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.

WWWF at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium (1/6/71)

Buffalo Memorial Auditorium

Buffalo, NY

January 6, 1971

This was a very interesting card with an important main event. The WWWF United States Championship had primarily been defended in Detroit by Bobo Brazil but the title had been declared vacant. There was a tournament to crown a new champion and the finals pit up and coming Pedro Morales against the grizzled, diabolical "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Other matches include two tag matches and Bobo himself facing the legendary Abdullah The Butcher. Let's get right to the action.

Match 1

The Love Brothers (Reginald and Hartford) vs Tony Marino and Chief White Owl

Who are these guys? The Love Brothers were an evil hippie tag team that wrestled mostly for Frank Tunney in Toronto and Buffalo so they were known in the Auditorium. George Dahmer became Chief White Owl because friendly Native Americans were always a draw. We already know Tony Marino. The Love Brothers got the duke.

Winners: The Love Brothers

Match 2

"Crazy" Luke Graham and Baron Mikel Scicluna vs Haystacks Calhoun and Dominic DeNucci

What a treat this match is, so many hall of famers. Born James Grady Johnson, the eventual Graham turned pro at 21 and got his start in the Nick Gulas territory. Popular wrestler at the time The Great Mephisto said Johnson looked like Dr. Jerry Graham and Jerry thought they'd make a great tag team. The Graham family was formed that would eventually include Wayne Coleman (Billy Graham) and Eddie Gossett (Eddie Graham). He was 30 years old now and back in New York. We all know Scicluna and DeNucci but Calhoun is an amazing story. The story goes back in 1955, legendary wrestler and promoter Orville Brown saw William Calhoun legitimately picking up cows and carrying them across the field. Orville instantly thought Calhoun would be a big attraction. Brown was right as Haystacks playing a big country hick drew a ton of money across the country. Calhoun's team got the win.

Winners: Calhoun and DeNucci

Match 3

Bobo Brazil vs Abdullah The Butcher

This would have been a main event in Detroit at the time but its a treat indeed. Abdullah's story is legendary and a brief synopsis would never do it justice. Lawrence Shreve was born in Windsor, Ontario the son of a black woman and a Blackfoot native man. He was brought into the business at 17 years old by Montreal promoter Jack Britton and he was originally called Pussycat Pickens. It wasn't until Lawrence himself came up with the character of an Arabian sadist that Abdullah The Butcher was born. His first victim was Jack's son Gino Brito who'd later be known as Louis Cerdan. Because he was such a beast in the ring, he drew a lot of money as an atrraction, hired gun, etc over the years. He was 30 years old and hitting his prime in 1971. Brazil got the victory here.

Winner: Brazil

Match 4

Tony Parisi vs Waldo Von Erich

This is an interesting contest for sure. Anthony Pugliese started wrestling in Detroit at the age of 20 but made his name working with Gino Brito aka Louis Cerdan. In 1966 he came to the WWWF as the kayfabe cousin of Bruno Sammartino and was a fan favorite in New York ever since. Waldo we all know and he got the victory here

Winner: Von Erich

Match 5

"Classy" Freddie Blassie vs Pedro Morales for the vacant WWWF United States Championship

Long story short, Bobo Brazil was the US Champion up until December 1970 when he suffered an injury and had to vacate the title.....which begs the question why he was working against Abdullah earlier. Anyway a tournament was held to crown a new champ and the finals pit Blassie against Pedro. Blassie is one of the greatest heels the wrestling business has ever seen. He started wrestling as a teenager in the late 30's before spending 3 1/2 years in the Navy during World War 2. When Gorgeous George became one of the first wrestling "characters", Blassie took it upon himself to come up with his own. Essentially the great grandfather of ECW, Blassie was a vicious heel that would consistently cause riots, get stabbed, shot at, threatened....and he loved every minute of it. He'd call fans anything he could think of to draw reactions, even going so far to say "To hell with you white trash, I want to to say hi to all my negro friends" in the pre-civil rights deep south. Blassie claims he found bullet holes in his car later that night after pulling over to take a leak. Pedro started wrestling when he was just 17 in New York after immigrating from Puerto Rico when he was in his early teens. He actually was apart of the initial World Wide Wrestling Federation roster when Vince McMahon Sr broke off from the NWA to form his own promotion. He was 21 years old in 1963 and worked with a lot of the talent that was there at the time including Captain Lou Albano. He started to hit his stride in the WWA in the late 60's He came back to the WWWF in 1970 as a tag team partner for Gorilla Monsoon and proved to be popular in New York.  Pedro would win this match and the title.

