WWWF All-Star Wrestling (2/11/78)

WWWF All-Star Wrestling

Hamburg Fieldhouse

Hamburg, PA

February 11, 1978

Commentator: Vince McMahon Jr

Ring Announcer: Joe McHugh

We are days away from the big Madison Square Garden showdown between WWWF Heavyweight Champion "Superstar" Billy Graham and number one contender Bob Backlund. This was taped on February 1st but broadcasted today. Vince runs down today's card then sends us to Larry Zbyszko with a special message to donate to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Larry says they can't take on diabetes alone and needs help to fight against it. Larry looked uncomfortable cutting this promo, the WCW Larry would have nailed it. On to our first match after Joe McHugh's introduction. Captain Lou Albano pantomimes jumping rope during Joe's introduction and Butcher Vachon is laughing hysterically.

Match 1

Pete Austin and SD Jones vs Butcher Vachon and Baron Mikel Scicluna (with Captain Lou Albano)

Last week Jones and Scicluna settled nothing in a time limit draw so now they're on opposite ends of a tag team. The bell rings and Albano immediately runs into an SD Jones right hand much to the crowd's delight. Albano bails and Scicluna starts with SD.....nevermind, its Butcher. Butcher tags in and locks up with Jones then shoulderblocks him down. Jones hits a backdrop and Butcher bails to the outside. Vachon gets back in and tags in Mikel Scicluna. Jones locks in an armringer and Austin tags in to take over with it. Scicluna backs him in the corner and hammers away on him.  Scicluna hammers away again and Austin fights out of it with forearms. Scicluna hits forearms to the chest against the rope then sends him into Vachon's knee. Vachon tags in for an open handed chop against the chest. Vachon rakes the back and Jones tags in. Buther begs off and Jones rallies with left hands and a whip to the corner. Vachon whips Jones in the corner and tags Baron in. Scicluna snap mares Jones and Baron stomps away on him. Jones goes for the blatant choke and the ref tells him to break it. Vince says Baron is usually a loner but doesn't mind teaming with Vachon. Jones rallies with a headbutt that dazes Scicluna to tag out to Vachon. Jones headbutts Vachon down and Austin tags in....and just walks around Vachon. He then covers him for a 1 count as even Vince says Austin has no idea what he's doing. Austin locks in a chinlock with Vachon's foot clearly out of the ring but the ref doesn't see it. Austin hits some of the worst forearms I've ever seen and whips Butcher into the opposite corner. A charge eats boot and Butcher tags out to Scicluna. Baron hits a series of forearms and sends him into the corner where Vachon tags back in. Butcher hits a double stomp to the chest and tags out to Scicluna. Baron hits a kneedrop and covers for 1...2...3...to win the match. Vince says SD Jones did well individually to further drive home the point Austin sucks. Butcher and Scicluna did their jobs as heels with their rugged styles but Austin hampered that match. Maybe SD will choose a better partner next time.

Time of match: 5:35

Winners: Scicluna and Vachon by pinfall

After the match, Vince hypes up our main event up next as we go to break. Back from break we go right to the next match.

Match 2

"High Chief" Peter Maivia vs Stan "The Man" Stasiak (with The Grand Wizard)

Former WWWF Champion Stasiak takes on the Samoan chief Maivia here. Vince says Peter doesn't take kindly to Grand Wizard. Bell's gone and they lock up to start. Stasiak starts with a waistlock and Peter reverses into a front headlock. Maivia lets go just to yell at Wizard some more. Maivia armdrags Stasiak and goes for the waistlock. Stan tries a wristlock but Maivia lifts him off the mat onto the top rope. Stasiak regroups with Wizard and avoids a headlock by grabbing the rope. Maivia headbutts Stasiak in the mid-section but Stan rallies with right hands. Stasiak works over Peter in the corner and applies a nervehold. Maivia has the crowd cheer for him to get up and he steps through the ropes. Stasiak continues to hammer away and goes for the heart punch, but Maivia blocks it with some chops.  A European uppercut drops Stasiak and Maivia kicks him out of the ring, literally. Stan regroups with Wizard and gets back in. Maivia taunts him as Vince says Peter will mix it up. Maivia goes to the full nelson but Stan can't break it. Stan gets a foot on the rope and gets in a punch to the ribs. Stan pounds away in the corner and goes for the heart punch. Maivia blocks it again with a headbutt. An uppercut sends Stasiak over the top rope to the floor much to the crowd's delight. Wizard distracts Maivia allowing Stasiak to get the upperhand. Stasiak chokes Maivia against the second rope before stomping away at him. Maivia falls to the floor and Stan repeatedly keeps him from getting back in. Maivia pulls him out and starts beating the crap out of him. They both get counted out as Peter didn't make it back in to beat it. Joe McHugh delivers the bad news to the crowd as Stan shouts "Bull" to a nearby camera. That was pretty good for a 1978 TV match. The uppercut to the floor popped the crowd.

Time of match: 7:04

Winner: No one (Draw)

Back from break we get another interview with "Classy" Freddie Blassie and Spiros Arion. Blassie looks at some fat dude in the front row and Blassie says Arion would beat him easy. The sanitation department forgot to remove him the last time they cleaned the place. Vince calls him absurd and Arion says Gorilla Monsoon, Haystacks and fat guys like them are offensive. Blassie says the guy stinks and the flies keep circling over him as Vince is noticeably cracking up, so the camera zooms on Arion. Arion claims he's nothing but class as Vince complains about Blassie making fun of the fans and Blassie doubles down on it. Blassie says his walking stick is custom made while everyone else has 5 dollar canes. Blassie says he makes nothing but money and Vince asks if Arion is okay with Blassie profitting off him taking the beatings. Arion counters that he doesn't take beatings and the fans pay Blassie, not him. Arion says in 1978, he'll be WWWF champion. On to the next match.

Match 3

"Iron Greek" Spiros Arion vs Dennis Johnson and Pete Reeves in a Handicap Match

Arion gets two jobbers here. That is NOT Seattle Supersonics star point guard Dennis Johnson by the way. Usually handicap matches are for big guys like Haystacks or Andre The Giant, but then again....Arion was 6 foot 5 which was a giant in those days compared to other guys. Arion bumrushes the jobbers at the bell and rams their heads together. Arios stomps on Johnson and gets a knee to the chest. Arion kicks away at Reeves and rakes the eyes of Johnson. Arion whips the jobbers into each other and gets a full nelson on Johnson. Reeves punches away that Arion totally ignores. Arion throws Reeves through the ropes and Johnson gets dropped with a headlocked punch. Arion stomps on Johnson and hiptosses him. He covers for 1...2..no, Arion pulls him up. Arion drops both men with forearms and Spiros chokes Johnson on the top rope. Blassie goes over to Vince's table and cuts a promo saying Arion is the best since he's bored. The two jobbers start punching away on Arion as the crowd starts to make some noise. They whip Arion to the buckle and punch away again. Arion grabs both men and ram their heads together. Arion drops a knee to the groin of Johnson and scoop slams Reeves. Arion covers for 1...2...no, he pulls him up. Arion throws Reeves outside and he punches away at Johnson. Blassie chokes Reeves outside with the cane as Arion gets in the overhead backbreaker. The bell rings before he even gets Johnson all the way up and this one's over.

