WWWF at Philadelphia Arena (1/31/71)

Philadelphia Arena

Philadelphia, PA

January 31, 1971

We're just eight days away from the showdown at Madison Square Garden between WWWF US Champion Pedro Morales and WWWF Heavyweight Champion Ivan Koloff. Both of them will be putting their belts on the line tonight in a special house show for the Philadelphia faithful. Morales faces his nemesis The Wolfman who is under strict orders from Ivan Koloff not to let Morales make it to New York. Meanwhile Morales countered by sending Gorilla Monsoon after Koloff in the main event tonight. With these ramifications that could potentially change history, let's get to the action.

Match 1

"Nobleman" Joe Turco vs Angelo Savoldi

These two met a year ago in North Attleboro so tonight was the big re-match. Turco got the victory.

Winner: Turco

Match 2

Vincente Pometti vs Chief Jay Strongbow

Strongbow scored a big win the day before against Bulldog Brower and needed another one if he wanted another shot at Ivan Koloff if Koloff were to get by Monsoon tonight and Morales on the 8th. Pometti was looking just to play spoiler but it didn't work, Strongbow won.

Winner: Strongbow

Match 3

Tony Marino vs Manuel Soto

Two popular babyfaces going one on one just to fill out the card was a rarity. To keep them both in their spots, the bout ended in a 20 minute draw.

Winner: No one (Draw)

Match 4

Gene Dubois, Geeto Mongol & Beppo Mongol vs Blackjack Mulligan, Bulldog Brower and The Black Demon

What the hell is THIS? An all-heel six man tag match was even rarer than the babyface match the previous bout. No idea why Vince Sr booked this match but its definitely interesting. To keep everyone's heat, the bout ended in a draw.

Winners: No one (Draw)

Match 5

The Wolfman vs Pedro Morales for the WWWF United States Championship

The rematch from Madison Square Garden last month had a special kick to it as Koloff sent Wolfman to specifically stop Morales from getting to MSG. Unfortunately for Koloff, Wolfman failed and Morales got the duke

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Winner: Morales (still US Champion)

Match 6

Gorilla Monsoon vs "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

Koloff looked nervous as he got in the ring as his henchman Wolfman failed to knock off Morales. Pedro in retaliation sent Gorilla Monsoon after Koloff just eight days before their showdown in MSG. Koloff barely escaped with the win when Monsoon was counted out. Morales came to the ring and chased away Koloff to end the show.

Winner: Koloff by count-out (still WWWF Champion)

Very interesting card with an all-heel 6 man tag, a babyface showdown and both main titles on the line. Vince Sr was saving the home run show for the Garden but this would have been a fun card to see if video footage of it existed. Koloff and Morales were on a collision course and Monsoon had a date with the Mongols. It was also nice to see Savoldi again nearing the end of his career. The crew travels to Allentown, PA for their next show. I'll see you there.

WWWF at Sunnyside Garden Arena (1/30/71)

Sunnyside Garden Arena

Queens, NY

January 30, 1971

We're back in Queens for a special house show nine days before Madison Square Garden. In a match that had been going around the circuit, the main event would be WWWF US Champion Pedro Morales and Gorilla Monsoon taking on the WWWF International Tag Team Champions The Mongols. Bulldog Brower takes on Chief Jay Strongbow and Blackjack Mulligan faces Tony Marino. Nine days out from Madison Square Garden, let's get to the action.

Match 1

The Black Demon vs Manuel Soto

Demon and Soto have had a tough time getting victories lately so putting them together makes sense that something has to give. Soto gets the win by DQ

Winner: Soto by DQ

Match 2

Jean Dubois vs The Wolfman

These two match up again and they are no stranger to each other. The bout ended in a 20 minute draw.

Winner: No one (Draw)

Match 3

Blackjack Mulligan vs Tony Marino

Big match for Mulligan here as he was gaining steam with a string of victories setting himself up for a future title shot if Pedro Morales were to knock off Ivan Koloff. Marino fought hard but Mulligan got the victory.

