WWF at Philadelphia Arena (12/18/71) Incomplete

         

Philadelphia Arena

Philadelphia, PA

December 18, 1971

Once again we got another incomplete writeup with one match that was thought to have been lost to time. It was December of 1971, Karl Gotch and Rene Goulet were the tag champs and Pedro Morales was the World champ. What makes this show tough to think about was this show was held mere hours after another house show in Queens earlier that day. Sad part was all but three guys worked on the matinee card. The match that has been restored is the tag team title match were Goulet and Gotch put the straps on the line against The Rugged Russians managed by Nikita Mulkovitch who was more well know designing championship belts in his later years. Let's get to it.

Match 1

Juan Caruso vs Mike Conrad

Both guys were pretty much jobbers here so something has to give. Not much is known about either of them, probably local Philly guys. Apparently Conrad got the duke here by count-out.

Winner: Conrad by count-out.

Match 2

Vincente "Bull" Pometti vs Mike Monroe

We already know Pometti was a big rough Argentinian while Monroe was a standard jobber at the time. Apparently they fought to a draw, no one wins.

Winner: No one: Draw

Match 3

The Black Demon vs Manuel Soto

Once again both these guys worked the other card with Demon tagging with Monroe from the previous match. Manuel Soto won this encounter.

Winner: Manuel Soto

Match 4

The Rugged Russians (Igor and Ivan) with Nikita Mulkovich vs Karl Gotch and Rene Goulet for the WWWF Tag Team Championship in a 2 out of 3 falls match

And now we get to the match that's been restored. On December 6, Goulet and Gotch knocked off "Crazy" Luke Graham and Tarzan Tyler and 12 days later they're pulling double duty. They beat Monroe & Black Demon in Queens earlier that day so they face the fake Russians here. Goulet and Gotch do some sort of battlerope taunt before Goulet bum rushes the "Russians". I don't have a clue which is Igor and which is Ivar so I'm just going to guess. Ivar starts with Goulet and they circle to start before exchanging mat based tactics. Goulet takes Ivar over with an armdrag before Ivan gets back to his feet. Goulet shoulderblocks him down before hitting another arm-drag takeover. Ivan makes it to his feet and he sends Goulet off only for Rene to clock Igor off the apron. Rene takes Ivan down with another arm-drag and Ivar takes nearly a full minute to get to his feet. Ivan pulls the hair but Rene won't let go. Ivan goes down to the mat again for another full minute, holy moly they'd never get away with this now. Igor interferes and eats an armdrag an Gotch tags in to put Igor in a full nelson....even though Igor isn't the legal man. Igor goes behind but Gotch stays with it to keep the full nelson then arm-drags Igor down...here we go again. A minute later Igor gets to his feet only to go down again. Ivan goes to interfere but the ref stops him. Another minute later Igor gets to his feet and looks to have reversed it but Gotch holds on to maintain it. Ivan goes to interfere again but the alert referee chases him off. Igor makes it to the ropes to force a break but Gotch refuses to let go. Finally Gotch tags in Goulet who teases punching Igor in the face only for Gotch to turn around just in time so Ivar clocks Igor instead. Goulet hops up and down but this time Igor gets the full nelson. He brings Goulet to his corner but naturally Rene ducks and Ivan hits Igor again. Rene clocks Ivar who gets in without making a tag. He kicks and scoop slams Goulet but Rene nips up and arm drags again. This time Ivar quickly rakes the eyes and rams Goulet into the buckle. Ivan kicks at Goulet and throws him through the ropes to the outside where Igor beats him up until Gotch chases him away. Goulet is attacked as he tries to get back in the ring so he falls off the apron. Finally the ref tells Ivar to back up so he can count. Goulet actually crawls under the ring and emerges from the other side where he taps Ivan on the shoulder. Ivan turns around into a forearm to the chest much to the crowd's delight.  Goulet hits a snap mare, a scoop slam....and another arm drag. Another scoop slam follows before Gotch tags in. Gotch lands a snap mare and a scoop slam and covers for 1....2...no. Gotch corners Ivan and unloads with forearms before heaving him across the ring. Gotch does it again and Ivan begs off. Gotch kicks at Ivan when Igor interferes and gets dropped. Gotch uses martial arts to drop both men and the camera closes in on Gotch so now I have no clue which "Russian" is which. I assume Ivan tags in Igor since Ivan was the legal man and Gotch goes to town with a wristlock and more foreams in the corner. A charge eats knee and Ivan tags back in, nailing Gotch with a running knee in the midsection. In the center of the ring Ivan hits a knee drop and covers for 1...2....3, that's it. The Russians take the first fall.

