Fred Ward Memorial Show

The Fred Ward Memorial Show was an annual professional wrestling memorial event produced by the Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) promotion, which was held from 2004 to 2009. The show was held in honor of Fred Ward, a pioneering wrestling promoter who controlled the central Georgia wrestling territory for over 30 years,[1] who died on May 7, 1992. It was originally held in Columbus, Georgia by GCW until Jerry Oates' retirement in 2006, whereupon the new owners Bill and Diane Hewes relocated the promotion, renamed Great Championship Wrestling, to Phenix City, Alabama.[1][2][3][4] Its third annual memorial show, the last show held at the GCW Arena, "drew the biggest crowd [at the venue] in over a year".[5]

Fred Ward Memorial Show
PromotionGeorgia Championship Wrestling
Date2004-2009
CityColumbus, Georgia (2004-2006)
Phenix City, Alabama (2007-2009)
VenueGCW Arena (2004-2006)
GR8 SK8 Plex (2007-2009)

Many of the featured wrestlers were former stars in World Championship Wrestling or were then competing in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as well as local stars such as Jason Cross, Damian Steele, Vordell Walker, and David Young. Older regional stars from the Georgia territory, many of whom had worked for Fred Ward, also made guest appearances. The first Ward tribute show in 2004 saw masked wrestler The Wrestler defeat GCW United States Junior Heavyweight Champion Vordell Walker and an 8-man single-elimination tournament in which the winner, Jason Cross, received an award from Mr. Wrestling II. Ole Anderson, Bill Dromo, Thunderbolt Patterson, Les Thatcher, Masked Superstar, The Oates Brothers (Jerry and Ted Oates), and Brad and "Bullet" Bob Armstrong were seen in later shows.[4][6]

Show results

First Annual Fred Ward Tribute Show (2004)

August 10, 2004 in Columbus, Georgia (GCW Arena)

# Results[4][7][8] Stipulations Times
1 Elix Skipper and Sonny Siaki wrestled to a time-limit draw. First Round Tournament match na
2 Johnny Swinger defeated John Bogey na
3 Jason Cross defeated Damian Steele n/a
4 A.J. Steele defeated Erik Watts n/a
5 Jason Cross defeated A.J. Steele Semi-Final Tournament match n/a
6 The Wrestler defeated Vordell Walker (c) Singles match for the GCW United States Junior Heavyweight Championship n/a
7 Jason Cross defeated Johnny Swinger Finals Tournament match 6:38
(c) - refers to the champion prior to the match

Tournament brackets

This was a one-night tournament which took place on August 10, 2004. The tournament brackets were:

Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
Elix Skipper Draw
Sonny Siaki
Johnny Swinger
BYE
Johnny Swinger
John Bogey
Johnny Swinger
Jason Cross
Jason Cross
Damien Steele
Jason Cross
A.J. Steele
A.J. Steele
Erik Watts

Second Annual Fred Ward Memorial Show (2005)

August 6, 2005 in Columbus, Georgia (GCW Arena)

# Results[4][9] Stipulations Times
1 A.J. Steele defeated Greg Brown Singles match n/a
2 Brad Armstrong and Bob Armstrong defeated Lee Thomas and John Bogie Tag Team match n/a
3 Masked Superstar and The Wrestler defeated The Oates Brothers (Jerry and Ted Oates) Tag Team match n/a
3 Elix Skipper defeated Damian Steele Singles match n/a
4 Disco Inferno (c) defeated Jason Cross Singles match for the GCW Television Championship n/a
5 David Young and Chris Stevens defeated Erik Watts and Sonny Siaki Tag Team match n/a
(c) - refers to the champion prior to the match

Third Annual Fred Ward Memorial Show (2006)

September 23, 2006 in Columbus, Georgia (GCW Arena)

# Results[4][10] Stipulations Times[5]
1 John Bogie defeated DeathRow Steel Cage barbed wire baseball bat match 16:11
2 Suicide defeated Nooie Li Singles match 7:05
3 Amy Young defeated 4 other participants by last eliminating Gina Marie.[Note 1] Five-woman battle royal for the GCW Women’s Championship; As per the pre-match stipulation, Young became the first champion. 10:07
4 Michaels Inc. (Scott Fantastic, Shaun Banks and Quentin Michaels) defeated Team Beach (Scotty Beach, Heath Miller and John Rodriguez) Six-Man Elimination match 14:50
5 Bobby Sanford (c) defeated Legion "Freakin" Cage (with Gina Marie) Ladder match for the GCW Columbus Heavyweight Championship 16:28
6 Chris Stevens (c) defeated Elix Skipper and Johnny Swinger No-DQ Three-Way Dance match for the GCW Heavyweight Championship 15:11
(c) - refers to the champion prior to the match
  1. The other participants included were: Trenesha, Sapphire, and Devin Diamo.

