WWWF at Madison Square Garden (10/23/78) INCOMPLETE

Madison Square Garden

New York City, New York

October 23, 1978

Commentator: Vince McMahon Jr

Ring Announcer: Howard Finkel

After 4 weeks of hype its time for the big monthly show at Madison Square Garden. We have a loaded card and its finally time to settle some issues. We got a big overdue rematch between Bruno Sammartino and "Superstar" Billy Graham. WWWF Champion Bob Backlund defends against the 6'9 Ernie Ladd and the tag team titles are on the line with "High Chief" Peter Maivia and "Chief" Jay Strongbow taking on the champs, The Yukon Lumberjacks. Unfortunately some of the matches are missing. Let's get to the action anyway. Howard Finkel is our ring announcer and he welcomes everyone to the show. He gives the run down of the state athletic commission, the doctor at ringside, the timekeeper, Isaac Padilla the referee and himself.

Match 1

"Unpredictable" Johnny Rodz vs "The New Zealand Flash" Del Adams

Rodz we all know but who the hell is Del Adams? Apparenly he was also known as Jim Ray. Adams is in the beige trunks with Rodz in the blue. Rodz refuses the handshake and aggressively attacks Del. Johnny hiptosses the guy but Adams returns the favor. They lock up and Adams locks in a full nelson before Rodz eventually breaks it. A second attempt is thwarted by Rodz and he locks in an armbar as Vince runs down the card. Rodz continues to work over the left shoulder with forearm smashes and a hammerlock. Eventually Adams backdrops Rodz but Rodz takes Del down and drops a second rope knee on him. A right hand drops his opponent as Padilla admonishes him for the clenched fist. Rodz continues to punch and kick before dropping an overhead forearm. Rodz whips Adams in the corner and continues to punch/kick him. Adams reverses a whip into the corner and punches away at Johnny. A terrible looking right hand to the mid-section drops Johnny and he begs off in the corner. Adams chokes Johnny in the corner with his boot before the ref breaks it up. Adams tells Rodz to get back to the center and they exchange strikes. A headbutt by Adams drops himself harder than Rodz sells it. Another right hand by Rodz drops Adams and he lands a leg drop. Adams recovers and dropkicks Rodz down where he begs off again. Adams drops Rodz with a knee to the midsection and goes for a single leg crap but Rodz makes it to the ropes. Rodz continues to attack with strikes and kicks before completing a second rope stomp. Rodz lands two elbow drops but misses a third. Adams goes on the offense with strikes and a hiptoss but a cheapshot by Rodz gives him the upperhand back. He floors Adams with an elbow but misses another elbow drop. Adams hits a sunset flip and Adams pops up like popeye. Rodz begs off but Adams whips him into the buckle. He whips Johnny into the opposite corner but misses the charge, eating ringpost. Rodz pounces on him and hits a double underarm suplex. Rodz rolls over and covers for 1...2....3? Yes...Johnny Rodz wins! ITS A MIRACLE!


Time of match: 9:39

Winner: Johnny Rodz by pinfall


Vince Jr and Gorilla Monsoon present an award and honors the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. We have kids and board members in the ring. Gorilla presents a check of 17 grand to the chairman. She thanks the crowd and gets a nice ovation from the crowd. Once this is over we go to the next bout.

Match 2

Victor Rivera vs Dominic Denucci

This match wasn't recorded for some reason but Rivera wins it.

