WWF All-American Wrestling (9/4/83)

Welcome to the inaugural episode of WWF All-American Wrestling, Vince's foray into cable television. Long before Monday Night Raw, Vince got his start on the USA network with All-American Wrestling. Rather than make it must see TV, Vince came out of the gate with the first episode being a greatest hits montage of WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund. Nothing says make your debut on cable with matches people have already seen before. This would be theme for All-American's entire 11 year run to be honest. Let's get to the show.

Host/Commentator: Vince McMahon Jr

We start with Vince's voiceover of Backlund's victory over "Superstar" Billy Graham on February 20, 1978 before going to Vince in the studio welcoming us to the premier of All-American. He comes out and says this entire show is a Bob Backlund tribute. Vince makes long pauses during the intro, maybe he was nervous. We cut to commercials and the first one is an ad for Playboy Magazine....I don't remember THAT being plugged 10 years later. 12 issues for only $18.50, a rare bargain. Let's get to our first clip.

Match 1

Bob Backlund vs "Superstar" Billy Graham for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

We're joined in progress for Backlund's title match with the Superstar on February 20, 1978 at Madison Square Garden. Graham gets a go-behind but Backlund reverses it causing Billy to retreat to the ropes. Backlund pulls Graham to the center of the ring but the ref makes him break the hold. Billy stalls but Bob gets a headlock in. Graham sends Bob off but Backlund counters with a sunset flip for 1...2...nope. Graham locks in a full nelson as Vince says this will be hard for Backlund to break out of it. Backlund almost effortlessly breaks it and Graham complains to the referee. Graham gets in a headlock but Bob sends him off the ropes only to eat a shoulderblock. Graham comes off the ropes again and Backlund hits the rolling prawn hold for 1...2....noooooo. Somehow Graham kicked out of Backlund's finisher and Backlund goes to the side headlock. Graham rakes the eyes and hits a bodyslam but Backlund counters with an inside cradle for 1...2...nooooo. Bob whips Graham into the corner and Billy begs off. Bob sends Billy into the ropes but misses a dropkick. Graham kicks away at Bob then drops a forearm to the neck. Graham sends Bob into the ropes then applies a bearhug. Vince Jr on commentary says its over but Backlund refuses to give it up. Backlund somehow breaks the bearhug and hiptosses Graham in the process. Graham goes back to the bearhug but after a few minutes Bob not only breaks it but applies one of his own. Bob actually gets Graham to the mat and ref counts 1...2....no. Graham rakes the eyes to break the hold but Bob locks in an abdominal stretch. Billy counters with a hiptoss but Backlund catches Graham with an atomic drop. Bob covers and the ref completely misses Graham's foot on the bottom rope for 1..2.....3 that's it. BOB BACKLUND IS THE NEW WWWF CHAMPION! We cut here for this TV show's purpose. This was the changing of the guard as Backlund became Vince McMahon Sr's pet project while the Superstar was never the same again.

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Backlund by pinfall (new WWWF Champion)

Back in the studio Vince says Bob is still the champ to this day but he'd be tested again and again. Vince says one of Bob's best challengers was Ken Patera who had even more strength than Graham. He says we'll see Patera's match with Backlund after commercial. The commercial is a record for The Great Singalong which is all country music.....yeah. We also get a trailer for the movie Natural Enemies starring Hal Holbrook. USA Hot Spots will be airing on 10 PM on Monday Night's.....gee, wonder what's on Monday nights on USA these days. Let's get to the match.

Match 2

Ken Patera vs Bob Backlund for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

We're joined in progress for the title defense by Backlund against Patera on January 21, 1980 at Madison Square Garden. We're at the point where Patera has a bearhug on the mat and nearly pins Bob with it. Backlund then rallies to get back to his feet but Patera brings him back to the mat for another two count. Backlund battles back to his feet and literally deadlifts Patera with the hug still applies into a reverse atomic drop to break the hold. Backlund rallies with right hands but they both shoulderblock each other only for Patera to fall on Bob. Vince shouts "OH NO!" as the ref counts 1....nope, Backlund didn't even let the drama build. Bob rolls on top for a 1 count of his own then counters a Patera suplex with one of his own. Bob gets a one count then Patera covers for a one count. They keep trading pin attempts then Patera hops up to the second rope. Patera nails an axehandle smash then gives the sign for the full nelson. Bob counters the attempt and Patera swings and misses with a right hand. Bob lands the atomic drop and covers for 1....2....nope, this time the ref sees the foot on the rope. Bob and Ken slug it out until Patera shoves Backlund into the referee. The ref is out as Patera applies another full nelson but there's no ref. Backlund kicks off the ropes to break the hold as another ref gets in to ring the bell. Backlund and Patera slug it out in the center of the ring as the locker room empties. Backlund and Patera throw guys out left and right before order is restored. We cut here with no winner or loser declared on the clip, but the match did end in a draw. Backlund vs Patera kept the feud going throughout most of 1980.

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: No one (Draw: Backlund retains)

Back to the studio, Vince gives the folks at home a PO Box to write in to see what they think of All-American. Vince says 1982 was a "rough year" for Backlund and sends us to commercial for Globe Life Insurance. Back to Vince says Freddie Blassie introduced The East/West Connection of Jesse "The Body" Ventura and Adrian Adonis to take down Backlund. For some reason Vince sends us to the Adonis match first despite Ventura getting the first crack. Oh well.

Match 3

Adrian Adonis vs Bob Backlund for the WWF Heavyweight Championship

We go back to March 20, 1982 at the Philadelphia Spectrum to watch the East half of the East/West Connection take on Backlund. We're joined in progress with Adonis cowering in the corner. Backlund whips Adonis into the corner where he flips himself in a tree of woe. Backlund chops him down and delivers a piledriver. Backlund covers but Adonis kicks out. Adonis locks in the Goodnight Irene sleeper as Vince says no one has ever escaped the hold and pretty much gives a eulogy to Backlund's title reign. Backlund then powers up and gets to his feet with the crowd in a frenzy. Adonis goes for the rolling prawn out of the corner but Backlund reverses it for 1.....2....3 and Backlund wins it. Short and sweet compared to the previous matches but since they only had an hour for the show including commercials, they had to keep it short from here on.

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Backlund by pinfall (still WWF Champion)

Back to Vince in the studio who says Backlund had many close calls in 1982. Vince sends us to Jesse Ventura's title shot which was actually six days before Adonis at Madison Square Garden.

Match 4

Jesse "The Body" Ventura vs Bob Backlund for the WWF Heavyweight Championship (Ivan Putski is the guest referee)

We're joined in progress at Madison Square Garden on March 14, 1982 six days before the Adonis title defense. Ventura locks in a bearhug then lands a reverse atomic drop to put Backlund on the mat. Jesse drops a knee on the throat of Backlund. Putski almost refuses to count Bob's shoulders down so Jesse goes to a piledriver. Jesse covers for a very slow 1 count and even Vince Jr on commentary admonishes Putski for that. Jesse hits an atomic drop and covers for a 2 count then puts Backlund in the Body Breaker. Vince says we have a new champ but Backlund kicks off the ropes into a modified northern lights suplex for 1...2....nooooo. Jesse goes for another Body Breaker but Bob reverses it into the rolling prawn hold for a very fast 1, 2,3 by Putski to end the match. Kind of weird to have Backlund essentially needing Putski to win but a win is a win.

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Backlund by pinfall (still WWF Champion)

Back to Vince who admits Puski gave Jesse a fast count. Vince says 1982 was a very tough year for Bob and next up was a challenge from "Playboy" Buddy Rose.

Match 5

"Playboy" Buddy Rose vs Bob Backlund for the WWF Heavyweight Championship

This match was from the August 30, 1982 show from Madison Square Garden also joined in progress.  Rose hits a scoop slam then goes upstairs and jumps down but notices Bob has moved out of the way. Rose lands a dropkick and covers for 1...2..nope. Rose goes for a suplex but Bob counters with the crossface chicken wing. Rose desperately tries to break it but can't. The ref calls for the bell and Bob is the winner. Guess we're going to run through these opponents due to time constraints.