Winner: Mulligan

Match 4

Bulldog Brower vs Chief Jay Strongbow

Just like Mulligan, Brower needed a big win to put himself in a position for a future title shot if Morales were to win the title. Unfortunately for Brower, Strongbow got the duke.

Winner: Strongbow

Match 5

Gorilla Monsoon and WWWF United States Champion Pedro Morales vs The Mongols (Geeto and Beppo) for the WWWF International Tag Team Championship in a 2 out of 3 falls match

This was going around the circuit but even smart fans at the time knew what was going to happen since Morales didn't need two belts with a potential third coming up. Monsoon made Beppo submit to win the first fall but Beppo pinned Monsoon to even it up. Finally the Mongols were disqualified to give the victory to the faces, but the champs retain. Morales said after the match in Spanish the equivalent to "we'll get em next time."

Winners: Morales and Monsoon by DQ (Mongols retain)

Things were shaping up for Madison Square Garden with Monsoon getting his hands on the Mongols and Morales having a date with Koloff. The pecking order in the WWWF was being established even though guys came and went because that was the nature of the business back then. Strongbow knocking off Brower elevated Mulligan up the ladder so that might have been an important victory by the Chief. All in all it was a standard show and not the worst thing to happen. The WWWF ends the month in Philadelphia so I'll see you there.

WWWF at Witchi's Sports Arena (1/29/71)

Witchi's Sports Arena

North Attleboro, MA

January 29, 1971

While half the crew was in Harrisburg, PA tonight, the other half made their way to North Attleboro for tonight's show. Unfortunately the card is pretty lackluster with the main event being Bulldog Brower vs Tony Marino. The Wolfman takes on Manuel Soto and Pete Sanchez goes up against Joe Turco. Its definitely a small spot show but its still something, let's get to the action.

Match 1

Carlos Parades vs Vincente Pometti

We open the show with a battle of the latinos as Argentina's Pometti takes on Parades. Pometti got the win, no 20 minute draw this time.

Winner: Pometti

Match 2

"Nobleman" Joe Turco vs Pete Sanchez

Another mid-card showdown between Turco and Sanchez. Turco got the win, no idea how.

Winner: Turco

Match 3

Tomas Marin vs "Unpredictable" Johnny Rodz

Another mid-card showdown with Rodz taking on Marin. Rodz somehow got the win.

Winner: Rodz

Match 4

Manuel Soto vs The Wolfman

Wolfman needed a big win to get back in title contention after losing to Pedro Morales earlier in the month and Soto wants to win to get back into title contention after losing to Ivan Koloff. Unfortunately for Soto, the Wolfman got the win.

Winner: Wolfman

Match 5

Tony Marino vs Bulldog Brower

Not much of a main event with the crazy Bulldog taking on the former Battman. Marino won by DQ and chased Bulldog away to send the fans home happy.

Winner: Marino by DQ

Not much of a show with a bunch of mid-carders and curtain jerkers. 30 years later this type of card would be perfect for an episode of WWF Metal. This was like re-arranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic. None of these guys with the exception of maybe Brower would be in title contention in the future. Still, Vince Sr had a deal with North Attleboro so every week they'd send guys there no matter where they were in the pecking order. The main crew would make their way to Queens tomorrow night so we'll pick up there.

WWWF at Zembo Shrine Center (1/29/71)

Zembo Shrine Center

Harrisburg, PA

January 29, 1971

Its Friday night and Vince Mcmahon Sr has booked a double shot. While half the crew is in North Attleboro the other half are here at the Zembo Mosque for WWWF action. This card was actually the big draw as the main event features a sneak preview of Madison Square Garden in 10 days. WWWF Heavyweight Champion Ivan Koloff teams with the International Tag Team Champions The Mongols to take on number 1 contender Pedro Morales, Gorilla Monsoon and Chief Jay Strongbow in a special six man tag  3 out of 5 falls match. Other matches include "Golden Boy" Arnold Skaaland taking on Blackjack Mulligan, "Popeye" Chuck Richards taking on Gene Dubois and The Black Demon taking on Hurricane Rivera. Let's get to the matches

Match 1

"Popeye" Chuck Richards vs Gene Dubois

Interesting opening match as Chris Candido's grandfather takes on Ontario promoter Dave McKigney.  Dubois got the win....wow, no opening match draw?

