The first eight wrestlers have been sent home with 0-2 records after the conclusion of the first round of the losers’ bracket. Most notably, top-eight seed King Kong Bundy is out after a second straight upset, this time at the hands of Rick Martel. Bob Orton (seeded 29th) and Curt Hennig (32nd) also picked up sizable upsets.
Losers’ Bracket First Round Matches:
(16) Paul Orndorff vs. (32) Curt Hennig: Orndorff had this one in the bag — until he didn’t. He hit a piledriver twice and methodically worked Hennig down to the point of exhaustion. But out of nowhere, Hennig pulled off the Perfectplex, and Orndorff couldn’t kick out. Hennig def. Orndorff by pinfall at 30:00.
(8) King Kong Bundy vs. (24) Rick Martel: A shocking 0-2 performance by Bundy knocks the top eight seed out of the tournament! Bundy landed the Avalanche early, though Martel kicked out, turned it around, and locked on the Boston Crab. Bundy escaped, but Martel followed it up quickly by rolling up Bundy and somehow keeping his back on the mat. Martel def. Bundy by pinfall at 8:00.
(13) Greg Valentine vs. (29) Bob Orton: Orton hit some big moves early, clobbering Valentine with the cast on his arm, and later hitting his Superplex. Valentine inflicted a fair share of damage on Orton, however. The brawling moved to the outside of the right, where both wrestlers were stunned. Both crawled back to the ring, but only Orton made it back in before the referee counted 10. Orton def. Valentine by countout at 13:00.
(5) Ted DiBiase vs. (12) Junkyard Dog: JYD hit DiBiase with head butt after head butt, repeatedly putting DiBiase down. JYD had a total of nine pinfall or submission attempts, but never came close to putting the final touches on the upset. DiBiase consistently pounded away, and finally put JYD out after a fist drop. DiBiase def. Junkyard Dog by pinfall at 37:00.
(15) Iron Sheik vs. (31) Bret Hart: A relatively evenly fought match was ripe for either man to claim victory, but Sheik’s advantage proved to be a little bit too much, and he eventually made Hart tap out with the Camel Clutch. Iron Sheik def. Hart by submission at 28:00.
(23) Hillbilly Jim vs. (26) Jimmy Snuka: The evenly matched faces kept things closely contested, with Hillbilly Jim holding a bit of an advantage. Snuka had a chance with a high crossbody off the second rope, and later Hillbilly Jim wrapped up Snuka in a bear hug. In the end, Snuka caught Jim napping and rolled him up. Snuka def. Hillbilly Jim by pinfall at 24:00.
(19) Jim Duggan vs. (30) George Steele: Steele went for a couple of big early moves, but Duggan weathered the storm and easily handled Steele, eventually finishing him off with the football tackle clothesline. Duggan def. Steele by pinfall at 28:00.
(22) Nikolai Volkoff vs. (27) Billy Jack Haynes: Haynes locked the full nelson onto Volkoff twice early, but couldn’t put him away. Volkoff pulled out all the stops to rally. With the ref knocked out, the Iron Sheik and Freddie Blassie came into the ring and laid into Haynes. Later, when Haynes found a second life, Volkoff again used Blassie’s interference to lay waste to Haynes, and put him into the backbreaker. Still, Haynes fought on valiantly, until the end, when Volkoff finished Haynes off with a flurry of moves and a bear bug. Volkoff def. Haynes by submission at 33:00.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 