Time of match: 4:48

Winner: Arion by submission

We go straight to the next match

Match 4

Dominic DeNucci vs "Nobleman" Joe Turco

Another battle of the Italians after Turco met Dino Bravo last week on Championship Wrestling. They circle to start and Dominic pushes Turco back who complains of a hair pull. They lock up again and Turco gets in a forearm to the chest. DeNucci gets in a wristlock but Turco makes it to the ropes. Turco locks in a headlock and pulls the hair but DeNucci lifts him up by the leg. DeNucc reverses into a wrist lock and punches the left arm. Turco goes for a bear hug but Dominic bell rings out of it. DeNucci does a go-behind but Turco grabs the hair and forearms Dominic in the chest. Dominic gets mad and chases Turco around the ring before dropping him with a toe hold. Turco and makes his way to the ropes and they tie up again. Turco applies a wristlock and pulls Dominic down by the tights. Turco takes him down a second time and DeNucci bridges to avoid a count. Turco shouts "I got him now!" but DeNucci makes it to his knees. Turco bites the hand and takes him down by the hand. Turco forearms Dominic against the ropes and sends him off. DeNucci sunset flips Turco for 1...2...3 to win the match. DeNucci outsmarted Turco in an incredibly slow match.

Time of match: 5:48

Winner: DeNucci by pinfall

We cut to Vince shilling the same WWWF Wrestling Action magazine from last week with spreads on Bruno Sammartino and Andre The Giant. GPO Boc 1256 New York, New York 10001 if you're interested. On to the final match.

Match 5

Frankie Williams and Joe Marcus vs Mr. Fuji and Professor Toru Tanaka

The tag champs are in action in a non-title match against hall of fame jobber Williams and Joe Marcus. Marcus is a local Indiana guy and relative to Bob Marcus. Tanaka throws the ceremonial salt and bows in the corner and there's no Mrs. Krieger to wipe it away. Tanaka backs Williams in the corner to start and takes him down by the leg, choking him on the first rope. Tanaka chokes Frankie against the ropes and tags in Fuji. Fooj rams Frankie's head in the buckle and forearms him down. Williams rallies with right hands to stun Fuji and wake up McMahon. Williams applies a chin lock and tags in Marcus. Joe applies a headlock but Fuji powers out of it with a chop to the chest. Fuji scoop slams him and drops a leg. Tanaka tags in and applies a wristlock. Tanaka chokes Joe with his left hand while the ref isn't looking and rams his head in the buckle. Fuji tags in as Vince says he's the more vicious of the two. He was the bigger ribber for sure. Fuji applies a front headlock and walks into the wrong corner so he backs into his own for Tanaka to tag in. Tanaka elbows Marcus in the throat and covers for 1..2...3 to win the match. The problem with too many squash matches is they're relatively boring. Luckily this was the last one on this card.

Time of match: 4:48

Winners: Fuji and Tanaka

We sign off and that was strange not to promote the Madison Square Garden show this Monday night. Backlund vs Graham is the main event but this show just showed us that Spiros Arion is a mean looking fella. Also telegraphing the winner of the MSG match because why would you build up a heel like Arion if Graham were to retain? Unless Billy Graham was about to turn face which would have been a smart thing to do considering how entertaining he is on the microphone. Still, this show served its purpose to set up the next potential contender and showcase how mean & nasty Fuji and Tanaka are. Our next show after this is the house show tonight at the Baltimore Civic Center. I'll see you there.

WWWF Championship Wrestling (2/4/78)

 

WWWF Championship Wrestling

Philadelphia Arena

Philadelphia, PA

February 4, 1978

Commentator: Vince McMahon Jr

Ring Announcer: Gary Michael Capetta

Vince McMahon opens the show shilling how tough and powerful everyone is. Vince says we have to go to commercial first before we get to today's card. Back from break Vince says viewer discretion is advised as we go to the ring. Gary Michael Capetta runs downs the VIPs before we go the first bout.

Match 1

Nikolai Volkoff vs Tony Garea

Nikolai is billed from Mongolia which was a carryover from Beppo Mongol. Bell rings and Nikolai backs him into the ropes twice. They trade forearms before Nikolai gets a headlocked punch. Nikolai gets a waistlock but Tony counters with a headlock takeover. Volkoff reveres into a hammerlock to put Garea on his back. They trade bridges but tumble into the ropes. Volkoff stomps Garea and taunts the irate crowd before delivering a running knee to the ribs. Nikolai does his overhead press backbreaker and covers for 1..2....no. Nikolai gets sunset flipped but too close to the ropes. Tony rallies with forearms and Nikolai backs off. Tony rallies with armdrags but Nikolai headbutts him in the ribs. Tony is thrown into the corner but reverses a whip of his own. Tony jump kicks Nikolai but a charge eats double knees. Nikolai goes for a scoop slam but Tony grabs the knee pad to land on top (why don't you see that anymore?) for 1..2...no. Garea goes for a monkey flip but Nikolai cartwheels out of it. Nikolai arm drags Garea but Tony goes for a double underhook. Nikolai tries a monkey flip but this time Garea cartwheels out of the way and lands a dropkick. Garea punches away at Volkoff and they circle around again. The referee warns Nikolai about using his fists as Garea goes for a small package but the referee takes forever to count because he's checking the shoulders like in actual wrestling. Tony forearms Volkoff and takes him over for a 1 count. Tony grabs an arm ringer and Nikolai begs off to the crowd's delight. Tony drops knees on Volkoff's arm but he kicks Garea off. Nikolai rallies with forearms and a takeover for 1..2....no. Nikolai goes to the front headlock but Tony does a fireman's carry takeover for 1...2..nope, foot on the rope. The bell inexplicably rings as they trade blows in the middle of the ring. The time limit has expired as the crowd boos. Good way to protect both guys on television forcing them to go see the house shows. Now modern day fans won't like this match because they're used to flippity flop at the barber shop, but this was classic wrestling with holds and counters. Nobody could get an advantage and it'll have to be settled another time.

Time of match: 10:00

Winner: No one (Draw)

Vince runs down our card before we go to break. Back from commercial its on to the next match.

Match 2

"Nobleman" Joe Turco vs Dino Bravo

The battle of the Italians only Bravo is residing in Montreal. Bravo had made his WWWF debut on January 31st and this is his TV debut. Bell's gone and they circle to start. Dino starts with an arm-ringer and Turco kicks his feet around to sell it. Turco forearms him against the ropes as Bravo locks in a sideheadlock then shoulderblocks Turco. Bravo hits a dropkick and covers for a 1 count. Bravo takes Turco down and drops a leg on his arm, Turco sells it like his arm fell off. Bravo gets a hammerlock but Turco retreats to the ropes. Dino then goes for the top wristlock but Turco backs him to the ropes with forearms. This is looking like the exact same match as the last one as Turco begs off in the corner. Turco's headlock is reversed into a wristlock and Bravo clocks Turco with a right hand. Bravo drops Turco with a Backlund Knees but Turco rams Bravo's head into the buckle. Bravo reverses it to ram his head in the buckle and drops Turco with a shot to the ribs. Bravo hits a russian leg sweep and an airplane spin. Bravo covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. Really? Bravo goes to leave but forgets he needs his hand raised. Bravo waves to the crowd as Joe Turco sells the spin by crawling up Gary Michael Capetta's leg and have to be helped up by the referee. Okay, THAT was funny. Bravo getting a clean win in his TV debut was par for the course but Turco's antics made it somewhat entertaining.

Time of match: 4:57

Winner: Bravo by pinfall

Vince shills the WWWF Wrestling Action magazine (imagine finding one of those today) with Bruno Sammartino on the cover. Dusty Rhodes is featured in the magazine along with Ivan Putski. We go to break and when we come back, its time for the next match.

