WWF All-American Wrestling (9/11/83)

Welcome to this week's edition of WWF All-American Wrestling. Last week Vince McMahon Jr presented the inaugural episode as an hour long tribute to WWF Champion Bob Backlund. This week's show will be centered around the most popular star on the roster, "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka. No disrespect to Bob Backlund but he was considered "boring" by today's standards with monotone interviews and mat based wrestling. Jimmy Snuka was the opposite with cocaine fueled promos and death-defying dives to make him a hot commodity in wrestling. Not to mention unlike Backlund, he came to WWF as a heel and had a great story arc for his face turn. I'm sure this episode will cover all of it. Unlike the first episode, my copy of this one has no commercials so it should transition more smoothly.

Host/Commentator: Vince McMahon Jr

We don't even start with an intro by Vince, we actually start with a highlight. Jimmy Snuka's WWF debut on January 25, 1982 on Championship Wrestling where he hits the Superfly Splash on Jeff Craney. THEN we go to Vince wearing a horrible plaid suit who welcomes us to the show. Vince runs down what we're about to see including his face turn. When we come back, we'll go to Jimmy's debut that the clip in the intro was from.

Match 1

Jeff Craney vs "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka (with Captain Lou Albano)

Commentators: Vince McMahon Jr and Pat Patterson

This was the WWF debut for the Superfly from the WWF Championship Wrestling shown on January 26, 1982. Craney was a local New York/Pennsylvania jobber and we all know Snuka by now. Bell's gone and Patterson praises Snuka's ability. Snuka is actually wearing wrestling boots as he chops Craney down. He drops a few knees on him before slugging away at Craney in the corner. Snuka snapmares Jeff and drops a fist. Patterson says there's plenty of Samoans in wrestling but Snuka's the only one from the Fiji Islands. Jimmy headlock punches Craney then delivers forearms in the corner. Snuka scoop slams Craney and drives a knee to the chest. Snuka then hops up top and nails the Superfly Splash for 1....2....3 and that's it. The crowd cheered the splash but booed the outcome. Albano gets in the ring to celebrate with Jimmy as Joe McHugh announces Snuka the winner. To put Snuka over even more, Craney is stretchered out to make it look like the Superfly Splash is dangerous. Vince says Craney was a mile from the corner and Snuka still hit the splash. Patterson says that's why he's called the Superfly.

Time of match: 2:58

Winner: Snuka by pinfall 

Back to Vince who says Snuka was amazing but was a different man then. He says Albano not only controlled Snuka financially but his mind as well. When we come back, we're going to see the infamous cage match between Snuka and WWF Champion Bob Backlund. Vince brings up last week's show where Bob said he's never met anyone like Snuka. Vince gives the rules of the cage match and says Snuka pulled off an incredible feat but thankfully doesn't give away what it was. Let's head to the match.

Match 2

"Superfly" Jimmy Snuka with Captain Lou Albano vs Bob Backlund for the WWF Heavyweight Championship in a steel cage match

Commentator: Vince McMahon Jr

We're joined in progress from the cage match on June 28, 1982 between Snuka and Backlund. This would be the height of Snuka's heel run as his unorthodox style was making him a fan favorite despite being a heel. One of the many cases throughout history where fans simply refused to boo. We're at the part where Snuka sends Bob off the ropes but Bob reverses the whip and sends Snuka face first into the cage. Snuka blades and Backlund slingshots Snuka into the cage as the crowd pops. Bob rakes Snuka against the cage and pounds away at the bloody mess. Vince says Snuka is getting the beating of his life as Bob continues the onslaught. Snuka fights back with chops to the throat but Bob sends him into the cage again. Bob goes to leave the cage but Snuka grabs Bob's ankle and hits him with a thrust kick. Snuka drops Bob with a a series of chops and scoop slams him. Snuka goes up to the second rope and drops a knee. Snuka drops an elbow as Vince says a pin will get you nowhere in this match. Snuka drops a knee to Backlund's head and hits a vertical suplex. Snuka climbs to the top rope then goes to the top of the cage. He goes for the Superfly Splash but Backlund rolls out of the way for a tremendous pop. Backlund crawls out of the cage to win the match and retain the title. Even though this was only a clip, the high flying tactics if Snuka didn't go unnoticed. He was prime for a face turn and after coming up short against Backlund, it was only a matter of time. Snuka diving off the cage was talked about for a long time after even though Bob won the match.