Time of match: 4:11

Winner: Rivera by pinfall

On to the next match

Match 3

Baron Mikel Scicluna vs SD Jones

SD is in the white trunks and Scicluna is in standard attire. Vince says Scicluna is known to bend the rules as heavyweight boxer Chuck Wepner has a ringside seat for tonight's show. Scicluna was Gorilla Monsoon's opponent when Muhammad Ali hit the ring and Ali fought Chuck Wepner before.....useless information I know. Scicluna stalls to start before they roll around the ropes. Baron gets a right hand to the ribs and an arm ringer to start. Scicluna takes over with a chinlock and milks it for several minutes. Finally SD takes over with his own arm ringer and Vince on commentary gets so bored he starts talking about Bob Backlund against Ernie Ladd coming up. Scicluna reaches for the ropes but he's yanked back down by Jones. Scicluna takes a swing but Jones ducks and continues to wrench the wrist. Scicluna goes for the ropes again only this time he rakes the eyes. Scicluna gets in another punch to the ribs and takes over with another neck twist. Vince is trying to say anything he can to keep from falling asleep as Scicluna's nerve hold has SD flat on the mat. Suddenly Jones springs to life and powers out of it....only for Scicluna once again grabs the neck and drops Jones down. This time Jones attempts and eye rake and the fans love it. Scicluna recovers to stomp on Jones and re-apply the nerve hold. God this is getting ridiculous, at least switch up the holds. The referee catches Scicluna pulling the tights and sticks a finger in his face, but doesn't make him break the hold. Jones gets to his feet and elbows Scicluna off but the Baron recovers to re-apply the hold. Even Vince goes "Ahhh, not again." Jones knocks Scicluna off only for Baron to re-apply the same damn nerve hold. Jones elbows out of it again, kicks Baron in the ribs and hits a headbutt to a HUGE pop. Jones threatens to kicks Baron in the junk but lets him go. Baron takes Baron down and covers for a delayed two count. Baron begs off in the ropes then begs off in the corner. SD grabs Mikel and goes for the arm-bar followed by another headbutt. Jones rams Mikel into the buckle and covers for 1...2...nope. Jones locks in a chin-lock but Baron powers out of it. Scicluna gets a few right hands in and uses the five count to blatantly choke Jones. Scicluna lands forearms to the neck and goes back to the nerve hold from earlier. Scicluna then pounds away with forearms to the neck again but Jones starts to power up with left hands to the ribs. Jones hits an aftershock and covers for 1...2....no. Jones hits Scicluna with a left but Baron mule kicks him. Jones gets a side headlock but Jones lets go with a big left hand. Jones hits a big headbutt that stuns Scicluna so hard that Jones gives him a big hug to keep him from falling. Jones hits another headbutt and hugs him again much to the crowd's delight. A third headbutt has Scicluna falling face first Greg Valentine style and Jones covers for a deuce. Scicluna sends Jones off the ropes and they collide. Jones takes a bump while Scicluna windmills to the ground. Jones rallies with left hands and covers for two with the referee out of position. Jones rallies with left hands and headbutts and covers for another two count. Chuck Wepner looks on as Scicluna misses a knee drop and Jones covers for a deuce. Jones is whipped off and sunset flips for a one count. The bell rings out of nowhere and this one's over. The time limit has expired but they're not done yet. They trade punches and Scicluna raises his hand thinking he's won. Howard Finkel announces a draw and we cut here. Bad, bad match but the crowd loved it, especially when Jones rallied and Scicluna kept dropping like a dead deer.


Time of match: 20:00

Winner: No one (time limit draw)

Match 4

Chief Jay Strongbow and "High Chief" Peter Maivia vs The Yukon Lumberjacks (Eric and Pierre) for the WWWF Tag Team Championship

Days earlier Maivia turned heel on Arnold Skaaland and Bob Backlund but was still scheduled to team with Strongbow against the Jacks. Vince says before the match starts that Strongbow must have patched things up. Right off the bat Strongbow argues with Peter on who starts the match. Bell's gone and Strongbow still yells at him at the apron. Strongbow and Maivia go nose to nose then Jay says to hell with him and heads to the middle of the ring to face Pierre. Pierre backs him into the corner and backs off. Strongbow goes to meet him but Maivia decks Jay from behind. He leaves to a chorus of boos and apparently we got a handicap match. Pierre stomps away on Strongbow but he rallies in the corner until Eric tags in. Eric punches away on Strongbow and rams his head in the buckle. Eric sends him off and Strongbow runs into a big boot. Eric covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. Kind of academic after Maivia left as Vince says it was more or less 3 on 1. Fink announces the Jacks are still the champs as the fans are mad. The match itself was nothing special but it was more or less to show Maivia's heel turn was for real.