Match 3

"Pretty Boy" Larry Sharpe vs Mike Madera

If you don't know who Larry Sharpe is you need some serious education. Not only was he a successful territory wrestler, he founded the Monster Factory wrestling school in 1983 in New Jersey. Guess who he trained? King Kong Bundy, Bam Bam Bigelow, Chris Candido, The Headbangers and pretty much everyone that ever came out of Jersey not named DDP. At this time he was one of the Hollywood Blondes in Puerto Rico with Jack Evans. Madera escapes Sharpe's clutches twice but Larry drops him with a series of forearms. Sharpe gets a headlock and a shoulderblock before following with a headlock takeover. Vince on commentary says individually Sharpe and Evans are not the same as when they're together which is a creative way to say they're jobbers in WWWF but stars in Puerto Rico as a team. Madera rallies with forearms but the charge eats knee in the corner. Sharpe scoop slams Madera and gets a knee to the head. Vince says the tag team champs Mr. Fuji and Professor Tanaka will be here later and an interview with Spiros Arion. SD Jones takes on Baron Mikel Scicluna in the main event. Madera charges the corner but misses. Sharpe hits a suplex and covers for 1..2....3 to win the match. Remember when THAT was a finisher? Vince says despite his recent jobbing, he gets a victory here. Total squash here, not much to say.

Time of match: 2:49

Winner: Sharpe by pinfall

We go to Vince who runs down the rest of the show before going to commercial. Back from break, its on to the next match.

Match 4

Danny Johnson and Terry York vs Professor Toru Tanaka and Mr. Fuji (with "Classy" Freddie Blassie)

Non-title match but who are the jobbers? Danny Johnson is the son of Canadian wrestler Bull Johnson and would later compete in WCW as Bullwhip Johnson. Terry York is actually future Toronto referee Terry Yorkston. He'd ref a lot of matches at the Maple Leaf Gardens after his wrestling career was over. Bell rings and Tanaka starts with York, Tanaka bowing his head before throwing out the ceremonial salt. No Mrs. Krieger to wipe it away this time. Tanaka puts Terry in the ropes and gives him a chop. Tanaka sends York head first in the buckle and uses a five count to choke him on the rope. The ref backs Tanaka off but Fuji snaps Terry off the top rope. Tanaka once again hides a choke from the ref and tags in Fuji. Tanaka uses a five count to choke York before he leaves. Fuji kicks away at York and applies a nerve hold. Tanaka tags in and chokes Terry on the second rope before York makes the tag to Johnson. Tanaka cuts him off and starts choking him as well. Tanaka brings him to the corner where Fuji tags in. Fuji beats up Johnson and York gets in the ring forcing the ref to drive him back. With his back turned, Fuji and Tanaka double team Johnson. Tanaka applies a nerve hold and drives him into the corner where Fuji gets a cheap shot with the ref not looking. York tags in and kicks Tanaka but he no sells it. Tanaka no sells more offense and elbows him in the throat. He hits a chop to the throat and runs into a chokeslam without an actual slam, hard to explain but but the cover still gets 1...2....3 to win the match. Tanaka and Fuji sold NOTHING in that match and Vince says they'll be champs for years to come. Give it a month, Vince.

Time of match: 6:03

Winners: Fuji and Tanaka by pinfall

Back to Vince who's going to interview Freddie Blassie and the returning Spiros Arion. Blassie says he turned him from a nothing babyface into the most vicious heel. He goes on to say Arion's family is filthy rich because they own 500 oil tankers. He says if Arion were to take the tankers out of the ocean, the ocean would go down the drain. That doesn't make sense but whatever. Arion himself says its all true and its hard to be humble because when you're as great as he is, he doesn't have to be. Blassie says Arion is heartless and he's after the WWWF Championship. Blassie calls out Billy Graham but calls Bob Backlund a pencil neck geek refugee from college. He calls Mil Mascaras a geek and Dusty Rhodes the "nightmare". Tony Garea, Larry Zbyzsko, Dominic Denucci and Chief Jay Strongbow are all geeks and Blassie laughs at his own jokes. Blassie says the only way to make money is to win and that's what Arion is going to do. Blassie apologizes to Strongbow and DeNucci then says they're not only ugly, but stupid. Arion says Blassie is the judge & jury, who's to leave and who's to die. Arion is the executioner and he's perfection, not scared of nobody and will prove it. Vince says they're out of time and they'll be back. Gotta love Blassie folks. Back from break its time for the main event.

Match 5

SD Jones vs Baron Mikel Scicluna

These two wrestle each other all the time in time limit draws and this should be no different. Bell's gone and Scicluna takes Jones down by the tights with the ref not seeing it. Scicluna continues to wrench the arm and Jones threatens to punch him but refrains. Scicluna stomps on Jones then goes back to the arm ringer. Jones backs to the ropes and Baron forearms him down. Scicluna hammers away on Jones but SD turns about to take Scicluna down by the tights for his own arm ringer. Jones continues to wrench away but Scicluna powers out of it. Scicluna punches away in the corner but Jones starts to hulk up. Jones hits a huge headbutt followed by an inbetween the legs kick. Scicluna hobbles around and Jones goes back to the leg-lock. Scicluna powers out of it and starts punching Jones down. Scicluna kicks away but there's the bell, curfew draw right? Wrong! For some reason Dick Woehrle awards the match to Jones and  Scicluna attacks after the bell. Jones rallies back to chase the Maltan away. Bad match because there wasn't much to establish before the bell. Back then you really needed 5-10 minutes to get a flow going compared to these days where you could do it right away.

Time of match: 5:48

Winner: Jones by referee's decision

Vince says a rematch between Jones and Scicluna is in order. He runs down next week's card which features a six man tag match with Nikolai Volkoff, Scicluna and Spiros Arion against Chief Jay Strongbow, Dominic Denucci and Peter Maivia. Vince Sr is trying to establish Spiros Arion as a big deal but Vince Jr failed to mention the big Madison Square Garden show coming up on February 20th. Usually they hype the shows weeks in advance but this show had nothing. As for this show, standard 1978 action with two competitive matches along with the three squashes. The next show is tonight's house show at the Providence Civic Center, I'll see you there.

WWWF at Philadelphia Arena (12/1/73)

Philadelphia Arena

Philadelphia, PA

December 1, 1973

To many this seemed like a prototypical spot show just 9 days before Madison Square Garden but hooooo boy were the fans in attendance in for a surprise. The main event would be Stan "The Man" Stasiak once again challenging WWWF Heavyweight Champion Pedro Morales for the title. Joe Turco and Pancho Valdez would be going after the tag straps against Dean Ho and Tony Garea and we got a six man tag match 3 out of 5 falls....ugh. Anyway lets get to this history makin.....errr, normal spot show card.

Match 1

Frank Valois vs Jose Gonzalez

Ah, a good ol fashioned curtain jerk match to open the card here in Philadelphia. Neither one of these guys had a chance to go up against Pedro Morales in any capacity so may as well just beat the hell out of each other. Jose got the duke in this one.

Winner: Jose Gonzalez

Match 2

"Nobleman" Joe Turco and Pancho Valdez vs Dean Ho and Tony Garea for the WWWF Tag Team Championship in a 2 out of 3 falls match.

The Italian teams with Valdez to try to take down the tag champs in a two out of three falls match which was standard for the time. Unfortunately for the challengers, Ho and Garea swept both falls to win the match.

Winners: Ho and Garea (Still Tag Team Champions)

Match 3

El Olympico vs "Iron" Mike McCord

For those that don't know, McCord was actually 24 year old.....AUSTIN IDOL! That's right, the Memphis legend was a mid-card heel managed by Captain Lou Albano at the time. His original gimmick was pretty much the strongman gimmick Ken Patera would use. It wasn't until the late 70's he became the Austin Idol everyone knows today. McCord got the win here.

Winner: Mike McCord

Match 4

Manuel Soto vs Larry "The Axe" Hennig

If you didn't know, Larry The Axe isthe father of Mr. Perfect and grandfather of Curtis Axel. He cut his teeth in his hometown Minnesota before making it big in Texas as a big rough heel. He formed a tag team with "Handsome" Harley Race in the early 60's and Race went on to stardom in the NWA while Larry bounced around the territories. He gets the win over Soto in this one.