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Backlund by submission (still WWF Champion)

Back to Vince who puts over the crossface chicken wing, ironic as the hold would be much more deadly a decade later. Vince says when we're back from commercial, we're going to a rematch between Billy Graham and Backlund only this is the karate pants Graham that gets the title shot. We go to a 5 record Mo-Town collection of 50 hits commercial.....long before 2 cds, there were 5 records. If you're into Mo-Town, its actually a damn good collection for only 19.95. Back to Vince who admits that Graham's foot was on the rope when he lost the title. Vince then says he went from a bodybuilder to a karate master to get his belt back. We're actually shown the angle that sets up Billy's rematch with Backlund. Bob was wrestling Swede Hanson when Graham came out to ringside and grabbed Backlund's belt. Hanson repeatedly stops Bob from getting at Graham as Billy cuts a promo saying Bob doesn't deserve it. Bob wins his match with the rolling prawn hold but Hanson continues to keep Backlund occupied long enough for Graham to nail Bob with the belt. Graham then smashes the world title belt and rips it apart. Vince Jr asks what he's doing and Graham just continues to smash the belt. Arnold Skaaland inside the ring revives Bob and we cut here. There was actually more to this but we're under time constraints. Back to Vince who says Graham would face Backlund in a series of matches and enjoy every single moment (Ha!). We now go to a lumberjack match held at Madison Square Garden.

Match 6

"Superstar" Billy Graham vs Bob Backlund for the WWF Heavyweight Championship in a Lumberjack Match

This was from the December 28, 1982 show at Madison Square Garden. We're joined in progress with Backlund getting Graham in an arm-ringer. For whatever reason Swede Hanson is the guest referee and Backlund goes for a shoulderblock only for Graham to pull Swede in the way. Swede shockingly doesn't attack Backlund but rather yells at Billy for pulling him in the way. Backlund jumps into Graham who pulls him outside into the heel portion of the ring. The faces run over and throw both guys back in the ring. Buddy Rose and Tony Garea yell at each other as Graham gets in a karate chop to the throat. Billy hits another chop to the throat which sends Backlund down in front of Rocky Johnson. Graham lands a third chop before shoulderblocking Bob in the corner. Vince says Graham abandoned his power moves for his karate arsenal. Bob tries to get his foot outside but Rose pushes it off right in front of Hanson who tells Buddy to beat it. Graham sends Bob off and locks in the bearhug but Bob punches him off. Billy goes for another bearhug but Bob counters with the crossface chicken wing. Mr. Fuji looks on concerned as Hanson calls for the bell. Bob refuses to let go and we cut here. I bet the extra curricular activity was fun with Backlund getting revenge for Graham destroying the title belt. Normally lumberjack matches are complete poo but since we only watched a few minutes, its all good.

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Backlund by submission (still WWF Champion)

Back to Vince in the studio who says as the calendar turned to 1983 it only got tougher for Backlund. Vince says when we return we'll go to a match between Backlund and Magnificent Muraco. The commercial is for waterproof gold chains called Marigold for 19.95 with a lifetime guarantee. Also we get a preview for Miami University vs Florida University tonight at 9 PM. Fun fact, Florida led by running back Neal Anderson beat Miami that night. Miami then went undefeated the rest of the season winning the NCAA title in dramatic fashion over Nebraska University on the final play of the national championship game. Last commercial is for Thursday night baseball with the New York Yankees playing the Milwaukee Brewers (back when the Brewers were in the American League) and the Cincinnati Reds face the Los Angeles Dodgers. Back to Vince who says Don Muraco started to rise through the ranks and earned a title shot against Backlund as the current WWF Intercontinental Champion.

Match 7

WWF Intercontinental Champion Don "The Magnificent" Muraco vs Bob Backlund for the WWF Heavyweight Championship in a Texas Death Match

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon

We go back to March 20, 1983 in Madison Square Garden for Backlund vs Muraco one year to the day after Bob faced Adrian Adonis in Philadelphia. Once again we're joined in progress with Backlund getting Muraco in a side headlock. Monsoon says Monsoon always visits hospitals and schools to see the kids. Muraco sends him off the ropes and Backlund shoulderblocks him down but falls through the ropes. Muraco tries to slam Bob back in but Backlund rolls through and hooks the leg for 1...2...nope. Backlund scoop slams Muraco and we cut here. There was only 10 minutes left in the show and we still had two more matches to cover. For anyone that cares, Backlund won the match by pinfall.

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Not shown (Backlund won it)

Back to Vince who says Backlund survived Muraco's challenge and moved on to Philadelphia to meet "Iron" Mike Sharpe. Its easy for us to laugh at the idea of Sharpe being a contender but you have to go back to 1983 long before he became a hall of fame jobber to understand why he got a title shot. Let's get to the match.

Match 8

"Iron" Mike Sharpe vs Bob Backlund for the WWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentator: Gorilla Monsoon

We're joined in progress on April 30, 1983 at the Philadelphia Spectrum for Mike Sharpe getting a title shot at Backlund. Bob covers Mike for a two count and goes for a piledriver but Sharpe backdrops him out of it. Sharpe turns his forearm pad around and goes for a lariat but Bob does his rolling prawn with bridge for 1....2...3..to win the match and we cut here. At this point they're just blowing through highlights due to time constraints.

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Backlund by pinfall (still WWF Champion)

Back to Vince who says Backlund has been enjoying success but now runs into former WWF Champion Ivan Koloff. When Koloff defeated Bruno, he was 289 pounds but was down to 237 when he faced Backlund in the Philadelphia Spectrum. This will be the final match/highlight on the show.

Match 9

"Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff vs Bob Backlund for the WWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentators: Dick Graham and Gorilla Monsoon

We're joined in progress on June 4, 1983 in the Philadelphia Spectrum for the soon to be 41 year old Koloff trying once again to regain the heavyweight crown. Koloff does a backbreaker and covers but Backlund kicks out at one. Koloff sends Bob off and gets a boot to the ribs before locking in the bearhug. Monsoon says its like having a python wrapped around you as Graham has no idea how Backlund will get out of it. Bob grabs Ivan's head and slowly pushes him down to get both knees up to break the hold. Backlund is sent into the buckle but Bob ducks under a clothesline and locks in the crossface chicken wing. Ivan gives it up and Backlund is the winner.

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Backlund by submission (still WWF Champion)

Back to Vince who says he hopes everyone is enjoying this edition of All-American Wrestling and if they have any suggestions they should send a postcard to WRESTLING, PO Box 1538, Greenwich, CT 06836. Write them today and see what happens! Vince goes to one last commercial before Backlund will join us for an interview. The commercial is for Consumer Reports Buyer's Guide. Basically long before the internet existed, you had to buy books and magazine to see what places had the best deals. All for just $14 dollars, my how times have changed. Back to Vince with Bob Backlund himself holding the green & gold belt. Bob speaks in a low voice and says he's been an underdog his whole life, coming from the wrong side of the river. He started wrestling when he was 10 years old and talks about how he was never expected to be successful yet still won the NCAA Wrestling championship. He thought he had it made when he turned pro and he started at the bottom, sleeping in the trunk of his car because he couldn't afford a hotel. He had to work out with kids at the YMCA to keep in shape then fought and climbed for the WWF title. He appreciates all the friends and fans he's made in the last 5 years and doesn't want to let anyone down. Vince thanks Bob for joining us for this episode and signs off by saying next week's episode will be centered around the Superfly himself, Jimmy Snuka. 

Well that wraps up the first ever episode of WWF All-American Wrestling. It was definitely a choice showing Bob Backlund highlights and next week is going to be nothing but Jimmy Snuka highlights. At least Snuka may be more entertaining depending on which highlights they choose to showcase. There's not much to say on this other than Backlund was champion for five years at this point and Vince was expanding into cable television. Unfortunately Bob's monotone delivery and mat based matches weren't what Vince was thinking when he needed a larger than life star to move the needle. But that's a story for another day. The next Madison Square Garden show wouldn't be until October 17 and it just happened to be one of the most important in wrestling history. Until then, yay for Bob Backlund.

WWWF Championship Wrestling (5/14/77)

WWWF Championship Wrestling
May 14, 1977
Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia Arena

Commentator: Vince McMahon Jr

When we left off last week, Vince shilled SD Jones vs Ken Patera, Billy Graham vs Bruno Sammartino highlights and a women's match featuring Kitty Adams and Sheila Sheppard. This week Vince in the canary yellow suit tells us what we know but we also got Ivan Putski, Peter Maivia and George Steele on the card as well. Gary Michael Capetta doesn't even bother with the introductions, we go right to the first match. Joe McHugh would be appalled.