Winner: Pedro Morales (New US Champion)

Pretty amazing show on paper, too bad it was lost to time. We got a new US Champion in Morales and a rare appearance by Abdullah The Butcher. Still, all eyes were on Bruno Sammartino vs Ivan Koloff coming up at Madison Square Garden 12 days from here. Ivan couldn't possibly dethrone the nearly 8 year run of Bruno could he??? As for now, Pedro is now the number 2 babyface behind Bruno.

WWWF at Uline Arena (1/8/70)

Uline Arena

Washington, DC

January 8, 1970

Yes, I know I said we'd be in Salisbury, Maryland on the seventh but the show got postponed due to bad weather. Instead, the day after the crew traveled to Washington, DC for the big show. Have to remember, up until the mid 70's, Washington DC was just as important as Madison Square Garden. WWWF Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino defends against the upstart Hungarian Willie Farkas. Victor Rivera teams with Gorilla Monsoon against the dastardly duo of Waldo Von Erich and Killer Kowalski. Johnny Rodz takes on Pete Sanchez and Boris Yeltsin might make an appearance. Let's get to the action.

Match 1

"Golden Boy" Arnold Skaaland vs "Krippler" Karl Kovacs

Back in the late 60's and early 70's, heels would face and most likely defeat Arnold Skaaland before getting their title shot against Bruno. During the Pedro Morales reign, it was usually Gorilla Monsoon in the role. Well on this night, Kovacs defeated Skaaland to become number 1 contender.

Winner: Kovacs

Match 2

Pete Sanchez vs "Unpredictable" Johnny Rodz in a 2 out of 3 falls match

For those that don't know, Johnny Rodriguez became Johnny Rodz in 1964 at the age of 23 and became a mainstay in New York starting in 1965. If Sky Low Low is on the Mt Rushmore of midget legends, Johnny Rodz is up there for jobbers. However, Rodz won the match 2 falls to zip.

Winner: Rodz

Match 3

Eric The Red vs Mario Milano in a 2 out of 3 falls match

Another two out of 3 falls match featuring Milano against the evil Eric. Milano won it 2 falls to nada.

Winner: Milano

Match 4

Willie Farkas vs Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

The mad hungarian takes on Bruno for the crown here in the main event in the nation's capital. Farkas fought hard but Bruno wins it with the backbreaker.

Winner: Bruno by submission (still WWWF Heavyweight Champion)

Match 5

Gene Dubois vs Professor Toru Tanaka

The evil Japanese heel (who's actually Chinese) takes on Gene Dubois in this one. This time he did NOT trip and fall, beating Dubois to win the match.

Winner: Tanaka

Match 6

Killer Kowalski and Waldo Von Erich vs Victor Rivera and Gorilla Monsoon

To end the show we have the evil heels take on the fan favorite Monsoon and one half of the tag champs, Rivera. It was mayhem with chairs and chainsaws with the ref throwing the match out with the arena being torn apart. That's one way to end the show.

Winners: No one (Draw)

Just as with every show that's been lost to time, this would have been interesting to see live. Bruno vs pre-Wolfman Farkas and a younger, more mobile Monsoon against an equally younger Kowalski would have been interesting. Karl Kovacs was definitely going to be facing Bruno at one point or another after taking out Skaaland. Just a question of when they're gonna clash. Tomorrow the crew travels to North Attleboro, Massachusetts for another show at the Witschi's Sports Arena. I'll see you there.

