WWWF Championship Wrestling (5/7/77)

WWWF Championship Wrestling
May 7, 1977
Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia Arena

Commentator: Vince McMahon Jr

The show opens with Vince Jr in the canary yellow suit running down the card. We also get an announcement from Vince that we have a new WWWF Champion as "Superstar" Billy Graham had beaten Bruno Sammartino the previous Saturday night in Baltimore. We go to Vince narrating highlights of Graham vs Bruno in Baltimore....just not the finish. We go to Gary Michael Capetta in the ring for the introductions. This hour of wrestling is sanctioned by the state athletic commission, the timekeeper is JP Venom (at least it sounds like that's his name), the referees are Dick Woehrle, Dusty Feldbaumer and John Stanley and his name is Gary Michael Capetta. Wow, no shout out to the doctor at ringside or Phil Zacko? Joe McHugh would NEVER!

Match 1

Bob Backlund vs Jan Nelson

Oh look its Bob Backlund! For you youngsters, Bob was the 190 pound Division 2 NCAA wrestling champion for North Dakota State in 1971 and finished 5th as a senior in the heavyweight division in 1972. Legendary Minnesota trainer Eddie Sharkey (the guy who trained The Road Warriors, Barry Darsow, Rick Rude, The Berzerker, Tom Zenk and Nikita Koloff) trained Backlund for the professional ranks and he started making his rounds in the territories from 73-76, especially the AWA in Minnesota, For those that don't know the story, "Mean" Gene Okerlund claims that when Backlund arrived in New York in 1976, Gagne jokingly said "Try and make HIM a star." to Vince Sr. Vince took it as a challenge and basically decided to make Backlund the successor to "Superstar" Billy Graham come hell or high water. Backlund had beaten Tor Kamata in a Texas Death Match the week before (referenced by Kamata here) so now he gets....Jan Nelson. Nelson also was an AWA trainee as he came out of Verne Gagne's camp in 1976. Tragically the story goes he OD'd and died during a Grateful Dead concert in 1978. Backlund takes Nelson down before countering out of a tie up. Backlund hip rolls Nelson as Vince says he's playing around with him. Backlund gets in a hammerlock before they reverse each other. Nelson looks in a full nelson (no pun intended) but Backlund reverses it into a full nelson of his own. Nelson reverses it and Backlund sticks his foot out and somehow tosses Nelson over his shoulders down. That's one way to counter a full nelson! Backlund and Nelson wins a test of strength then arm drags Nelson down. Nelson backs Bob into the corner and Bob backs him off by cocking a fist. Backlund reverses a headlock into a hammerlock as Vince continue to sing his praises. Nelson tries to kick Backlund who grabs the leg and takes him down before applying a wristlock. Nelson elbows Backlund in the ribs and goes to down with smashes before backdropping Backlund. He covers for 1...and Bob powers out of it. Backlund hits a backdrop of his own followed by a double underhook suplex. Backlund hits the atomic drop and covers for 1...2.....3 that's it. Backlund celebrates like he just won a title as Capetta announces the victory before Vince goes to the highlights. If you're not a fan of technical wrestling, this would bore you. If you can appreciate storytelling, you can see why Bob was a favorite for Vince Sr.

Time of match: 5:32

Winner: Bob Backlund by pinfall

We go straight to the next match after the commercial break

Match 2

Johnny Rivera vs Professor Toru Tanaka (with "Classy" Freddie Blassie)

Good to see Tanaka again and this time he's got Blassie with him. In real life, Blassie loved Tanaka and claimed he was the more professional of the duo of Tanaka and Mr. Fuji. By now Tanaka was 47 years old and on the downside of his career (but he had plenty of movies to be in) but the fans still throw stuff at him on the way to the ring. Tanaka throws the ceremonial salt in the corners and ties up with Rivera. Tanaka chops away at Rivera and rakes him across the top rope. Tanaka gets in a front headlock as Blassie goes over to yell at McMahon. He calls Tanaka the greatest Japanese wrestler of all time and they're going to the top. Rivera rallies with right hands but a chop by Tanaka stops him. Tanaka gets in a nerve hold and twists the neck much to Blassie's delight. Tanaka rams Rivera into the buckle as McMahon says Tanaka hasn't been around in a while. Rivera rallies with right hands and rams his head in the buckle. Tanaka cuts him off with a chop to the throat but Rivera continues to rally with forearms. Rivera shoulderblocks Tanaka but it barely fazes him but a second attempt eats a karate kick. Tanaka applies a cobra clutch before throwing Rivera to the mat. He covers for 1...2...3 and that's it, Tanaka wins. Later on that would be a submission hold but Tanaka settled for a pinfall. Blassie distracts the ref as Tanaka kicks at Rivera for some more heat. They were building Tanaka as a solo here, maybe he would be fed to Backlund this time. Either way he disposes of Rivera.

