WWWF at Madison Square Garden (3/17/75) Incomplete

March 17, 1975

Madison Square Garden

New York City, NY

Commentator: Vince McMahon Jr

The beauty of the territory days is you have no earthly idea what you're going to get month to month at Madison Square Garden. This card on Peacock Plus advertised Chief Jay Strongbow against Paul "The Butcher" Vachon, Dean Ho and Tony Garea challenging WWWF Tag Team Champions The Valiant Brothers in 2 out of 3 falls, Victor Rivera taking on Killer Kowalski and the main event, "Golden Greek" Spiros Arion takes on Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship. There was a huge storyline with Arion going on where Arion turned on Chief Jay Strongbow in a match against the Valiants in late 1974 and when Bruno came in to ask what's his problem, Arion clocked Bruno too. Tonight Arion faces Bruno in a Texas Death Match for the strap. Unfortunately only five matches remain on this eight match card. Strongbow vs Vachon, Bruno vs Arion, Kowalski vs Rivera, Ho & Garea vs The Valiants and Ivan Putski vs The Wolfman. The tag match is not on Peacock but it is on YouTube.

Match 1

"Unpredictable" Johnny Rodz vs "Wild" Bill White

For those that don't know, Johnny Rodz was the original "jobber". He put over pretty much everyone for damn near 20 years and a lot of people respected him for being able to work with everyone. He paved the way for guys like Barry Horrowitz, George South and Duane Gill to make a living doing jobs. His opponent "Wild" Bill White was an amateur wrestling coach in Florida that caught the eye of Eddie Graham. He worked the territories from the 60's to the 80's. Apparently Johnny Rodz won this match, so much for him always losing.

Time of match: 11:31

Winner: Johnny Rodz

Match 2

Mike Paidousis vs Jack Evans

If you have no idea who Paidousis is, not even your parents would probably know either. "Iron" Mike began his career in 1950, TWENTY FIVE years before this match. He was 51 years old going into this match and most of his career has been lost to time, unfortunately. His biggest success was in the old Central States territory. As mentioned before, Evans was a veteran jobber for Vince Sr and was one of the masked "Mr. X" in the late 70's. According to the report, Paidousis won this match. Not bad for a 51 year old!

Time of match: 5:43

Winner: Mike Paidousis

Match 3

Manuel Soto and Pete Sanchez vs Hans Schroeder and Joe Nova

Talk about what could have been a fun tag match. The faces we already know while Schroeder was a Memphis mainstay who sometimes worked for Vince Sr as a German heel. He's best known for being the original Undertaker, a name he used in Memphis in 1989. Nova was a well traveled territory veteran working as Joe Nova or Butcher Branigan. Here he was Nova. Apparently Sanchez and Soto got the duke.

Time of match: 22:05

Winners: Sanchez and Soto

Match 4

Chief Jay Strongbow vs Paul "Butcher" Vachon

Our first match we can actually watch might be interesting. We all know Strongbow as the fake Native American but he's got the legendary Butcher Vachon as an opponent. The ref checks each guys and the bell rings. They criss cross and Jay fakes out Butcher. Jay stalks Butcher around the ring and makes fun of him. They stall for a bit before exchanging right hands following a tie-up. Butcher chops Strongbow in the chest but Jay serves it back to knock Vachon down. Strongbow unloads on Butcher in the corner but Butcher counters with a punch to the throat to knock Jay down. Vachon goes for the nervehold but Jay powers out and scoop slams him. Jay hits another scoop slam and Vachon bails to the outside to regroup. Back inside Vachon locks in a sideheadlock and turns it into a blatant choke. Vachon rams Jay in the buckle, bites then rakes his back. Strongbow then goes on the warpath as the crowd gets progressively louder with each kneelift. Jay charges Vachon in the corner but eats boot. Vachon sends him off the ropes and hits a big boot. He covers for 1...2...no, he pulls Jay up and says one more time. Uh oh! Sure enough, Butcher sends Jay off for another big boot but Jay counters with a Thez Press for 1,2,3 to end it with the fast count of the century. Rather than chase the ref for more heat, Butcher just leaves as Strongbow is declared the winner. Not much you can expect from these two. Clearly Strongbow's style bothered Butcher so Vachon had to resort to cheating tactics. Pulling up Jay was the mistake that cost him the match. Vince says our main event is next.

Time of match: 9:10

Winner: Strongbow by pinfall

Match 5

Spiros Arion (with Freddy Blassie) vs Bruno Sammartino (with Arnold Skaaland) in a Texas Death Match for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

