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

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

Host/Commentator: Vince McMahon Jr

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

Match 1

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

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

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Backlund by pinfall (new WWWF Champion)

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

Match 2

Ken Patera vs Bob Backlund for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

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

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: No one (Draw: Backlund retains)

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

Match 3

Adrian Adonis vs Bob Backlund for the WWF Heavyweight Championship

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

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Backlund by pinfall (still WWF Champion)

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

Match 4

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

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

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Backlund by pinfall (still WWF Champion)

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

Match 5

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

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

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Backlund by submission (still WWF Champion)

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

Match 6

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

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

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Backlund by submission (still WWF Champion)

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

Match 7

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

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon

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

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Not shown (Backlund won it)

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

Match 8

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

Commentator: Gorilla Monsoon

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

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Backlund by pinfall (still WWF Champion)

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

Match 9

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

Commentators: Dick Graham and Gorilla Monsoon

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

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Backlund by submission (still WWF Champion)

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

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

WWWF Championship Wrestling (2/4/78)

 

WWWF Championship Wrestling

Philadelphia Arena

Philadelphia, PA

February 4, 1978

Commentator: Vince McMahon Jr

Ring Announcer: Gary Michael Capetta

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

Match 1

Nikolai Volkoff vs Tony Garea

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

Time of match: 10:00

Winner: No one (Draw)

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

Match 2

"Nobleman" Joe Turco vs Dino Bravo

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

Time of match: 4:57

Winner: Bravo by pinfall

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

Match 3

"Pretty Boy" Larry Sharpe vs Mike Madera

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

Time of match: 2:49

Winner: Sharpe by pinfall

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

Match 4

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

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

Time of match: 6:03

Winners: Fuji and Tanaka by pinfall

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

Match 5

SD Jones vs Baron Mikel Scicluna

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

Time of match: 5:48

Winner: Jones by referee's decision

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

WWWF at Madison Square Garden (5/16/77) Incomplete

May 16, 1977

Madison Square Garden

New York City, New York

Commentator: Vince McMahon Jr

This is going to be an incomplete write-up as nearly the entire show has been lost to time but last two matches including the main event remains. This was "Superstar" Billy Graham's first WWWF title defense after beating Bruno Sammartino for the strap the month before. Traditionally heels were transition champions as Ivan Koloff put over Pedro Morales a month after dethroning Bruno and Stan Stasiak dropped it to Bruno nine days after beating Pedro. Well this theory would be put to the test because Billy's opponent tonight would be none other than Gorilla Monsoon, one month shy of his 40th birthday. Not that Gorilla wasn't popular in New York, he'd be beloved until the day he passed, but Gorilla's time had come and gone. Could this be that Graham would NOT be a transition champion? Let's find out. The only other match that has any footage is the semi-main event as the former champ Bruno takes on old rival George "The Animal" Steele. Let's get to it.

Match 1

Carlos Rocha vs Jan Nelson

As I mentioned in a previous writeup, Jan Nelson was an up and coming wrestler that would tragically pass away a year later. Remember at the 1993 Royal Rumble when legendary Puerto Rican promoter/wrestler Carlos Colon competed in the Rumble for absolutely no reason explained? Well back in 1977 legendary Portuguese wrestler Carlos Rocha joined WWWF in his 50's for a year long run for absolutely no reason. According to the program, Rocha defeated Nelson.

Winner: Carlos Rocha

Match 2

Ron Mikolajczyk vs Doug Gilbert

No, that's not infamous Memphis wrestler Doug Gilbert, he would have been 8 years old at the time. This is Doug Lindsay, a big rough territory heel. Ron is actually THE Ron Mikolajcyzk the former New York Giants offensive lineman. Apparently he became friends with Jerry Lawler when he was playing for Memphis in the ill-fated World Football League (think XFL in 1974) so he wrestled during the off-season. Imagine him vs Ernie Ladd? Anyway Ron got the duke here.

Winner: Ron Mikolajczyk

Match 3

Baron Mikel Scicluna vs "Polish Power" Ivan Putski

Finally people we know as two WWWF mainstays square off in a mid-card showdown. Apparently the bout ended in a draw. Its a shame the match has been lost to time.