Match 1

George "The Animal" Steele (with Captain Lou Albano) vs Frankie Williams

Two weeks in a row we got Steele and he's got Frankie Williams as an opponent. For you youngsters, Frankie was yet another Puerto Rican jobber but was based out of Columbus, Ohio. Steele gets in the ring and just stares at Frankie before circling....and circling....then consultation from Albano. Steele continues to look quizzically as Vince calls him an "ugly individual". I'm sure his wife Pat would take an exception to that and so does George who immediately grabs Frank by the face. He belts him with a left forearm before biting the top of his head. Steele continues to choke and bite Frank before breaking. Vince continues to comment on Steele's appearance as George bodyslams Williams. George pulls at the face and sticks his green tongue out. Vince says someone may bite it off someday. Albano applauds George's tactics as George bites the bicep of Frankie. George takes Williams down with an armbar and uses the ropes to kick at it. George continues to bite the left arm and Frankie sells it hilariously. Apparently Steele is biting him for real because the camera pans on Frankie's arm bleeding and Vince acknowledges it. Finally George gets Frankie in the big hammerlock and Williams gives it up. Steele continues to bite Frankie for more heat with Albano distracting the ref to avoid a decision reversal. Finally George lets him go and Albano laughs at the poor Williams. Capetta announces George the winner who continually bites the arm. Vince "Steele absolutely out to lunch!" The point was to get Steele over as a crazy bastard and it works every time.

Time of match: 4:13

Winner: George Steele by submission

We go right to the next match

Match 2

"Polish Power" Ivan Putski vs Jose Estrada and Sylvano Sousa

The last match was designed to get the heel over while a handicap match is designed to get the face over as Putski takes on two men here. Sousa we all know but this is a "first appearance" on this timeline for Estrada who'd become a jobber mainstay in the early 80's. Funny thing is Estrada doesn't have the jacked up physique in 1977 he'd later have in 1982. Thankfully Capetta gets the hell out of dodge before Putski can shout into the mic. Putski has one of those 6-pack AND beer gut combos going on as he starts with Sousa. He heaves Sousa across the ring and Estrada gets in to be tossed around as well. Estrada and Sousa each grabs an arm and Putski rams them both together effortlessly. Putski gets double teamed but Putski fights them off with right hands and hiptosses. The opponents huddle and try a sideswipe attack but Putski whallops Estrada then scoop slams Sousa. Putski headbutts both men before no-selling Estrada's forearms. Putski throws Estrada over the top rope then continues to hammer away on Sousa. Putski sends him across both corners multiple times before scoop slamming him again. He rams both heads together and tosses Sousa off the ropes before rocking him with THE POLISH HAMMERRRRRR. Putski picks up Estrada and powerslams him on top of Sousa, covering both men for the 1...2...3 and that's it. Short and sweet for Putski who makes quick work of them, possibly a feud with Steele was coming up. Too bad there's not enough footage from this time period to get an idea of consistent feuds apart from Graham vs Bruno.

Time of match: 3:46

Winner: Ivan Putski by pinfall

We go right to the next match.

Match 3

Kitty Adams vs Jan Sheridan

We get an ultra rare women's match this time as Adams takes on Jan Sheridan instead of Sheila Sheppard. Adams was a 36 year old veteran who made her debut in 1958 and is famous for being the wife of Mark Tendler, the man who trained Sonny Blaze and ECW alumnus The Sandman. Sheridan was also a vet that worked with Fabulous Moolah in 1973 in Madison Square Garden. Adams bum rushes Sheridan at the bell and beats her up in the corner. Adams stands on Sheridan's back, chokes and pummels with forearms. Adams does the Moolah snapmare and yells at the referee. Vince calls them both tough athletes as Adams continues to snap mare and hair pull. Vince says wrestling was one of the first sports to let women participate, guess he forgets the All American Girls Baseball League in the mid 1940's. Vince says one of these girls may knock off Moolah herself, yeah no. Adams gets in a front headlock and reaches behind her back to pull the hair. Adams with a big forearm to the chest and Sheridan pounds the mat and says that's it. Sheridan goes apeshit on Adams, heaving her across the ring then monkey flipping her to the other side. Adams gets in a punch to the ribs to quell the momentum. Adams goes for a scoop slam but Sheridan counters with a small package for 1...2....3 and that's it. Adams didn't even try to kick out as Sheridan wins with a flurry. Adams bitches her hair got pulled but the referee is having none of it, Sheridan wins. That was a hell of a story of how for 3 minutes Adams beat Sheridan from pillar to post but Jan pseudo hulked up to win it. That was a fun 3 minutes.

Time of Match: 3:06

Winner: Jan Sheridan by pinfall

Vince says up next is the WWWF Champion himself Superstar Billy Graham in a non-title match, don't go away! 

Match 4

Ted Adams vs WWWF World Heavyweight Champion "Superstar" Billy Graham

Non-title match for the new champ. Ted Adams was a standard jobber at the time and he jobbed to Ken Patera the night Graham won the title. Rather than face equally powerful Patera, naturally Graham faces the 221 pound Adams here. Graham poses before getting in the ring as Wizard is wearing a hilariously bad green suit. Wizard takes the belt off and shows it to the irate crowd before slathering Graham with oil. That's gotta suck for the opponent. Referee Dick Woehrle tells Wiz to hurry up and get to steppin. Wizard then combs Billy's hair as Woehrle gives them a glare. Finally Wiz leaves and Graham circles with Adams. They tie-up and Adams gets thrown across the ring before Graham rams his head in the buckle. Billy tosses Adams through the ropes to the outside. Graham snaps Adams backs in and puts the boots to him. Graham gets in a chin-lock as Vince says Adams hasn't put up a fight at all. Billy rams Adams head into the buckle again before snap maring him into another chinlock. Vince promises more footage of Graham vs Bruno next week as Graham scoop slams Ted. Vince speculates how long Billy will have the belt since traditionally heels had very short reigns. Ivan Koloff ended the 8 year run of Bruno Sammartino in January of 1971 but one month later dropped it to Pedro Morales. In December of 73 Stan Stasiak ended Pedro's nearly 3 year run only to drop the belt 9 days later to Bruno. To give an idea the belt was going nowhere, 2 days after this show Graham was scheduled to face Gorilla Monsoon at the Garden. Graham sends Adams off the ropes and catches him in a bearhug. Adams quickly gives up and Billy wins it. Graham refuses to let him go and Wizard gets in to distract the ref so he doesn't reverse the decision. Finally Graham lets him go and poses for the irate crowd. Like I said a minute ago, Graham's first title defense at MSG would be against Monsoon two days later. The match itself is on Youtube but not the whole show.

Time of match: 6:15

Winner: "Superstar" Billy Graham by submission

Vince promises "High Chief" Peter Maivia when we come back. Oh joy!

Match 5

"High Chief" Peter Maivia vs Baron Mikel Scicluna

Only took 5 matches to get to one that should be competitive after the first four were straight beat-downs (despite Kitty Adams losing, she was in control the whole time). Scicluna looks great for 47 years old while Maivia had just turned 40. Maivia teases throwing his tribal spear at Scicluna, hahahahaha! Vince brings up the tribal tattoos Peter has to showcase what a badass he was. Apparently they were done with just ink, stone and chisels, none of this tattoo gun stuff you see these days. Maivia locks up with Mikel and Scicluna misses a wild right forearm. Peter locks in a top wristlock as Vince calls Scicluna an underrated wrestler. Again, looking great for 47. Vince says Maivia is undefeated since he returned to Championship wrestling as Peter no-sells a forearm to the top of the head, a Samoan tradition. Mikel goes to the "foreign object" to finally get Maivia to sell. More forearms are followed by Peter rallying to get Baron to retreat. Maivia headbutts Scicluna down then chills on the top rope, something Shawn Michaels would do almost 20 years later. Maivia rolls out of an armbar and locks in a headlock before dropping him with shoulderblocks. A headlock takeover has Scicluna bent out of the shape and kicking the ropes. Another "foreign object" thrust to the throat drops Peter and Baron kicks away at him. Peter starts a "Hulk Up" and rallies with right hands followed by a headbutt. Scicluna goes back to the object to drop Maivia but misses a forearm. Maivia then hits what looks to be running headbutts to the mid-section before hitting a flying bodypress for 1...2....3! Scicluna kicks out at 3 1/4 but its too late, Peter has won it. Scicluna can't believe it as Peter girins from ear to ear. Vince calls him a very happy young man (a spry 40 at the time) as we go to the highlights. Finally a good match, what took them so long?