Time of match: 3:04

Winner: Yukon Lumberjacks by pinfall (still WWWF Tag Team Champions)

Match 5

Jerry "Crusher" Blackwell vs Tony Russo

Blackwell is billed from Stone Mountain, Georgia the eventual hometown of Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Vince calls Blackwell a rotund individual. Blackwell was the Mike Shaw of his time, a very mobile big man. Bell's gone and Russo eats a shoulderblock. Russo dropkicks him and hits a shouldertackle to move Blackwell into the corner. Blackwell hits a forearm and sends him into the buckle. Jerry whips him into the other corner but misses the avalanche.  Russo tries to whip Jerry but Jerry knocks him down with a right hand. Another right hand drops Russo and a snap mare leads to more boots. Russo tries a headbutt but Blackwell lands two forearms. Blackwell with a snapmare and drops a leg to the back. Blackwell stomps Russo in the ass and applies a bearhug. Russo tries a bell ringer but Blackwell doesn't budge. Blackwell backs Russo in the corner and hits the big avalanche. Back to the bearhug but Russo won't give it up. Russo powers out of it, kicks Blackwell in the gut and sends him into the buckle twice. Russo rallies with forearms and Blackwell teases falling but moves out of the way of Russo's dropkick. Blackwell hits a diving headbutt and a scoop slam. Blackwell hits a first rope big splash and covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. That was a complete squash for no other purpose than to put over Blackwell as a mean looking fella. Vince says our main event is next.

Time of match: 5:01

Winner: Blackwell by pinfall

On to the next match.

Match 6

"The Big Cat" Ernie Ladd (with The Grand Wizard) vs Bob Backlund (with Arnold Skaaland) for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

Maivia was going to be the next big challenger for Backlund after turning on him so the writing was on the wall with this one. Ladd was one month away from his 40th birthday as well. Bell rings and they shake hands to start. Ladd gets a go-behind but Backlund counters it, sending Ladd to the ropes. Ladd and Backlund exchange reversals but Ladd makes it to the ropes. Ladd goes for the bearhug and yanks the tights for leverage but Backlund makes it to the ropes. Ladd hammers away with chops and forearms then throws Backlund down. Ladd and Backlund exchange chops and Backlund kicks the left leg to knock the big man down. Backlund slingshots Ladd to the middle of the ring and drops the leg on the left knee. Bob twists the left leg and tries for a leglock but the much taller Ladd snatches him and rolls over out of it. Backlund kicks away at the leg again and Ladd wants another hand shake. Backlund refuses and goes behind Ladd again before grabbing the left leg. He kicks the right leg to drop Ernie and goes back to work with a leg lock. Again Ladd uses his height to yank the tights to get free. Ernie shoulderblocks Backlund in the corner and hammers away. Ladd whips Backlund in the corner but misses the charge. Bob kicks away at the left leg and brings him to the center of the ring. Backlund jumps on the hamstrings of Ladd and applies another leg lock. Backlund then jumps on the leg before once again twisting it. Ladd makes it to the ropes and bails to the apron to get the circulation back. Ladd stalls for more heat and Ernie goes for the waistlock, but Backlund counters out of it and once again controls the left leg. Backlund rows it like an oar and Ladd takes the two count near fall. Backlund keeps pushing Ladd down with his own left leg to get Ernie's shoulders to the mat. Ladd kicks Backlund with his free leg and takes over with forearms and a chop. Ernie scoop slams Backlund and rams Bob's head into the buckle. Ernie does a hiptoss but Bob rallies with right hands and tries a headbutt to the leg that Ernie doesn't sell. Ernie then does the taped thumb routine by repeatedly punching Backlund with it, the second time sends Bob to the apron. The referee goes to check Ladd who makes sure he doesnt check the tights. Ernie sends Bob off the ropes and hits a big boot. Ernie does a double leg drop and covers but Bob powers out of it at 1. Ernie chops Bob in the throat, does a snap mare and a blatant choke. Ernie poses for the irate crowd and goes back to the thumb to the throat. He covers for 1.....2...the referee notices Ernie's feet are on the ropes and makes him break it. Ernie kneels on Backlund's neck and yells at the fans some more. Bob rallies with right hands and wghips him on the corner. He backdrops Ernie and drops a leg before covering for 1...2....nope. Backlund does his in between the legs atomic drop and Ernie falls into the ropes Andre The Giant style. Backlund charges but eats boot. Ladd backdrops Backlund and hits another taped thumb shot to the throat. Backlund bails to the apron but is brought in the hard way. Bob gets his own thumbs to the throat but is sent off the ropes. Backlund shoulderblocks Ladd down and Ernie leapfrogs (!!!) and hits a dropkick (double !!!). Ernie covers for 1....2....nooooo. Ernie whips Bob off the ropes and hits another big boot. Ernie hits a big leg drop but misses the big splash. Bob hits the big atomic drop and covers for 1......2.....3 to win the match. For 1978 standards that was damn good. They tried to be as realistic as possible with wrestling holds and the taped thumb. The crowd goes nuts as Backlund is declared the winner and still champ. This kind of match would be frowned upon today with its slow pace but this was highly regarded in its time.