Winner: Dubois

Match 2

Hurricane Rivera vs The Black Demon

Demon had been a punching bag all month but in essence so has Rivera. Something has to give, right? Wrong! They fought to a 20 minute draw.

Winner: No one (Draw)

Match 3

"Golden Boy" Arnold Skaaland vs Blackjack Mulligan

Mulligan was quickly gaining steam with big victories to set himself up for future matches so it made sense to put him with the crafty veteran Skaaland. Mulligan got the win to further move up the ladder.

Winner: Mulligan

Match 4

WWWF United States Champion Pedro Morales, Chief Jay Strongbow and Gorilla Monsoon vs WWWF Heavyweight Champion Ivan Koloff and WWWF International Tag Team Champions The Mongols (Geeto & Beppo) in a 3 out of 5 falls match

Talk about a tag match that would be a PLE main event today. You got the world champ and the tag champs against the number one contenders for both titles. Koloff and Morales had a date with destiny ten days later while Monsoon would be facing Geeto. Not much is known about the match apart from it ended in a no-contest. Probably were tied two falls apiece before a pier six brawl erupted with both teams being counted out or disqualified. Good way to keep everyone's heat intact. Still, having Koloff and Morales face each other before the big Garden show should have done a lot of business.

Winners: No one (Draw)

The show has been lost to time at it was a spot show long before the era of recorded television, house shows, ppvs, etc....but that main event with all the talent and the stories going in would have been a MSG main event any time. The Mongols wouldn't be defending the straps at MSG but Koloff and Morales would be going mano e mano. The ramifications were huge as Koloff really didn't have many credible contenders apart from maybe Gorilla Monsoon while if Morales won, he had plenty of heels to chose from as opponents. As for this show, if only it was recorded. Now the next show was taking place the exact same day in North Attleboro, I'll see you there.

WWWF at National Arena (1/28/71)

National Arena

Washington, DC

January 28, 1971

We're eleven days away from Madison Square Garden but in the old days long before PPV and Cable TV, some house shows were more important than others. Vince McMahon Sr always had an affinity for Washington, DC hence the name Capitol Wrestling. We got a huge eight match card featuring Pedro Morales and Gorilla Monsoon going after the tag belts from The Mongols. Jean DuBois gets a shot at the Heavyweight crown when he faces Ivan Koloff and Blackjack Mulligan is back facing Lee Wong. Vince wanted the home run show in the nation's capital so let's get to it.

Match 1

Miguel Feliciano vs The Wolfman

Wolfman needed a big win to get his heat back after losing to Pedro in the Garden so he has to start at the bottom. Taking on local Baltimore jobber Feliciano was step one in getting back on track. Wolfman did win the match.

Winner: Wolfman

Match 2

Lee Wong vs Blackjack Mulligan

Needing a fresh heel, Vince Sr brought in Blackjack Mulligan to do some damage in the territory. He faces Lee Wong in the second match of the night and wins it. He's starting to gain steam for sure.

Winner: Mulligan

Match 3

"Popeye" Chuck Richards vs Manuel Soto

Interesting battle here as both of them have taken some losses lately so one of them has to win, right? Well it turns out Soto won this one.

Winner: Soto

Match 4

"Nobleman" Joe Turco vs Chief Jay Strongbow

Another big battle as both of them have lost some high profile matches. Strongbow needed a win to get back in the hunt for Koloff and Turco just had to establish himself again. Unfortunately for Joe, Strongbow got the duke.

