Jr.'s 4-1/2 year reign as NWA World heavyweight champion. Just as he was getting comfortable wearing the belt, Jack Brisco stopped him in Houston for the belt. Here Race gets his first rematch against Brisco in a one-fall encounter. Of course, Race would go on to win the NWA World heavyweight championship eight times, breaking the record of the incomparable Lou Thesz. The Race-Brisco matches were considered among the best of the 70s because of their contrast in styles. It was Race's toughness and intensity against Brisco's brilliant technical ability. 

NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Jack Brisco
vs.
Don Muraco

Before he became a legend in the WWF, Don Muraco was one of the most popular young stars in all of wrestling. He was beloved in Florida and reminded fans and experts of one of his mentors, Jack Brisco. Here Muraco displays his tremendous wrestling ability as he matches the great Jack Brisco hold-for-hold in a tremendous NWA World heavyweight championship match.

NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Jack Brisco
vs.
Buddy Colt

Before the plane crash that ended his career, many people believed Buddy Colt was going to be the next NWA World heavyweight champion. Nobody came closer to beating Jack Brisco for the title. Colt dominated the Georgia state title like no other. He came to Florida and quickly added the North American heavyweight championship, the Florida heavyweight championship, and the Southern heavyweight championship to his stellar resume. One other title he captured, the Florida television crown, was won from Jack Brisco mere weeks before Brisco won the World title. This match before a capacity crowd at St. Petersburg's Bayfront Center is another classic.

$8,000 Winner-Take-All Battle Royal
600-pound Man Mountain Mike
Professor Dale Lewis
Ron Fuller
Bob Armstrong
Buddy Colt
Number One Paul Jones
Tim Woods
The Saint

Hiro Matsuda
vs.
Bob Orton Jr.

Hiro Matsuda is the man who is best known today as a legendary trainer. He trained such legends as Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger, Brian Blair, Paul Orndorff and dozens of others. Before that, he was a top star in his own right. He ended the 5-1/2 year reign of Danny Hodge as NWA World junior heavyweight champion. His series against Hodge is considered on of the greatest ever. So was his feuds against Eddie Graham, Boris Malenko, and many more. Here he meets future superstar Bob Orton Jr.. Orton Jr. would go on to become one of the top stars of the 80s. He was involved in the main event of the first Wrestlemania and had legendary feuds with such stars as Hulk Hogan, Paul Orndorff, Tito Santana, Ric Flair, and many more. The Orton tradition continues today with the rise to main event status of Orton Jr.'s son, Randy Orton.

Southern Heavyweight Championship
Tim Woods
vs.
Zodiac (Bob Orton Sr.)

Tim Woods was one of the top stars of the 70s. At the University of Michigan he was Big Ten and AAU champion. He also gained fame donning the mask as the original Mr. Wrestling. He came close on several occasions to winning the World title from the likes of Lou Thesz, Dory Funk Jr., Harley Race, and Jack Brisco. The defends the Southern heavyweight championship against The Zodiac (Bob Orton Sr.) Bob Orton Sr.'s rugged wrestling style belies the fact that he too was a fine technical wrestler. Bob Orton Sr. is the father of 80s great Bob Orton Jr. and the grandfather of current WWE up-and-comer Barry Orton.

No Disqualifications
Tim Woods
vs.
Number One Paul Jones

Number One Paul Jones was on one of the great runs in Florida wrestling history. He was on the verge of beating Jack Brisco for the Florida title and holding the Southern title simultaneously. He was one of the most hated and most successful grapplers in the country. Here he met a man no stranger to high stakes matches himself, former Southern champion Tim Woods. The Big 10 and AAU champion Woods was looking to end Jones' win streak and catapult himself back into World title contention.  

Grudge Match
Johnny Valentine
vs.
Bearcat Wright

Two men that had much in common. Both were big, raw boned, rugged competitors. Neither men asked for any quarter nor gave any quarter. Johnny Valentine had the reputation for being the toughest man in Florida, a reputation he didn't take lightly and wasn't about to give up. Bearcat Wright badly wanted that unofficial title and would do anything to beat Valentine. Their match was an absolute war. 

Ringside Retribution Show Times

Now Showing
on
iN DEMAND

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