Winner: No one (Draw)

Match 4

Chief Jay Strongbow vs Ken Patera

Patera couldn't stand Strongbow or his partner Billy White Wolf so tonight he gets Strongbow one on one. Unfortunately this match has also been lost to time and apparently it also ended in a draw. The feud was just beginning.

Winner: No one (Draw)

Match 5

Billy White Wolf vs Rocky Tomayo

Speaking of White Wolf, here he is in singles action against Peruvian wrestler Rocky Tomayo. Tomayo was a big rough heel mostly working the territories. Apparently White Wolf got the win in this one.

Winner: Billy White Wolf

Match 6

Larry Zbyszko and Tony Garea vs Nikolai Volkoff and Stan Stasiak

Another match that's unfortunately lost to time is this one. Zbyszko and Garea were the top babyface tag team behind White Wolf and Strongbow and here they take on veteran heels Volkoff and Stasiak. Apparently Garea and Zbyszko won the match

Winners: Garea & Zbyszko

Match 7

Bruno Sammartino vs George "The Animal" Steele

If you thought John Cena wrestled Randy Orton a zillion times between 2001 and 2021 Bruno vs Steele may have that beat. Bruno vs Steele was a WWWF mainstay that lasted for nearly two decades. Thankfully there IS footage of this match so let's get to it. We're joined in progress as Bruno chases Steele around the ring and rakes the eyes. Bruno puts the boots to Steele and whips George into the corner who Flair flips out of the ring. Steele takes a few moments to collect himself as some old lady hits Steele with her pocketbook a whole bunch of times while George just does his thing to shrug it off. Props to George for playing around with it rather than break character and tell a security guard to escort her out like you see today's softies do. The ref leans out of the ring to tell George to get back in and George stalls for more heat. Arnie Skaaland at ringside laughs at the old lady taking swings at George as he gets back in. George does the "foreign object" routine and punches Bruno with it as the crowd jumps up to complain. George clubs away at Bruno then kicks away at him. George gets the object out and nails Bruno in the throat with it. This continues two more times and George stomps away at Bruno in the corner.  The ref tries to pull Steele off Bruno as he continues to kick Sammartino. Bruno gets to his feet and George clubs away with forearms. Bruno then does a pseudo Hulk-Up and the crowd starts to buzz. My grandfather loved this part....Sammartino finally explodes and beats the ever-loving piss out of Steele with forearms, turnbuckle smashes and right hands to the head. Bruno whips Steele into the corner and stomps away at him with the ref trying to get him off. Bruno continues to go apeshit on Steele who blades on camera with the camera focusing directly on him....whoops. Bruno continues to kick away at the bloody Steele until the ref shoves him off.  Bruno stands on Steele and the ref once again pushes him off. The ref checks on Steele and calls for the bell saying George can't continue. It was almost the exact same match Pedro Morales had against Steele in 1973. The crowd roars as Bruno is declared the winner. For those that didn't get to watch a lot of Bruno, he was a lot like Hogan where he'd take a beating the entire match then explode at the end. It doesn't seem like much today but fans in the 60's and 70's loved it.

Time of match: Joined in progress

Winner: Bruno Sammartino by stoppage

Match 8

Gorilla Monsoon vs "Superstar" Billy Graham with The Grand Wizard for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