Like I mentioned in the intro, Arion came to New York a huge fan favorite but made a shocking heel turn by attacking Strongbow and Bruno in a match against The Valiants. Now he's gunning for the strap and he's got a Texas Death Match! What's that you ask? Just a street fight, no rules just pinfall or submission. The announcer says "Texas style match" and calls everyone "great guys" during introductions. Bell rings and Arion does the slow head turn to revel in the boos from the crowd. The ref checks Arion first but when he checks Bruno, Arion jumps Sammartino! Arion kicks at the fallen Bruno who bails. Bruno gets back in the ring and unloads on Arion with punches, kicks and forearms. Bruno scoop slams Arion and covers for 1....2, nope. More forearms to the back of  Arion and football tackles in the corner stuns Spiros then he locks in a bearhug. A bellringer by Arion breaks the hold but Bruno goes back to knees to the head. Arion then gets his own kicks in before he whips Bruno into the corner. Arion punches the back of Bruno with Bruno falling into the ropes. More punches and kicks stun Bruno and he makes a cover...1....2..,no, Bruno kicks out. Bruno then gets in more punches and kicks to back Arion down. They slug it out in the center of the ring but a big right hand knocks Arion through the ropes to the outside. Bruno rams Arion's head into the apron and then to the buckle. Back inside Arion takes him down and kicks him directly in the balls. The crowd did NOT like that one as they boo loudly. Arion continues to kick away at Bruno then scoop slams him. Arion covers for 1...2..no. Arion goes for an atomic drop but Bruno counters with headlocked punches. Bruno attacks the back of Arion with forearms and and a big kick to send Arion through the ropes to the outside.  Some fan reaches over the guardrail and it looks like Arion got a piece of the fan with a right hand. Back inside Bruno uses a side headlock then punches away at Arion who drops to the ground. Bruno revs up the crowd then stomps on Arion. Spiros begs off but Bruno is having none of it, ramming his head into the canvas. Bruno goes for the rear-chinlock then stomps away at the back of Arion. Arion staggers to his feet and Bruno punches away at Arion and Spiros counters with a right hand of his own. A big right hand by Bruno drops Arion who bumps to the other side of the ring. Bruno stalks Arion but Spiros gets in a boot as Vince on commentary says Bruno took too long. Arion takes control with kicks and stomps. Arion sends Bruno off the ropes and punches him in the ribs. Bruno goes down and Arion kicks away at the fallen champion. Arion goes for another atomic drop but Bruno counters with a hiptoss and a bodyslam. Bruno covers for 1..2...nope. Bruno eats a knee to the ribs and Arion continues to stomp away. Arion sends Bruno off the ropes but Sammartino counters with a big kick. He scoop slams Arion and covers with Arion's foot on the rope. The ref doesn't notice it and counts 1...2....3 its over. The crowd cheers as Arion rightfully is pissed that he just got screwed. Even Vince on commentary says Arion got robbed as Spiros bitches to Bruno that his foot was on the rope. The announcer declares Bruno the winner as Vince goes to the replay where clearly Spiros' foot is on the rope. This meant another MSG match was in the works, most likely next month. As for this match, this was a brawl. Two guys beating the daylights out of each other, wrestling holds were mostly out the window. This is what the fans wanted in 1975 and the pops Bruno got for his comebacks were loud. As for now, Bruno is still the champ in a controversial decision.

Time of match: 14:51

Winner: Sammartino by pinfall (still WWWF Champion)

Match 6

Victor Rivera vs Killer Kowalski (with The Grand Wizard)

Talk about a treat. Latin sensation Rivera takes on 48 year old Walter "Killer" Kowalski in MSG. By now Kowalski was at the end of the line but could still sell a house with his presence. Kowalski towers over Rivera, the referee and Wizard as the bell rings with Wiz taking a hike. Kowalski ties up and....breaks clean? What are these shenanigans? Kowalski ties up, breaks clean....and slaps Rivera. Rivera unloads with roundhouse rights as Kowalski leans through the rope to stall. Kowalski gets a go-behind and starts kicking at the left leg. Kowalski applies his claw hold to the left leg and punches away at it. Vince says this is classic Kowalski to torture a body part. Kowalski misses an axehandle smash and Rivera lands an armdrag takeover. Kowalski powers out of it and goes back to work on the left leg. Rivera punches Kowalski but Killer goes back to the claw. Killer sells his arm hurt by Rivera's punch as he continues to claw away at the left leg of Rivera. Rivera punches again but Kowalski headlock punches him. Killer kicks away at Rivera and continues to punch away at the leg. Rivera gets back to his feet and takes him over with a wristlock. Rivera tosses him around the ring with control of the wrist and pounds away at the left shoulder. Rivera continues to punch as the crowd doesn't even pop, they're bored. Kowalski goes back to the claw on the leg and bites it but he misses another axehandle smash. Rivera grabs the ear of Kowalski to make him break the hold, hahahaha. Rivera drops Kowalski with a right hand but Kowalski lands a perfect single leg takedown to once again go back to the claw. Rivera grabs the ears and backs him into the corner where Kowalski rakes the eyes. They forearm each other down and Kowalski goes for the stomach claw. Rivera's shoulders are down and the ref counts 1..2...no. Rivera gets back to his knees but Kowalski kicks him then reapplies the claw to the stomach. Kowalski stomps the ribs then reapplies the stomach claw. Vince says the crowd is trying to encourage Rivera but they're silent. Rivera gets up and whips Killer into the buckle before dropkicking him into the buckle. Kowalski goes for another claw but Rivera is in the ropes to cause a break. Killer favors the left shoulder and kicks away at Rivera. Rivera continues to counter the claw hold with right hands and a big uppercut takes Kowalski nearly out of his boots. Kowalski tries to crawl away but Rivera throws him to the mat and applies a nerve hold in the ropes, utilizing the 5 count. Hey two can play that game! Rivera jumps on Killer's back and applies a sleeperhold. Kowalski gets him off in the corner but Rivera ties up Killer on the top rope Andre style. Rivera forearms Killer and hits a running tackle on him. He stands on the other rope to apply pressure but Killer breaks free. Kowalski makes a mad dash but Rivera drops him with a forearm. Rivera locks in a nervehold but Killer bites out of it. The ref warns him as Rivera swings wildly. Killer misses a right hand and gets mad, slugging it out with Rivera. Killer bites his nose again but Rivera returns the favor. Killer goes back to biting and the ref actually counts to five....that's it. Rivera bites Killer and he bails to the back. The announcer declares Rivera the winner by disqualification. To show how bad that match was, not even 1975 fans got into it. The reason why Killer vs Bruno worked in those days is Bruno would make the big comeback to blown the roof off whereas Rivera wasn't like that. Oh well, Rivera gets the duke

