Live from the Fairground Grandstands Arena in Costa Mesa, in front of a capacity crowd of 7,000.
Gorilla Monsoon opens the show from the ring. He calls down the eight men that have advanced thus far in the Heavyweight Championship tournament. One by one, they walk out: Bruiser Brody … Barry Windham … Hillbilly Jim … King Kong Bundy … the Iron Sheik … Ivan Koloff … Big John Studd … and Magnum TA. They eye each other warily.
Monsoon tells the crowd that four more wrestlers were given byes into the next round. He introduces: Harley Race … the Million Dollar Man, Ted DiBiase … Superfly Jimmy Snuka … and the Macho Man, Randy Savage. The twelve men fill the ring, a powder keg ready to burst.
Monsoon explains the format for the remainder of the tournament. The 12 men have been divided into three pools of four wrestlers. Over the next three shows, each group will face off in round-robin competition. The three winners of each group will then meet in a triple-threat match to determine the initial PCWA Heavyweight Champion.
The jawing in the ring turns to pushing and shoving, then an all-out brawl breaks loose between the 12 men in the ring. Security and stagehands rush in, attempting to break up the mass fight, as the TV broadcast goes to break. When action returns, the tournament begins…
Pool A qualifier: Randy Savage vs. Hillbilly Jim
Hillbilly Jim took advantage early, and twice slapped on a bear hug seeking a submission win. But Savage broke free both times. Savage won the match after going off the top row twice, first hitting Hillbilly Jim with a flying clothesline, then pinning him after a flying crossbody. WINNER: SAVAGE BY PINFALL
Pool A qualifier: Ivan Koloff vs. King Kong Bundy (with Bobby Heenan)
It was all Koloff early, and Bundy had to kick out twice, including after Koloff used his finisher. The fight went out of the ring, where Bundy took control for good. After getting a dazed Koloff back into the ring, Bundy got Koloff into a bear hug, and there was no escape. Koloff tapped out. WINNER: BUNDY BY SUBMISSION
Pool B qualifier: Jimmy Snuka vs. Magnum TA
A short match saw both wrestlers go for early pin attempts, but each kicked out the first time. But after Snuka hit a flying head butt, he got the 1-2-3 on Magnum TA. WINNER: SNUKA BY PINFALL
Pool B qualifier: Ted DiBiase vs. Barry Windham
A lengthy match saw neither wrestler hold the advantage for very long, as reversal after reversal took place. Finally, Windham wore down DiBiase, getting three pin attempts in rapid succession. The third, coming after Windham’s lariat finisher, was good enough for the win. WINNER: WINDHAM BY PINFALL
Pool C qualifier: Bruiser Brody vs. Harley Race (with Bobby Heenan)
Race came on strong early, hitting a pair of piledrivers. But Brody kicked out both times. Brody would later hit his finisher, the jumping knee drop, for the victory. WINNER: BRODY BY PINFALL
Pool C qualifier: Iron Sheik vs. Big John Studd (with Bobby Heenan)
The Sheik roughed up Big John Studd early, and twice slapped on the camel clutch, only to have Studd escape. When the two wrestlers left the ring, Sheik hit Studd with a low blow that was unseen by the referee. Studd couldn’t recover in time, and was counted out. WINNER: IRON SHEIK BY DISQUALIFICATION
To close the show, Gorilla Monsoon recapped the pool-play standings.
Pool A: Savage and Bundy 1-0, Hillbilly Jim and Koloff 0-1
Pool B: Snuka and Windham 1-0, Magnum TA and DiBiase 0-1
Pool C: Brody and Iron Sheik 1-0, Race and Studd 0-1
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 