Winner: Hennig

Match 5

Blackjack Lanza, Mr. Fuji and Professor Toru Tanaka vs Chief Jay Strongbow, Victor Rivera and Andre The Giant in a 3 out of 5 falls match

If it wasn't for the title match, this would normally be the main event. Why Vince Sr didn't put this match on last I don't know but I don't want to give away what happened later. Anyway after four grueling falls.....Andre's team got the victory.

Winners: Rivera, Strongbow and Andre The Giant

Match 6

Stan "The Man" Stasiak vs Pedro Morales for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

These two had been battling all over the territory for months and this was just supposed to be another show....until Vince McMahon Sr made an executive decision hours before the event. According to Stasiak, Vince came to him before the show and told Stasiak he'd be winning the strap that night. Dumbfounded, Stasiak said sure but why? The story goes Vince had enough of all the riots in the arenas when Morales wrestled and fans cutting heels up with knives. Vince decided to take the title off Morales with no warning and no buildup to limit the crowd reaction. After all, if Stasiak pinned Morales in the center of the ring in MSG, he might not have made it out alive. So he decided to have the title change in Philly which was always partial to the heels, even in those days. To confuse the fans, Stasiak was in a German Supex and got his arm up at three with Morales shoulders on the mat. Stasiak sprinted outside, grabbed the belt and took off while referee Barney Solomon delayed giving his decision to give Stasiak time to split. Fans started looking for the belt when the ring announcer said "Let's have a hand for Pedro Morales on his great run as champion!" Stasiak not only didn't get to pose with the belt, he technically wasn't even announced the winner. Why Vince decided to end the show this way and not have Andre on last to send the fans home happy is up to Vince Sr himself. Even if he wasn't exactly world championship material, it'll go down in the record books as Stan Stasiak defeating Pedro Morales to become the new WWWF Heavyweight Champion and fifth in company history.

Winner: Stasiak by pinfall (new WWWF Heavyweight Champion)

What a way to end a spot show. Like mentioned earlier, Vince Sr decided to take the title off Morales in a more neutral city than MSG because the fans might have killed Stasiak in New York. To this day it remains the only title change in WWE history to not have any footage at all. Buddy Rogers vs Bruno Sammartino at least had still images but this one has absolutely nothing. We got a new champion....but for how long? That question would be answered shortly but the Morales era was over. Morales was a damn good champion but was undermined by his own damn fans. That's also the reason Vince never booked a true Morales vs Bruno feud apart from their one match at Shea Stadium. The Italians and the Puerto Ricans would have burned down Madison Square Garden fighting each other. The next set of TV tapings would be in a few days where it would be announced on TV that Stasiak was the new champ. The next house show would be in Worcester on the sixth, I'll see you there.

WWWF at Madison Square Garden (3/26/73) Incomplete

Madison Square Garden

New York City, NY

March 26, 1973

Two days after Andre The Giant made his WWWF debut, he makes his MSG debut on this card. This is actually a damn good card as we got The Vachon Brothers taking on King Curtis Iaukea and Louie Tillet, Gorilla Monsoon vs Moondog Mayne and Freddie Blassie takes on Pedro Morales for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship. There does exist a clip of Andre's bout against Buddy Wolfe so let's get to it.

Match 1

"Nobleman" Joe Turco vs El Olympico

The masked man takes on the Nobleman, Joe Turco. This might have been fun to watch if any footage of it existed. As it is, Olympico wins it.

Time of match: 8:14

Winner: Joe Turco

Match 2

Frank Valois vs Tony Garea

The Frenchman Valois takes on the New Zealand fan favorite Garea. Don't be surprised, but Garea gets the win.

Time of match: 10:15

Winner: Tony Garea

Match 3

The Vachon Brothers (Mad Dog and Butcher) vs Louie Tillet and King Curtis Iaukea

Now THIS is a match I wish had footage of. You had some of the all time crazies in Iaukea and the Vachon brothers. Now Tillet we already know but what about the other three? Maurice "Mad Dog Vachon" was born Joseph Maurice Vachon and started amateur wrestling as a teenager. He competed in the 1948 Olympics and took seventh place. That's where he met Verne Gagne who had just won the national championship in wrestling at the University of Minnesota. He made his professional debut in 1950 working in Canada but got his name in 1962 working for Don Owen in Portland. From then on he was a big rough heel, eventually beating Gagne for the AWA Championship in 1964. Paul "Butcher" Vachon is the younger brother of Mad Dog and is also a lunatic. They're also the older brothers of the late Vivian Vachon and Butcher is the adopted father of the late Luna Vachon. Curtis Iaukea was born in Hawaii and was the great-grandson of legitimate Hawaii Royal member Curtis Iaukea. He dropped out of UC Berkley to play in the Canadian Football League before becoming a wrestler in Don Owen's promotion in 1960. He was a great heel but had turned face by the 70's. The Vachon Brothers won the match.

Time of match: 12:09

Winners: The Vachon Brothers

Match 4

The Great Goliath vs Victor Rivera

Two latin stars here as Rivera takes on Goliath. Goliath was born Pablo Crispin in Mexico and was a territory star in the 50's and 60's. These two fought to a 20 minute draw.

Time of match: 20:00

Winner: No one (draw)

Match 5

Sonny King vs Mr. Fuji

Battle of the former tag team champion taking on the current tag team champion. King and Chief Jay Strongbow knocked off Baron Scicluna and Curtis Iaukea only to lose the belts to Toru Tanaka and Mr. Fuji. Now King gets Fuji one on one at MSG. Fuji got the win and we'll see his partner later

Time of match: 7:26

Winner: Fuji

Match 6

Gorilla Monsoon vs Professor Toru Tanaka

The other half of the tag team champs, Mr. Tanaka takes on Gorilla Monsoon who wants to knock him off for personal reasons. The bout ended in a draw

Winner: No one (draw)

Match 7

Moondog Mayne vs Chief Jay Strongbow

Mayne had failed to win the WWWF title two days earlier and Strongbow was still irate after losing the tag belts to Tanaka & Fuji. Unfortunately no one got any momentum as this bout also ended in a draw.

Winner: No one (draw)

Match 8

Buddy Wolfe vs Andre The Giant

Andre The Giant made his WWWF debut two days earlier but tonight makes his Madison Square Garden debut. Who is his opponent? "Beautiful" Buddy Wolfe played minor league football before being trained by Verne Gagne in 1968. He was a good territory heel in Atlanta and Dallas before coming to New York. The first highlight we see is Buddy getting a front headlock on Andre and Andre effortlessly standing up and carrying him around the ring before putting him on the top rope. Andre backs down the much smaller Wolfe as Wolfe gets a side headlock in. Once again Andre just stands up and throws him around. Buddy runs right into a scoop slam and a big right hand. Andre decks him with an uppercut then headbutts him down. Andre delivers a backbreaker and a big splash for 1...2.....3 that's it. Andre gets the victory as the fans cheer the big guy. At 26 years old, Andre had a bright future ahead.

Time of match: Unknown

Winner: Andre The Giant by pinfall

Match 9

"Classy" Freddie Blassie vs Pedro Morales for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

Interesting that the aging Blassie gets another title shot after he's failed time and time again since 1971. Not surprising but Morales gets the victory. Modern logic would have Andre come after Pedro as a heel but behind the scenes Andre was making bank as a babyface attraction around the world so staying in one territory would have actually cost him money at the time. So Morales doesn't have to worry about him moving forward after defeating Blassie.