Time of match: 5:27

Winner: Tanaka by pinfall

We go straight from commercial to our next match.

Match 3

Billy White Wolf vs Moose Monroe

You're not gonna believe this, the "Native American" White Wolf is none other than the Iraqi born Adnan Al-Kassie. Yes GENERAL ADNAN. 13 years before he was Sgt Slaughter's manager, he was Billy White Wolf. His opponent Moose Monroe was your standard brawling, tough looking fella. Billy was one half of the tag champs at the time with Chief Jay Strongbow.....another fake native American. They stall to start with Monroe yelling at the crowd for some heat before Monroe goes to work with forearms to the back. Monroe rams Billy's head into two different buckles before continuing to pound away with forearms and kicks. Monroe rams him into a third buckle which fires up Billy. Monroe begs off and take a breather but Billy fires away with forearms and chops to the chest. White Wolf picks up the legs and jumps between them to deliver an Aftershock to Monroe. Wolf splashes Monroe and covers for 1...2....3 that's it. Pretty pathetic to lose to that kind of combo after taking no damage the entire match, but that's jobber matches for you. Capetta shakes referee Dick Woehrle's hand after the bell for no reason but that's okay.

Time of match: 2:45

Winner: White Wolf by pinfall

We come back from commercial straight to the next match

Match 4

Don Serrano vs George "The Animal" Steele (with Captain Lou Albano)

Half man, half animal....even as a heel The Animal was always very entertaining. Here he gets to feast on another Puerto Rican jobber (is Vince Sr ever going to get over the Pedro Morales riots?) and he bumrushes him in the corner to start without taking his signature black & red shirt off. Steele bites the poor guy and lands a forearm before throwing his shirt off. Steele attacks the left arm with a ringer and some kicks before being taken down. Steele continues to work over the left arm by standing on it with one foot and stomping with the other. Captain Lou nods in approval and applies the hammerlock. Serrano gives up and that's it, Steele wins easily. Steele starts playing dumb and bites into the turnbuckle. Vince Jr says he has a "fetish" for the buckles as Steele bails to scare some fans outside. Vince goes to the replay before going to commercial. Steele had turned 40 years old the previous month but he was still an attraction for sure.

Time of match: 2:08

Winner: George Steele by submission

We go from commercial straight to the next match.

Match 5

Mike Madera vs WWWF Heavyweight Champion "Superstar" Billy Graham (with The Grand Wizard)

Graham is making his TV debut as the new champion against yet another Puerto Rican jobber. Graham poses for the crowd with the belt and gets a huge pop from the crowd. Graham poses some more as Capetta says this is a NON-TITLE match. Grand Wizard shows the belt to the crowd and they cheer. If you think Vince Jr is behind the times these days, the fans were cheering FOR Graham and Vince Sr refused to turn him face. Legend has it that Vince didn't think fans would get behind him as a face because of his build. Hulk Hogan seven years later proved otherwise. Wizard slathers oil all over the Superstar which no doubt will make Madera happy to have to roll around with Graham in it. Wizard leaves and the bell finally rings with Graham towering over his opponent. He delivers forearms to the chest then stomps away on the guy. Graham rams Madera's head in the buckle and stomps away some more. Graham scoop slams Mike and stomps away at him. Graham heaves Madera over the top rope to the floor as the crowd cheers. Madera crawls back in only to get thrown over the top rope on the otherside. Madera gets snapped back inside and Graham totally botches a German suplex. Graham rolls over and covers Madera for 1....2...3 that's it. Graham wins it and poses for the crowd some more.