Time of match: 17:24

Winner: Backlund by pinfall

Moving right along to the next match.

Match 7

Larry Zbyszko vs Spiros Arion (with Freddie Blassie)

This another one of those matches that isn't on Youtube or on the official MSG broadcast. Apparently Larry won after Arion was disqualified.

Time of match: 6:12

Winner: Zbyszko by DQ

Now we move to the other half of our double main event.

Match 8

Bruno Sammartino vs "Superstar" Billy Graham

This was the big rematch from Baltimore when Graham won the heavyweight title a year earlier. Now that Graham is no longer the champion, Graham got his ass kicked by Dusty Rhodes in August, didn't emphatically beat Strongbow in September and he desperately needs this win to get another crack at Backlund. They circle to start and Bruno throws Billy backwards to start. Billy gets a right hand in but Bruno applies a sideheadlock punch to drop the ex-champ. Bruno poses for the crowd and Billy Goes for a neck vice. He tells the ringside photographers here's your next cover and they snap pictures accordingly. Bruno powers out of it and punches Graham down. A big kick to the chest has Billy reeling and Bruno then goes for the waistlock. Bruno turns it into a full nelson but Billy gets his foot on the rope. The ref doesnt make Bruno break it for whatever reason and Billy goes down to the mat. Billy manages to crawl to the ropes and bails to the apron to stretch. Back inside Bruno whips Graham into the corner but the flying knee misses. Billy goes to work on the right knee with stomps and a leg-lock. Vince on commentary says Bruno has been all over the world which is why he hasn't been seen in a while. Bruno reverses the hold and rams Billy's knee into the mat. Billy crawls to the apron and out of the ring to stall for time. Billy crawls back in and they do the test of strength spot. Billy wins it at first then Bruno makes the big comeback. Graham sells his ass off and then hooks the bottom rope with his leg to break it. Bruno backs Billy into the corner but Graham whips Bruno into the other corner. Billy stomps away at Bruno and whips him again in the corner. Billy covers for 1...2..nope. Billy stomps away on him again and locks in a bearhug. Bruno breaks the hold and locks in a bearhug of his own. Billy makes it to the ropes but Bruno rams Graham into the ringpost. Billy blades on camera and Bruno attacks the cut forehead with fists. Bruno scoop slams Bruno and covers him for two but gets up before three. Bruno wants to make an example of him and continues to pound away as Graham is a bloody mess. Bruno stomps away in the corner and the ref checks Billy. Ref says let's go and Billy swings wildly. THIS causes the ref to hold Bruno back and call it off. Bruno wins it by referee stoppage. Typical Bruno match of his era where he beats his opponent to a bloody pulp much to the crowd's delight. Storyline wise, Graham has lost it. He got beaten senseless by Dusty Rhodes and now Bruno in return matches. Usually that's a clue the guy is leaving the territory. If you like bloody fistfights, this match was for you.

Time of match: 12:24

Winner: Bruno Sammartino by stoppage

This was actually NOT the last match on the card. We got two more although they're not on the official broadcast.