Winner: Morales

Sad to say but apart from Andre The Giant's MSG debut the show wouldn't be noteworthy at all 50 years later. Fans in 1973 had a blast but with the way wrestling is structured today, not really much of anything would make sense. Vince Sr was still pushing the territorial house show system where everything happened on live events instead of syndicated television. Still, everyone bought tickets to see Andre so any time he was in town, it was worth seeing. Morales is still the champ and the tag champs have hell to pay moving forward. WWWF now has some TV tapings that have been unfortunately lost to time but the next house show will be Thursday night in Lowell. The tag champs will be in singles action, see you there.

WWWF at Lewiston Armory (2/8/71)

 

Lewiston Armory

Lewiston, Maine

February 8, 1971

Anyone want to ask what Vince McMahon Sr was thinking? On the same day you're running a very important Madison Square Garden card, you decide to run a double shot up in Maine? Thankfully none of these guys had to drive all the way to NYC for that night's card but still, this is overkill. You could have had this the day before or the day after. Anyway what we do have here is a women's tag team match along with Chief Jay Strongbow battling it out with Bulldog Brower. Let's get on with this totally useless card.

Match 1

"Nobleman" Joe Turco vs Tomas Marin

These two had been curtain jerkers in other cards so its no surprise to see them doing it here up in Maine. Just like their other bouts, this went the 20 minute time limit.

Winner: No one (Draw)

Match 2

Miguel Feliciano vs The Black Demon

Demon had beaten Joe Turco two days earlier in Springfield while Miguel was coming off a loss to The Wolfman four days earlier in Philadelphia. Surprisingly the Demon won this match as well. Talk about a hot streak for Black Demon standards.

Winner: The Black Demon

Match 3

Chuck Richards vs Mike Conrad

The man known as Popeye takes on perennial punching bag Conrad in this one. Richards gets the duke 25 years before his grandson would win the WWF Tag Team Championship.

Winner: Richards

Match 4

Sharon Joy and Barbara Owens vs Donna Christianello and Toni Rose

Moolah girls in action. Sharon and Donna we already know but who are the other two? Toni Rose was trained by Moolah and grew up in Terra Haute, Indiana....the hometown of Larry Bird. Barbara started wrestling as a 16 year old in 1965 and was very active in the late 60's. Ironically this was her only appearance in the McMahon territory in 1971. Donna and Toni won the match.

Winners: Toni and Donna

Match 5

Bulldog Brower vs Chief Jay Strongbow

The main event of the show had more implications than meets the eye. If Koloff were to successfully retain the WWWF Heavyweight title that night, a victory over Brower would theoretically put Strongbow in line for a title shot at the Garden. Now if Morales were to lose, Bulldog could lobby for a US title match immediately. If Morales to win, Bulldog would put himself up there for a future match with Pedro at the Garden if he beat Strongbow. The fans went home happy as Brower got himself disqualified to give Strongbow the win.

Winner: Strongbow

Who knows why Vince decided to have this completely useless card the same day as his big Madison Square Garden show but money is money I guess. Then again, this was 1971, the Garden show wouldn't be on television so at least the fans got to see live wrestling. Even if the rest of the card was lackluster, if Koloff were to dispatch Morales then Chief Jay Strongbow would be waiting. It all comes down to what happens at Madison Square Garden. See you all for the big one.

WWWF at National Arena (2/3/71)

National Arena

Washington, DC

February 3, 1971

We are just five days away from Madison Square Garden and the big showdowns between Gorilla Monsoon & Beppo Mongol along with Ivan Koloff vs Pedro Morales. Tonight Pedro will be defending the United States championship against Joe Turco while The Mongols put the tag titles on the lines against Tomas Marin and Miguel Feliciano. Bulldog Brower also faces Vincente Pometti and its almost the exact same card a a month earlier just missing a few matches.

Match 1

Lee Wong vs The Wolfman

After losing to Pedro Morales on the house show circuit, Wolfman now has to face Lee Wong in the opening match at the National Arena. Wolfman did get the win

Winner: Wolfman

Match 2

Vincente Pometti vs Ernie Lassiter

The big rematch from a month earlier saw Lassiter and Pometti tangle again. Lassiter got the win.

Winner: Lassiter

Match 3

Bull Molina vs Bulldog Brower

Another rematch from a month earlier with the same result, Brower wins

Winner: Brower

Match 4

Mike Conrad vs Jack Evans

Its the exact same card as January 7th with the exact same result. Evans wins

Winner: Evans

Match 5

Miguel Feliciano and Tomas Marin vs The Mongols (Geeto and Beppo) for the WWWF International Tag Team Championship in a 2 out of 3 falls match

Same thing as January 7th, The Mongols win.

Winners: The Mongols (still Tag Team Champions)

Match 6

"Nobleman" Joe Turco vs Pedro Morales for the WWWF United States Championship

Same as January 7th with Morales getting the win

Winner: Morales (still WWWF Champion)

That was weird to have the exact same card a month after their January 7th show in the exact same arena. You would think the results would have changed even slightly....but nope. Still, there was no internet in those days so unless you were there in January, you wouldn't have known it was the same card with the same results. Either way the crew heads to Philadelphia so I'll see you there.

WWWF at Scranton Catholic Youth Center (2/2/71)

Catholic Youth Center

Scranton, PA

February 2, 1971

Six days away from Madison Square Garden and the crew heads to Scranton for another card of WWWF wrestling. Once again both contestants in the main event of MSG will be defending their titles as Pedro Morales once again faces The Wolfman while Ivan Koloff puts the WWWF Heavyweight title on the line against Chief Jay Strongbow. Basically its the same card as the day before with almost the same results, which was common back then. Let's get to the matches.

Match 1

Lee Wong vs "Nobleman" Joe Turco

An irate Turco has to face Wong in the opening match and he gets on the microphone to DEMAND a match with Pedro Morales instead. Pedro comes out and says tomorrow in Washington, he's on. Turco celebrates and taunts the irate crowd but Wong rolls him up and gets the pin. Whoops!

Winner: Wong by pinfall

Match 2

Tony Marino vs Bulldog Brower

Brower comes to the ring threatening to attack the fans sitting ring side and Marino will have none of it so they brawl on the floor to start. Back inside they hold a match but Marino continues to frustrate Brower with various holds. Finally Brower can't take it anymore and grabs the ring bell. The ref warns Brower not to use it and Brower nails the ref with it. Marino knocks Brower around and chases him away as the official word is Brower has been disqualified. The ref is carried out on a stretcher, poor guy.

Winner: Marino by DQ

Match 3

Vincente Pometti vs Manuel Soto

The Argentinian takes on Soto and.....wins? Wow, big win for the Bull

Winner: Pometti

Match 4

The Wolfman vs Pedro Morales for the WWWF United States Championship

Once again Wolfman gets a US title shot under orders from Ivan Koloff to take out Morales before he even gets to MSG. Wolfman doesn't waste any time attacking Morales and eventually gets himself disqualified for excessive violence. Bad news for Pedro but he keeps the title.

Winner: Morales by DQ

Match 5

Chief Jay Strongbow vs Ivan Koloff for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

Six days before MSG Strongbow gets a title shot against Koloff but unlike Wolfman, he's out to win the title. After a fierce battle Strongbow was counted out of the ring giving Koloff the victory.

Winner: Koloff by count-out (still WWWF Champion)

Pretty standard card although it was almost the exact same as the day before, which was common. The mind-set was every town got its turn and this practice would go well into the 2000's. Friday night in Maine Koloff hits Strongbow with a chair outside and then does the same finish Saturday night in Pennsylvania. Still, the fans in Scranton probably had a good time and that's all that matters. The crew now goes to Washington DC for the next show, I'll see you there.