Time of match: 15:58

Winner: Victor Rivera by Disqualification

Match 7

"Polish Power" Ivan Putski vs The Wolfman.

After spending most of his career in the territories, Ivan Putski makes his Madison Square Garden debut according to Vince. Born Jozef Bednarski, he actually made his name in Dallas at the Sportatorium portraying a concentration camp survivor (he would have been 4 years old in 1945). He was basically the big dumb babyface brute that Jim Duggan and Rick Steiner would play in later years. Now he's in WWWF and he's loud, obnoxious and a hit with the fans. Putski grabs the mic away from the announcer while he's trying to make the introductions and screams "POLISH POWAAAA". Vince calls him a "one man gang", ha! Wolfman doesn't wait for the introductions, he just bum rushes Putski to cause the ring announcer to head for the hills. Putski counters with a right hand and the ref manages to get Wolfman in the corner long enough to finish checking them. The bell finally rings as Putski grabs him with a headlock and punches him before catering to the crowd. Putski levels Wolfman with legit elbows to the jaw coming off the ropes and Wolfie bails to regroup. Back inside Wolfman bites and claws at Putski before hitting forearms to the upper chest. Wolfman continues to pound away until Putski powers out of a nervehold attempt and headbutts him down. Putski then hits a right hand and another headbutt to drop Wolfman. Wolfman goes for the bearhug but Putski counters it with a forearm to the back. Wolfman then bites the back of Putski and he yells to the crowd that he bit him. Wolfman goes to do it again but Putski returns the favor to a small pop. The ref warns both guys as Wolfman goes back to the bearhug. Putski powers out of it with forearms to the back. Putski applies a front facelock and then hits the Polish Hammer to the back of Wolfman to break another bearhug. Wolfman rakes the eyes and bites the forehead of Putski before attacking in the corner. Finally Putski has enough and goes wild on Wolfman with 20 forearms on the poor guy. He sends him off the ropes and applies a big bearhug of his own. Wolfman gives it up and this one's over. Putski refuses to let go until the ref threatens to reverse the decision. He lets go and the ref raises his arm in victory. The microphone lowers but Putski grabs it. Wolfman kicks at him and Putski hammers him out of the ring. The announces Putski the winner as some fan hands Ivan a beer. Putski chugs it as the announcer and the ref raise his arm simultaneously. Long before the Austin beer celebrations, we had Ivan Putski haha. Typical 70's WWWF match with the babyface explosion at the end.

Time of match: 6:21

Winner: Putski by submission

Match 8

Dean Ho and Tony Garea vs The Valiant Brothers (Jimmy and Johnny) in a 2 out of 3 falls match for the WWWF Tag Team Championship

Ah the legendary Valiant brothers. For those that don't know, just like the Graham family, there were 3 kayfabe brothers in the Valiant family. Handsome Jimmy, Luscious Johnny and Gentleman Jerry. As mentioned before, Jimmy made his WWWF debut in 1971 while Luscious Johnny met Jimmy in Ontario working for Dave McKigney and later became his storyline brother in Dick The Bruiser's WWA in Indianapolis. On May 8, 1974 the Valiants defeated Dean Ho and Tony Garea to become WWWF Tag Team Champions. Because people moved from territory to territory in those days, tag team champions didn't last very long.....but the Valiants are still the champs almost a year later in March of 1975. Who are their opponents? Dean Higuchi was a Hawaiian bodybuilder in the late 50's and opened his own gym in 1958. Some pro wrestlers while they were working in Hawaii for Ed Francis would drop by to work out including Rene Goulet and Karl Gotch. Someone convinced Dean to turn pro himself and he did in 1962. He was given the name Dean Ho because Japanese heels were very common in those days but Dean was a babyface. Francis wanted him to sound Chinese instead of Japanese. Know who else was an American Hawaiian of Chinese descent? Professor Toru Tanaka. We all know who Garea is obviously. The purpose of this match was to settle the year long feud once and for all. Vince says the brothers are wasting time to start the match, haha. Jimmy grabs Dean to start the match and rams him into the buckle. To tell them apart, Jimmy has "sweet heart" on his tights and Johnny has "Super Hero" on his. They double team Dean in their corner but Garea comes in to no avail. Johnny and Jimmy make frequent tags to pound away on Dean. Dean fights out and makes a mad dash to his corner to tag Garea in. Garea beats the crap out of Jimmy and locks in an abdominal stretch but Johnny comes off the top to smash Garea down. Jimmy misses a big right hand and Garea locks in another abdominal stretch. Garea spots Johnny heading upstairs again and this time cuts him off by press slamming him. He covers Johnny despite him not being the legal man with Dean chasing away Jimmy for 1...2...3 and just like that, the first fall goes to the challengers. The announcer declare the challengers the winners of the first fall as Vince says one more to go.