Fourth Annual Fred Ward Memorial Show (2007)

September 29, 2007 in Phenix City, Alabama (GR8 SK8 Plex)

# Results[4][11][12] Stipulations Times
1 John Bogie defeated Chuck The Ring Inspector by TKO Bouncing Boxing match n/a
2 Frankie Valentine defeated Randall Johnson Hair vs. Hair match n/a
3 David Young and Chris Stevens wrestled Sonny Siaki and Damien Steele to a time limit draw Best 2/3 Falls Tag Team match for the vacant GCW Tag Team Championship; Prior to the match, GCW Commissioner Bo Oates had stripped The Naturals of the titles for failing to appear at the event. n/a
4 A.J. Steele defeated DeathRow Electric Chair match n/a
5 Cru Jones and Scrappy McGowan defeated John Bogie and Bo Oates Retirement match; As per the pre-match stipulations, Oates surrendered his position as GCW Commissioner to McGowan and forced to retire. n/a
6 Scotty Beach defeated Shaun Banks (with Quentin Michaels) Weasel Suit vs. Dress Match; As per the pre-match stipulations, Quentin Michaels had to put on a weasel suit. n/a
7 Bull Buchanan defeated Johnny Swinger (c) (with Quentin Michaels) Six-Sides-of-Steel match for the GCW Heavyweight Championship n/a
(c) - refers to the champion prior to the match

Fifth Annual Fred Ward Memorial Show (2008)

September 4, 2008 in Phenix City, Alabama (GR8 SK8 Plex)

# Results[4][13][14][15][16] Stipulations Times[1][3][17]
1 John Bogie and Kareem Abdul Jamar defeated Merchants of Death (Orion Bishop & Murder One) (with Wicked Nemesis) (c) Hardcore match for the GCW Tag Team Championship 13:12
2 Scotty Beach defeated Mike Stratus (with Princeton Gainey III) Singles match; As per the pre-match stipulation, Beach received five minutes in the ring with Gainey. 10:17
3 Princeton Gainey III defeated Scotty Beach Singles match :47
4 Sonny Siaki defeated Tilo Singles match :29
5 J-Rod defeated Shaun Banks First Blood match for the GCW Interstate Championship 11:56
5 Cru Jones (c) defeated Bull Buchanan Bullrope match for the GCW Heavyweight Championship 18:50
6 Micah Taylor and Diane Hewes defeated Johnny Swinger and Quentin Michaels All or Nothing match; As per the pre-match stipulations, Diane Hewes won 100% ownership of GCW. 16:00
(c) - refers to the champion prior to the match

Sixth Annual Fred Ward Memorial Show (2009)

September 17, 2009 in Phenix City, Alabama (GR8 SK8 Plex)

# Results[18] Stipulations Times
1 Dany Only and Ron Stalker defeated Kyle Matthews and Bobby Moore (c) and J-Rod and Frankie Valentine 3-Way Steel Cage Tag Team match for the GCW Tag Team Championship n/a
2 Tex Monroe (c) defeated Mike Kross and Rubén 3-Way Dance for the GCW Interstate Heavyweight Championship n/a
3 Michael Stevens and Leon McMichael defeated Cru Jones and Chris Stevens Tag Team match n/a
4 Johnny Swinger defeated Shaun Banks I Quit match n/a
5 Jimmy Rave (c) defeated Murder One Singles match for the GCW Heavyweight Championship n/a
(c) - refers to the champion prior to the match

References
  1. National Wrestling Alliance (September 2008). "09/04/08 NWA GCW Fred Ward Memorial Results". Event Results. NWAwrestling.com.
  2. Martin, Adam (January 14, 2008). "Georgia Wrestling History for 1/12-13, Championship Wrestling & more". WrestleView.com.
  3. Goodman, Larry (September 2008). "Show Reports: September 4, 2008". Show Reports. GeorgiaWrestlingHistory.com.
  4. Slack, Brian; Larry Goodman (2010). "Great Championship Wrestling". Results. OnlineWorldofWrestling.com.
  5. Goodman, Larry (September 2006). "Show Reports: September 23, 2006". Show Reports. GeorgiaWrestlingHistory.com.
  6. Csonka, Larry (August 2, 2005). "Samoa Joe Speaks On TNA, ROH, Almost Quitting And More". Reports. 411mania.com.
  7. "Coming Up, Columbus Area Calendar Of Events". Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. July 30, 2004.
  8. GB-Team. "GCW Fred Ward Memorial Show". Showarchiv: GCW. WrestlingData.com.
  9. GB-Team. "GCW Fred Ward Memorial Show". Showarchiv: GCW. WrestlingData.com.
  10. GB-Team. "GCW Fred Ward Memorial Show". Showarchiv: GCW. WrestlingData.com.
  11. "Great Championship Wrestling [runs] their final buildup to the Fred Ward Memorial." DOIwrestling.com. Ed. Sean McCaffrey. N.p., Sept. 2008. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. <www.declarationofindependents.net/doi/pages/gcw922.html>
  12. GB-Team. "GCW Fred Ward Memorial Show". Showarchiv: GCW. WrestlingData.com.
  13. Martin, Adam (August 2, 2008). "'Southeastern Wrestling News' for August 1 & 2, Marty Garner and PWO". WrestleView.com.
  14. "Southeastern Wrestling News, Notes, And Nostalgia: 08/30/2008". CanvasChronicle.com. August 30, 2008.
  15. Meltzer, Dave (August 31, 2008). "SAT. UPDATE: WHITE TALKS COUTURE; KOWALSKI FUNERAL; BENOIT TV SPECIAL; TALKS OF UFC NETWORK DEAL". Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online. F4Wonline.com.
  16. Meltzer, Dave (September 7, 2008). "SUNDAY UPDATE: DID SCRAMBLE WORK?; GHC TITLE CHANGE; NEXT UFC LT HWT TITLE BOUT; HEYMAN ON LESNAR". Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online. F4Wonline.com.
  17. GB-Team. "GCW Fred Ward Memorial". Showarchiv: GCW. WrestlingData.com.
  18. GB-Team. "GCW Fred Ward Memorial Show". Showarchiv: GCW. WrestlingData.com.
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