WWWF at Philadelphia Arena (1/31/71)

Philadelphia Arena

Philadelphia, PA

January 31, 1971

We're just eight days away from the showdown at Madison Square Garden between WWWF US Champion Pedro Morales and WWWF Heavyweight Champion Ivan Koloff. Both of them will be putting their belts on the line tonight in a special house show for the Philadelphia faithful. Morales faces his nemesis The Wolfman who is under strict orders from Ivan Koloff not to let Morales make it to New York. Meanwhile Morales countered by sending Gorilla Monsoon after Koloff in the main event tonight. With these ramifications that could potentially change history, let's get to the action.

Match 1

"Nobleman" Joe Turco vs Angelo Savoldi

These two met a year ago in North Attleboro so tonight was the big re-match. Turco got the victory.

Winner: Turco

Match 2

Vincente Pometti vs Chief Jay Strongbow

Strongbow scored a big win the day before against Bulldog Brower and needed another one if he wanted another shot at Ivan Koloff if Koloff were to get by Monsoon tonight and Morales on the 8th. Pometti was looking just to play spoiler but it didn't work, Strongbow won.

Winner: Strongbow

Match 3

Tony Marino vs Manuel Soto

Two popular babyfaces going one on one just to fill out the card was a rarity. To keep them both in their spots, the bout ended in a 20 minute draw.

Winner: No one (Draw)

Match 4

Gene Dubois, Geeto Mongol & Beppo Mongol vs Blackjack Mulligan, Bulldog Brower and The Black Demon

What the hell is THIS? An all-heel six man tag match was even rarer than the babyface match the previous bout. No idea why Vince Sr booked this match but its definitely interesting. To keep everyone's heat, the bout ended in a draw.

Winners: No one (Draw)

Match 5

The Wolfman vs Pedro Morales for the WWWF United States Championship

The rematch from Madison Square Garden last month had a special kick to it as Koloff sent Wolfman to specifically stop Morales from getting to MSG. Unfortunately for Koloff, Wolfman failed and Morales got the duke

 Th

Winner: Morales (still US Champion)

Match 6

Gorilla Monsoon vs "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

Koloff looked nervous as he got in the ring as his henchman Wolfman failed to knock off Morales. Pedro in retaliation sent Gorilla Monsoon after Koloff just eight days before their showdown in MSG. Koloff barely escaped with the win when Monsoon was counted out. Morales came to the ring and chased away Koloff to end the show.

Winner: Koloff by count-out (still WWWF Champion)

Very interesting card with an all-heel 6 man tag, a babyface showdown and both main titles on the line. Vince Sr was saving the home run show for the Garden but this would have been a fun card to see if video footage of it existed. Koloff and Morales were on a collision course and Monsoon had a date with the Mongols. It was also nice to see Savoldi again nearing the end of his career. The crew travels to Allentown, PA for their next show. I'll see you there.

WWWF at Witchi's Sports Arena (1/29/71)

Witchi's Sports Arena

North Attleboro, MA

January 29, 1971

While half the crew was in Harrisburg, PA tonight, the other half made their way to North Attleboro for tonight's show. Unfortunately the card is pretty lackluster with the main event being Bulldog Brower vs Tony Marino. The Wolfman takes on Manuel Soto and Pete Sanchez goes up against Joe Turco. Its definitely a small spot show but its still something, let's get to the action.

Match 1

Carlos Parades vs Vincente Pometti

We open the show with a battle of the latinos as Argentina's Pometti takes on Parades. Pometti got the win, no 20 minute draw this time.

Winner: Pometti

Match 2

"Nobleman" Joe Turco vs Pete Sanchez

Another mid-card showdown between Turco and Sanchez. Turco got the win, no idea how.

Winner: Turco

Match 3

Tomas Marin vs "Unpredictable" Johnny Rodz

Another mid-card showdown with Rodz taking on Marin. Rodz somehow got the win.

Winner: Rodz

Match 4

Manuel Soto vs The Wolfman

Wolfman needed a big win to get back in title contention after losing to Pedro Morales earlier in the month and Soto wants to win to get back into title contention after losing to Ivan Koloff. Unfortunately for Soto, the Wolfman got the win.

Winner: Wolfman

Match 5

Tony Marino vs Bulldog Brower

Not much of a main event with the crazy Bulldog taking on the former Battman. Marino won by DQ and chased Bulldog away to send the fans home happy.

Winner: Marino by DQ

Not much of a show with a bunch of mid-carders and curtain jerkers. 30 years later this type of card would be perfect for an episode of WWF Metal. This was like re-arranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic. None of these guys with the exception of maybe Brower would be in title contention in the future. Still, Vince Sr had a deal with North Attleboro so every week they'd send guys there no matter where they were in the pecking order. The main crew would make their way to Queens tomorrow night so we'll pick up there.

WWWF at National Arena (1/28/71)

National Arena

Washington, DC

January 28, 1971

We're eleven days away from Madison Square Garden but in the old days long before PPV and Cable TV, some house shows were more important than others. Vince McMahon Sr always had an affinity for Washington, DC hence the name Capitol Wrestling. We got a huge eight match card featuring Pedro Morales and Gorilla Monsoon going after the tag belts from The Mongols. Jean DuBois gets a shot at the Heavyweight crown when he faces Ivan Koloff and Blackjack Mulligan is back facing Lee Wong. Vince wanted the home run show in the nation's capital so let's get to it.

Match 1

Miguel Feliciano vs The Wolfman

Wolfman needed a big win to get his heat back after losing to Pedro in the Garden so he has to start at the bottom. Taking on local Baltimore jobber Feliciano was step one in getting back on track. Wolfman did win the match.

Winner: Wolfman

Match 2

Lee Wong vs Blackjack Mulligan

Needing a fresh heel, Vince Sr brought in Blackjack Mulligan to do some damage in the territory. He faces Lee Wong in the second match of the night and wins it. He's starting to gain steam for sure.

Winner: Mulligan

Match 3

"Popeye" Chuck Richards vs Manuel Soto

Interesting battle here as both of them have taken some losses lately so one of them has to win, right? Well it turns out Soto won this one.

Winner: Soto

Match 4

"Nobleman" Joe Turco vs Chief Jay Strongbow

Another big battle as both of them have lost some high profile matches. Strongbow needed a win to get back in the hunt for Koloff and Turco just had to establish himself again. Unfortunately for Joe, Strongbow got the duke.

Winner: Strongbow

Match 5

Jean Dubois vs "Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

Somehow, someway Dave McKigney got himself a WWWF Heavyweight title shot against Koloff. As I mentioned before, the big showdown with Pedro was less than two weeks away so it made sense for Koloff to beat up on the curtain jerkers on the spot show circuit to save the heavy hitters for future MSG shows. As expected, Koloff beats McKigney.

Winner: Koloff (Still WWWF Champion)

Match 6

Bulldog Brower vs Tomas Marin

Bulldog was very irate after failing to win the US title from Pedro Morales so he asked for an open challenge, anyone will do. Tomas Marin stepped up to the plate only to be dispatched by the angry Bulldog.

Winner: Bulldog

Match 7

Vincente Pometti vs Ernie Lassiter

The big rematch from three weeks earlier in the same arena as Pometti looks to avenge his loss to Ernie. Unfortunately for him, Ernie won again.

Winner: Lassiter

Match 8

WWWF US Champion Pedro Morales & Gorilla Monsoon vs The Mongols (Geeto & Beppo) for the WWWF International Tag Team Championship in a 2 out of 3 falls match.

Kind of telegraphing who wins this match because Pedro didn't need two belts. Ironically The Mongols would be split up for singles competition at MSG. The actual details of this match has been lost to time but as per norm, the bout ended in a draw. Don't know how the fans were sent home happy, maybe the faces cleaned house of the heels at the end.