Match 9

Tony Garea vs "Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff

Speaking of ex champions, here's Ivan Koloff. Bell's gone and Koloff goes to work with forearms but misses a charge in the corner. Garea armdrags Koloff but eats a knee to the back. Koloff works on the back with punches and forearms then rams him into the corner. Koloff continues to pound away on the lower back and covers for just 1. The relentless Koloff continues to work the back and kicks Garea in the head. Garea catches the leg and kicks Koloff in the hamstring. A right hand stuns Koloff and Tony whips him into the corner. Tony hits a running knee then rolls him over for a two count. Garea pounds away in the corner and hiptosses him. Tony hits a dropkick then locks in an abdominal stretch. Vince points out Tony didn't have the toes around the ankle and Koloff hiptosses him. Tony shoulderblocks Koloff down but runs into a scoop slam attempt. Garea rolls out of it and goes for the O'Connor Roll for 1....2..noo, Koloff pulls the tights to reverse it for 1...2...3 to win the match. Short and sweet and Koloff gets the duke while Garea is irate. Koloff points to his head after the match to taunt the crowd as Garea wants more. Koloff leaves as Garea protests. That was a crash style match two decades before that became commonplace.

Time of match: 3:16

Winner: Koloff by pinfall

Let's go to our final match.

Match 10

Dino Bravo vs "Crazy" Luke Graham

Our final match has the demented Graham taking on Italian babyface Bravo. Bell's gone and Bravo pushes Graham against the ropes. Dino gets a side headlock as Graham waves a finger saying "No." Graham switches to a front headlock but Bravo turns it into a hammerlock. Graham drops to one knee and snap mares Dino over. Graham gets a punch to the face and rams his head into the buckle. Graham unloads in the corner and goes back to the front headlock. Graham goes for the foreign object and waffles Bravo in the throat with it. Problem with doing the same gimmick is it loses its luster, especially after Ernie Ladd did it earlier. Graham does a blatant choke and bites the forehead of Dino. Luke scoop slams Dino and covers for 1...2..nope. Luke for some reason thinks he's won and raises his arms in victory. Dino dropkicks him into the corner and rolls him up for 1...2....3 to win the match. What the hell was that? Luke still thinks he's won after Dino leaves as the crowd begins to fill out. Guess they were pressed for time after all the important matches were over and they had to keep this short and sweet. Fink says the match was over 5 minutes which is BS but oh well.

Time of match: 3:24

Winner: Bravo by pinfall

Vince runs down the card we just saw and tells us we'll return to MSG on November 20th. Tomorrow night the New York Knicks will meet the Atlanta Hawks as well. The Knicks ended up winning that game 113-109 with Ray Williams leading the charge with 23 points. Useless information, so what? As for the show, standard MSG card with your ups and downs. Those were big ups though with Backlund/Ladd being great and Bruno beating the hell out of Graham. That time limit draw between Jones/Scicluna was the shits and the final matches were rushed due to the time constraints. Now that Billy Graham has been beaten into oblivion and Ernie Ladd failed to beat Backlund, its on to Peter Maivia. Its all but given that Maivia will get the next crack at Backlund on November 20th. Our next house show is tomorrow night in Spotswood, New Jersey. I'll see you there.

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 (5/14/77)

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

Commentator: Vince McMahon Jr

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

Match 1

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

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

Time of match: 4:13

Winner: George Steele by submission

We go right to the next match

Match 2

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

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

Time of match: 3:46

Winner: Ivan Putski by pinfall

We go right to the next match.

Match 3

Kitty Adams vs Jan Sheridan

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

Time of Match: 3:06

Winner: Jan Sheridan by pinfall

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

Match 4

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

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

Time of match: 6:15

Winner: "Superstar" Billy Graham by submission

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

Match 5

"High Chief" Peter Maivia vs Baron Mikel Scicluna

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

Time of match: 7:21

Winner: Peter Maivia by pinfall

Vince sends us to our main event after commercial break

Match 6

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

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

Time of match: 5:13

Winner: Ken Patera by pinfall

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

WWWF Championship Wrestling (4/23/77)

WWWF Championship Wrestling
April 23, 1977
Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia Arena