Time of match: 7:21

Winner: Peter Maivia by pinfall

Vince sends us to our main event after commercial break

Match 6

"Special Delivery" Jones vs Ken Patera (with Captain Lou Albano)

Our final match to curfew should be another competitive match with Jones taking on the strongman. Patera removes his bright red warmup gear that looks more like what Honky Tonk Man wears 10 years later while Vince says he's going to be tested by Jones. Albano threatens some fans while Patera is hilariously mismatched with a red singlet and bright neon green boots. Patera begs off in the corner after a tie-up then Jones locks in a side head-lock. Patera sends Jones off and hits a knee to the midsection. Patera heaves Jones outside of the ring and screams "Woooooo!" Patera repeatedly knocks Jones off the apron as Vince says watch for Albano lurking around. Woehrle turns around to see Albano kick Jones in the butt but doesn't throw him out or call for the bell. Instead Jones pulls Patera outside and headbutts him. Patera gets thrown in the ring but he quickly bails to catch his breath. Jones turns the tables on Patera by knocking him off the apron when he tries to get back in. Finally Patera gets in and nails Jones with forearms to the back followed by stomps. Patera goes for a headlock before hitting a punch. SD then hits a sunset flip for 1....2....NOOOO, Patera barely got the shoulder up as Albano was halfway in the ring. Jones sends him off and goes for a scoop slam but loses his balance. Patera ends up on top for 1...2...,nope. Patera hits two running elbow drops then covers for 1...2...3, that's it. Kind of a lousy finish but they were up against the clock. Patera wins it as Vince goes to the highlights only for the credits start rolling causing Vince to talk real fast. Too bad they didn't have more time because that got good at the end.

Time of match: 5:13

Winner: Ken Patera by pinfall

I don't know if it was just the recording I saw but there were absolutely no promos at all, or even hints dropped by Vince that a big house show was coming. Madison Square Garden's big show was 2 days away and it wasn't even mentioned. Again, that could just be because this particular upload was devoid of commercials or interviews. Either way there's only one match available which I'll get to next time. As for this show, finally got to see some competitive matches rather than your standard squashes. Behind the scenes Vince Sr already had his successor to Billy Graham picked out but it would be a long time before he could properly build that guy. On camera, Graham looked unstoppable since his bodybuilder physique was unmatched by anyone at the time. Jesse "The Body" Ventura had come out of the Navy in 1975 but wasn't nationally known yet while Terry Bollea wouldn't make his wrestling debut until August of 77. Still, can't judge a show like this by today's standards but would have been nice to have gotten some info on what was going on at the time besides Graham knocking off Bruno. 5 years later it was impossible to miss what was coming up since every show had promos for upcoming MSG, Spectrum and Boston Garden shows. Just have to trudge our way there slowly but surely. Still fun to see Patera, Maivia, Scicluna, Putski, the managers, George Steele and the ladies do their thing.

WWWF Championship Wrestling (5/7/77)

WWWF Championship Wrestling
May 7, 1977
Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia Arena

Commentator: Vince McMahon Jr

The show opens with Vince Jr in the canary yellow suit running down the card. We also get an announcement from Vince that we have a new WWWF Champion as "Superstar" Billy Graham had beaten Bruno Sammartino the previous Saturday night in Baltimore. We go to Vince narrating highlights of Graham vs Bruno in Baltimore....just not the finish. We go to Gary Michael Capetta in the ring for the introductions. This hour of wrestling is sanctioned by the state athletic commission, the timekeeper is JP Venom (at least it sounds like that's his name), the referees are Dick Woehrle, Dusty Feldbaumer and John Stanley and his name is Gary Michael Capetta. Wow, no shout out to the doctor at ringside or Phil Zacko? Joe McHugh would NEVER!

Match 1

Bob Backlund vs Jan Nelson

Oh look its Bob Backlund! For you youngsters, Bob was the 190 pound Division 2 NCAA wrestling champion for North Dakota State in 1971 and finished 5th as a senior in the heavyweight division in 1972. Legendary Minnesota trainer Eddie Sharkey (the guy who trained The Road Warriors, Barry Darsow, Rick Rude, The Berzerker, Tom Zenk and Nikita Koloff) trained Backlund for the professional ranks and he started making his rounds in the territories from 73-76, especially the AWA in Minnesota, For those that don't know the story, "Mean" Gene Okerlund claims that when Backlund arrived in New York in 1976, Gagne jokingly said "Try and make HIM a star." to Vince Sr. Vince took it as a challenge and basically decided to make Backlund the successor to "Superstar" Billy Graham come hell or high water. Backlund had beaten Tor Kamata in a Texas Death Match the week before (referenced by Kamata here) so now he gets....Jan Nelson. Nelson also was an AWA trainee as he came out of Verne Gagne's camp in 1976. Tragically the story goes he OD'd and died during a Grateful Dead concert in 1978. Backlund takes Nelson down before countering out of a tie up. Backlund hip rolls Nelson as Vince says he's playing around with him. Backlund gets in a hammerlock before they reverse each other. Nelson looks in a full nelson (no pun intended) but Backlund reverses it into a full nelson of his own. Nelson reverses it and Backlund sticks his foot out and somehow tosses Nelson over his shoulders down. That's one way to counter a full nelson! Backlund and Nelson wins a test of strength then arm drags Nelson down. Nelson backs Bob into the corner and Bob backs him off by cocking a fist. Backlund reverses a headlock into a hammerlock as Vince continue to sing his praises. Nelson tries to kick Backlund who grabs the leg and takes him down before applying a wristlock. Nelson elbows Backlund in the ribs and goes to down with smashes before backdropping Backlund. He covers for 1...and Bob powers out of it. Backlund hits a backdrop of his own followed by a double underhook suplex. Backlund hits the atomic drop and covers for 1...2.....3 that's it. Backlund celebrates like he just won a title as Capetta announces the victory before Vince goes to the highlights. If you're not a fan of technical wrestling, this would bore you. If you can appreciate storytelling, you can see why Bob was a favorite for Vince Sr.

Time of match: 5:32

Winner: Bob Backlund by pinfall

We go straight to the next match after the commercial break

Match 2

Johnny Rivera vs Professor Toru Tanaka (with "Classy" Freddie Blassie)

Good to see Tanaka again and this time he's got Blassie with him. In real life, Blassie loved Tanaka and claimed he was the more professional of the duo of Tanaka and Mr. Fuji. By now Tanaka was 47 years old and on the downside of his career (but he had plenty of movies to be in) but the fans still throw stuff at him on the way to the ring. Tanaka throws the ceremonial salt in the corners and ties up with Rivera. Tanaka chops away at Rivera and rakes him across the top rope. Tanaka gets in a front headlock as Blassie goes over to yell at McMahon. He calls Tanaka the greatest Japanese wrestler of all time and they're going to the top. Rivera rallies with right hands but a chop by Tanaka stops him. Tanaka gets in a nerve hold and twists the neck much to Blassie's delight. Tanaka rams Rivera into the buckle as McMahon says Tanaka hasn't been around in a while. Rivera rallies with right hands and rams his head in the buckle. Tanaka cuts him off with a chop to the throat but Rivera continues to rally with forearms. Rivera shoulderblocks Tanaka but it barely fazes him but a second attempt eats a karate kick. Tanaka applies a cobra clutch before throwing Rivera to the mat. He covers for 1...2...3 and that's it, Tanaka wins. Later on that would be a submission hold but Tanaka settled for a pinfall. Blassie distracts the ref as Tanaka kicks at Rivera for some more heat. They were building Tanaka as a solo here, maybe he would be fed to Backlund this time. Either way he disposes of Rivera.

Time of match: 5:27

Winner: Tanaka by pinfall

We go straight from commercial to our next match.

Match 3

Billy White Wolf vs Moose Monroe

You're not gonna believe this, the "Native American" White Wolf is none other than the Iraqi born Adnan Al-Kassie. Yes GENERAL ADNAN. 13 years before he was Sgt Slaughter's manager, he was Billy White Wolf. His opponent Moose Monroe was your standard brawling, tough looking fella. Billy was one half of the tag champs at the time with Chief Jay Strongbow.....another fake native American. They stall to start with Monroe yelling at the crowd for some heat before Monroe goes to work with forearms to the back. Monroe rams Billy's head into two different buckles before continuing to pound away with forearms and kicks. Monroe rams him into a third buckle which fires up Billy. Monroe begs off and take a breather but Billy fires away with forearms and chops to the chest. White Wolf picks up the legs and jumps between them to deliver an Aftershock to Monroe. Wolf splashes Monroe and covers for 1...2....3 that's it. Pretty pathetic to lose to that kind of combo after taking no damage the entire match, but that's jobber matches for you. Capetta shakes referee Dick Woehrle's hand after the bell for no reason but that's okay.

Time of match: 2:45

Winner: White Wolf by pinfall

We come back from commercial straight to the next match

Match 4

Don Serrano vs George "The Animal" Steele (with Captain Lou Albano)

Half man, half animal....even as a heel The Animal was always very entertaining. Here he gets to feast on another Puerto Rican jobber (is Vince Sr ever going to get over the Pedro Morales riots?) and he bumrushes him in the corner to start without taking his signature black & red shirt off. Steele bites the poor guy and lands a forearm before throwing his shirt off. Steele attacks the left arm with a ringer and some kicks before being taken down. Steele continues to work over the left arm by standing on it with one foot and stomping with the other. Captain Lou nods in approval and applies the hammerlock. Serrano gives up and that's it, Steele wins easily. Steele starts playing dumb and bites into the turnbuckle. Vince Jr says he has a "fetish" for the buckles as Steele bails to scare some fans outside. Vince goes to the replay before going to commercial. Steele had turned 40 years old the previous month but he was still an attraction for sure.