Time of match: Joined in Progress

Winner: Bob Backlund (still WWF Champion)

Back to Vince who insinuates it was Albano's call to have him jump off the cage. Vince says Albano poisoned the mind of Snuka but one man felt that Jimmy was being manipulated. That man was the first ever WWWF Champion "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers. By 1982, Rogers was semi-retired and hosting a segment on WWF television called Buddy's Corner. It was there in October of 1982 where Buddy had Jimmy and Captain Lou on to discuss the way Albano was handling Jimmy. Buddy "Today my guests, one is invited and the other I don't give a darn about." Hahahahaha. Buddy says Albano doesn't need an introduction and what goes around, comes around. Buddy reveals he looked into Snuka's contract with Albano only to find there is no contract and Albano is legally not his manager. Albano screams that he's a liar and storms off while Snuka just sits there. Rogers tells Snuka that he's a free man but his money is gone. Rogers and Snuka stand up and hug each other signifying Snuka's face turn. Jimmy himself says he doesn't say much but he wants Rogers to be his manager. Rogers says he'll give him an answer shortly. Albano comes back to shout at Buddy but Buddy takes his jacket off.

Snuka then heads to the ring to face Ray "The Crippler" Stevens managed by "Classy" Freddie Blassie and Jimmy gets a huge face pop. Joe McHugh announces the match but Albano hits the ring and starts shoving Jimmy. Snuka unloads on Albano but he's attacked from behind by Stevens. Stevens uses Blassie's cane to choke Snuka while Albano pulls something out of his pants to hammer Jimmy with it. Blassie cheers the two of them on as Albano hammers away. The camera shows Snuka is busted wide open and they throw him over the top rope to the concrete floor. Stevens then hits a piledriver on the floor as Patterson says we won't be seeing Snuka for a while after that. We cut here as Vince says revenge would be Snuka's. Snuka would get his hands on Stevens at Madison Square Garden and we cut to that.

Match 3

"Superfly" Jimmy Snuka with Buddy Rogers vs Ray "The Crippler" Stevens with Freddie Blassie

Commentators: Vince McMahon Jr and Gorilla Monsoon

The Buddy's Corner/Ray attacks segment was from October of 1982 and Snuka now gets Stevens at MSG on December 28, 1982. They slug it out to start but Snuyka gets the upper hand with a jumping headbutt that has Stevens begging off in the corner. Snuka unloads in the corner and snapmares him to the center of the ring. Snuka nails a second rope fist-drop and Stevens bails to the outside. Ray goes to get back in but Jimmy kicks him in the head back down. Snuka rams Stevens' head into the apron. Back inside Ray begs off as Snuka stalks him. Monsoon makes a dated reference by saying the winner gets all the purse money as Stevens looks to have hit a low blow on Jimmy. Ray takes over with right hands then chokes him on the middle rope. Ray gets a thumb to the throat and starts hammering away with forearms. Ray goes for the piledriver but Snuka backdrops him out of it. Snuka drops Stevens with a right hand then rams his head into the mat. A chop to the throat floors Stevens and a knee to the forehead causes Ray to wither around. Stevens gets away with another low blow as Monsoon asks if the Superfly will fly tonight. Ray slugs away at Snuka in the corner then hits a snapmare. Ray goes upstairs for Bombs Away but Snuka catches him and slams Ray off the top rope. Snuka gets all fired up as the crowd explodes. Snuka beats the crap out of Ray with right hands and sends Ray flair flipping over the top to the floor. The ref counts and Ray can't make it back in, Snuka wins it by a count-out. Kind of a lame blow-off for a feud that started with a piledriver on the floor but they didn't want to make Ray look too weak since he was Bob Backlund's next opponent. Superfly gets his revenge and it was on to 1983 for him.

Time of match: 6:50

Winner: Jimmy Snuka by count-out

Back to Vince who says Stevens was one of the toughest opponents Jimmy has ever faced. Next up for Snuka would be the WWF Intercontinental Champion Don "The Magnificent" Muraco. The feud started because Muraco was jealous of the attention Jimmy was getting despite being the IC champ. We're shown a highlight from May 31, 1983 where Snuka was about to wrestle a match when Muraco just spit on Snuka. Snuka just smiled at him and told him to bring it. When Muraco was on the floor taunting, Snuka plancha'd over the top to the floor onto Muraco back before planchas were a thing in the US. Snuka ripped Muraco's clothes off and beat the crap out of him as the crowd goes crazy. The jobbers had to hold Snuka back but Muraco uses the distraction to beat Snuka in the head with a microphone. They continued to slug it out as even Snuka's scheduled opponent tried to break the fight up. Snuka is busted wide open as we get a big red X with the word "censored" on it because apparently a bit of blood was too much. Vince in the studio said Snuka finally got his hands on Muraco in the Philadelphia Spectrum in our final match on this show.