Winner: Strongbow

Match 5

Jean Dubois vs "Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship

Somehow, someway Dave McKigney got himself a WWWF Heavyweight title shot against Koloff. As I mentioned before, the big showdown with Pedro was less than two weeks away so it made sense for Koloff to beat up on the curtain jerkers on the spot show circuit to save the heavy hitters for future MSG shows. As expected, Koloff beats McKigney.

Winner: Koloff (Still WWWF Champion)

Match 6

Bulldog Brower vs Tomas Marin

Bulldog was very irate after failing to win the US title from Pedro Morales so he asked for an open challenge, anyone will do. Tomas Marin stepped up to the plate only to be dispatched by the angry Bulldog.

Winner: Bulldog

Match 7

Vincente Pometti vs Ernie Lassiter

The big rematch from three weeks earlier in the same arena as Pometti looks to avenge his loss to Ernie. Unfortunately for him, Ernie won again.

Winner: Lassiter

Match 8

WWWF US Champion Pedro Morales & Gorilla Monsoon vs The Mongols (Geeto & Beppo) for the WWWF International Tag Team Championship in a 2 out of 3 falls match.

Kind of telegraphing who wins this match because Pedro didn't need two belts. Ironically The Mongols would be split up for singles competition at MSG. The actual details of this match has been lost to time but as per norm, the bout ended in a draw. Don't know how the fans were sent home happy, maybe the faces cleaned house of the heels at the end.

Winners: No one (Draw)

Eight match cards are usually reserved for the big shows but remember this was 1971 and the "big" shows were still house shows. Basically Boston, Philadelphia, DC and New York were the core areas so Vince Sr usually had the home run shows booked for there. Koloff continues his run with the world title but Morales his hot on his trail. Blackjack Mulligan looked to put himself in a good position with Bulldog and Wolfman lurking around. The Mongols still had a stranglehold on the tag belts so things were done with purpose on this night. Well the crew was about to get busy because Vince Sr booked a double shot for the next day. Half the crew would go to North Attleboro while the other half went to Harrisburg, PA. That's where we'll pick up next time.

WWWF at Augusta State Armory (1/26/71)

Augusta State Armory

Augusta, ME

January 26, 1971

One day after a small crew worked the Waterville State Armory, 3 of them joined the rest a few miles south for a spot show at the Augusta State Armory. This was a pretty stacked card as we are just 13 days away from the big title vs title showdown with US Champion Pedro Morales and Heavyweight Champion Ivan Koloff. Unfortunately for Morales, Bulldog Brower had beaten Chief Jay Strongbow the night before and would get a US title shot. Blackjack Mulligan was in town and he'd be taking on Hurricane Rivera. We had a double main event as The Mongols were scheduled to put the Tag Team belts on the line against Tony Marino and Chief Jay Strongbow but Geeto had gotten hurt the day before in Waterville. "Nobleman" Joe Turco would take Geeto's place with the belts no longer on the line. The champ himself Ivan Koloff would be teaming with punching back The Black Demon to face Gorilla Monsoon and Manuel Soto. Let's get to the action.

Match 1

Gene DuBois vs The Wolfman

Battle of the Canadians (sort of) to start the show as Dave McKigney (DuBois) taking on the Wolfman. As per norm, they fought to a 20 minute draw. Again, doesn't this get old after a while?

Winner: No one (Draw)

Match 2

Bulldog Brower vs Pedro Morales for the WWWF United States Championship

Bulldog had earned his title shot due to a hot streak in the month of January. Beating Strongbow the night before cemented his status as number one contender. "Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff gave Bulldog strict orders to take Morales out so he never made it to MSG. Bulldog did his best to beat up Morales and sure enough, Bulldog got himself disqualified for excessive violence. The crowd was not happy as now the question was would Morales make it to the Garden?