As mentioned earlier, heel champions didn't last very long as both Ivan Koloff and Stan Stasiak had short reigns to transition to babyface champions. Using that logic, smart fans (if there were any) were excited to see if the near 40 year old Gorilla Monsoon would be the man in New York. Meanwhile, casual fans wanted to see Graham get his ass kicked so the Garden is rocking for the main event. Monsoon stalks Graham at the bell and they tie up. Graham tries to throw Monsoon around like he does all the jobbers but Gorilla doesn't budge. Graham tries another throw but Monsoon shrugs it off. Its funny because I can hear the commentator version of Gorilla from 10 years later going "Highly unlikely you're gonna move him like that." Monsoon then heaves Graham down and catches him with a giant swing. Monsoon bounces off the ropes and HITS THE BIG SPLASH FOR 1...2.....the referee's arm goes 2/3's the way down but he correctly sees Graham's whole legs are on the ropes. The crowd thought that was it as Monsoon kicks at the air in frustration. Graham rolls to the outside to get a breather then begs off inside the ring. Monsoon catches him with chops to the head before locking in an arm-bar. Graham sells like his arm is being torn off and Monsoon revs up the crowd. Graham rakes the eyes but his shoulderblock attempt backfires as he hits the deck. Monsoon goes for an elbow drop but misses. Graham kicks away at Monsoon in the corner but Monsoon starts getting up. Monsson starts shaking off Graham's forearms but Billy catches him in the bearhug. The crowd cheers as Monsoon looks to chop his way out but he starts to fade. Finally Monsoon catches Billy with a series of chops to the head to break free. Both men are down but Graham gets up first and clobbers Monsoon. Monsoon takes a big bump off the turnbuckle as Graham stomps away. Graham then locks in another bearhug but Monsoon makes it to the ropes. Graham holds on as they fall out of the ring and he rams Gorilla into the barricade multiple times. The ref looked to have counted to 20 but it doesn't matter as Monsoon is rolled in with Graham going upstairs. Graham hits a knee drop off the top rope, rolls Monsoon over and covers. Monsoon's foot is clearly out of the ring but the ref doesn't see it....1...2....3, that's it. Graham retains in his first title defense at Madison Square Garden. That was an interesting match because Graham was in control almost from start to finish apart from the initial big splash. Guess Graham survives another month as champion for now with a victory over Monsoon.

Time of match: 9:45

Winner: "Superstar" Billy Graham by pinfall

Its a shame the first six matches have been lost to time because it would have been interesting to see the tag champs in singles action along with Volkoff and Stasiask as a team. Hell it would have been funny to see Scicluna and Putski as well. Still the Bruno/Steele match was that generation's Cena vs Orton or Rock vs HHH and it had a hell of an ending. The main event was short and sweet as Gorilla was nearing the end physically and Graham was never the best technician. Still, two matches from the card remain and as long as there's wrestling fans, they'll always remain. 

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 at Madison Square Garden (4/29/74) Incomplete

 

Madison Square Garden

New York City, NY

April 29, 1974

Commentator: Vince McMahon Jr

Just four weeks after Bruno Sammartino defeated Nikolai Volkoff at Madison Square Garden, Bruno has the 47 year old Killer Kowalski on his trail. Bruno and Kowalski were two of the most important men for Vince Sr in the 1960's and they still drew in the 70's. Could the unorthodox, roughhouse style of the Killer help him win the title or will Bruno retain. Other matches include one half of the tag champs Dean Ho take on Nikolai Volkoff, Pedro Morales wrestles Mr. Fuji, a 24 year old Rob Fuller locks up with Eddie Sullivan and Andre The Giant teams with Chief Jay Strongbow against Don Leo Jonathan and Otto Von Heller. Unfortunately only two matches remain from this card, Ho vs Volkoff and Bruno vs Kowalski. Let's get to it.

Match 1

Larry Zbyzsko vs Jose Gonzalez

The rookie Larry gets a crack at the future Invader in the opening contest. Just like the previous MSG show, the opening match was a draw

Winner: No one (Draw)

Match 2

Eddie Sullivan vs Rob Fuller

Talk about a treat. A young Rob Fuller of the Welch/Fuller territory making a rare appearance in Madison Square Garden. Rob got the victory to boot.

Winner: Rob Fuller

Match 3

Mike Conrad vs Tony Garea

One half of the tag champs Garea gets perennial jobber Mike Conrad on this night. Not surprisingly, Garea gets the win.