Commentator: Vince McMahon Jr

Ring Announcer: Howard Finkel

The show opens with the trumpet intro with Vince McMahon Jr wearing a canary yellow suit in the intro saying viewer discretion is advised before running down the card. Tony Garea teams with Larry Zybysko against Tor Kamata and Johnny Rodz. Ivan Putski vs Jo-Jo Andrews with the return of "High Chief" Peter Maivia. Howard Finkel handles the pre-show introductions before the first match. This hour of wrestling is promoted by Phil Zacko sanctioned by the state athletic commission....you know the rest. The referees are Dusty Feldbaumer, John Stanley and Dick Woehrle and he's Howard Finkel. On to the first match.


Match 1

Sylvano Sousa vs "High Chief" Peter Maivia

Sousa is in the red singlet with blue tights and Peter's in the white trunks. Vince calls Peter a "real bull". His grandson became a Brahma bull but that's a different story. Peter armdrags Sousa twice before chilling on the top rope. Sousa charges but Maivia somersaults away. He catches Sousa with a back elbow smash as the camera focuses on the tribal tattoos Peter has on his legs that were applied with a chisel, hammer and ink with no painkillers. I challenge anyone to get tats like that these days. Maivia gets in a headlock as Vince explains the ritual. Maivia snapmares Sousa and poses while Vince says "If you live through the ritual, you deserve to be Chief." Maivia whips Sousa into the corner where Silvano bumps to the ground. Maivia goes to the arm-bar and Sousa counters by ramming Peter's head into the buckle....no effect. Sousa goes to headbutt Maivia and hurts himself instead. Snap mare by Maivia is followed by two flying headbutts to the midsection. He applies a sidebackbreaker and gets the submission with a stump puller. He does the "I love you" sign and leaves as Vince says we'll be seeing more of him in the future. We certainly will.


Time of match: 5:16

Winner: Peter Maivia by submission



Match 2

Tor Kamata and Johnny Rodz vs Tony Garea and Larry Zbyszko

Johnny has the green singlet with Tor in cammo swish pants. Larry is in the black trunks with Garea in his standard. Fink barely finishes the introductions when Rodz and Kamata attack. Kamata lays waste to Garea with Johnny taking out Zybysko in opposite corners. Eventually Garea fights back against Kamata and Larry gets the upper hand of Rodz. Larry whips Johnny and Garea hits a clothesline. Rodz literally runs around in the ring before bailing outside to regroup with Kamata. Vince "Johnny trying to find a place to hide." Garea and Larry isolate Rodza but Kamata repeatedly runs into the ring. Rodz begs off and Larry shows mercy. Zybysko takes his eyes off Johnny for a split second and Rodz kicks him. Kamata tags in and holds Larry for Johnny to come off the top twice with boots. Kamata kicks away at Larry before dropping him with a dropkick. Tor makes the cover but Garea throws him off before the three. Johnny and Kamata double-team Larry and Kamata covers for a two count. Kamata and Johnny exchange tags with moves before covering only for Garea to break up the count. Garea gets the hot-tag and cleans house but he's overwhelmed by Rodz, applying a chicken wing. Vince says Garea and Zybysko are undefeated as tag partners. Garea drops Johnny with a shoulderblock but eats an armdrag. Kamata tags in and works over Tony before Johnny once again comes off the top with a smash. Rodz drops the big leg but only gets a two count on the cover. Rodz misses the big splash. Larry nails Johnny for his trouble but on the other side Kamata chokes Garea. Kamata and Rodz completely botch a spot when Rodz holds Garea in a full nelson. Garea was supposed to duck when Kamata hits the big chop but he didn't move fast enough, so Kamata chopped Garea on the top of the head before Tony slid down. Kamata on the fly chops Rodz when Garea was already down and Vince says "Wonder why he did that." Kamata pretends to be shocked but Rodz picks up Garea and they re-do the spot. This time Garea ducks, Rodz gets dropped and Larry attacks Kamata. Garea covers Rodz for 1...2...3 and its over. Kamata acts shocked again as Rodz is irate. After the faces leave Kamtata knocks out Rodz and gets a chorus of boos in the ring. They shouldn't have re-done the spot because it made Kamata a lot more incompetent, but he shouldn't have clocked Rodz after Garea had already slid down.