WWWF at Lewiston Armory (1/6/70)

Lewiston Armory

Lewiston, Maine

January 6, 1970

Three days after the showdown in Hubbard, the WWF travels all the way to Lewiston, Maine for a five match card. The champ Bruno Sammartino is NOT appearing and neither is Tony Marino. Who's here? We got Killer Kowalski, Gene Dubois, Pete Sanchez and more! Sounds meh but let's see.

Match 1

Pete Sanchez vs Eric The Red

Its the dastardly Eric The Red and he takes on latin sensation Pete Sanchez in the first bout. This one went the 20 minute distance.

Time of match: 20:00

Winner: No one (Draw)

Match 2

Willie Farkas vs Karl Kovacs

Who the hell are these two? Willie Farkas is actually The Wolfman before he became The Wolfman. Farkas moved from Hungary to Ontario before being trained in Calgary. Kovacs was actually Stanley Kowalski, one half of Murder Incorporated in the AWA. Since the internet and cable TV didn't exist in 1970, he took the name "Krippler" Karl Kovacs in New York and nobody knew it was Kowalski. Kovacs got the duke here.

Time of match: 8:10

Winner: Kovacs by pinfall

Match 3

Waldo Von Erich and "Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff vs Gorilla Monsoon and Gene Dubois in a 2 out of 3 falls match

Now these four we know. Koloff was born Oreal Perras in Montreal before being raised on a dairy farm in Ontario. He made his debut as the evil Irishman Red McNulty in 1965 and also as Jim Parris but hit his stride in 1967 when he became the Soviet Union supporting Ukranian Ivan Koloff. Bret Hart once wrote in his book he met Ivan many years later and said "Hey you're Jim Parris" and Ivan had to tell him to keep it down so no one heard him. Ivan came to New York in 1969 managed by Captain Lou Albano and instantly became a top contender to Bruno Sammartino. Waldo was born Walter Sieber in Toronto and actually went to the same gym as Geeto Mongol, Mikel Scicluna and Dave McKigney as a teenager. When he started wrestling in 1950 for Stampede, he became Waldo Von Sieber an Evil german nazi. When he met Fritz Von Erich in the late 50's, who himself had renamed himself from Jack Adkisson, Waldo changed his name to Waldo Von Erich and formed a team with Fritz who terrorized the territories. He was 36 years old by this time and could still draw heat even though Fritz went on to fame in his native Texas. Von Erich pinned Dubois to win the first fall and both teams were disqualified in the second fall to give the victory to Koloff & Von Erich.

Winners: Koloff and Von Erich

Match 4

Professor Toru Tanaka vs Mario Milano

Who's Milano? Born Mario Bulfone, he immigrated as a youth from Italy to Venezuela and started wrestling at 18 as Black Diablo. Then he started working under his real name until he came to Tennessee in 1962, being renamed Mario Milano. He did have success in Memphis, becoming tag team champs with "Fabulous" Jackie Fargo. He made a better name for himself in Australia but came to New York in 1970. Apparently Milano won when Tanaka tripped and fell out of the ring, getting counted out.

Winner: Milano by count-out

Match 5

Killer Kowalski vs Victor Rivera

One half of the tag champs takes on the devious Killer Kowalski in the final match. Both of them fought to a mayhem filled double count-out. Interesting way to end a show but that's the way it goes sometimes.

Winner: No one (draw)

Kind of a nothing show with no Bruno and only half of the tag team champions. Still, they were establishing Mario Milano, Victor Rivera and Gorilla Monsoon as babyfaces and mission accomplished. Bruno would be facing Kovacs, Waldo or one of the other evil heels coming up in Madison Square Garden soon. The next show would be tomorrow night in Salisbury, Maryland at the Civic Center. I'll see you there.