Winner: Tony Garea

Match 4

Dean Ho vs Nikolai Volkoff (with Freddie Blassie)

Believe it or not, this match is one of just two that has been found. The other half of the tag champs, Dean Ho takes on Volkoff in this one. Blassie shouts at the irate fans at the start before he leaves and you know this match is old because Nikolai has hair. They stall to start before Volkoff gets the upperhand on the lock up. Volkoff sends Ho into the corner but a charge eats boot to the ribs. Ho chops the head of Nikolai and he backs off much to the crowd's delight. They tie up again and Volkoff rams Dean into the buckle before biting the poor guy. Volkoff sends him into the other corner and goes to work on him before trying to stretch his face and hair. Dean goes into a karate stance and the crowd pops as Volkoff slowly stalks him. Dean does a double thumb to the eyes but Nikolai gets in a chop to the throat before biting him again. Volkoff hits a big boot and a headbutt before headlock punching the tag champ. Dean gets up and karate kicks Volkoff to back him up again. Volkoff gets in what looks like a cobra clutch as Vince says that might be a choke-hold. Ho gets up and chops his way out to another pop. Volkoff gets in a kick and a boot to the ribs before Nikolai starts choking Dean on the mat. Volkoff knees Dean in the head and scoop slams him. Volkoff rams him into the buckle and uses the 5 count to pummel him. Ho comes back with eye pokes and chops and sends Volkoff into the corner. Ho misses the big splash attempt and falls down. Nikolai runs off the ropes and hits a big stomp then covers for 1....2....3...that's it. Volkoff beats the tag champ to get some heat back after losing to Bruno four weeks earlier. Vince on commentary says Blassie will be happy.

Time of match: 5:22

Winner: Volkoff

Match 5

Andre The Giant and Chief Jay Strongbow vs Don Leo Jonathan and Otto Von Heller in a 2 out of 3 Falls Match

One year earlier Andre made his MSG debut and tonight he's teaming with Strongbow against the big Mormon and his German partner. This must have been a chore to sit through as Andre and Strongbow win it.

Winners: Strongbow and Andre

Match 6

Killer Kowalski vs Bruno Sammartino (with Arnold Skaaland) for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

The only other match still in existence is the main event that sees the 47 year old Kowalski get another shot at Bruno. We're joined in progress as Kowalski stomps away at Bruno and ties up his left arm in between the bottom and middle rope. Vince says Killer will do anything to win the match. Bruno then gets up and goes apeshit on Kowalski with right hands and ties his left leg up in the rope, turnabout is fair play. Bruno kicks away at the left leg of Kowalski and Killer does a big jumping bump. Bruno attacks the left leg but Kowalski kicks at him with his good leg then goes for the iron claw hold on the abdomen of Bruno. Bruno goes for the left leg with Killer trying to wizzer out of it. Bruno tackles Kowalski but Killer gets him in a crucifix. Bruno powers on top and the ref counts 1...2...nope. Kowalski rolls Bruno over for a one count and they spill into the ropes. Kowalski stomps away at Bruno and goes upstairs. Bruno throws Kowalski off the top rope. Bruno scoop slams him for 1...2..no. Bruno goes for the surfboard but Kowalski makes it to the ropes. Bruno stomps away in the corner and starts pummeling Kowalski. The ref tries to stop him but Bruno is relentless. Kowalski then gets his iron claw on the abs of Sammartino and then bites Bruno's head. Kowalski goes up top and hits a big stomp before going back to the claw. Bruno kicks him off, picks him up and dumps him over the top rope. Kowalski takes a breather on the apron then gets back in. He snatches Bruno in a nerve hold but Bruno punches him. Kowalski hits a dropkick to the back that sends Bruno through the ropes to the outside. Bruno slides inside and Kowalski delivers a scoop slam. Killer covers for 1..2....nope. Kowalski slaps Bruno in the chest that send shim through the ropes to the outside. Mrs. Krieger appears behind Bruno and tells him to go get Kowalski. Bruno gets back in but Kowalski bites him again. Kowalski punches away at Bruno's head and Bruno says something to him. Bruno is busted wide open and Killer punches away at the cut. Vince asks how much can one man take but we all know what's coming. Bruno gets back to his feet and does his version of a hulk up....here it comes. The crowd comes alive and Kowalski looks around confused. Bruno stops selling and finally goes apeshit on Kowalski to a massive pop. Bruno absolutely beats the crap out of Kowalski all around the ring and sends him to the buckle. They trade blows in the center of the ring but the ref calls for the bell. They continue to brawl in the ring as Skaaland tries to help break it up. Jay Strongbow, Dean Ho and Pedro Morales run in to separate everyone. Kowalski bails as the announcer says the bout is a draw, double disqualification. Pedro, Dean and Jay calm Bruno down as Skaaland raises Bruno's arm to a nice pop. Modern fans looking for canadian destroyers, false finishes and armdrags will be very disappointed but fans at the time wanted Bruno to go apeshit on Kowalski, and he did. Mrs. Krieger certainly enjoyed the ass kicking at the end. Good job by both guys.