Time of match: 2:17

Winner: Billy Graham by pinfall

We go to commercial then straight to the main event

Match 6

Tony Garea and Larry Zbyszko vs Baron Von Raschke and Stan "The Man" Stasiak

No managers for the heels so this is going to be straight up as Larry starts with Stasiak. Stan gets in an arm lock and uses his taped right hand to punch him when he's not looking. Larry reverses it and Stan tags in Baron. Rascke backs Larry into the rope and hammers away with forearms. Baron works on the pectoral muscle before locking in an armbar. Vince Jr says his signature brainclaw has helped him and Stan have been undefeated as a team since forming. Baron and Stasiak make frequent tags to keep Larry in their corner but Larry finally backdrops Raschke. Zbyszko arm drags Raschke and makes the hot tag to Garea.  Garea pummels Raschke in the corner and backdrops him. Tony scoop slams Baron and covers for a 1 count. Garea puts his head down and eats a boot to the head. Stasiak tags in and goes for the heart punch early, but Garea blocks it with a punch to the gut. Stan recovers and rams Tony's head into the buckle. Stan clubs away and goes for another heart punch but instead punches the buckle. Stan sells it like he broke his hand and tags in Baron. Raschke hip tosses Garea but misses an elbow drop. Stan tags in but Larry gets the hot tag to clean house. Stan does the Andre spot on the top rope and Baron gets caught as well. Tony and Larry pummel the tied up heels much to the crowd's delight before Raschke is freed. Garea and Zbyszko send Baron crashing into Stan before Stasiak is free. Stasiak turns it around with right hands to the head of Zbyszko. He covers for 1....2...nope, Garea breaks it up. Stan heaves Zbyszko threw the ropes to the outside but Tony helps him back in. Rachke then takes control of Larry with punches and kicks before tagging in Stasiak. They both kick him in the chest and Stan misses the heart punch again, this time punching the mat. Stasiak continues to manhandle Larry around the ring but Larry finally comes back with roundhouse rights. Raschke tags in but Garea gets in as the bell rings. Gotta love old era curfews, folks. The crowd doesn't explode out of their seats and sprint to the exit like MSG but the match is over with the faces beating up the heels. Garea and Zbyszko clean house as Gary Capetta announces the match is a draw. Garea raises Zbyszko's hand as the crowd cheers before we go to the replay of the chaos at the end. Would have been nice if they could have been given more time since the story being told was the faces trying their best to avoid the heart punch. Oh well.

Time of match: 8:33

Winners: No one (Curfew draw)

As the credits roll Vince quickly advertises next weeks card. Kitty Adams takes on Sheila Sheppard in a women's match, SD Jones takes on Ken Patera and more highlights of Graham vs Bruno from Baltimore. Normally this one would be a standard show but Graham having just won the title and becoming just the sixth man (7th champion) to hold the championship since 1963 was big news. Compare that to the title changing hands 9 times from 2020 to 2022 until Roman Reigns unified it. Fans were wondering who the new champion was going to be since traditionally heels were just transition champions but boy were they in for a surprise. Sadly Vince Sr already had his new champion in mind and when he'd be crowned but it wouldn't be for another year. There was no secondary title just yet so for the next two years it was just whoever Graham was facing and whatever tag teams Vince brought into the territory. Buckle up everyone for a lot of tire spinning. Then again, that's not fair to judge 1977 WWWF by today's standards where every match is supposed to be important or at least lead to something. Back then with guys coming and going it was a rarity for a non-title match to have importance. Bruno vs Zbyszko being a huge exception. Anyway it was May of 1977 and Graham is the new champ.

WWWF Championship Wrestling (4/23/77)

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

Commentator: Vince McMahon Jr

Ring Announcer: Howard Finkel

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


Match 1

Sylvano Sousa vs "High Chief" Peter Maivia

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


Time of match: 5:16

Winner: Peter Maivia by submission



Match 2

Tor Kamata and Johnny Rodz vs Tony Garea and Larry Zbyszko

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

Time of match: 8:07

Winners: Garea and Zybysko by pinfall


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



Match 3

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

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

Time of match: 3:02

Winners: Hillbilly Pete and Haiti Kid by pinfall


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



Match 4

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

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

Time of match: 4:19

Winner: Ken Patera by submission



Match 5:

