National Arena
Washington, DC
January 7, 1971
Pretty stacked card for this house show in the heart of Washington DC, the original McMahon territory. The Black Demon was scheduled to face Gorilla Monsoon but instead faces Ivan Koloff. Bulldog Brower takes on Bull Molina and The Wolfman locks up with Lee Wong. Also in the main event, Pedro Morales faces "Classy" Freddie Blassie in the finals to crown a new WWWF United States Champion. Lots going on so let's get to it.
Match 1
Miguel Feliciano and Tomas Marin vs The Mongols (Geeto and Beppo) in a 2 out of 3 falls match for the WWWF International Tag Team Championship
We start the show with a tag title match. Marin and Feliciano were real Latin stars while the other two were about as Mongolian as John Cena. The Mongols won both falls to win the match.
Winners: The Mongols
Match 2
Mike Conrad vs Jack Evans
Now this is a battle of futility, two jobbers facing each other. Imagine Barry Horrowitz vs Duane Gill in 1991. Jack Evans won the match.
Winner: Evans
Match 3
Carlos Peredes vs Manuel Soto
A battle of the latin stars but who is Carlos? Another enhancement talent that's been lost to time. Soto beats Peredes in this one.
Winner: Soto
Match 4
Bull Molina vs Bulldog Brower
Its the legendary Bulldog Brower! Bulldog was born Richard T Gland who served in the US Marines and became a powerlifter. Bulldog Brower was a big rough heel who frequently challenged Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF title in the 60's. He could always draw so he's here in WWWF. Molina was....you guessed it, an enhancement talent. Bulldog got the duke.
Winner: Brower
Match 5
"Nobleman" Joe Turco vs Pedro Morales for the WWWF United States Championship
Literally the day before Morales had defeated "Classy" Freddie Blassie to win the vacant US Championship in Buffalo. This was Pedro's first title defense against the insane Nobleman. Pedro got the victory.
Winner: Pedro
Match 6
The Wolfman vs Lee Wong
The Wolfman was born Vilmos Farkas in Hungary before fleeing to Canada in 1958. There he met Stu Hart and became a mainstay for Stampede Wrestling and Frank (Jack's brother) Tunney's Maple Leaf Wrestling. He came up with The Wolfman gimmick in Hawaii under Ed Francis and brought it to New York in 1970. He's been "The Wolfman" in WWWF ever since. Who was Lee Wong? Lee Wong was a territorial heel in the 1960's and the legendary Stu Saks of Pro Wrestling Illustrated said he was the worst wrestler he'd ever seen. Well Stu might be on to something because The Wolfman won the match.
Winner: Wolfman
Match 7
Vincente Pometti vs Ernie Lassiter
Lassiter was a mid-carder working for Vince Sr in 1966 and Pometti was a big Argentinian that was nicknamed "bull" for rough-house tactics. Lassiter won this match by pinning Pometti
Winner: Lassiter by pinfall
Match 8
"The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff vs The Black Demon
The final match was supposed to be Gorilla Monsoon against Demon but he couldn't make it so they subbed Koloff in. So now it's the rematch from North Attleboro the week before. Just like the week before, Koloff wins.
Winner: Koloff
Kind of a nothing happening card except for two key matches. Morales keeping up his hot streak as the new US Champion and Koloff keeping his win streak going heading into Madison Square Garden in 11 days for a shot at Bruno Sammartino. I bet that fans in the National Arena were entertained, its too bad this show and many others have been lost to time.
No comments:
Post a Comment