Springfield Auditorium
Springfield, MA
February 6, 1971
Vince McMahon Sr had his guys working overtime as the night of the big Boston Garden card saw a double shot all the way out in Springfield. Pedro Morales, Ivan Koloff, Chief Jay Strongbow and The Mongols had to drive all the way from Boston to Springfield for this card. Its only a 5 match card but there's going to be some long matches. We got three preliminaries but then we have a 2 out of 3 falls women's tag match featuring the queen herself, Fabulous Moolah. Then the main event is a special six man tag team 3 out of 5 falls match as the WWWF International Tag Team Champions The Mongols team with the WWWF Heavyweight Champion "Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff to take on the WWWF United States Champion Pedro Morales, Chief Jay Strongbow and Gorilla Monsoon. We got two fake Mongolians, a fake Russian, a fake Native American, a fake Chinaman and a real Puerto Rican. Let's get to the card.
Match 1
Mike Conrad vs Pete Sanchez
We open the show with a battle of jobbers, although calling Sanchez a jobber in early 1971 might be harsh. It wasn't until later on syndicated television that Sanchez was featured primarily as enhancement talent. Conrad was the jobber here and he did the job to Sanchez for sure.
Winner: Pete Sanchez
Match 2
"Unpredictable" Johnny Rodz vs Lee Wong
6 years or so later, we'd know who'd win this match as Johnny Rodz became the gold standard for jobbers. Fortunately it was still 1971 so Rodz got the duke.
Winner: Johnny Rodz
Match 3
Tomas Marin vs Vincente Pometti
Another preliminary bout that really doesn't matter as neither of these guys were in a prominent position to challenge Ivan Koloff or Pedro Morales in a big time main event. Still, Pometti got the victory.
Winner: Vincente Pometti
Match 4
Sharon Joy and Tippy Wells vs Donna Christianello and Fabulous Moolah in a 2 out of 3 Falls match
Moolah's girls in action. Sharon and Moolah we already know but who are the other two? Donna was another Moolah trained girl who was working as a waitress that just happened to wait a table for Waldo Von Erich. Waldo got her in touch with Moolah and her career was off and running. Tippy Wells was born Fran Gravette in Alberta, Canada and started training under Moolah in 1959. She took a break from the ring for years but returned in 1970. This was definitely a case of Moolah getting her booked. Moolah and Donna won this one.
Winners: Moolah and Christianello
Match 5
Chief Jay Strongbow, Gorilla Monsoon and WWWF United States Champion Pedro Morales vs The Mongols (Geeto and Beppo) and WWWF Heavyweight Champion Ivan Koloff in a 3 out of 5 Falls match
To put this match in perspective, imagine its Pedro vs Koloff on a Premium Live Event and the night before on Smackdown they face off in a six man tag featuring two tag teams feuding with each other. Very common now, big time news back in 1971. The heels took the lead when Beppo Mongol rolled up Strongbow and hooked the tights for the 1-2-3. The heels then took the second fall when The Mongols beat up Monsoon on the outside and he was counted out. The faces rallied as Monsoon got back in the ring and crushed Beppo Mongol with the big splash for the 1-2-3 to take the third fall. Pedro then dropped Geeto Mongol and pinned him for the 1-2-3 to tie up the match. Then a big schmozz outside the ring caused the ref to throw the match out. All that for a draw? Still, all 6 men were going to be busy in two nights at Madison Square Garden so this was definitely a sneak preview.
Winners: No one (Draw)
Just days before Madison Square Garden, Vince Sr booked a nearly useless double-shot but at least the final match must have been entertaining. Like I mentioned earlier, nowadays six man or normal tag matches featuring guys in feuds is common for go-home shows before PLE's. Pedro and Koloff have a date with destiny while the Mongols are in singles action in Madison Square Garden. However, there's one more piece of business before that show in MSG. For some reason Vince Sr thought it would be a good idea to have a double-shot on Monday. Half the crew would be in Lewiston, Maine while the main stars would be at Madison Square Garden. Why? Ask Vince. See you in Lewiston, guys.
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