Time of match: 8:07

Winners: Garea and Zybysko by pinfall


Vince catches Kamata on his way to the back. Kamata says "no mo tag team!" He's going solo from here on. Vince asks about Bob Backlund's challenge the previous week and Kamata says he only wants a Texas Death Match. There's your main event for next week's show.



Match 3

Haiti Kid and Hillbilly Pete vs Little John and "The Six Million Dollar Midget" Billy The Kid

Good grief, midgets. Vince gets a kick out of the 6 Million Dollar Midget monniker. Little John and Haiti Kid start and Kid takes advantage with a dropkick. John covers and Kid kicks out where John lands on the ref. The midgets pile on the ref and John eventually sunset flips the ref with Billy making the mock three count. Ha...ha...ha.... Billy makes the tag as Hillbilly does as well. Hillbilly mule kicks Billy but Billy drops him throat first on the second rope. Right hands drop Hillbilly before Little John tags in and hits a big backdrop. A scoop slam is followed by a right hand but Hillbilly makes the tag. Haiti Kid ass bumps both opponents down before going to work on John. Haiti hits a backdrop and headlocked punches before a headbutt. Haiti slingshots John into the center of the ring before slingshotting him into an interfering Billy. Hillbilly gets in and puts Billy in an airplane spin while Haiti puts John in an airplane spin of his own. Hillbilly and Haiti Kid cover their opponents and the ref counts the double pin 1....2....3 and its over. A dazed Billy puts John in an airplane spin after the match not realizing who was in the spin.

Time of match: 3:02

Winners: Hillbilly Pete and Haiti Kid by pinfall


Back to Vince, he says still to come Putski vs Andrews as well as Ken Patera in action.



Match 4

Pete Austin vs "The World's Strongest Man" Ken Patera with Captain Lou Albano

Austin is in standard attire with Patera in the Olympic singlet. A svelte looking Albano shouts at the fans before the action begins. Patera goes to work with elbows to the nose on the top rope. Forearms to the back are followed by ramming the head into the buckle. Albano tells Vince that Pete is a psycho case. Patera gets in a side-headlock as Vince says Patera was a great athlete but then Albano got a hold of him, poisoning his mind. Patera continues to land forearm smashes as Vince blames Albano for his heel tactics. Patera scoop slams Pete and drops a few elbows. Ken poses for the irate crowd before landing a backbreaker. He covers for 1..2..nope, he pulls him up for more punishment. Ken locks in a bearhug and Pete gives it up. Albano gets in the ring as Patera drops his overmatched opponent and screams "Woooooooo!" Who does he think he is, Ric Flair?

Time of match: 4:19

Winner: Ken Patera by submission



Match 5:

JoJo Andrews vs Ivan Putski

Before Fink can finish the introductions Putski grabs the mic away and screams "POLISH POWAHHHH!" He tries to cut a promo but somehow Fink gets the mic away so he can finish. Jojo Andrews was born Jimmie Lee Banks and got his start as an 18 year old for The Sheik's Big Time Wrestling in Detroit in 1975. He would have been about 20 years old here. Putski is in standard trunks and he starts with a headlock. Putski drops the big guy with a shoulderblock while going back to the headlock. Jojo gets in a few thumbs to the throat as Vince brings up last week's encounter. Putski serves the same punishment back as referee Dick Woehrle admonishes him back. Putski gets in a rear chinlock and screams "Yes sir!!! Polish powahhhh!!! Andrews powers out of it as Vince says they sellout everytime. Wait 14 years Vince. Putski whips Andrews off the ropes and hits the Polish Hammer. He does the aftershock and covers for 1...2...3 its over. Putski gets the duke and once again rips the mic away from Fink to scream into it after the match is over. We get it Ivan, we get it!