JoJo Andrews vs Ivan Putski

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

Time of match: 4:43

Winner: Putski by pinfall


Match 6

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

Guest commentator: Gorilla Monsoon

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

Time of match: 8:24

Winners: Stasiak and Von Raschke


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

WWWF at The Boston Garden (4/10/76) Incomplete

Boston Garden

Boston, MA

April 10, 1976

We're back once again with an incomplete writeup as footage for only one match exists from the WWWF house show at the Boston Garden on April 10, 1976. The night after the Boston Bruins blanked the Los Angeles Kings in Game 1 of the NHL playoffs but tonight its time for wrestling. This was a pretty stacked card considering this was the exact same day the WWWF ran the Baltimore Civic Center with a completely different crew. The only match filmed was the main event, a Russian Chain match featuring former WWWF Champion Ivan Koloff taking on Bruno Sammartino for the strap. Koloff beat Bruno in 1971 so he's gunning for him again.

Match 1

Jose Gonzalez vs Baron Mikel Scicluna

Back in 1976, Jose was usually one half of The Invaders tag team only this time he's going solo under his real name against the Baron. This match ended up being a draw.

Winner: No one (Draw)

Match 2

Pat McGuinness vs Man Mountain Mike

McGuinness was a territory villain, usually working Memphis and Florida. Mike was 6'4 and legitimately almost 600 pounds just like his partner/rival Haystacks Calhoun. Mike was born Gary Fletcher and he played 2 years of college baseball before The Great Bolo found him at a buffet (no lie) and trained him to be a wrestler. Unfortunately Mike will always be known as the opponent for "Iron" Mike Dibiase when Dibiase died in the ring of a heart attack. If Haystacks was the big friendly hillbilly, Mike was the big rough heel. Apparently Pat was a sub for Gene Dundee and Mike got the win.

Winner: Man Mountain Mike

Match 3

Louis Cerdan vs "Unpredictable" Johnny Rodz

One half of the tag champs in Cerdan takes on Rodz in this one. His partner will be facing "Superstar" Billy Graham later. Not surprisingly, Cerdan got the victory.

Winner: Louis Cerdan

Match 4

Pete Sanchez vs Kevin Sullivan

Sullivan and Sanchez were going on tour in a rare face vs face showdown and apparently they brought it to Boston on this night. There was no way Sullivan was losing in his hometown and he didn't.

Winner: Kevin Sullivan

Match 5

Pat Barrett vs Rocky Tomayo

Barrett was still hanging around after dropping the tag belts with Dominic DeNucci back in August. Now he's got Rocky Tomayo one on one in the Boston Garden. Boston sure loves their Irishmen and the fans were definitely happy when Pat got the duke.

Winner: Pat Barrett

Match 6

Tony Parisi vs "Superstar" Billy Graham

The other half of the tag champs, Parisi, takes on the Superstar. Unfortunately for Parisi, he gets beat by Graham.

Winner: "Superstar" Billy Graham

Match 7

Ivan Koloff (with Captain Lou Albano) vs Bruno Sammartino (with Arnold Skaaland) in a Russian Chain match for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

Finally we're at out main event which is the only match with footage existing. As I mentioned earlier, Koloff dethroned Bruno back in 1971 and the premise is he's gonna do it again. We got the Russian Chain gimmick because Bruno is going to have to overcome Koloff at his own game if he wants to keep the title. Albano attacks Bruno before the bell and Bruno kicks him down before scoop slamming him. Albano flees to the outside and Koloff does nothing about it. The chain is attached to both men and Koloff bashes him in the head with the chain instantly. They engage in a tug of war and Bruno gets the upperhand, bashing Koloff with it and choking him.  Bruno uses the chain to whip Koloff to the corner and wraps it around Ivan's neck. John Stanley can't DQ Bruno because there aren't any. Bruno kicks and punches Koloff before using the chain to whip him into the corner. Bruno again chokes Ivan with the chain but Ivan gets a thumb to the eye. Now its Ivan's turn to choke with the chain in the corner. Koloff hits him with the chain then whips Bruno in the corner. Bruno reverses a whip and sends Ivan into the corner before kicking at him. Bruno sends Koloff into the corner, wraps his fist with the chain and starts beating Koloff down, busting him open. Bruno continues the onslaught in the corner and caters to the crowd. Koloff staggers to his feet and Bruno continues to punch away with the chain around his fist. Koloff finds a way to drop Bruno with the chain and choke him with it. The action spills outside where Bruno sends Koloff into the guardrail. They smash each other with wooden chairs but Koloff puts the boots to Bruno as first man in the ring. Koloff chokes Bruno with the chain but Bruno punches and kicks him. Bruno then wraps part of the chain around Koloff's neck in the corner and stretches it from the outside like a makeshift noose. Koloff gives it up and Bruno is your winner! Angelo Savoldi and Sylvano Sousa help Koloff to the back as Bruno stands tall in the ring. Chain matches have been done to death over the years but in 1976 Boston Garden it must have been a lot of fun.