Time of match: 2:08

Winner: George Steele by submission

We go from commercial straight to the next match.

Match 5

Mike Madera vs WWWF Heavyweight Champion "Superstar" Billy Graham (with The Grand Wizard)

Graham is making his TV debut as the new champion against yet another Puerto Rican jobber. Graham poses for the crowd with the belt and gets a huge pop from the crowd. Graham poses some more as Capetta says this is a NON-TITLE match. Grand Wizard shows the belt to the crowd and they cheer. If you think Vince Jr is behind the times these days, the fans were cheering FOR Graham and Vince Sr refused to turn him face. Legend has it that Vince didn't think fans would get behind him as a face because of his build. Hulk Hogan seven years later proved otherwise. Wizard slathers oil all over the Superstar which no doubt will make Madera happy to have to roll around with Graham in it. Wizard leaves and the bell finally rings with Graham towering over his opponent. He delivers forearms to the chest then stomps away on the guy. Graham rams Madera's head in the buckle and stomps away some more. Graham scoop slams Mike and stomps away at him. Graham heaves Madera over the top rope to the floor as the crowd cheers. Madera crawls back in only to get thrown over the top rope on the otherside. Madera gets snapped back inside and Graham totally botches a German suplex. Graham rolls over and covers Madera for 1....2...3 that's it. Graham wins it and poses for the crowd some more.

Time of match: 2:17

Winner: Billy Graham by pinfall

We go to commercial then straight to the main event

Match 6

Tony Garea and Larry Zbyszko vs Baron Von Raschke and Stan "The Man" Stasiak

No managers for the heels so this is going to be straight up as Larry starts with Stasiak. Stan gets in an arm lock and uses his taped right hand to punch him when he's not looking. Larry reverses it and Stan tags in Baron. Rascke backs Larry into the rope and hammers away with forearms. Baron works on the pectoral muscle before locking in an armbar. Vince Jr says his signature brainclaw has helped him and Stan have been undefeated as a team since forming. Baron and Stasiak make frequent tags to keep Larry in their corner but Larry finally backdrops Raschke. Zbyszko arm drags Raschke and makes the hot tag to Garea.  Garea pummels Raschke in the corner and backdrops him. Tony scoop slams Baron and covers for a 1 count. Garea puts his head down and eats a boot to the head. Stasiak tags in and goes for the heart punch early, but Garea blocks it with a punch to the gut. Stan recovers and rams Tony's head into the buckle. Stan clubs away and goes for another heart punch but instead punches the buckle. Stan sells it like he broke his hand and tags in Baron. Raschke hip tosses Garea but misses an elbow drop. Stan tags in but Larry gets the hot tag to clean house. Stan does the Andre spot on the top rope and Baron gets caught as well. Tony and Larry pummel the tied up heels much to the crowd's delight before Raschke is freed. Garea and Zbyszko send Baron crashing into Stan before Stasiak is free. Stasiak turns it around with right hands to the head of Zbyszko. He covers for 1....2...nope, Garea breaks it up. Stan heaves Zbyszko threw the ropes to the outside but Tony helps him back in. Rachke then takes control of Larry with punches and kicks before tagging in Stasiak. They both kick him in the chest and Stan misses the heart punch again, this time punching the mat. Stasiak continues to manhandle Larry around the ring but Larry finally comes back with roundhouse rights. Raschke tags in but Garea gets in as the bell rings. Gotta love old era curfews, folks. The crowd doesn't explode out of their seats and sprint to the exit like MSG but the match is over with the faces beating up the heels. Garea and Zbyszko clean house as Gary Capetta announces the match is a draw. Garea raises Zbyszko's hand as the crowd cheers before we go to the replay of the chaos at the end. Would have been nice if they could have been given more time since the story being told was the faces trying their best to avoid the heart punch. Oh well.

Time of match: 8:33

Winners: No one (Curfew draw)

As the credits roll Vince quickly advertises next weeks card. Kitty Adams takes on Sheila Sheppard in a women's match, SD Jones takes on Ken Patera and more highlights of Graham vs Bruno from Baltimore. Normally this one would be a standard show but Graham having just won the title and becoming just the sixth man (7th champion) to hold the championship since 1963 was big news. Compare that to the title changing hands 9 times from 2020 to 2022 until Roman Reigns unified it. Fans were wondering who the new champion was going to be since traditionally heels were just transition champions but boy were they in for a surprise. Sadly Vince Sr already had his new champion in mind and when he'd be crowned but it wouldn't be for another year. There was no secondary title just yet so for the next two years it was just whoever Graham was facing and whatever tag teams Vince brought into the territory. Buckle up everyone for a lot of tire spinning. Then again, that's not fair to judge 1977 WWWF by today's standards where every match is supposed to be important or at least lead to something. Back then with guys coming and going it was a rarity for a non-title match to have importance. Bruno vs Zbyszko being a huge exception. Anyway it was May of 1977 and Graham is the new champ.

WWWF at The Boston Garden (4/10/76) Incomplete

Boston Garden

Boston, MA

April 10, 1976

We're back once again with an incomplete writeup as footage for only one match exists from the WWWF house show at the Boston Garden on April 10, 1976. The night after the Boston Bruins blanked the Los Angeles Kings in Game 1 of the NHL playoffs but tonight its time for wrestling. This was a pretty stacked card considering this was the exact same day the WWWF ran the Baltimore Civic Center with a completely different crew. The only match filmed was the main event, a Russian Chain match featuring former WWWF Champion Ivan Koloff taking on Bruno Sammartino for the strap. Koloff beat Bruno in 1971 so he's gunning for him again.

Match 1

Jose Gonzalez vs Baron Mikel Scicluna

Back in 1976, Jose was usually one half of The Invaders tag team only this time he's going solo under his real name against the Baron. This match ended up being a draw.

Winner: No one (Draw)

Match 2

Pat McGuinness vs Man Mountain Mike

McGuinness was a territory villain, usually working Memphis and Florida. Mike was 6'4 and legitimately almost 600 pounds just like his partner/rival Haystacks Calhoun. Mike was born Gary Fletcher and he played 2 years of college baseball before The Great Bolo found him at a buffet (no lie) and trained him to be a wrestler. Unfortunately Mike will always be known as the opponent for "Iron" Mike Dibiase when Dibiase died in the ring of a heart attack. If Haystacks was the big friendly hillbilly, Mike was the big rough heel. Apparently Pat was a sub for Gene Dundee and Mike got the win.

Winner: Man Mountain Mike

Match 3

Louis Cerdan vs "Unpredictable" Johnny Rodz

One half of the tag champs in Cerdan takes on Rodz in this one. His partner will be facing "Superstar" Billy Graham later. Not surprisingly, Cerdan got the victory.

Winner: Louis Cerdan

Match 4

Pete Sanchez vs Kevin Sullivan

Sullivan and Sanchez were going on tour in a rare face vs face showdown and apparently they brought it to Boston on this night. There was no way Sullivan was losing in his hometown and he didn't.

Winner: Kevin Sullivan

Match 5

Pat Barrett vs Rocky Tomayo

Barrett was still hanging around after dropping the tag belts with Dominic DeNucci back in August. Now he's got Rocky Tomayo one on one in the Boston Garden. Boston sure loves their Irishmen and the fans were definitely happy when Pat got the duke.

Winner: Pat Barrett

Match 6

Tony Parisi vs "Superstar" Billy Graham

The other half of the tag champs, Parisi, takes on the Superstar. Unfortunately for Parisi, he gets beat by Graham.