Second fall starts with Johnny still selling getting thrown off the top. Garea starts with Jimmy and Jimmy gets the upperhand. Jommy headlock punches Garea and brings him into their corner where the heels double team. Garea makes a comeback and beats up both of them but a charge in the corner eats boot. Dean grabs Jimmy's hair but Jimmy gets a headlock on Garea. Johnny tags in and picks up where Jimmy left off. Johnny rams Garea into the knee of Jimmy and tags Handome back in. They go for a double clothesline but Garea ducks under and punches both men down. Dean Ho gets the hot tag and cleans out both Valiant brothers before beating the crap out of Jimmy. Johnny tags in and Dean chops him around. Garea tags in and whips Johnny off the ropes but Johnny hits a sunset flip for 1...2...3 and the Valiants even it at one fall apiece. Heels rarely used a sunset flip so that was definitely surprising. The announcer says the Valiants have taken the second fall.

Third and deciding fall begins with all four men in the ring. Garea and Johnny pound each other before Jimmy hits Johnny by accident. Garea locks in an armbar and pounds on it before Dean sneaks in and takes Tony's place without the ref noticing....serving payback to the Valiants. Garea and Dean continue to switch off with Johnny throwing a fit in his corner with Vince hamming it up on commentary. They continue to double team Jimmy using heel tactics and Jimmy almost makes the tag but Garea stops him much to the crowd's delight. Jimmy powers out of it and hiptosses Garea, making the tag to Johnny. Johnny runs into an armdrag by Garea before he tags out to Dean. Dean holds Jimmy and Garea clocks him, causing Jimmy to stagger. Dean holds him again but Tony nails Dean by accident....RUH ROH! 9 times out of 10 this means a heel turn and Garea gets in to check on him. Jimmy grabs Dean and throw him into their corner for a doubleteam. Dean rams both their heads together and locks in another armbar. Dean tags Garea back in....so much for the heel turn. Garea gains control with a wristlock on Jimmy and Tony tags in Dean. Johnny comes in and the faces get double armbars in before ramming the brothers together. Tony leaves and Dean is left with Johnny. They pound each other but Garea tags in. Johnny cuts him off and throws him into Jimmy who tags in. Garea catches Jimmy with a rolling prawn for 1...2...nope, Johnny kicks him off. Dean gets in and stands on Jimmy for good measure before he leaves. Garea sends Jimmy off but their heads collide to knock them both down. Valiant gets to his feet first only to flop down. Garea hits a sunset flip of his own for 1...2, nope, Johhy kicks him on again. Garea hits a crossbody for 1...2., Johnny again breaks it up. Johnny tags in and Garea hits a backslide for 1...2, no. Jimmy saves him this time. Garea makes the tag to Dean Ho but the bell rings.....whoops. The faces forgot about the time limit and this one's over.  The Valiants bail as the announcer declares the bout a draw at one fall apiece due to the curfew. How do ya like that? It wasn't the Valiants or a devious manager that prevented Dean and Tony from winning, it was New York City's curfew. Either way the Valiant's retain. Pretty entertaining match and they kept everyone strong by having it end in a draw. 

Time of match: 12:13

Winners: No one: Time Limit Draw (Valiants retain)

Standard 70's show all things considered and people at the time loved it. Bruno and Arion beat the crap out of each other in an all out brawl while the Strongbow/Kowalski/Wolfman matches were more the babyface overcoming the crazy heel. Its a shame the entire show isn't available because seeing the first three matches would have been interesting. As of now Bruno & The Valiants are still the champs. If you're judging this show by today's standards, you're gonna hate it. The Kowalski match dragged a bit but that was because of mismatched styles. Watch Bruno vs Kowalski, THAT was more like it. I had a good time watching, on to the next show.

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 (6/30/73)

June 30, 1973

Madison Square Garden

New York City, NY

Commentator: Vince McMahon Jr

We're in for a treat today. WWE Old School on Peacock somehow is putting out old Madison Square Garden shows and the MSG show from June 30, 1973 has been uncovered. Pedro Morales was WWWF world champion and he'd be defending against the dangerous half man, half animal George "The Animal" Steele. We also get a 2 out of 3 falls women's tag match with Jan Sheridan and Joyce Grable against Dotti Downs and Peggy Patterson. In a special treat, Gorilla Monsoon gets his hands on Captain Lou Albano. Now normally I would never do Peacock versions of anything because they're horrifically edited but in this case, there was no music or crowd noise to edit so its all good. The ring announcer welcomes us to "All-Star Heavyweight Rassling" and introduces our "judges" Nat Cooper, Dick Woehrle and Joe Ryder.....as in referees. The matches are sanctioned by the New York State Athletic Commission, the doctor at ringside is Dr. Edwin Campbell and his name is......well he never gives it.