Gotch and Ivan start the second fall with Gotch taking control and Ivar complains the tights were pulled, nearly grabbing the ref's ass in the process. Gotch decks Ivan with a right hand and Igor tags in, only for all four men to get in the ring. The ref tells Goulet to beat it as Igor locks in a nerve hold only for Gotch to drop him with forearms. Ivar tags back in and Gotch hits a European uppercut that knocks Ivan over the top rope to the outside. Gotch sends Igor out too and caters to the crowd. Ivan misses a knee drop and Gotch hits a double chop and a karate kick before locking in what AJ Lee would later call the Black Widow. Goulet cuts off Igor and Ivan gives it up, the champs take the second fall.

The final fall starts with Gotch and Ivan again and they stall for time before Goulet tags in. Gotch beats up Ivan from the outside but Goulet gets clocked by Igor who switches with Ivan. Goulet goes for a victory roll for 1...2.., no, Ivan kicks him off. The "Russians" get Goulet in the corner and double team where Gotch is moved back by the ref. The "Russians" repeatedly throw the ref to the ground like idiots and he calls for the bell. The crowd pops as Goulet and Gotch beat up the "Russians" even though the bell already rang. Gotch heaves one of them and they bail. Really stupid move by the heels to throw the ref to the ground and it cost them the match. That was somewhat boring even by 1971 standards, guess you had to be there to appreciate it. Gotch moved pretty damn good for a 47 year old.

Time of match: 24:12

Winners: Gotch and Goulet 2 falls to 1

Match 5

"Handsome" Jimmy Valiant vs Chief Jay Strongbow

The last two matches of this card are just the reverse of the Queens card where Valiant faced Victor Rivera and Strongbow faced Freddie Blassie. Apparently Strongbow got the duke here.

Winner: Chief Jay Strongbow

Match 6

"Classy" Freddie Blassie vs Victor Rivera

By the end of 1971 Blassie was 53 years old with his knees starting to deteriorate. He still had some wars with John Tolos out in California and here he's taking on Rivera. Apparently Freddie won on a count-out.

Winner: Freddie Blassie by count-out.

This sounds like a fun show and imagine if you drove all the way from Queens to catch it? Its only 100 miles from Sunnyside Garden Arena to the Philadelphia Arena. The tag match was a bit of a let down with Goulet not letting up with the armdrags but again, it was standard for its time. Also that's one of the few matches I've seen utterly dominated by the babyfaces, usually its the heels getting the heat. Would have been nice to see Blassie who was nearing the end of the line or a young Handsome Jimmy long before he was the Boogie Woogie Man. Ah well, a small bit of footage is better than none

WWWF at Madison Square Garden (11/15/71) Incomplete

Madison Square Garden

New York City, NY

November 15, 1971

We've finally made it back to Madison Square Garden for the big inter-promotional showdown between WWA Champion Freddie Blassie representing Mike LeBell's territory against WWWF Heavyweight Champion Pedro Morales representing Vince McMahon Sr's territory. We have a pretty stacked card as Tarzan Tyler and Luke Graham put the tag belts on the line against Victor Rivera and Chief Jay Strongbow. Stan "The Man" Stasiak takes on Gorilla Monsoon and Rene Goulet goes one on one with Manuel Soto. Who's gonna walk out of MSG as the heavyweight champ? Let's find out.

Match 1

"Popeye" Chuck Richards vs The Black Demon

Chris Candido's grandfather jerks the curtain at MSG against the human punching bag Black Demon.....and somehow loses. Demon wins it.

Time of match: 8:27

Winner: Black Demon

Match 2

Manuel Soto vs Rene Goulet

Two younger stars going at each other in friendly competition as Soto meets Goulet. Rene Goulet had a rough life before wrestling in Quebec City. Born Robert Bedard, Rene aspired to be a pro hockey defenseman but a skate slashed his throat, and he wanted to be a boxer but a pro-boxer told him he'd be punch drunk. He made his wrestling debut in 1957 and later changed his name to Rene Goulet because of popular Canadian singer Robert Goulet.  It was a hard fought contest but both faces were protected as the match ended in a 20 minute draw. Both men shook hands afterwards.

Time of match: 20:00

Winner: No one (draw)

Match 3

Mike Monroe vs Karl Gotch

Karl Gotch was born Charles Istaz in Belgium and wrestled in the 1948 Olympics at the age of 24. Now he was 47 years old and making a name in the WWWF. His opponent Monroe was a standard jobber of the time period. Gotch may have been 47 but he won the match.