Winner: "Superstar" Billy Graham

Match 7

Ivan Koloff (with Captain Lou Albano) vs Bruno Sammartino (with Arnold Skaaland) in a Russian Chain match for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

Finally we're at out main event which is the only match with footage existing. As I mentioned earlier, Koloff dethroned Bruno back in 1971 and the premise is he's gonna do it again. We got the Russian Chain gimmick because Bruno is going to have to overcome Koloff at his own game if he wants to keep the title. Albano attacks Bruno before the bell and Bruno kicks him down before scoop slamming him. Albano flees to the outside and Koloff does nothing about it. The chain is attached to both men and Koloff bashes him in the head with the chain instantly. They engage in a tug of war and Bruno gets the upperhand, bashing Koloff with it and choking him.  Bruno uses the chain to whip Koloff to the corner and wraps it around Ivan's neck. John Stanley can't DQ Bruno because there aren't any. Bruno kicks and punches Koloff before using the chain to whip him into the corner. Bruno again chokes Ivan with the chain but Ivan gets a thumb to the eye. Now its Ivan's turn to choke with the chain in the corner. Koloff hits him with the chain then whips Bruno in the corner. Bruno reverses a whip and sends Ivan into the corner before kicking at him. Bruno sends Koloff into the corner, wraps his fist with the chain and starts beating Koloff down, busting him open. Bruno continues the onslaught in the corner and caters to the crowd. Koloff staggers to his feet and Bruno continues to punch away with the chain around his fist. Koloff finds a way to drop Bruno with the chain and choke him with it. The action spills outside where Bruno sends Koloff into the guardrail. They smash each other with wooden chairs but Koloff puts the boots to Bruno as first man in the ring. Koloff chokes Bruno with the chain but Bruno punches and kicks him. Bruno then wraps part of the chain around Koloff's neck in the corner and stretches it from the outside like a makeshift noose. Koloff gives it up and Bruno is your winner! Angelo Savoldi and Sylvano Sousa help Koloff to the back as Bruno stands tall in the ring. Chain matches have been done to death over the years but in 1976 Boston Garden it must have been a lot of fun.

Time of match: 7:10

Winner: Bruno Sammartino by submission (Still WWWF Champion)

Would have been nice to see the rest of the card but we should all be thankful the main event has been restored. Would have been great to see a young Sullivan in the Boston Garden or Man Mountain Mike back when attractions like him came around once a blue moon. Bruno and Koloff had their wars, no doubt about it and they all drew a bunch of money. There's always going to be footage unearthed of matches that aren't available today so its a good time when something like this is found.

WWWF All-Star Wrestling (1/17/76)

WWWF All Star Wrestling
January 17, 1976
Hamburg, PA
Hamburg Fieldhouse

Its 1976 and the world is hopping mad! Just like last week, this week's edition of WWWF All-Star Wrestling is hosted by Vince McMahon Jr and Antonino Rocca after we see a brief highlight package. Vince hypes up tonight's main event which will see Bugsy McGraw take on Ivan Putski. Rocca says Putski will win. After we come back from commercial, Joe McHugh does the introductions. This hour of wrestling is promoted by Phil Zacko, supervised by the state athletic commission, the doctor at ringside is Dr. Fred Heinbach, the timekeeper is Mike Mitton, the referees are "Wee" Willie Webber & Dick Woehrle and his name is JOEEEEE McHugh.

Match 1

Sylvano Sousa vs "Superstar" Billy Graham

Graham enters the ring wearing a ridiculous fur hat & coat. He starts by posing for the crowd as a fan yells "Come on Sousa!" Rocca says Graham is "fanta-stick" as Billy clubs at Sousa in the ropes then rams his head into the buckle twice. He punches and kicks at Sousa before delivering a forearm to the back. Sousa tries to fight back but Graham kicks away. McMahon hypes up the upcoming Bugsy McGraw vs Ivan Putski showdown as Graham tosses Sousa through the ropes, but oh no! Sousa's foot is tangled up so Graham kicks at him outside before hilariously ripping off the ring mat and heaving it on top of Sylvano. Sousa crawls back into the ring where Graham whips him into the corner. Sousa runs into the bearhug and he quickly submits. Graham refuses to let go as Wizard gets in to distract the ref. Finally the ref catches Billy so he lets go. Vince goes to commercial and we break here. Standard jobber match but fun to see Graham rip the ring mat off.

Time of match: 3:34

Winner: Superstar Billy Graham by submission

Moving right along to the match.

Match 2

Bugsy McGraw (with Captain Lou Albano, The Grand Wizard and Ivan Koloff) vs Ivan Putski

Before the match, Vince questions what the hell Koloff and Albano are doing out there and Rocco doesn't like it either. Putski tells Dick Woehrle to get rid of the other two but he can't. Putski leaves but comes back with the tag team champions Louis Cerdan and Tony Parisi to even the odds. Albano, Wizard and Koloff retreat to the outside as McGraw is totally irate. McGraw and Putski tie up as Bugsy is at least foot taller than Putski. Bugsy backs Putski into the corner but they tie up again and this time Ivan heaves McGraw into the other corner. Another tie up has Ivan going to the headlock and Bugsy flails around. The mic picks up Albano screaming something as Bugsy gets in a wrist-lock. Ivan almost counters it but Bugsy remains in control. Putski then uses both hands to power out of it, throwing McGraw down. McGraw regroups with Albano before attacking Putski from behind. He whips Ivan into the corner and goes to down until Putski reverses it. Bugsy then shoves Woehrle halfway across the ring and Koloff gets in, Suddenly its a pier six brawl with everyone in there as the crowd pops. The bell rings as Parisi and Cerdan beat the crap out of Albano and Koloff with Wizard standing outside. Suddenly Bobo Brazil of all people hits the ring and clears the heels out. The faces shake hands inside the ring as the heels retreat. McHugh announces the ref disqualified both men and the match is a draw. Putski grabs the mic and calls Bugsy a bum before challenging him to come back and fight. Putski calls them yellow dogs and Vince says Albano won't be coming back. If there was a Survivor Series in those days that would have been a hell of a match with Bobo, Cerdan, Parisi and Putski against Koloff, Bugsy, Billy Graham and Ernie Ladd or whatever. As it was, at least they told a story with PUtski having the presence of mind to get the tag champs to help out.

Time of match: 6:32

Winner: No one (double DQ)

After the break we're back with Vince sporting a TERRIBLE 1970's haircut interviewing Cerdan and Parisi. Cerdan says the heels are too talented to stoop that low. He calls Wizard the "weasel" and stumbles over his words. Vince asks why Koloff was there and Tony says that Albano is still mad they beat The Blackjacks. Parisi says they're gonna keep the belts for as long as they can because its for the fans. Vince hints a potential match against Bugsy and Koloff. Cerdan says they have open contracts and he wants to bust Albano wide open. Cerdan once again bitches about heels interfering and says this is the wrestling capital of the world. (Jim Crockett might disagree). Cerdan calls McGraw "quacky" as Vince brings up Jerry Blackwell and Louis Cyr as well. Cerdan says they stay in shape by playing raquetball and handball. Not exactly Celtic Warrior Workouts like today. For those crying that this was a bad promo, its 1976. Dusty Rhodes and Billy Graham were few and far between. Bruno and Backlund weren't exactly Hogan-esque on the mic either. On to the next match.

Match 3

Johnny Rivera vs Louis Cyr (with Freddie Blassie)

Yet another Canadian (to go with Koloff, Cerdan, Parisi) as Cyr takes on Rivera here. For you youngsters, Rivera would jerk a lot of curtains for Madison Square Garden shows in the 70's. Vince hypes up Ivan Koloff is up next followed by Ernie Ladd vs Pete Sanchez on last. Cyr chats with Blassie as the bell rings. Referee Wee Willie Webber tells Blassie to make like a banana and split before they lock up. Cyr throws Rivera around with hip tosses and headlocks. Rivera then locks in an arm ringer but Cyr throws him off. Cyr slams Rivera into the buckle and then does a unique move where he gets in an over the shoulder backbreaker and chokes Rivera on the rop rope. Cyr covers for 1...2...nope, Blassie says to torture him some more. Cyr drops Rivera again and covers for 1....2...nope, he pulls him up again. Cyr rakes the face of Rivera as Blassie cuts a promo to Vince and calls Cyr his Yukon champion. An uppercut drops Rivera and and pulls him up again. Rocca puts over Cyr's brute strength as Cyr bearhugs Rivera into the corner. Cyr pulls him up after another two count as the fans get bored. All of a sudden Rivera rallies with right hands but Cyr takes over with a big left. Cyr delivers a perfect gut wrench suplex and looks over to a laughing Blassie for appreciation. Cyr sends him off and delivers a big boot. Cyr does a belly to belly suplex and a shoulder breaker. Cyr covers for 1...2...3 and thankfully its over. Up close Cyr looks like a young Gorilla Monsoon from the 1960's and this match was to establish Louis as a mean old bastard. Bruno Sammartino would have his hands full if Cyr comes challenging.

Time of match: 5:48

Winner: Louis Cyr by pinfall

Vince sends us directly to the next match.