Match 1

Lee Wong vs Blackjack Lanza

The ring announcer calls him Blackjack La-Lanza, where's Joe McHugh when we need him? Lanza needs no introduction as he was a big rough heel that was paired with Blackjack Mulligan to form the devastating tag team still talked about today. He had just spent the last six years in Dick The Bruiser's territory where he formed The Blackjacks with Mulligan managed by a 23 year old Bobby Heenan in 1967. Vince on commentary notices the size difference between Lanza with the other two men in the ring. Lanza backs Wong into the corner but Lanza breaks clean causing the crowd to scoff. Some fan shouts "Kill em Lee! Kill em!" Lanza breaks clean two more times then hip tosses Wong out of nowhere. Lanza locks in an armbar but lets it go cleanly. Vince says "we never expected this." Wong backs Lanza against the ropes and also breaks clean. Vince "Wonders never cease." Finally Lanza snaps and rakes the eyes before choking him against the ropes, using the 5 count to his advantage. Lanza rams Wong's head into the buckle then goes back to the blatant choke. Lanza rakes the face across the ropes then unloads with a big right hand. Some old lady throws her shoe at Lanza who picks it up without missing a beat and rakes the face with it. Wong rallies with a series a chops but Lanza rakes the eyes with his hands then his boot. Lanza headlock punches Wong in the throat and continues to choke before sending him into the buckle again. Lanza then grabs the microphone out of Vince's hands and chokes Wong with it, that's one way to shut Vince up. Wong gets thrown out of the ring but is snap mared in the ring the hard way. Lanza drops a knee, sends him off the ropes and applies his famous claw hold. Wong fades and the referee says that's it, Wong can't continue. Lanza refuses to let go for some more heat then let's go to do jumping jacks. He goes back to the claw for more heat then finally leaves. Definitely establishes Lanza as a mean ol bastard.

Time of match: 5:05

Winner: Blackjack Lanza by submission

Match 2

El Olympico vs Professor Toru Tanaka (with The Grand Wizard)

Its that damn Olympico again! His opponent Tanaka was 43 years old now but still drew heat in the Garden, especially with Wizard as the manager. Before the match starts, old Mrs. Krieger takes a swing at Tanaka and gives the kiss my ass sign before shaking hands with Olympico. It would never happen today but Mrs. Krieger was a fiesty elderly wrestling fan that would routinely hop the guardrails and terrorize the heels. Since she was in support of the babyfaces, she got away with it more often than not. I doubt if an old lady jumped the guard rail and started swinging at Pedro Morales she wouldn't last very long. The match starts with Tanaka refusing a handshake and pulls out the ceremonial salt. Mrs. Kreiger makes a mad dash around the ring to wipe all the salt thrown. Finally her husband grabs her and pulls her away as Tanaka ties up with Olympico. Both of them are pudgy guys in their 40's so I doubt this is going to go very long. Tanaka gets the upperhand with cheating tactics as Olympico gets in a side headlock. Tanaka complains that his non-existent hair was pulled. Olympico stops himself coming off the ropes because Tanaka was waiting with a big chop. Tanaka takes Olympico down and works the leg and gets a series of two counts. The ref catches Tanaka using the rope for leverage and makes him break the hold. Olympico locks in a full nelson but Tanaka breaks it and takes Olympico down. He gets in a chokehold and the ref makes him break it. Olympico takes Tanaka down and locks in a spinning toe hold. Tanaka breaks out of it and goes for a titty twister (seriously?) only Olympico stomps on the bare foot of Tanaka much to the crowd's delight. Tanaka wrenches the fingers of Olympico and Olympico counters by giving him a wet willie....yes I'm serious. Mrs. Krieger makes a very blatant racist gesture before Olympico hits a dropkick. Olympico goes for a second one but misses entirely. Tanaka begs off in the corner before locking in an arm bar. He shouts "Sit down you old bag" at Mrs. Krieger and the distraction allows Olympico to reverse the hold. Tanaka turns a bridge into a chokehold and attacks Olympico who had stepped through the ropes. The ref gets more involved to stop Tanaka and Tanaka says "Are you crazy?" Olympico fights back and lands a dropkick. He covers for 1....and that's it. Olympico nails another dropkick and covers for 1...2..nope. Olympico goes for a third dropkick but instead eats a judo chop to the throat. Tanaka covers for 1...2....3. that's it, Tanaka wins it. Vince says all it took was one devastating chop to win the match. Vince goes to the replay of Tanaka getting the chop in at the last second. That was a fun match all things considering.