Match 4

"Superfly" Jimmy Snuka with Buddy Rogers vs Don "The Magnificent" Muraco for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

Commentators: Dick Graham and Gorilla Monsoon

The previous clip was in May and now this match was from August 13, 1983 at the Spectrum. Gary Michael Capetta does the introductions as Snuka gets a great pop. Muraco throws the belt at the feet of Snuka as special guest referee Swede Hanson holds the belt up. Muraco throws it at him again and Snuka goes crazy on him early. Snuka beats the crap out of Muraco in the corner and locks in a chinlock. Muraco powers out of it with elbows to the stomach then floors Snuka with a shoulderblock. Snuka leapfrogs over Muraco twice and nails him with a big chop. Snuka splashes Muraco and covers but Muraco gets his foot on the rope. Jimmy snapmares Muraco into the center of the ring and locks in another chin-lock. Muraco grabs the hair but Swede yells at him "watch the hair!". Monsoon says neither Muraco or Snuka was the type to surrender as Muraco makes it back to his feet. Muraco sends Jimmy off but eats a shoulderblock followed by a flying dropkick. Snuka snapmares Muraco again then goes back to the chinlock. Muraco gets back to his feet again and catches Snuka with a low blow. Hanson never saw it and Muraco takes over with a sleeper hold of his own. Snuka then serves it back to Muraco with a low blow of his own. Snuka chops Muraco then drops him with a jumping headbutt. Jimmy goes up to the second rope and flies across the ring with a headbutt. Muraco is busted wide open as Snuka sends him head first into the ringpost. Jummy snapmares Muraco again and lands a diving headbutt. Jimmy heaves Muraco over the top to the floor. Snuka lands and axehandle smash to Muraco on the floor and Swede starts to count Muraco out. Muraco slides back in only for Jimmy to do another jumping headbutt. Dick Graham asks how much more can Muraco take as Jimmy does another diving headbutt. Jimmy then goes to finish off Muraco with a Superfly Splash but Muraco pulls Hanson in the way, Jimmy landing on both of them. Muraco low blows Snuka again then steals Hanson's belt. Muraco whips Snuka with the belt but Jimmy grabs the belt and pelts Muraco with it. Jimmy sends Don off the ropes and Snuka whips him in the gut with the belt. Snuka hands another headbutt to send Muraco over the top to the floor. Hanson calls the match off as Muraco bails to the back, Jimmy winning by disqualification. The fans in the Spectrum are mad as we cut here. This was just a preview of the mayhem that these two would be causing at Madison Square Garden down the road. For now, Muraco escapes with the belt....barely.

Time of match: 11:24

Winner: Snuka by count-out (Muraco retains)

Back to Vince who says Muraco hasn't heard the last of Snuka....that's for sure. Vince says when we return we'll have an interview with Snuka himself. Back from commercial, Vince says he started out under Albano and asks what that was like. Snuka says he didn't know what Albano was doing and he doesn't feel good about letting Lou swindle him. Vince says the man took his money and misguided him, only to leave him for Ray Stevens. Vince says Stevens failed to put Snuka out and Jimmy says he can't explain how he felt but he didn't give up. Finally Vince says Muraco is going to get his and thanks Jimmy for his time. Vince says Snuka will be in action next week on All-American Wrestling as there will be a profile on Andre The Giant. We're shown a clip of the Wild Samoans battling Snuka and Andre at MSG including Snuka doing the Superfly splash off Andre's shoulders for the three count. Way to give away next week's show for those who hadn't seen that match before!

That wraps up the second edition of All-American and it was definitely better than the first. The first was trying to cram as many Bob Backlund highlights into 45 minute program as they could while this one kept it to a few matches, plus Snuka was far more entertaining. Bit of a side tangent but there was a question a while ago that asked if Hulk Hogan never came to WWF, who would have replaced Backlund as champion? The logical answer would have been Snuka as he was the number 1 babyface in the company by 1983, especially after what he would do at MSG a month from now. But, with the arrival of Hogan, that pushed Snuka to the side and he'd never again be the top face. Andre The Giant was making bank as an attraction around the country and Japan so he didn't need to be tied down by being WWF Champion. The next MSG show wouldn't be until October 17 and it just so happened to have the next Muraco and Snuka match. Stay tuned for that.

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 (5/7/77)

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.