Match 4

Pete McKay vs Ivan Koloff (with Captain Lou Albano)

Ironically it was McKay who lost to Louis Cyr last week and now he gets an angry Koloff who's not too happy about getting bumrushed by Bobo Brazil earlier. Albano stands directly in front of McHugh as he does the introductions and steals his mic to yell at the fans. The bell rings as Dick Woehrle tells Albano to make like a tree and leave. Albano finally makes his exit and yells at some old man in the crowd. The former WWWF champ drops McKay as Vince mistakenly calls Koloff "Bugsy McGraw" then saves himself by saying Bugsy was on earlier. Koloff locks in the iron claw early as Vince asks Rocca if Koloff is the same man that beat Bruno 5 years earlier. Rocca says he's faster than he was five years earlier and has a new system of training that lost a bit of muscle. He asks if Bruno is the same and Rocca says Bruno is smarter than five years ago. Albano runs over and asks what about him and Rocca yells at him that he's gonna "put censorship on television". Albano cuts a promo on Rocca as Koloff backdrops McKay. Koloff tosses McKay and delivers a big forearm to the back. Ivan taunts the crowd as Vince agrees that Ivan has lost some strength. Albano yells at McMahon for that as Vince puts over Cyr, Bruno, Putski, McGraw, Graham, Ernie Ladd, Brazil in terms of strength as Ivan drops a series of elbows and knees. The crowd gets bored as Ivan puts a foot on the chest for 1...2..nope. He takes his foot off and goes upstairs. He drops a knee and covers for 1...2..3 and its over. Vince hypes up the next bout as Koloff continues to stomp away after the bell. Koloff drops another knee as we cut here. Koloff proving he's still nasty five years later.

Time of match: 5:12

Winner: Ivan Koloff by pinfall

We go right to the final match

Match 5

Pete Sanchez vs "Big Cat" Ernie Ladd

Sanchez had beaten Johnny Rodz at Madison Square Garden the month before but now he's in the ring with the 6 foot 9 giant. Ladd comes to the ring wearing a cowboy vest and hat and hands his vest to the attendant. He squishes the hat on top of the attendant's head and the crowd laughs. Ladd drops to his knees to mock Sanchez for being so short and Pete dropkicks him much to the crowd's delight. He takes over Ladd with an armdrag as it should be noted the crowd really had nothing to cheer for all night apart from the Putski match. The crowd chants "Go Pete go" as Ladd complains about tights pulling. Another armdrag on Ladd has the crowd popping and thank goodness Ladd is letting Pete get some stuff in because everything has been boring so far. Ladd taunts the irate crowd and Vince says don't turn your back on Pete. Ladd backs Sanchez in the corner but misses a big forearm. Sanchez dropkicks Ernie in the back and Ladd falls on the top rope allowing Sanchez to gets a few kicks in. Sanchez rallies with right hands and sends Ladd head first into the buckle. Sanchez goes to work with right hands as Ladd reaches into his tights for something. Ladd slips on the tape for his thumb and nails Sanchez in the throat with it. Ladd nails Sanchez in the throat again as Willie Webber continues to give Ladd shit for using the thumb. Ladd slips the tape off and rams Pete's head into the buckle. The crowd chants "Go Pete Go" as Pete rallies with left hands and nails Ladd in the ribs to drop the big guy. Sanchez stomps away at Ladd but eats a headbutt to the ribs. Ladd starts stomping away and chokes Pete on the top rope. Vince praises Pete's effort as Ladd goes to ram Sanchez's head into the buckle. Vince says next week's feature match is Dominic DeNucci vs Ivan Koloff as Sanchez blocks Ladd's attempt and rams Ernie into the buckle instead. Sanchez rallies with right hands and whips Ladd into the other corner. Sanchez charges but right into the thumbs of Ladd. Ladd slips the tape on and nails Sanchez in the throat that sends Pete through the ropes to the outside. The ref counts out Pete and Ladd takes the coward's win. McHugh announces Ladd the winner as the end credits hit. That was actually a little bit of fun to see Sanchez hold his own with Ladd and Ernie having to resort to cheating tactics to win. Better than the straight jobber matches, that's for sure.

Time of match: 6:02

Winner: Ernie Ladd by count-out

Once again it would be unfair to rate 1970's shows by today's standards but some of it was a little fun. Putski bringing in Parisi and Cerdan as backup, Albano and Rocca yelling at each other, Graham ripping the mat off and Ladd bumping for Sanchez were the highlights for sure. Have to remember this was still a territory with guys coming and going so you'd be seeing a lot of these guys around the area for months on end. The Blackjacks dropped the belts and went somewhere else the same as Cerdan and Parisi will do the same eventually. As for the show, again, it had its moments but standard mid 70's action. It was all designed to get you to go to the house shows. Unfortunately next week's show has been lost to time so we won't get to see DeNucci vs Koloff. I know, can you believe it? Oh well.

WWWF All-Star Wrestling (9/13/75)

WWWF All Star Wrestling
September 13, 1975
Hamburg, PA
Hamburg Fieldhouse

Its the end of the summer of 1975 and things are still hot in the World Wide Wrestling Federation. Bruno Sammartino has some trouble over yonder as Waldo Von Erich, The Blackjacks and Superstar Billy Graham are in town. 30 year old Vince McMahon Jr and Antonino Rocca are your hosts for this week's show in matching red jackets. For you youngsters, Rocca was one of the first legitimate international stars of the 50's and 60's for Vince Sr's Capitol Wrestling, winning the tag titles with Miguel Perez Sr. Vince runs down the card which features some of the top of heels of the 1970's. Vince sends us to the ring for Joe McHugh's introductions. This hour of wrestling is promoted by Phil Zacko, supervised by the state athletic commission, the doctor at ring side is Dr. Fred Heinbach, the timekeeper at the bell is Tony Silvio, the referees are "Wee" Willie Webber & Dick Woehrle and his name is JOEEEE McHugh.

Match 1

Tom Stanton vs "Superstar" Billy Graham (with The Grand Wizard)

The Superstar was being groomed to take on Bruno Sammartino as he makes his entrance with Wizard. Stanton was actually a star in Canada in the early 80's but he's fodder for Graham here. Wizard does a great spot where he has to really struggle to take Graham's shirt off to put over the massive arms of Billy. Bell rings and Graham poses for the crowd with Wizard still in the ring so Wiz takes off. Stanton is actually the same height but is a lot less physically imposing. Graham hiplocks him down and punches him in the head before going to work with forearms. Graham kicks away at Stanton then delivers more forearms. Graham kicks away at Stanton until Tom falls out of the ring. Graham snaps Stanton off the top rope before ramming his head into the buckle. Graham whips him off and Stanton eats a back elbow smash. Billy drops another elbow before antagonizing the crowd. A forearm is followed by Graham delivering a knee to the mid-section. Vince goes to the replay as Graham pulls up Stanton from a pinfall twice. Graham sends Stanton into the buckle again then whips him into the other corner. We go to a replay of the whip before Graham locks in a bearhug. Stanton gives up as the ref calls for the bell. Graham refuses to let go and rams him into the buckle again and again for more heat. He finally lets him go as Vince says "He's proud of himself." As McHugh announces Graham the winner, Billy kicks at Stanton some more. Vince goes to the replay of Stanton submitting. Standard squash match as mentioned earlier, Graham was being groomed to face Bruno down the road.

Time of match: 3:57

Winner: "Superstar" Billy Graham by submission

We go straight to the next match without any segue

Match 2

Buddy Porter and Buzz Sawyer vs WWWF Tag Team Champions The Blackjacks (Mulligan and Lanza) with Captain Lou Albano

No, that's not "Mad Dog" Buzz Sawyer and I don't have a clue who Porter is. Porter is in the standard black trunks with Sawyer in long black rights. The Jacks had won the tag belts on August 26th and are in their standard gear. The bell rings with Albano giving some words of wisdom to his crew. Mulligan and Landa pound each other with forearms as Rocca says something unintelligible. Mulligan gets a headlock in as Albano comes over to yell at McMahon. I love how McMahon was the only one ever to say LouIS Albano and not just Lou. Lanza tags in to work over the arm of Sawyer before unloading with a few fists. Mulligan tags in and continues to torture the left arm. Ole Anderson would be proud. Sawyer tags out to Porter and Mulligan takes over on Buddy's left arm. Lanza tags in and lands a big right hand before dropping with another. Lanza chokes Porter as Vince asks Rocca if the Jacks will give the former champs "Irish" Pat Barrett and Dominic DeNucci a rematch. Rocca says the Jacks are the champs and will face who they want. Vince describes how the Jacks won the straps as Albano chokes Porter from the outside until the ref tells him to scram. Lanza tags Mulligan back in as Rocca admires Vince's memory as we go to the replay of Mulligan and Lanza double teaming. Mulligan lands a back elbow smash and tags in Lanza for the finish. Lanza applies the Texas Claw and the ref counts 1.....2.....3 and its over. The Jacks win it as Lanza refuses to break the hold. Mulligan heaves Sawyer out of the ring as Lanza lets go to celebrate with Albano and Mulligan. We go to the replay of Mulligan's elbow smash and once again this was a standard squash to establish Mulligan & Lanza as mean lookin' fellas.