Time of match: 9:34

Winner: Professor Toru Tanaka by pinfall

Match 3

Gorilla Monsoon vs Captain Lou Albano

If you don't know who either of these guys are, you're an idiot. Two absolute legends in the wrestling business. Monsoon had just turned 36 a few weeks earlier and he takes on the 39 year old Albano in a one off. Unlike Wizard and Fred Blassie, Albano would get back in the ring every now and then. Albano shouts at the crowd as Vince says this came about because Albano sneak attacked Monsoon with a chair. Monsoon gets a huge cheer from the crowd as he bum rushes Lou before the match even starts. The ref has to calm Monsoon down so the ring announcer can give the instructions. The bell rings and Albano immediately runs for cover. Monsoon catches him and forearms him in the corner. Albano goes for the eye gouges and uses a taped thumb to attack Monsoon. Monsoon pulls the ref out of the way and Albano continues to ram the thumb to the throat but Monsoon finally comes back with chops. The crowd goes nuts as Monsoon continues to chop and punch away at Albano and a big right hand sends Albano over the top to the floor. Albano runs away to take the count out and Monsoon is your winner. Short and sweet due to Gorilla's advancing age and Albano was never the best worker. Monsoon acts like Albano is coming back but the ref says its over. That's the kind of matches Albano would have, fans paid to see him get his. Vince goes to the highlights and showing Albano running away.

Time of match: 2:58

Winner: Gorilla Monsoon by count-out

Match 4

Victor Rivera vs Black Gordman

The battle of the latin stars as the Puerto Rican Victor Rivera takes on Black Gordman from Mexico City. Rivera was a predecessor to guys like Carlito in terms of being able to incorporate aerial tactics. Gordman was a big bad "rudo" in Mexico feuding with Mil Mascaras in 1969 and becoming a mainstay of the Los Angeles territory. Remember Mr. Perfect's manager "The Coach"? That was "Golden Greek" John Tolos who also feuded with Gordman. Vince shills bowling tournaments on HBO as Rivera jumps in the ring. Vince actually brings up their feud from WWA out in California so they took this across the coast. The bell rings and they circle to start with Gordman stalling to yell at the crowd. Rivera catches Gordman with a series of arm-drags but Gordman punches him. Rivera punches back and the fans explode when he does. Rivera whips Gordman in the corner who bumps around like a pinball machine. Gordman bails to the apron before getting back in. Gordman locks in a modified chinlock but Rivera counters with an overhead arm-bar. Gordman claims the hair's being pulled (which he lost against Mascaras years earlier) so the ref breaks it up. Gordman locks in a leg lock takedown but Rivera starts to power out of it. Rivera puts Gordman on his back but the ref doesn't count anything. Gordman and Rivera engage in a test of strength which Gordman wins, going into a standing surfboard. Rivera starts to reverse it but Gordman gets the knee in the back. Rivera starts to power out of it again but Gordman gets the knee in the back again. Rivera powers out of it for a third time and locks his own surfboard in as the crowd cheers. Rivera rams his head in the buckle but eats a thumb to the eye. Gordman then gets a facelock in before switching to a sleeperhold. Rivera starts to fade but the arm only drops twice. Rivera then squirms like he's got a spider in his tights but Gordman maintains control. Rivera rocks back and forth trying to break the hold but once again Victor starts to fade. Then he starts squirming and gets to his feet, breaking the hold to a massive pop. Rivera rallies with two dropkicks and two headscissors to stun Gordman who begs off in the corner. Gordman then gets a kick to the mid-section and goes back to the sleeper again. The crowd begins to go quiet but Rivers gets back to his feet, only to get shoulderblocked down. Rivera then hits a scoop slam but Gordman counters with one of his own. Gordman goes for another suplex but Rivera turns it into a small package for 1...2.....3 that's it. The crowd explodes as Rivera is your winner. A match like that would put a crowd to sleep 20 years later but that was pretty good for 1973 standards, telling a nice story.

Time of match: 11:44

Winner: Victor Rivera by pinfall

Match 5

Joyce Grable and Jan Sheridan vs Dotti Downs and Peggy Patterson in 2 out of 3 Falls

All four of them were trained by Fabulous Moolah and all four of them look almost alike. If you thought the Divas era was bad with blonde bombshells galore, go back 30 years and you get this match. Sheridan was 32 and actually was one of Moolah's top opponents. We all remember Grable from back in March, no sense repeating myself. Dotti Downs was a 36 year old veteran who has a big pompadour going on. Peggy Patterson was 21 at the time and would later appear in LPWA. This is going to be a LONG match because its 2 out of 3 falls and more than likely its going the full three. Patterson towers over everyone and the ref gives unusually long instructions before we get started. Patterson goes to town on Sheridan to start but Sheridan fights back with a forearm. Patterson works a top wristlock and takes Jan down with it by pulling the hair. They repeat the exact same spots like six times until Sheridan winds up for a big punch to back her off. Sheridan locks in a leg-lock but Patterson counters it with one of her own, pulling the tights for leverage. Sheridan counters with an STF, unheard of in 1973. Sherdian tags in Grable who goes for a leglock but Patterson grabs the hair. Sheridan gets in to help and Grable once again takes her down. Patterson pulls the hair, punches the stomach and chokes Grable. Patterson tags in Downs who gets in a front headlock. Because all four women look alike, Patterson and Downs pull a switch. The referee notices the switch so Patterson nonchalantly tags out to Dotti who continues to the front headlock. Grable backs her into the corner and hits a forearm but is unable to make a tag. Patterson chokes Grable in the corner and the ref is busy occupied with Sheridan. The ref finally pries Patterson off Grable and Downs unloads with punches and kicks. Grable gets the hot tag to Sheridan and Dotti begs off. Sheridan takes her down and then chokes her on the ropes, but Patterson kicks her off. Grable gets in to clock Downs and Sheridan winds up forearms, then delivers them Sheridan holds Dotti for Grable to punch her but turns around to put Downs in the way of a Patterson forearm. Downs recovers and goes back to the front headlock, tagging Patterson back in. Patterson does the same hair pull headlock she was doing earlier but Sheridan locks in an arm-ringer. Sheridan works over the left arm into a hammerlock. Patterson makes it to Dotti but Grable tags in as well. Downs begs off but catches Grable with a single-leg takedown. Both Patterson and Sheridan help each other get the advantage of the leadlock right out of a midget match. Downs makes it to the ropes and Grable kicks the leg. Once again they do the hair pull until Downs kick Grable in the ribs. Joyce counters with a dropkick and covers for 1...2.....3. 