Winners: No one (Draw)

Eight match cards are usually reserved for the big shows but remember this was 1971 and the "big" shows were still house shows. Basically Boston, Philadelphia, DC and New York were the core areas so Vince Sr usually had the home run shows booked for there. Koloff continues his run with the world title but Morales his hot on his trail. Blackjack Mulligan looked to put himself in a good position with Bulldog and Wolfman lurking around. The Mongols still had a stranglehold on the tag belts so things were done with purpose on this night. Well the crew was about to get busy because Vince Sr booked a double shot for the next day. Half the crew would go to North Attleboro while the other half went to Harrisburg, PA. That's where we'll pick up next time.

WWWF at Augusta State Armory (1/26/71)

Augusta State Armory

Augusta, ME

January 26, 1971

One day after a small crew worked the Waterville State Armory, 3 of them joined the rest a few miles south for a spot show at the Augusta State Armory. This was a pretty stacked card as we are just 13 days away from the big title vs title showdown with US Champion Pedro Morales and Heavyweight Champion Ivan Koloff. Unfortunately for Morales, Bulldog Brower had beaten Chief Jay Strongbow the night before and would get a US title shot. Blackjack Mulligan was in town and he'd be taking on Hurricane Rivera. We had a double main event as The Mongols were scheduled to put the Tag Team belts on the line against Tony Marino and Chief Jay Strongbow but Geeto had gotten hurt the day before in Waterville. "Nobleman" Joe Turco would take Geeto's place with the belts no longer on the line. The champ himself Ivan Koloff would be teaming with punching back The Black Demon to face Gorilla Monsoon and Manuel Soto. Let's get to the action.

Match 1

Gene DuBois vs The Wolfman

Battle of the Canadians (sort of) to start the show as Dave McKigney (DuBois) taking on the Wolfman. As per norm, they fought to a 20 minute draw. Again, doesn't this get old after a while?

Winner: No one (Draw)

Match 2

Bulldog Brower vs Pedro Morales for the WWWF United States Championship

Bulldog had earned his title shot due to a hot streak in the month of January. Beating Strongbow the night before cemented his status as number one contender. "Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff gave Bulldog strict orders to take Morales out so he never made it to MSG. Bulldog did his best to beat up Morales and sure enough, Bulldog got himself disqualified for excessive violence. The crowd was not happy as now the question was would Morales make it to the Garden?

Winner: Morales by DQ (still US Champion)

Match 3

Hurricane Rivera vs Blackjack Mulligan

The big rematch from Madison Square Garden from eight days earlier has Rivera angry and wanting revenge for the humiliating defeat. Unfortunately for him, Mulligan got the win again.

Winner: Mulligan

Match 4

Chief Jay Strongbow and Tony Marino vs Beppo Mongol and "Nobleman" Joe Turco

This was supposed to be a tag title match but Geeto was injured doing double duty the night before so Turco takes his place. With the straps not on the line, Marino and Strongbow got the win.

Winners: Strongbow and Marino

Match 5

Gorilla Monsoon and Manuel Soto vs WWWF Heavyweight Champion "Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff and The Black Demon

The main event features the champ teaming with the human punching bag against Soto and Monsoon. Koloff was enough to off-set Demon because they won when Soto was counted out.

Winners: Koloff and Demon by count-out

A rare W for The Black Demon although the card was kind of pointless apart from Brower beating up Morales. Geeto Mongol getting hurt telegraphed the makeshift team of Turco & Beppo were gonna lose and the other matches were just kind of there, especially the main event. Still, thirteen days out from Madison Square Garden meant Morales and Koloff are going to face all-comers to keep their belts for their showdown. The next big card would be Thursday night in Washington, DC with an EIGHT match card. Vince Sr was throwing out the home run show at National Arena. See you then

WWWF at Witchi's Sports Arena (1/22/71)

 

Witchi's Sports Arena

North Attleboro, MA

January 22, 1971

The new era continues with Ivan Koloff was your new WWWF Heavyweight champion. The next Madison Square Garden show was just 17 days away and on Saturday it would be announced who Koloff's opponent would be. Until then, Manuel Soto gets the title shot tonight against the champ. Other matches include Pedro Morales once again defending the United States title against The Black Demon, Bulldog Brower takes on Jean Dubois and Bull Pometti takes on Tomas Morin. Let's get to the action.

Match 1

Carlos Parades vs "Nobleman" Joe Turco

The king of the curtain jerkers Joe Turco gets Parades in this one. As per norm, the match is a 20 minute draw.....how unusual.

Winner: No one (Draw)

Match 2

Jean DuBois vs Bulldog Brower

With Koloff as champion, Bulldog pretty much loses a future WWWF title shot by default since heels didn't face each other. But Pedro Morales as the US champion so Bulldog set his sights on him instead. He needed a win against DuBois to move up the ladder.....and he got it. Bulldog won the match.

Winner: Brower

Match 3

Mike Conrad vs Tony Marino

The punching bag Conrad takes on Battman in this one. Marino had lost his WWWF title match with Ivan Koloff and needed a win to get back in contention. Naturally he defeated Conrad in this one.

Winner: Marino

Match 4

Tomas Marin vs Vincente Pometti

Kind of a lackluster matchup consider neither of these guys have a big grudge or anything but the whole show is pretty much a hodge podge as it is. Pometti gets the win.

Winner: Pometti

Match 5

The Black Demon vs Pedro Morales for the WWWF United States Championship

Don't know why they continue to run Demon vs Morales when Morales has won every time, especially with Bulldog Brower and Nobleman Joe Turco around. Morales beat Demon again to retain the title.

Winner: Morales (Still US Champion)

Match 6

Manuel Soto vs Ivan Koloff for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

Last night Koloff defended against Tony Marino and now he gets Manuel Soto. Vince Sr was saving his big opponent for Madison Square Garden which would be announced the following day. Until then the rising star Soto gets his shot. Unfortunately for Soto, Koloff got the win.

Winner: Koloff (still WWWF Champion)

Apart from the final two matches (and the US title match was done to death anyway) the card was totally lackluster. Running the same venue every week eventually gets old and it looked like Vince Sr didn't even try. With Koloff as the champion, that meant the babyfaces were becoming the contenders now and having Soto and Marino as stop gaps before the big opponent is announced makes sense. We'll just have to find out tomorrow who Koloff will be facing on February 8th. As for this card, meh....they had to give North Attleboro something. See you tomorrow.

WWWF at Madison Square Garden (1/18/71) Incomplete

Madison Square Garden

New York City, New York

January 18, 1971

We finally made it to MSG after a month of hype. Unfortunately only one match on this card remains but its the most important one, perhaps one of the most important in wrestling history. On May 17, 1963 Bruno Sammartino defeated Buddy Rogers to become the WWWF Heavyweight Champion and hadn't lost since. Tonight, Bruno put the title on the line against "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff who had been on a hot streak since the year began. Other matches include Pedro Morales putting the US title on the line against The Wolfman, The Mongols put the WWWF International Tag Team titles on the line against Chief Jay Strongbow and Gorilla Monsoon after Chief chased them all month, and Toronto's own Gene Dubois goes at it with "Nobleman" Joe Turco. After a whole month of hype, let's get to the card.

Match 1

Gene Dubois vs "Nobleman" Joe Turco

Good to see ol Dave McKigney again as Gene Dubois and on this night he takes on the Italian wildman Joe Turco. Gene Dubois got the victory.

Winner: Gene Dubois

Match 2

Vincente "Bull" Pometti vs The Black Demon

We all know both these guys so no sense going over that again. Pometti won this match.

Winner: Vincente Pometti

Match 3

Mike Conrad vs Manuel Soto

Conrad was a standard jobber at the time while Soto was a rising star in New York. Soto won this match.