Time of match: 4:43

Winner: Putski by pinfall


Match 6

Johnny Rivera and SD Jones vs Baron Von Raschke and Stan "The Man" Stasiak (with The Grand Wizard and Freddie Blassie)

Guest commentator: Gorilla Monsoon

For those that don't know the bad guys, Jim Raschke was a star wrestler and football player for his hometown Nebraska University from 1959-62. Verne Gagne loved amateur wrestlers so he convinced Raschke to be an AWA referee in 1966. Since Raschke was very odd looking, Verne convinced him to be Baron Von Raschke, an evil German who goosestepped around the ring not unlike Waldo & Fritz Von Erich. Raschke made a whole career of being a vicious heel. Ironically Bruno Sammartino's last successful title defense was beating Raschke before losing to Billy Graham.  Stasiak still drew as a heel so he was paired with another rough heel in Raschke. Stasiak was managed by Wizard with Raschke managed by Blassie, lot of fashion in the ring with those two managers. Jones is in the purple singlet with Johnny in standard trunks. Stasiak and Baron are in their standard attire. Referee Dick Woehrle tells Wiz and Blassie to hit the bricks so we can start. Stasiak starts with Rivera and the size difference is incredible. Either Rivera is really short or Stasiak is taller than advertised (6'4). Rivera gets the wristlock in and Stasiak quickly retreats where he tags in Raschke. Baron applies the fireman carry takeover before getting the armbar. Monsoon sits in on commentary and Vince asks him about Backlund/Kamata. Rivera gets the upperhand on Raschke and he retreats before Stasiak tags back in. Rivera applies a head scissors while Monsoon says the Pennsylvania state athletic commission has sanctioned the Texas Death Match for....next week on Championship Wrestling. Wow, couldn't wait for the Garden huh? Well then again it would make next week's show less boring. Raschke interferes and nails Rivera, allowing Stasiak to throw the poor guy over the top rope. Raschke gets in as Vince says the rules are, there are none in a Texas Death Match. SD Jones gets the hot tag and cleans out the heels until Wizard props Stasiak back on the apron. Monsoon leaves as SD blocks the heart punch and delivers a headbutt, but Stasiak locks in a bearhug. Raschke tags in and delivers a bearhug of his own. Stasiak tags in and nails SD with the heart punch. The cover gets 1....2...3 and goodnight Jones. The heels celebrate their win as Blassie taunts Jones for good measure. We go to the replay of the heart punch.

Time of match: 8:24

Winners: Stasiak and Von Raschke


The ending credits appear as Vince says next week we got a Texas Death Match between Backlund and Kamata. That's it for this week's show, not much going on. What wasn't talked about is within a week would be Bruno Sammartino defending the WWWF Championship against Superstar Billy Graham. Any guesses on how that turns out? The next show after this one is tonight's house show at the Providence Civic Center. I'll see you there.

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

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

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

Match 1

Sylvano Sousa vs "Superstar" Billy Graham

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

Time of match: 3:34

Winner: Superstar Billy Graham by submission

Moving right along to the match.

Match 2

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

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

Time of match: 6:32

Winner: No one (double DQ)

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

Match 3

Johnny Rivera vs Louis Cyr (with Freddie Blassie)

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

Time of match: 5:48

Winner: Louis Cyr by pinfall

Vince sends us directly to the next match.

Match 4

Pete McKay vs Ivan Koloff (with Captain Lou Albano)

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

Time of match: 5:12

Winner: Ivan Koloff by pinfall

We go right to the final match

Match 5

Pete Sanchez vs "Big Cat" Ernie Ladd

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

Time of match: 6:02

Winner: Ernie Ladd by count-out

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

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

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

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

Match 1

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

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

Time of match: 3:57

Winner: "Superstar" Billy Graham by submission

We go straight to the next match without any segue

Match 2

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

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

Time of match: 5:11

Winners: The Blackjacks by pinfall

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

Match 3

Manuel Miranda vs Baron Mikel Scicluna

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

Time of match: 3:34

Winner: Baron Mikel Scicluna by pinfall

We immediately segue into the next match

Match 4

Francisco Flores vs Frank "Magnificent" Monte

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

Time of match: 6:01

Winner: No one (double count-out)

We segue right into the main event of the show.

Match 5

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

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

Time of match: 10:00

Winners: No one (time limit draw)

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