Patterson was too late to stop the count and the faces take the first fall. The announcer gets in to announce the end of the first fall and Patterson complains. Patterson shouts at the ref, shouts at the crowd and the bell rings to start the second fall. The faces pull both heels in and slingshot them across both sides of the ring. Sheridan and Downs start the second fall with Sheridan getting an armringer in. Patterson takes Sheridan down by the hair and locks in an armringer. The camera zooms in right on Peggy's ass and Vince tries to talk about anything else. Finally Grable gets the tag and does the Moolah hair snapmares. Grable covers for 1...2....nope. Sheridan tags in and Patterson wants a handshake but Jan kicks her in the chest. A forearm to the back chases Patterson into the corner where Dotti tags in.  Dotti pulls Sheridan's hair and locks in another leglock. Grable gets in the ring, throws Dotti down and covers her.....what? The ref tells her to beat it since she never legally tagged in. Sheridan tags in Grable for real this time but she misses a drop kick. Downs dives on top and hooks the tights for 1...2...3 and we're even at one fall apiece, just as I thought.

Patterson gets in a cheapshot as the announcer gets in the ring and says the second fall goes to Downs and Peggy. The bell rings for the third and final fall with Sheridan and Patterson in there. Sherdian sells like her back is broken and the ref teases that he's going to stop the match. The heels doubleteam Sheridan in the corner but she punches Peggy down. Another Moolah hairsnap mare drops Patterson who bails to the apron. Jan brings her in the hard way and slingshots her across the ring before hitting another Moolah snapmare. Jan then gets on Peggy's shoulder and victory rolls her with Grable cutting Dotti off for 1...2...3 and that's it, the faces win the match. The crowd which had been silent for most of the match erupts in cheers, mostly because the match is over. Grable and Sheridan win it as Patterson and Downs shout at the fans as they leave. If you're not a fan of Moolah style wrestling this would be a tough 20 minutes to sit through. It wasn't a BAD match per se but its one of those matches that would have looked the exact same 12 years later with only 2 real women's trainers at the time. Still, the longest match on an MSG card was a women's tag match, that's good for something right?

Time of match: 20:47

Winners: Jan Sheridan and Joyce Grable 2 falls to 1

Match 6

George "The Animal" Steele vs Pedro Morales for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

Before the match starts George shouts at a guy in the crowd "Sit down you jerk, what the hell's wrong with you?" in perfect English. Wait, what? Well it turns out the original Animal character was as smart as anyone but just acted like an animal in the ring. It wasn't until the early 80's when promos became important that Steele had enough of Vince Jr one day. He cut an eloquent promo but Vince said he made too much sense. Steele then started spouting gibberish as a rib hoping Vince would say "alright knock it off" but instead Vince lit up and said "Yes! That's what I'm talking about."  We all know Morales already and tonight he defends the title against The Animal. The match starts and Pedro explodes with left hands and whips Steele into the corner who Flair flips out of the ring. The crowd roars as Steele regroups outside. Back inside Morales throws a left hand but Steele pulls out the "foreign object" and clobbers Morales with it. Morales staggers to his feet and Steele nails him with it again. George stands on top of Pedro and chokes him with his boot. Steele scoop slams Pedro and whacks Pedro with the object. The ref checks on Steele who goes to bite the buckle but Pedro rallies with left hands that has the crowd exploding and Steele on the run. Pedro stalks George around the ring and catches him with an armdrag. George tries to hide in the corner but Pedro clocks him with a forearm. Steele stands on the apron and stalls for some heat but back inside George lands a headlocked punch. Vince claims he had the object but it didn't look like it. George rams Pedro into the buckle and yells at the crowd. George rams him again only this time he rams him into the steel part behind it. Pedro then rams Steele into the ring post then sends him into the opposite post. Pedro rams him into the other post then unloads with left hands as the crowd roars. Steele is a bloody mess as Pedro continues to punch away at the cut and actually bites him much to the crowd's delight. Steele goes for the object but Pedro cuts him off with left hands. The ref checks George's head and calls for the bell. Apparently the ref thinks George can't continue and says its over. George gets up like nothing's wrong and attacks Pedro with the foreign object. Pedro them gets the object away and the crowd roars as Steele runs for the hills. The announcer says Morales is winner and still champion. Stoppages were common in those days and having Steele lose but not eat a pinfall was a way to protect him. Pedro holds up the Puerto Rican flag and a sign a fan handed him. Fans had jumped the guardrail and surrounded the ring to sing his praises.....and that's the kind of crap that lost him the title. What started happening when he became champion was the latino fans would hit the ring and cause a riot when Pedro would get color or get his brains beat in by the heel. As for now, the fans are happy and Pedro is still the champ. The thing about this match is it wasn't a technical match, it was a straight brawl. That's what the crowd wanted back then so by crackey enjoy the fight.

