Madison Square Garden
New York City, New York
January 18, 1971
We finally made it to MSG after a month of hype. Unfortunately only one match on this card remains but its the most important one, perhaps one of the most important in wrestling history. On May 17, 1963 Bruno Sammartino defeated Buddy Rogers to become the WWWF Heavyweight Champion and hadn't lost since. Tonight, Bruno put the title on the line against "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff who had been on a hot streak since the year began. Other matches include Pedro Morales putting the US title on the line against The Wolfman, The Mongols put the WWWF International Tag Team titles on the line against Chief Jay Strongbow and Gorilla Monsoon after Chief chased them all month, and Toronto's own Gene Dubois goes at it with "Nobleman" Joe Turco. After a whole month of hype, let's get to the card.
Match 1
Gene Dubois vs "Nobleman" Joe Turco
Good to see ol Dave McKigney again as Gene Dubois and on this night he takes on the Italian wildman Joe Turco. Gene Dubois got the victory.
Winner: Gene Dubois
Match 2
Vincente "Bull" Pometti vs The Black Demon
We all know both these guys so no sense going over that again. Pometti won this match.
Winner: Vincente Pometti
Match 3
Mike Conrad vs Manuel Soto
Conrad was a standard jobber at the time while Soto was a rising star in New York. Soto won this match.
Winner: Manuel Soto
Match 4
Blackjack Mulligan vs Hurricane Rivera
For those that don't know, Blackjack was born Robert Windham and played college football for Texas Western, now known as UTEP. He actually went to training camp with the New York Jets in the fall of 1966 but washed out. Wahoo McDaniel, who was on the Miami Dolphins in 66, convinced Mulligan to become a wrestler. He was trained by Joe Blanchard (Tully's father, Tessa's grandfather) and worked for Verne Gagne in Minnesota as a big rough cowboy. Ironically he was inspired by Bobby Duncum who was two years younger than Blackjack. We all know who Rivera is so no sense introducing him. Blackjack got the win here.
Winner: Blackjack Mulligan
Match 5
Tony Marino vs Bulldog Brower
We all know the legendary heel Brower is and how Marino was The Battman. Brower got the win here.
Winner: Bulldog Brower
Match 6
The Wolfman vs Pedro Morales for the WWWF United States Championship
Pedro defends the strap against the lunatic Wolfman. Pedro had won the US strap 12 days before this night. Apparently Pedro won this match and kept the title.
Winner: Pedro Morales (still US Champion)
Match 7
Chief Jay Strongbow and Gorilla Monsoon vs The Mongols (Geeto and Beppo) in a 2 out of 3 falls match for the WWWF International Tag Team Championship
The Mongols and Monsoon we know but Chief Jay Strongbow was actually an Italian man named Joe Scarpa who began his career in 1947 after being trained by Chief Don Eagle. He came to New York in 1970 under the Strongbow name and became a fan favorite. In this match we had a fake Native American team with a fake Chinaman facing two fake Mongolians. Apparently the bout ended in a draw.
Winners: No one (Mongols retain)
Match 8
"The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff vs Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship
Finally we get to the main event. We all know their backstories but storyline wise, Koloff had been beating everyone in sight so Ivan gets a crack at the title. The bell rings and they circle before a tieup goes nowhere. Koloff drops Bruno with a shoulderblock but Koloff eats a back body drop. Bruno covers for just a 1 count. Sammartino armdrags Ivan then executes a single leg takedown. Koloff flips Bruno but Bruno takes him down by the leg again. Ivan gets to his feet but eats another arm-drag. Ivan gets to his feet for a test of strength and Koloff wins it. Koloff goes to the standing surfboard and Bruno counters into one of his own. Ivan breaks free and Bruno gets in a side headlock. Bruno is whipped off into a hiptoss by Koloff but the count only gets 1. Shoulderblock by Koloff drops Bruno but Sammartino counters with a drop toe-hold. He rams Ivan's knee into the mat but Koloff gets up and takes control with forearms and kicks. Ivan rams Bruno into the buckle and delivers a series of forearms in the corner. Ivan kicks away at Bruno and Bruno finally makes his comeback. He punches and kicks at Ivan before sending him into the ropes for a big powerslam. Bruno covers for 1...2...no. Bruno gets in a chinlock but Ivan makes it to the ropes. Bruno rocks Ivan with right hands and another cover gets 1. Another chinlock has Ivan down and he covers for 1.....2..nope. Ivan then rallies with right hands and accidentally clocks the ref. Bruno sends Ivan into the corner but a charge eats knee. Ivan scoop slams Bruno and goes upstairs. He drops a knee from off the top and covers for 1....2....3! That's it! The 8 year reign of Bruno is over! Anyone who was at the Garden that night said the building went completely silent when the bell ring and Koloff was announced the winner. This was the 1971 version of Undertaker's streak ending as the unstoppable champion had finally been stopped. Koloff becomes just the third WWWF champion since 1962
Time of match: 14:55
Winner: Ivan Koloff
The rest of the card pales in comparison to the monumental defeat of Bruno. Ivan Koloff was the new WWWF Champion and fans wondered who was going to beat Koloff. It would have been fun to have seen the Mongols face Monsoon and Strongbow and a younger Dave McKigney away from Toronto. For the first time since 1963, Bruno was NOT the champion. The 8 year reign is a record that will probably never be broken. Here's to a new era in New York.
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