1984

December 28, 1984

Unfortunately, my copy of this show froze and I was unable to review the last three matches. Next week, I will be reviewing the debut episode of Primetime Wrestling then after that, I will be back to the Championship Wrestling shows. I should also mention that this is the show in which David Schultz slapped John Stossel backstage in a segment that was filmed for 20/20

Your hosts are Gene Okerlund and Gorilla Monsoon

Brutus Beefcake w/Luscious Johnny Valiant vs. S.D. Jones

Valiant stalls for a few minutes in the ring before the match begins. SD backs Brutus into the ropes, pissing him off. They engage in some chain wrestling as we see the Japanese Media at ringside, looking half asleep. Brutus cheap shots SD after a lockup and chokes him out. He grabs a chinlock then takes him down with a shoulderblock. Beefcake boots SD down and hits him with a poor excuse of a splash for two. Beefcake grabs a headlock as the announcers debate whether or not this is a choke. It lasts for a long time. SD catches Beefcake on a crossbody attempt but couldn’t hold him up. Beefcake struts then chokes him out before going back to another chinlock. Johnny is yelling at the ref as SD hits Brutus with an inverted atomic drop. SD knocks down Brutus after a second headbutt attempt. He gets two after a series of punches. Brutus rakes the eyes then after SD ducks a chop, Brutus hits him with a jumping  knee smash for the win (13:22) ½*.

Thoughts: Man, this was dull. Both guys had limited offense to begin with and couldn’t brawl well so they did a bunch of restholds to fill the match. No way should these guys have gotten this much time.  

Salvatore Bellomo vs. Johnny Rodz

Before the match, Howard Finkel introduces Bellomo’s parents to the audience. Bellomo takes down Rodz with a pair of shoulderblocks then grabs a headlock. Bellomo then cartwheels over Rodz and hits a dropkick. They engage in a brief amount of matwork then Rodz catches him with a knee and takes control. He knocks Bellomo to the floor then hits him with a baseball slide right as he comes back in the ring. Rodz gets two off a top rope elbow smash then complains to the ref about a slow count. He slams Bellomo but gets caught with a punch after coming off the top rope. Bellomo hits a backdrop and snapmare. Dropkick gets two. Rodz hits one awful powerslam but misses a flying headbutt and that allows Bellomo to hit a crossbody block, that came up way short, for the win (5:36) *1/2. The camera shows Mama Bellomo in the crowd on the verge of tears. Bellomo grabs the mic and thanks America before kissing the ground

Thoughts: Fine for what it was. Rodz was a solid worker, perhaps even underrated. Bellomo was his usual self.

“Dr. D” David Schultz vs. Antonio Inoki

Inoki is billed as the “World’s Martial Arts Champion.” Schultz gets into Inoki’s head and the two go right after each other. Schultz grounds him using a headscissor but Inoki escapes. Schultz attacks Inoki in the corner after a cheap shot. Schultz grabs a side headlock then both men trade arm wringers. Inoki backs Schultz against the ropes then chops him down. Schultz complains to the ref then they lockup. After a cheap shot from Schultz, Inoki kicks him down then chokes him out. Schultz hits a suplex then a slam. He goes up top but misses a flying elbow drop and that allows Inoki to hit him with an enziguri after he gets up for the win (5:16) *3/4.

Thoughts: Short, but decent action while it lasted. This would be the last match at MSG for both men. Schultz would get fired the following February for attempting to attack Mr. T.  

Paul Kelly vs. Junkyard Dog

Kelly had been playing the Masked Executioner during this time. JYD slams Kelly, who ducks outside. JYD grabs a chinlock as the announcers discuss philosophy. Kelly fights back but JYD murders him with a clothesline then hits the powerslam  but they messed up the count so the ref counted again and JYD gets the win (3:05) ¼*.

Thoughts: Not much here besides JYD stiffing the shit out of Kelly with a clothesline. The crowd is in love with JYD, as he is getting the best face reaction besides Hogan (Slaughter left the WWF a few weeks before this show over a dispute with Vince McMahon).