Time of match: 5:11

Winners: The Blackjacks by pinfall

We got to an interview conducted by Vince Jr with Billy Graham and Grand Wizard. Wizard asks Vince if he's ever seen a physique like Graham has and tells Vince to check out Billy's back. Wizard says out of the goodness of Billy's heart he will speak to McMahon. Billy asks Vince how it feels to be standing and talking to Graham. He says Vince has a skinny little spine and don't touch him. He asks the people on the east coast eating tv dinners and drinking soda pop feel and all the women feel about Graham. He says he's the women's pet and men's regret. He then gets to the point and says Bruno Sammartino is sitting at home in a chair and he's the man of the hour, the man with the power and too sweet to be sour. He calls Bruno out of shape, potbellied and white skinned (hilarious since Bruno was none of those three) and brags about his tan he got in Death Valley. He goes on to say he eats raw steaks and calls Bruno out for homesteading the New York area and refusing to face him in other territories. Now Graham is there and Bruno has nowhere to run. Graham then says if you don't have a color TV, hock your car and go get one to see the Superstar. Back to Vince who tells Wizard Graham looks great but wrestling ability is different. Wizard says he knows what Graham can do and he's the next World Wide Wrestling Federation champion. Apart from his bravado the point is he's chased Bruno around the country and now he's here to challenge him. They have a date with destiny coming up. On to the next match.

Match 3

Manuel Miranda vs Baron Mikel Scicluna

Miranda is in the one strapped purple tights with Scicluna in standard gear. Love how Scicluna was one of the very few heels without a manager in those days. Miranda doesn't have the best physique but is still built as 310 pounds. Scicluna effortlessly takes him over and goes to work with knee drops. He starts the forearms to the back then gets in some headlocked punches. Scicluna stomps away before hitting a snapmare takeover. Scicluna locks in a nerve hold before driving a forearm to the top of the head. Rocca says Miranda doesn't have enough experience to beat Scicluna. Mikel does an eye rake and continues to punch, kick, forearm and stomp the poor guy. Miranda does briefly rally with right hands but a punch to the throat stops Miranda. Vince says he doesn't want to be in Bruno's shoes if he has to face Scicluna, Graham and others. Scicluna snapmares Miranda and continues to stomp away. Vince says Francisco Flores is up next against Frank Monte then Bugsy McGraw and Waldo Von Erich vs Louis Cerdan and Tony Parisi. Scicluna continues to stomp and punch away before landing another snapmare. Two knee drops and a cover gets 1...2....3 and thankfully thats it. I know its a squash match designed to get Scicluna over but all he did was punch, stomp and kick. At least the Blackjacks have the claw and Graham did some power moves. This was just a brawl. Miranda pops up quickly as McHugh announcers Scicluna the winner. Baron celebrates as we cut there.

Time of match: 3:34

Winner: Baron Mikel Scicluna by pinfall

We immediately segue into the next match

Match 4

Francisco Flores vs Frank "Magnificent" Monte

Monte looks like a long lost Valiant with a Magnificent Monte t-shirt and long red tights. Flores has pink trunks and a sombrero on.....yeah. Monte starts with a forearm but Flores counters with a few armdrags that has Monte on the run. Flores gets in a full nelson but breaks it at the ropes. Monte gets in a few right hands then a knee to the mid-section. Frank sends Flores into the corner and clubs away at him but Flores fights back. The crowd starts to get into it a little as it should be noted they haven't made a sound yet because the first three matches were straight heel squashes. We only got 16 minutes left of film on this broadcast and this was the first pop. Flores sends him into the corner and Monte begs off. Monte surprises him with a kick to the midsection before choking him on the top rope. Vince asks Rocca who's going to win and I can't understand what he says. Flores continues to counter Monte's moves as we go to the replay of a shoulderblock by Monte. Flores clubs away with forearms and locks in a surfboard. Rocca continues to say something I can't translate which is a shame because if it wasn't for his broken English, he's probably saying something noteworthy. Monte clubs away before heaving Flores over the top rope. They brawl on the apron as the ref starts to count. Monte is sent away by the referee as Flores is all tied up in the ropes. The ref tries to free Flores and he does. Flores then takes over by kicking away at Monte before ramming him into the buckle. A scoop slam by Flores has Vince going to the replay again. Was that a new thing? He does that way too much. Monte fireman carry slams Monte over the top to the floor and goes outside to stomp away. The ref counts them both out as Flores rams Monte's head into the ringpost. Flores continues to stomp away as Monte thinks he's won. McHugh says the match is a double count-out. That was better than I expected as the fireman's carry part at the end was cool for 1975 standards. Too bad neither one of them went on to stardom in New York.

Time of match: 6:01

Winner: No one (double count-out)

We segue right into the main event of the show.

Match 5

Louis Cerdan and Tony Parisi vs Bugsy McGraw and Waldo Von Erich (with Captain Lou Albano and "Classy" Freddie Blassie

What a treat. Not only do we have the legendary Waldo Von Erich but we also get Blassie managing him with Albano managing Bugsy. For you youngsters, Waldo was the kayfabe brother of Fritz Von Erich and World Class actually repackaged local Texas high school football star Kevin Vaughan as Waldo's son Lance Von Erich. Needless to say that didn't work, but what did work was Waldo himself being a great heel. Cerdan and Parisi are the babyface Canadian (yes Parisi was born in Italy but he immigrated to Canada when he was 9 years old) tag team so let's see how this turns out. Waldo is wearing the German army helmet over his double strapped long black tights. McGraw is in the long red tights and the other two are in standard red trunks. Albano, Blassie and McGraw beat it as Waldo starts with Parisi. Waldo lands a forearm but Tony counters with one. Parisi no sells everything Waldo does and actually rakes the eyes of Von Erich much to the crowd's delight. Parisi continues to counter everything he does until Waldo kicks him in the ribs. Waldo sends him off the ropes but eats a boot to the head. An irate Albano hops up on the apron as referee Dick Woehrle tells Blassie and Albano to get in the corner. The faces then call timeout and leave the ring. Albano heaves a wooden chair as the ref tells Waldo they'll be back. Blassie raises Waldo's hand in victory but Woehrle tells them the match is NOT over. The faces return with ANDRE THE GIANT in tow. The heels clear out in record time as Vince Jr says the complexion of the match just changed. Andre was just 29 at the time and can still move pretty quick. Vince mistakenly says "Fritz" Von Erich as Parisi and him tie up again. Parisi misses a charge and falls to the ground but Waldo misses a second rope kneedrop. Andre teases getting in the ring as Albano hops up on the apron as Cerdan tags in. McGraw interferes and wants some fisticuffs with Cerdan. McGraw makes the legal tag as Albano and Apron are on the apron talking to Waldo. Talk about a Survivor Series match, imagine Blassie, Albano, Bugsy and Waldo against Andre, Cerdan and Parisi. Cerdan goes to work on Bugsy until McGraw gets the upperhand. He tags in Waldo and the managers go to attack Cerdan but Andre chases them away. Parisi does a three stooges eye poke to Waldo and hits an atomic drop. Parisi misses an elbow drop as McGraw tags in to inflict some damage. Blassie gets in a cheap shot but Andre chases him away. Its fun to see a younger Andre run across the ring as opposed to the older, lumbering Andre. Parisi tags in Cerdan and so does Waldo. Albano gets in the ring and Cerdan throws him out of the ring before dropkicking Blassie. Albano and Blassie get beat up by the faces as the crowd pops. Albano took bumps all the time but seeing Blassie take them by then is fun. The managers retreat as the crowd pops for Parisi and Cerdan. Parisi slams Von Erich and goes up stairs but McGraw pulls Waldo away. Albano and Blassie get in as Vince says they're running out of time. Andre gets in and its a pier six brawl. Andre rams the manager's heads together with the faces beating the crap out of the heels. The credits roll as there's no official decision when the show goes off air. Wow, that was a fun match. 

Time of match: 10:00

Winners: No one (time limit draw)

Too bad the TV time ran out which was still a relatively new thing. Nowadays Raw goes extra but back then you missed it. Imagine being a kid back then hopping up and down for Andre only for the show to stop suddenly. Either way that's how the entire show should have been but unfortunately we had the three squash matches in a row. For September 1975 standards, the last two matches were worth watching if you know what you're getting into. Bruno was still the champ but Graham's chase for the title had begun. The Blackjacks had won the tag straps 18 days earlier so they were due for a run and its always fun to see Blassie do his thing. Unfortunately there's not much footage available from 1975 so the next MSG show has been lost to time. As for this show, skip the first three matches but catch the Billy Graham promo, Flores vs Monte and the main event.