Time of match: 24:15

Winner: No one (Draw)

Better to have two matches saved than none at all. The other four seemed like they'd be interesting but Andre and Strongbow in 2 out of 3 falls might not have been the best. Who knows, it was 70's Andre so it might have been. Still Nikolai needed a win and the end to the main event was awesome. As the years go by more and more footage will be available so it won't be so many incompletes. 

WWWF at Madison Square Garden (4/1/74) Incomplete

Madison Square Garden

New York City, NY

April 1, 1974

We've made it to the big one, Bruno Sammartino defends the WWWF Heavyweight Championship against Nikolai Volkoff. Also on the card, Gorilla Monsoon takes on Don Leo Jonathan, Pedro Morales takes on Larry "The Axe" Hennig and the tag team titles are on the line as Toru Tanaka & Mr. Fuji go after Dean Ho and Tony Garea. Unfortunately the only match that still exists is a 3 minute clip of Morales vs Hennig but that's not worth doing a write up on. The worst part is this is one of the best MSG cards I've ever seen on paper. Not even the main event remains, damn you 1974 production people!

Match 1

Otto Von Heller vs Jose Gonzalez

For those that don't know, yes, that's the same Jose Gonzalez who killed Bruiser Brody in Puerto Rico in 1988. Otto was actually Canadian wrestler Mike Hall doing the ol "evil German" gimmick. Apparently they fought to a 20 minute time limit draw.

Winner: No one (Draw)

Match 2

Ed Sullivan vs Larry Zbyszko

No, not the talk show host Ed Sullivan. Eddie Sullivan was a territory villain that was notable in the 1960's being in a tag team with Frank "The Angel" Morrell called The Mighty Yankees. The future "Living Legend" was born Larry Whistler but took the name Zbyszko after the 1920's wrestler Stanislaus Zbyszko. He started wrestling in Pittsburgh in the same camp as Bill "Ax" Eadie with Bruno Sammartino and Geeto Mongol. Thanks to his ties to those two, he was in WWWF shortly after as a mid-card babyface. Larry got the win here

Winner: Larry Zbyszko

Match 3

Mr. Fuji and Professor Toru Tanaka vs Dean Ho and Tony Garea for the WWWF Tag Team Championship in a 2 out of 3 falls match

Fuji and Tanaka dropped the belts to Dean and Tony in November and get another crack here. Unfortunately for the heels, they got disqualified allowing the champs to retain.

Winners: Ho and Garea by DQ (still WWWF Tag Team Champions)

Match 4

Don Leo Jonathan vs Gorilla Monsoon

The Mormon Giant as he was called takes on Monsoon here. Jonathan was a legit 6'6 300 pound monster but even he looks small compared to Gorilla. Gorilla got the duke in this one.

Winner: Gorilla Monsoon

Match 5

Chief Jay Strongbow vs Stan "The Man" Stasiak

Stan's big moment came on December 1, 1973 when he was told on literally hours notice that he was beating WWWF Champion Pedro Morales for the title after chasing him for months. The backstory was the predominant Latino crowds that followed Pedro were causing riots in Madison Square Garden any time Pedro got in trouble so a pissed off Vince Sr had no choice but to take the belt off Pedro before someone got killed. Knowing the Garden would have burnt to the ground if it was done there, Vince Sr had Stasiak beat him in the Philadelphia Arena and the story goes ring announcer Buddy Wagner had to tell the audience to give a hand to Morales for nearly 3 years as champion rather than announce Stasiak the winner out of fear for further rioting. 9 days later Stasiak dropped the belt to Bruno Sammartino for his second run with the title. Ironically that 9 day reign was longer than Kane's only time as WWF champion and the time John Cena won the WWE title only to lose it to Batista minutes later at Elimination Chamber 2010. The former WWWF champion takes on Strongbow in a big grudge match. Strongbow actually got the win over the ex-champion.

