WWWF at Uline Arena (1/8/70)

Uline Arena

Washington, DC

January 8, 1970

Yes, I know I said we'd be in Salisbury, Maryland on the seventh but the show got postponed due to bad weather. Instead, the day after the crew traveled to Washington, DC for the big show. Have to remember, up until the mid 70's, Washington DC was just as important as Madison Square Garden. WWWF Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino defends against the upstart Hungarian Willie Farkas. Victor Rivera teams with Gorilla Monsoon against the dastardly duo of Waldo Von Erich and Killer Kowalski. Johnny Rodz takes on Pete Sanchez and Boris Yeltsin might make an appearance. Let's get to the action.

Match 1

"Golden Boy" Arnold Skaaland vs "Krippler" Karl Kovacs

Back in the late 60's and early 70's, heels would face and most likely defeat Arnold Skaaland before getting their title shot against Bruno. During the Pedro Morales reign, it was usually Gorilla Monsoon in the role. Well on this night, Kovacs defeated Skaaland to become number 1 contender.

Winner: Kovacs

Match 2

Pete Sanchez vs "Unpredictable" Johnny Rodz in a 2 out of 3 falls match

For those that don't know, Johnny Rodriguez became Johnny Rodz in 1964 at the age of 23 and became a mainstay in New York starting in 1965. If Sky Low Low is on the Mt Rushmore of midget legends, Johnny Rodz is up there for jobbers. However, Rodz won the match 2 falls to zip.

Winner: Rodz

Match 3

Eric The Red vs Mario Milano in a 2 out of 3 falls match

Another two out of 3 falls match featuring Milano against the evil Eric. Milano won it 2 falls to nada.

Winner: Milano

Match 4

Willie Farkas vs Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

The mad hungarian takes on Bruno for the crown here in the main event in the nation's capital. Farkas fought hard but Bruno wins it with the backbreaker.

Winner: Bruno by submission (still WWWF Heavyweight Champion)

Match 5

Gene Dubois vs Professor Toru Tanaka

The evil Japanese heel (who's actually Chinese) takes on Gene Dubois in this one. This time he did NOT trip and fall, beating Dubois to win the match.

Winner: Tanaka

Match 6

Killer Kowalski and Waldo Von Erich vs Victor Rivera and Gorilla Monsoon

To end the show we have the evil heels take on the fan favorite Monsoon and one half of the tag champs, Rivera. It was mayhem with chairs and chainsaws with the ref throwing the match out with the arena being torn apart. That's one way to end the show.

Winners: No one (Draw)

Just as with every show that's been lost to time, this would have been interesting to see live. Bruno vs pre-Wolfman Farkas and a younger, more mobile Monsoon against an equally younger Kowalski would have been interesting. Karl Kovacs was definitely going to be facing Bruno at one point or another after taking out Skaaland. Just a question of when they're gonna clash. Tomorrow the crew travels to North Attleboro, Massachusetts for another show at the Witschi's Sports Arena. I'll see you there.