Time of match: 11:05

Winner: Gotch

Match 4

The Rugged Russians (Igor & Ivan) vs Jimmy Valiant and "Beautiful" Bobby Harmon

There's a lot to unpack here. The Russians were actually Spanish and Cuban respectively. Igor was born Juan Onaindia in Bizkaia, Spain. Ivan was Pedro Godoy, a Cuban immigrant. Handsome Jimmy was born Jim Fanning and he started wrestling in 1964 as Jim Vallen. He came to New York as Jimmy Valiant and  eventually would form a team with John L Sullivan, but that's a story for another day. Beautiful Bobby was NOT Bobby Eaton who would have been 13 years old at the time but Bobby Harmon. The Russians got the victory here.

Winners: The Rugged Russians

Match 5

Gorilla Monsoon vs Stan "The Man" Stasiak

Stan "The Man" Stasiak was born George Stipich in Arvida, Quebec and was a lifelong wrestling fan, even getting knocked out trying to take a swing at legendary Canadian wrestler Don Leo Jonathan. Growing up in Quebec, naturally he played hockey and as a sign of things to come, he was a goon in Juniors. His last coach convinced him to give up hockey and take up his real love of wrestling after throwing too many sucker punches. When he first started he wrestled as Emile (his middle name) Koverly as a 21 year old in 1958 and in 1960 wrestled a fellow 23 year old youngster named Gino Marella...yes, the one and only Gorilla Monsoon. Later that year he made his United States debut by taking the name of long dead wrestler Stanley Stasiak who died 30 years before. Imagine someone calling themselves "Eddie Gilbert" now. So 11 years later Stasiak battles Monsoon again. This time Monsoon got the win.

Time of match: 9:51

Winner: Monsoon

Match 6

Chief Jay Strongbow and Victor Rivera vs Tarzan Tyler and "Crazy" Luke Graham for the WWWF Tag Team Championship

Ah the legendary Tarzan Tyler. He was born Camille Tourville in Montreal and was nicknamed "Tarzan" by his friends growing up in Montreal. He started wrestling in the 1950's and had been a top heel in the US and Canada ever since. Three days before this show, Graham and Tyler defeated The Mongols to unify the World and International tag team titles and now they defend against Strongbow and Rivera. Strongbow and Rivera won.....by disqualification. The champs retain.

Time of match: 24:45

Winners: Strongbow and Rivera by disqualification (Tyler & Graham retain)

Match 7

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

Inter-promotional matches were common back in these days and on this night, Mike LeBell's WWA out in California sent Blassie to take on Vince Sr's champion Pedro Morales. Thankfully a short clip of this match is on Youtube so I'll do the best I can to describe what goes on. Blassie complains to the ref that Morales hit him in the face before locking up. Blassie rakes the eyes and bites him in the corner then brings him to the other corner. Blassie heaves Morales over the top rope to the floor into the timekeeper's table. Blassie sends him into the ring post and Morales sells the left shoulder. Blassie goes onto the apron and puts the boots to Pedro. Blassie bites the head of Morales and sends him into the ring post a second time. The ref backs up Blassie to give Morales some room but Blassie continues to attack. Blassie covers but the ref refuses to the count.....what? I've never seen that before. Apparently Blassie needs to apply a hold according to Captain Lou on the overdub. We cut to Blassie hitting a scoop slam on Pedro before dropping some knees on the throat of Morales. Blassie covers for 1...2....nope, Morales kicks out. Blassie chokes Morales and bites the head but Morales gets a big left hand to the ribs. Morales lands another left to the ribs and rallies with more left hands to drop Blassie. Fred gets up and Morales continues to fire away with Blassie countering with bites. Captain Lou on the overdub calls Blassie "The Vampire" as Morales turns the tables by biting Blassie. The ref then calls for the bell and declares Pedro the winner.....what??? Lou on commentary says Blassie was disqualified but the official reason was the match was stopped due to Blassie's blood loss. Albano missed the fact Blassie was busted open and in those days, apparently matches were stopped because of it. Well that's one way for Blassie to keep his California heat by not actually getting pinned or submitted. Pedro wins the match and keeps his title.

Time of match: 8:24

Winners: Morales by stoppage (still WWWF champion)

Its a shame only a clip from the main event remains because this sounded like a fun show on paper to watch. Jimmy Valiant against the Russians would have been funny to see and anytime Monsoon or Stasiak is in the ring is a jolly good time. Still, Morales kept the belt and a few of the heels were hot on his trail. It'll be interesting to see who steps up to Tyler & Graham next as well. This was definitely the home run show but we pick up the action three days later in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. I'll see you then.