Winner: Strongbow

Match 6

Larry "The Axe" Hennig vs Pedro Morales

Another big time match as Larry The Axe takes on the former WWWF champion Morales. Now there does exist footage of this match but its so cut up its not worth doing a write up about. Morales wins the match.

Winner: Pedro Morales

Match 7

Nikolai Volkoff (with Freddie Blassie) vs Bruno Sammartino (with Arnold Skaaland) for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

Shedding the Beppo Mongol label, the now Russian Nikolai Volkoff gets a shot at Bruno. As usual, Bruno retains the title.

Winner: Bruno Sammartino (still WWWF Heavyweight champion)

That was a stacked card with maybe one throwaway match. A young Larry Zbyszko, the tag champs, Larry The Axe, two former champs in Pedro & Stasiak, Monsoon, Strongbow, the main event and Don Leo Jonathan make up for a great card. Too bad its been lost to time, that sounds like a lot of fun.

WWWF at Philadelphia Arena (12/1/73)

Philadelphia Arena

Philadelphia, PA

December 1, 1973

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

Match 1

Frank Valois vs Jose Gonzalez

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

Winner: Jose Gonzalez

Match 2

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

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

Winners: Ho and Garea (Still Tag Team Champions)

Match 3

El Olympico vs "Iron" Mike McCord

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

Winner: Mike McCord

Match 4

Manuel Soto vs Larry "The Axe" Hennig

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

Winner: Hennig

Match 5

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

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

Winners: Rivera, Strongbow and Andre The Giant

Match 6

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

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

Winner: Stasiak by pinfall (new WWWF Heavyweight Champion)

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

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

Madison Square Garden

New York City, NY

March 26, 1973

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

Match 1

"Nobleman" Joe Turco vs El Olympico

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

Time of match: 8:14

Winner: Joe Turco

Match 2

Frank Valois vs Tony Garea

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

Time of match: 10:15

Winner: Tony Garea

Match 3

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

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

Time of match: 12:09

Winners: The Vachon Brothers

Match 4

The Great Goliath vs Victor Rivera

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

Time of match: 20:00

Winner: No one (draw)

Match 5

Sonny King vs Mr. Fuji

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

Time of match: 7:26

Winner: Fuji

Match 6

Gorilla Monsoon vs Professor Toru Tanaka

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

Winner: No one (draw)

Match 7

Moondog Mayne vs Chief Jay Strongbow

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

Winner: No one (draw)

Match 8

Buddy Wolfe vs Andre The Giant

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

Time of match: Unknown

Winner: Andre The Giant by pinfall

Match 9

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

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

Winner: Morales

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

WWWF at Philadelphia Arena (3/24/73)

Philadelphia Arena

Philadelphia, PA

March 24, 1973

Why are we doing a random house show from 1973? A real good one reason actually. This was the first WWWF match of the one....the only....ANDRE THE GIANT! That's right, Andre made his WWWF debut at a house show days before his MSG debut and this was the show in question. Andre would be in a handicap match against the Argentinian Bull Pometti and Frank Valois. Other matches on the card included a women's showdown between Donna Christianello and Toni Rose against Joyce Grable and Susan Green, Mr. Fuji takes on Louis Tillett and the WWWF title is on the line as Pedro Morales takes on Moondog Mayne inside a steel cage! Let's get to it.