Time of match: 8:16

Winner: Morales by stoppage

Match 7

Mr. Fuji vs Chief Jay Strongbow

After dropping the belts to Tony Garea and Haystacks Calhoun the month before, Fuji faces Strongbow one on one. Jay was 45 years old in this match but was still over as a fan favorite in the Garden. The bell rings and Fuji throws the ceremonial salt but old Mrs. Krieger is back to wipe it away, only this time the crowd is tired of it. Strongbow and Fuji crisscross the ropes and Strongbow catches a chop. Fuji bails but Jay catches him with headscissors. Jay catches Fuji with a few armdrags but Fuji does the same "foreign object" trick George Steele did the previous match. Fuji drops Strongbow with chops to the throat and kicks away at him. Fuji goes upstairs but loses his balance, allowing Jay to come up and punch him off. Jay hits a scoop slam and a backdrop. Fuji goes for the foreign object but Jay steals it and rakes Fuji's eyes, causing him to throw flying chops at the referee, missing completely. Fuji bails but Strongbow jumps on the apron and stomps Fuji away. Fuji gets in and begs off as we go to the replay of Fuji flailing around. Back to live action Fuji locks in a double titty twister. Strongbow chops out of it, slides under Fuji but walks into a another double titty twister. This time Fuji takes him down with it and Fuji does the "3 arm drop" routine, chopping Fuji down with overhead chops. Fuji rakes the eyes and once again goes back to the double titty twister. Jay tries everything he can to get Fuji to let go but Fuji maintains the grip. Fuji takes Strongbow down and covers for 1...2...nope. Fuji rams Jay into the buckle then goes to down with chops, including a running one. Fuji covers for 1...2..nope, Strongbow got the foot on the rope. Fuji rams Jay into the buckle, whips him into the other corner, hits a shoulder block, whips him into the corner again and goes for a moonsault....blocked by Jay by throwing him down. Jay goes "on the warpath" which has him dancing around and hitting knee lifts. Jay runs off the rope and hits the big tomahawk chop to drop Fuji. Jay covers for 1...2....3 its over. That would have been boring by todays standards but the crowd came alive for the end. Basically back then the heels would control the match but the babyfaces would make the big comeback. Bruno, Pedro, Strongbow.....they all "Hulked Up" years before Hogan did it and it worked.

Time of match: 13:58

Winner: Jay Strongbow by pinfall

Match 8

Haystacks Calhoun vs Moondog Mayne

The final match of the night features the legitimate 600 pound Haystacks Calhoun. By this point he was almost to his 39th birthday and his mobility was decreasing. We all know Mayne and he shouts into the house mic for Calhoun to get out there. Finally Haystacks lumbers out. Mayne goes to attack him with a rope but Calhoun chases him with his lucky horseshoe. Mayne attacks him at the bell with forearms to drop the big guy down to a knee. Mayne chokes Calhoun in the corner with his boot. Mayne goes to the blatant choke but the ref refuses to disqualify him. Mayne continues to pound away in the corner then tells the ref to get lost. Mayne sends Haystacks off and goes for a backdrop......maybe he really is insane. Haystacks kicks Mayne and he sells like he got shot out of a cannon. Mayne begs off and Calhoun wallops him with a windup punch. Mayne does the Andre spot in the ropes and Calhoun beats on him before sending him off the ropes. Haystacks hits a backdrop and the Arkansas Teabag which is just putting Mayne's head between Calhoun's thighs and swishing it around. Calhoun punches then kicks Mayne in the gut to knock him down. Calhoun does the aftershock...but holds onto the ropes so its not a pinfall. Calhoun continues to sit on Mayne who rakes the eyes and does a headlocked punch to drop the big guy. Mayne goes upstairs but Calhoun slams him off the top rope. Calhoun backs him down but Mayne gets in an eye rake then continually bites the forehead of Calhoun. Mayne goes for a whip but Haystacks counters with a whip into the corner followed by an avalanche. Haystacks whips him into the other corner and avalanches him again. A whip by Haystacks ends with a shoulderblock to drop Mayne followed by the big splash. The cover gets 1...2....3 and that's it, Calhoun wins. The announcer declares Calhoun the winner as he waives to the crowd. We go to the replay of Calhoun squashing Mayne like a grape and that's the end of the show. Vince says the next big MSG show would be Monday night July 30th. Wish that was available too. 

Time of match: 6:03

Winner: Haystacks Calhoun by pinfall

Good show by 1973 standards if you can put aside recency bias. If you expect modern day moves and tactics you'll be disappointed but if you can appreciate it for what it was, you won't be too bored. The formula of the heel in control of the match only for the babyface to make the comeback was the theme at the time long before trading finishers and near-falls. It was standard for the time so just go with it. Pedro is still the champ so fans had to see the July 30th show to see what happens next. The ladies tag match was interesting and it was great to see Mayne who's career was cut too short.

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.