Winner: Morales by DQ (still US Champion)

Match 3

Hurricane Rivera vs Blackjack Mulligan

The big rematch from Madison Square Garden from eight days earlier has Rivera angry and wanting revenge for the humiliating defeat. Unfortunately for him, Mulligan got the win again.

Winner: Mulligan

Match 4

Chief Jay Strongbow and Tony Marino vs Beppo Mongol and "Nobleman" Joe Turco

This was supposed to be a tag title match but Geeto was injured doing double duty the night before so Turco takes his place. With the straps not on the line, Marino and Strongbow got the win.

Winners: Strongbow and Marino

Match 5

Gorilla Monsoon and Manuel Soto vs WWWF Heavyweight Champion "Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff and The Black Demon

The main event features the champ teaming with the human punching bag against Soto and Monsoon. Koloff was enough to off-set Demon because they won when Soto was counted out.

Winners: Koloff and Demon by count-out

A rare W for The Black Demon although the card was kind of pointless apart from Brower beating up Morales. Geeto Mongol getting hurt telegraphed the makeshift team of Turco & Beppo were gonna lose and the other matches were just kind of there, especially the main event. Still, thirteen days out from Madison Square Garden meant Morales and Koloff are going to face all-comers to keep their belts for their showdown. The next big card would be Thursday night in Washington, DC with an EIGHT match card. Vince Sr was throwing out the home run show at National Arena. See you then

WWWF at Waterville State Armory (1/25/71)

Waterville State Armory

Waterville, ME

January 25, 1971

We are 16 days away from Madison Square Garden where WWWF US Champ Pedro Morales takes on WWWF Heavyweight Champion Ivan Koloff in a winner take all match. Until then we still have business to take care of and a small crew headed to Waterville, ME for a four match card. Ironically three of the matches featured the exact same people. Morales would be defending the US title against Geeto Mongol while Hurricane Rivera took on Beppo Mongol. The main event would be The Mongols putting up the International Tag Titles against Rivera and Morales. The fourth match would be Chief Jay Strongbow taking on Bulldog Brower. Let's get to the action.

Match 1

Beppo Mongol vs Hurricane Rivera

The opening match would also be a preview of the main event as Mongol and Rivera get it on in a singles match. Thanks to drastic cheating, Beppo Mongol got the win.

Winner: Beppo Mongol

Match 2

Geeto Mongol vs Pedro Morales for the WWWF United States Championship

The other half of the Mongols takes on the other half of the main event as Morales puts the US strap on the line against Geeto. The fans were happy as Pedro prevailed and kept his date with Ivan Koloff in 16 days.

Winner: Morales (still US Champion)

Match 4

Chief Jay Strongbow vs Bulldog Brower

Brower scored a huge victory on Saturday to put himself as a top contender in case Morales won the title in MSG. Strongbow needed a win to get another title shot if Morales were to fail. Bulldog kept his hot streak going with a big win over Strongbow.

Winner: Bulldog Brower

Match 5

Hurricane Rivera and Pedro Morales vs The Mongols (Geeto & Beppo) for the WWWF International Tag Team Championship in a 2 out of 3 falls match

Usually cards like this were done in the territories when there were double shots or spot shows. Only six guys were used on this show and four of them meet again. The faces took the first fall when Morales pinned Geeto but the heels took the second fall when Morales was counted out following a sneak attack on the outside by both Mongols. Geeto then pinned Rivera to win the match. After the match, Morales and Rivera cleaned house and chased the Mongols away to send the fans home happy.

Winners: The Mongols (still International Tag Team Champions)

As I mentioned earlier, cards like this were pretty common in those days when people would pull double duty on spot shows or double shots. This was the definition of a spot show but the fans probably didn't mind just outside of Augusta. The road schedule wasn't as intense as it would be under Vince Jr but back then guys would work at least half the month if not more. The Mongols were finding every which way to keep their titles but luck won't last forever. Morales was definitely in the middle of a big time push so Koloff is in big trouble come February 8th. Ironically half of the card that worked this show would be working Augusta the next day, see you then.