Winner: Manuel Soto

Match 4

Blackjack Mulligan vs Hurricane Rivera

For those that don't know, Blackjack was born Robert Windham and played college football for Texas Western, now known as UTEP. He actually went to training camp with the New York Jets in the fall of 1966 but washed out. Wahoo McDaniel, who was on the Miami Dolphins in 66, convinced Mulligan to become a wrestler. He was trained by Joe Blanchard (Tully's father, Tessa's grandfather) and worked for Verne Gagne in Minnesota as a big rough cowboy. Ironically he was inspired by Bobby Duncum who was two years younger than Blackjack. We all know who Rivera is so no sense introducing him. Blackjack got the win here.

Winner: Blackjack Mulligan

Match 5 

Tony Marino vs Bulldog Brower

We all know the legendary heel Brower is and how Marino was The Battman. Brower got the win here.

Winner: Bulldog Brower

Match 6

The Wolfman vs Pedro Morales for the WWWF United States Championship

Pedro defends the strap against the lunatic Wolfman. Pedro had won the US strap 12 days before this night. Apparently Pedro won this match and kept the title.

Winner: Pedro Morales (still US Champion)

Match 7

Chief Jay Strongbow and Gorilla Monsoon vs The Mongols (Geeto and Beppo) in a 2 out of 3 falls match for the WWWF International Tag Team Championship

The Mongols and Monsoon we know but Chief Jay Strongbow was actually an Italian man named Joe Scarpa who began his career in 1947 after being trained by Chief Don Eagle. He came to New York in 1970 under the Strongbow name and became a fan favorite. In this match we had a fake Native American team with a fake Chinaman facing two fake Mongolians. Apparently the bout ended in a draw. 

Winners: No one (Mongols retain)

Match 8

"The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff vs Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

Finally we get to the main event. We all know their backstories but storyline wise, Koloff had been beating everyone in sight so Ivan gets a crack at the title. The bell rings and they circle before a tieup goes nowhere. Koloff drops Bruno with a shoulderblock but Koloff eats a back body drop. Bruno covers for just a 1 count. Sammartino armdrags Ivan then executes a single leg takedown. Koloff flips Bruno but Bruno takes him down by the leg again. Ivan gets to his feet but eats another arm-drag. Ivan gets to his feet for a test of strength and Koloff wins it. Koloff goes to the standing surfboard and Bruno counters into one of his own. Ivan breaks free and Bruno gets in a side headlock. Bruno is whipped off into a hiptoss by Koloff but the count only gets 1. Shoulderblock by Koloff drops Bruno but Sammartino counters with a drop toe-hold. He rams Ivan's knee into the mat but Koloff gets up and takes control with forearms and kicks. Ivan rams Bruno into the buckle and delivers a series of forearms in the corner. Ivan kicks away at Bruno and Bruno finally makes his comeback. He punches and kicks at Ivan before sending him into the ropes for a big powerslam. Bruno covers for 1...2...no. Bruno gets in a chinlock but Ivan makes it to the ropes. Bruno rocks Ivan with right hands and another cover gets 1. Another chinlock has Ivan down and he covers for 1.....2..nope. Ivan then rallies with right hands and accidentally clocks the ref. Bruno sends Ivan into the corner but a charge eats knee.  Ivan scoop slams Bruno and goes upstairs. He drops a knee from off the top and covers for 1....2....3! That's it! The 8 year reign of Bruno is over! Anyone who was at the Garden that night said the building went completely silent when the bell ring and Koloff was announced the winner. This was the 1971 version of Undertaker's streak ending as the unstoppable champion had finally been stopped. Koloff becomes just the third WWWF champion since 1962

Time of match: 14:55

Winner: Ivan Koloff

The rest of the card pales in comparison to the monumental defeat of Bruno. Ivan Koloff was the new WWWF Champion and fans wondered who was going to beat Koloff. It would have been fun to have seen the Mongols face Monsoon and Strongbow and a younger Dave McKigney away from Toronto. For the first time since 1963, Bruno was NOT the champion. The 8 year reign is a record that will probably never be broken. Here's to a new era in New York.

WWWF at Philadelphia Arena (1/16/71)

Philadelphia Arena

Philadelphia, PA

January 16, 1971

We are two days away from the Madison Square Garden showdown between Ivan Koloff and Bruno Sammartino but there's still business left to do in Pennsylvania. The day before Vince Sr pulled a double shot with half of the roster in North Attleboro and the other half in Pittsburgh. Today Philadelphia gets their turn to showcase the WWWF. We got the main roster on this one as Bruno defends the title against the red hot Bulldog Brower, The Mongols put the tag straps on the line against Chief Jay Strongbow and Tony Marino and Pedro Morales defends the US belt against The Black Demon. Morales and Sammartino took a beating yesterday so let's see if it affects them moving forward.

Match 1

Victor Rivera vs Jim Grabmire

We open the show with the rising star Rivera against the grizzled veteran Grabmire. For once the opening match wasn't a draw as Rivera got the victory

Winner: Rivera

Match 2

Baron Mikel Scicluna and George "The Animal" Steele vs Dominic DeNucci and WWWF Junior Heavyweight Champion "Jumpin" Johnny DeFazio

The duo that beat up Bruno yesterday take on the local Pennsylvania boys DeNucci and DeFazio. Unfortunately for the good guys, Steele and Scicluna got the victory.

Winners: Scicluna and Steele

Match 3

Vincente Pometti vs "Nobleman" Joe Turco

Gotta love when two curtain jerkers face each other for bragging rights. The Argentinian and the Italian face off and surprise, surprise....it ends in a draw.

Winner: No one (draw)

Match 4

Manuel Soto vs The Wolfman

Big match here as Soto wants to be a successor to Pedro Morales as US Champion while Wolfman is locked in to a US title shot against Morales in two days. Wolfman keeps his heat by getting the win, Morales awaits.

Winner: Wolfman

Match 5

Gorilla Monsoon vs "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff

Talk about a monster match before the big show at MSG. If Koloff wants to beat Bruno, he has to get by the big Monsoon first. Ivan gets the duke to have all the momentum going into MSG.

Winner: Koloff

Match 6

The Black Demon vs Pedro Morales for the WWWF United States Championship

The human punching bag Demon somehow gets a crack at the US title two days before Madison Square Garden. Bruno has to face Bulldog Brower on a hot streak while Morales faces the winless all month Demon. No surprise but Morales gets the win.

Winner: Morales

Match 7

Chief Jay Strongbow and Tony Marino vs The Mongols (Beppo & Geeto) in a 2 out of 3 falls match for the WWWF International Tag Team Championship

Strongbow has been chasing the Mongols all month with various tag team partners ranging from Gorilla Monsoon to the local peanut vendor in the arena so this time he chooses Tony Marino. As per norm, Strongbow gets the first fall, the Mongols got the second fall and Marino got counted out to end it. The Mongols retain the titles.

Winners: The Mongols (still Tag Team Champions)

Match 8

Bulldog Brower vs Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

Brower has been on a hot streak since the month began and he gets Bruno two days before the big MSG show. Bruno got the crap kicked out of him by George Steele and Baron Scicluna the previous day and now he's got the vicious Bulldog on his tail. The match ended in a double disqualification when everyone in the back interfered and had a big brawl. That must have been fun to watch.

Winner: No one (Bruno retains)

That was a stacked card and it definitely served its purpose as a preview for Madison Square Garden coming up. Bruno & The Mongols have their work cut out for them moving forward while Pedro goes into the US title match with momentum. They kept Bulldog strong for a future match with Bruno so he was definitely getting another title shot down the road. All in all it was a good card that unfortunately has been lost to time. Next up is MSG, you don't want to miss it.