Time of match: 7:10

Winner: Bruno Sammartino by submission (Still WWWF Champion)

Would have been nice to see the rest of the card but we should all be thankful the main event has been restored. Would have been great to see a young Sullivan in the Boston Garden or Man Mountain Mike back when attractions like him came around once a blue moon. Bruno and Koloff had their wars, no doubt about it and they all drew a bunch of money. There's always going to be footage unearthed of matches that aren't available today so its a good time when something like this is found.

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

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

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

Match 1

Sylvano Sousa vs "Superstar" Billy Graham

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

Time of match: 3:34

Winner: Superstar Billy Graham by submission

Moving right along to the match.

Match 2

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

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

Time of match: 6:32

Winner: No one (double DQ)

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

Match 3

Johnny Rivera vs Louis Cyr (with Freddie Blassie)

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

Time of match: 5:48

Winner: Louis Cyr by pinfall

Vince sends us directly to the next match.

Match 4

Pete McKay vs Ivan Koloff (with Captain Lou Albano)

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

Time of match: 5:12

Winner: Ivan Koloff by pinfall

We go right to the final match

Match 5

Pete Sanchez vs "Big Cat" Ernie Ladd

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

Time of match: 6:02

Winner: Ernie Ladd by count-out

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

WWWF All-Star Wrestling (1/10/76)

WWWF All Star Wrestling
January 10, 1976
Hamburg, PA
Hamburg Fieldhouse

Its 1976 and the world is hopping mad! This edition of WWWF All-Star Wrestling is hosted by Vince McMahon Jr and Antonino Rocca. Vince Jr says Bobo Brazil will be in action along with the tag champs Louis Cerdan and Tony Parisi. We also got Bugsy McGraw and Crusher Blackwell against Francisco Flores and a 26 year old Kevin Sullivan.....yes THAT Kevin Sullivan. Vince says they'll be right back before we get started with the first match. Joe McHugh says this hour of wrestling is promoted by Phil Zacko and sanctioned by the state athletic commission. The doctor at ringside is Dr. Fred Heinbach, the timekeeper at the bell is Mike Minton, the referees are "Wee" Willie Webber and Dick Woehrle and his name is JOEEEEEEE MCHUGH!

Match 1

Davey O'Hannon vs WWWF United States Heavyweight Champion Bobo Brazil

O'Hannon was a well respected wrestler in his day. He was a fan in the stands when Bruno Sammartino defeated Buddy Rogers to win the WWWF title and felt it was an honor to share the same ring with him in Davey's own capacity. The 41 year old Bobo Brazil needs no introduction for his contributions to wrestling. Davey is in the gold tights and the legit 6 foot 6 Bobo is in the purple trunks. They shake hands to start and Brazil and Davey clean break at the ropes. Davey backs Bobo in the corner and once again breaks clean. Brazil gets in an armbar before locking in a headlock. Vince Jr says Davey pulled the hair and Davey tries to forearm Brazil against the ropes...but Bobo no-sells it. Brazil stops another attempt by making a fist as Rocca puts over Brazil as a great wrestler. Bobo wins a test of strength and stomps on the hands of Davey. Bobo wins another test of strength and locks in another arm-bar. O'Hannon rakes the eyes and Bobo gets mad and punches him a bunch of times before throwing him across the ring. O'Hannon begs off but Bobo backs him into the corner before clubbing him with a forearm. Bobo rams his head into the buckle three times but Davey counters with right hands. Bobo counters with a headlocked punch and an elbow to the head. Bobo gets a front headlock in the corner but the ref makes him break. O'Hannon rallies with right hands and into a headlock but Brazil sends him off the ropes. Bobo back drops Davey who retreats to the apron where Bobo slingshots him back in. Davey begs off but then goes for the blatant choke. Bobo counters with the headbutt and another toss across the ring. Bobo hits the jumping headbutt and covers for 1..2....3 and its over. Standard 1970's match with ring psychology that would make zoomers fall down and cry, but back then it told a story. Davey couldn't hang with Bobo so he resorted to cheating tactics. After the match they shake hands again, isn't that nice?