Match 1

Tony Garea vs El Olympico

Tony Garea was born Anthony Gareljich in Auckland, New Zealand to Croatian/Yugoslavian parents. He started wrestling in his native New Zealand before coming to New York to work for Vince Sr in 1971. If you ever wanted to know why Garea's been a WWE lifer, he was a "homegrown" talent for WWWF. Who the hell is El Olympico you ask? Joey Corea wrestled as one half of The Spoilers in the Gulas territory in 1970 but left after a year. Under a mask that showed his face, he wrestled as El Olympico which was new in the New York territory at the time. These two fought to a draw.

Winner: No one (Draw)

Match 2

Joyce Grable and Susan Green vs Toni Rose and Donna Christianello

Oh boy, Moolah's girls....and Sue Green. 20 year old Betty Wade was actually the second woman to use the name Joyce Grable. She was given that name by Moolah because she looked almost like the original Grable. Sue Green was a 19 year old prodigy who grew up a huge wrestling fan in Texas. She actually got permission from Texas governor John B Connally to train at the age of 14 with Joe Blanchard. She had more matches in high school than some of these indy guys have their whole careers. Toni and Donna we all know. They were women's tag champs for years and had a lot of experience tagging together. Donna and Toni won the match.

Winners: Donna and Toni

Match 3

Louie Tillet vs Mr. Fuji

In case you didn't know, Mr. Fuji was born Harry Fujiwara in Hawaii to Hawaiian and Japanese parents. He made his debut as a heel in 1962 and first came to the WWWF in 1972 with his partner Professor Toru Tanaka. He and Tanaka defeated Sonny King and Strongbow for the WWWF tag titles in 1972. His opponent Louie Tillet was a Frenchman that was a star in the 1960's working the territories. Fuji got the win in this one

Winner: Mr. Fuji

Match 4

Professor Toru Tanaka vs Don Curtis

The other half of the tag champs, Tanaka, faces Don Curtis. Don aka The Buffalo Bomber was born Donald Beitelman and made his name at the University of Buffalo in 1949. He was best known for being tag partners with Mark Lewin in the 60's. By now he was 45 years old and on the downside of his career. Tanaka got the duke.

Winner: Tanaka

Match 5

Andre The Giant vs Vincente Pometti and Frank Valois in a handicap match

And now we get to the reason why we're doing a writeup on this show. Its Andre The Giant's first WWWF match. His bio is too long to give it justice but I'll give the cliffnotes. Andre was born Andre Rousimoff in Grenoble, France with acromegaly aka Giantism. He was over 6 feet tall at the age of 12 and he never really stopped growing. He had aspirations as a teen of being a soccer player but when he got too big, after he left school he became a farmer with his father. At 18 he trained to be a wrestler in 1964 and had his first pro bout in 1966. He was known as Geant Ferre aka The French Lumberjack but when he came over to North America for the first time, Vince Sr rechristened him Andre The Giant. We all know "Bull" Pometti and Valois although Frank was 51 years old at this time. No surprise but Andre wins his first match.

Winner: Andre The Giant

Match 6

Moondog Mayne vs Pedro Morales for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

What's this? One of the Moondogs? Not exactly. Moondog Mayne was a second generation wrestler, the son of Kenny Mayne. His story is tragic but I'll get to that in a minute. Mayne wasn't actually apart of the "Moondog" stable that would eventually include Rex, King and Spot....he just was named that by Vince Sr. Unlike the Moondogs of the 80's, Mayne is dressed colorfully although he is a lunatic that twitches like he sees things that aren't there. Apparently he was supposed to be a deranged hippie. Morales is anything but a hippie and he beats Mayne to retain the title. As I mentioned earlier, the career of Mayne was cut short when he was killed in a car accident on August 14, 1978 at the age of 33. His name lived on in the Moondogs tag team that was formed years later.

Winner: Pedro Morales (still WWWF Heavyweight Champion)

Standard card for the time period and normally would be an average house show but its famously Andre's first WWWF match. It would have been fun to see Pedro vs Mayne and the women's tag match since Sue Green was the only non-Moolah girl in the match. Still, there was a lot of money to be made on Andre and both Vince Sr & Vince Jr knew it. This was just the start for the next 18 years of Andre in New York. One of the few times the main event was an afterthought.