Time of match: 7:40

Winner: Bobo Brazil by pinfall

Vince goes to commercial and we return to our next bout

Match 2

Pete McKay vs Louis Cyr (with Classie Freddie Blassie)

Who are these two? Pete was a standard jobber at the time while Cyr was supposed to be the Canadian version of Ken Patera. The name "Louis Cyr" comes from the turn of the century Canadian strongman Louis Cyr. Useless information I know. Blassie is wearing the purple suit and Cyr has a nanook of the north hat. McKay throws Cyr into the ropes but Cyr takes him over with a headlock. McKay gets in a sideheadlock but Cyr drops him with a knee to the ribs. A big right sends McKay down and Cyr drops him again and again. Rocca says Cyr has a "European style" as Blassie walks over and interrupts Antonino to say Cyr is the greatest ever. Blassie in his book said wrestling Rocca was a trip because the crowd would pop for everything he did. Cyr stomps on McKay's hands then punches him in the corner. Cyr heaves McKay across the ring and Rocca praises Cyr's ability. Cyr chokes McKay on the bottom rope then whips him into the other corner. McKay reverses a whip but runs into a big boot. Cyr suplexes McKay then hits a shoulderbreaker. Cyr covers for 1...2....3 and that's it. Impressive win by Cyr who attacks McKay after the bell for some more heat much to Blassie's delight. Standard jobber match that serves its purpose. Cyr is a mean looking fella, look out Bruno!

Time of match: 4:32

Winner: Louis Cyr by pinfall

Vince sends us to commercial and when he comes back he's got Ernie Ladd with him. Vince asks him how he's going to fare against two men in a handicap match. Ladd is mad that he wanted Ivan Putski and Bobo Brazil and he got two jobbers instead. The crowd boos so Ladd tells them to shut up. He says he can beat Bobo and Putski by himself and that's the match he wanted. Vince asks what happened and Ladd says the promoter saved Bobo from embarrassment. Ladd says Putski and Bobo aren't athletes like he is and he has no regard. Ladd puts over Superstar Billy Graham, Spiros Arion and Ivan Koloff as real athletes. Ladd says in the Superbowl, give him a front four of Graham, Koloff and himself and they'd win the Superbowl. Ladd challenges McMahon to do something about him shouting in his face. Hahaha wait 22 years there Ernie. Ernie heads to the ring for his match. 

Match 3

Sylvano Sousa and Tito Torres vs "Big Cat" Ernie Ladd

Ladd starts with Sousa and extends a hand. They shake hands and Ladd backs him into the ropes then locks in a bearhug before executing a hiplock takeover. Ladd works over Sousa in the corner when Torres interferes. Ladd stacks them up in the corner and picks them both up in a double bearhug. That's impressive. Ladd snapmares both of them before scoop slamming Torres. Ladd hits the big boot on Sousa before pressing Torres onto the top rope before clubbing away with forearms. Sousa then attacks from behind and clubs away. Sousa whips Ladd into the corner and Sousa presses the attack to get a pop from the crowd until Ladd drops him with a headbutt. Ladd uses his thumb to club Sousa before nailing Torres in the throat with it. Ladd tosses Torres to the outside and kicks away at Sousa. Ladd hits Sousa in the throat with the thumb and kicks away at him. Ernie gets in a blatant choke but Torres cuts him off. Ladd chops Torres then throws him out of the ring again. Another thumb to the throat of Sousa drops him and Ladd drops the big leg. Ernie puts his hands on Sousa's shoulders and the ref counts 1...2...3 even though Ladd was just setting up for a knee drop. Whoops! Ladd stomps Sousa for more heat as McHugh gets in to announce Ernie the winner. Ladd drew a ton of money as a heel and he'd be featured prominently in New York.

Time of match: 4:48

Winner: Ernie Ladd by pinfall

When we get back from commercial, we go right to the next match.

Match 4

Baron Mikel Scicluna and Vincente Pometti vs Louis Cerdan and Tony Parisi (WWWF Tag Team Champions)

What a treat. The champs had beaten The Blackjacks for the tag belts the year prior and now take on Scicluna and Pometti in a non-title match. Captain Lou Albano makes his way to ringside to shout at the champs. Both faces are in red trunks with Scicluna in the royal blue. Parisi starts with Scicluna and armdrags him twice. Cerdan tags in and locks in an armringer but Pometti kicks him off. Vince hypes up the main event after this match as Cerdan goes back to the arm-ringer. Vince asks Rocca about Bobo earlier and Rocca says he looks "veddy veddy good". Cerdan armdrags Scicluna a few more times before Parisi walks in to help Cerdan bring Mikel to the corner. Parisi tags in and picks up where Cerdan left off on the left arm. Parisi swings and misses and Scicluna scoop slams him. Mikel covers for 1..2...nope, Parisi throws him off. Cerdan tags in and Scicluna meets him with boots to the mid-section. Pometti tags in but Cerdan throws him into the corner where Parisi tags in. Parisi grabs Pometti by the beard and referee Willie Webber breaks the grip which causes Pometti some agony. Cerdan tags in and literally steps on Pometti before tagging Parisi back in. Vince asks Rocca to say something and Antonino puts over the frequent tags made by the champs. Cerdan sends Pometti into a Parisi forearm and they repeat the sequence with Cerdan. Parisi tags in and drops an elbow before making the cover. Scicluna stands there and the ref counts 1..2...3 and its over. Baron picks up Pometti and leaves as McHugh annnounces the champs as the winner. That was as boring as it gets apart from a few comedy spots with the referee but that was the standard back then. Jobber matches on TV and the big house shows at MSG, Boston Garden and the Philadelphia Spectrum.

Time of match: 6:03

Winners: Cerdan and Parisi by pinfall

Vince goes to commercial and we get back, the final match is up next

Match 5

Kevin Sullivan and Francisco Flores vs Bugsy McGraw and Jerry "Crusher" Blackwell (with The Grand Wizard and Classy Freddie Blassie)

Lot to unpack here. Sullivan was just 26 at the time while Bugsy was managed by Wizard with Blackwell the protégé of Blassie. Bugsy was one of the top heels in Florida while Blackwell would eventually be a star in the AWA. Sullivan needs no introduction as Flores was billed as the "Mexican Heavyweight Champion". Sullivan starts with Blackwell and its funny how they were both born in 1949 but Blackwell was 6 months older. Blackwell misses a big punch by "a country mile" as said by Vince but gets in a headlock. Sullivan charges twice but is shoulderblocked down twice. Sullivan does catch Blackwell with an armdrag and tags in Flores. Flores works over the left arm as McGraw can't reach him. Sullivan brings Blackwell over and makes the tag to work over the left arm. Blackwell again reaches for the tag and this time McGraw gets it. Its funny how McGraw is 6 foot 3 but towers over everyone because Sullivan and Blackwell were notoriously short. McGraw drops Sullivan twice with two shoulderblocks but a big chop by Kevin sends Bugsy flying. Blackwell tags in and drives Sullivan into the corner. Bugsy tags in and goes to work on Sullivan in the corner. McGraw whips Sullivan to the other side, puts the boots to him then does a snapmare. McGraw throws Sullivan through the ropes who drops McGraw with a shoulderblock but Sullivan's foot gets caught in the middle rope. The referee counts to 10 and apparently Sullivan was counted out. Kind of a BS ending but it kept the heels heat intact without squashing the faces.

Time of match: 5:38

Winners: Blackwell and McGraw by count-out.

We go to Vince at ringside who says next week it'll be McGraw against Ivan Putski. He asks Rocca who's gonna win and Rocca picks Putski to win. Vince says Blassie may interfere as we go to the credits. It would be unfair to judge the show by todays standards because NOBODY was working fast pace crash style in 1976 but for what it was, its still boring. Not every show was this lackluster as next week at least has a featured match. Still, with Vince Sr running the business it was still old school territory wrestling. Hopefully there will be a big event coming up soon.

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 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.