WWF Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match

The Cobra vs. Black Tiger

Finkel holds up the title in the ring, which was vacated when the Dynamite Kid jumped to All-Japan. The match starts with both guys trading moves. Tiger hits a clothesline then gets a senton for one. Cobra comes back with a backdrop and then grabs a chinlock. In a really sloppy sequence, Cobra comes off the top but they messed up a crossbody and he came back with a terrible spin kick. Cobra drops the knee then gets two off a suplex. He hits a gutbuster then puts Tiger in the Boston Crab and from that, he puts him in a surfboard. Tiger flips Cobra over and puts on a chinlock. Legdrop gets two. I should not that Gorilla is solo on commentary right now and he keeps talking the whole time. Tiger puts on a chinlock as the crowd is dead. After trading chops, Cobra misses a splash and Tiger works the legs. He gets two off an elbow drop then grabs a front facelock. Senton, called a flying cartwheel by Monsoon, gets two. Cobra fights back and gets two off a legdrop. He sends him to the floor with a dropkick as Okerlund comes back. Tiger slips while climbing the ropes as Cobra tosses him off. He uses a headscissors but Tiger escapes and hits a clothesline. Kneedrop gets two. Swinging neckbreaker gets two. Tiger hits a tombstone piledriver, which gets the crowd to pop, but misses a top rope elbow drop. Cobra gets two off a spinning heel kick as the crowd is now alive. Cobra dropkicks Tiger to the floor then flies out with a tope. In the ring, Tiger knocks down Cobra and hits a top rope splash. Suplex gets two. Tombstone gets two. He tries another tombstone but Cobra reverses and hits one of his own then goes up top and hits a senton for the win and the championship (12:29) **3/4. After the match, Cobra offers a handshake but Tiger attacks him. He tosses him outside but Cobra comes back with a chairshot. Both men return to the ring and the Cobra is handed the title.

Thoughts: The last few minutes were awesome but prior to that, it wasn’t much and really sloppy at points. Still, they did stuff that no one in the WWF was doing at this time and they did a faster pace than usual for the WWF, but it was slower than their Japanese matches.

“Cowboy” Bob Orton & “Rowdy” Roddy Piper vs. Tonga Kid & Jimmy Snuka

The crowd goes crazy for Snuka and Piper. They chase of the heels, who then come in and try a sneak attack but that fails. Tonga and Piper are in the ring now. Tonga hits a crossbody for two and works the arm as Snuka is staring down Piper from the apron. Orton tags and Tonga catches him with a powerslam then works the arm. He tags Snuka, who works the arm. Snuka no-sells three punches and takes Orton down with a headbutt. Snuka tries to get Orton to tag Piper but he doesn’t extend his hand. Orton finally tags Piper, who at first refuses to enter. He then charges at Snuka but gets pummeled. Snuka takes out both men until Piper pokes his eye and tags Orton. He beats on Snuka but misses a Vader Bomb. Both men tag out and Tonga runs wild on Piper. Piper gets him in his corner and he and Orton double-team him behind the ref’s back. After a double clothesline, Roddy taunts Snuka then tags Orton. He beats on Tonga and the two make quick tags to neutralize Tonga. Roddy is just a joy to watch out here as he was one of the best heels in wrestling history. Tonga tries to make a tag but Orton runs in and knocks Snuka off the apron. Roddy has Tonga in a chinlock then tags Orton, who hits him with a forearm smash. Tonga manages to get two off a sunset flip but Orton comes back with mounted punches. He tries a cover but Snuka yanks him off. Piper goes in behind the ref’s back. He ducks his head and Tonga kicks him then heads to the wrong corner. Orton tags but Tonga fires away then goes through the legs of Orton and makes a tag. Snuka goes wild then shoves the referee, who was trying to control the match. Snuka sends Orton into the corner and makes the cover but the ref stops before the three count as he sees Tonga and Piper brawling nearby. Piper backdrops Tonga to the floor and Orton sets up Snuka for the superplex but gets shoved off and Snuka hits a crossbody. Piper breaks up the pin at two as Tonga is trying to get back into the ring. They throw Snuka to the floor as the announcers complain about how the referee is doing a terrible job. Orton goes up top but Snuka shoves him off, into Piper. The heels dump their opponents, who while stumbling around the ring, accidentally bump heads, causing them to power up and run back into the ring. All four men are brawling as the ref signals for the bell as he cannot maintain control. Piper accidentally hits Orton and the heels get dumped but then run in for a sneak attack. Tonga grabs a chair and chases away the heels as the ref rules the match as a double disqualification (14:58) ***1/4.

Thoughts: This match had tremendous heat. Tonga looked great and worked most of the match. Snuka didn’t do a whole lot at all but the crowd was jacked the entire time. Sadly, Tonga would only last a few more weeks as he left the promotion. I believe in an interview he said he couldn’t handle the pressure but he allegedly no-showed a bunch of dates and left, only to return 18 months later to form the Islanders with Haku.

Rene Goulet vs. Mike Rotundo

They lockup in the corner and Goulet complains of a hair pull. Goulet gets two off a reverse rollup, while holding the tights. Rotundo grounds Goulet with headscissors. He holds on to the arm after Goulet takes him over with a hiptoss and works the arm. He uses a front facelock for a bit then Goulet escapes and starts biting Rotundo in the corner. He grabs a chinlock as a fan is yelling “boring.” Goulet ends a comeback bid with a knee smash then tosses Rotundo to the floor. He bites Rotundo then gets two off a suplex. He locks on the iron claw as a few more fans join in on the boring chant. Rotundo misses a charge in the corner and Goulet locks on the claw from the top rope. Rotundo tosses him off and fires away as the crowd couldn’t care less. He sends Goulet upside down into the corner then hits him with an atomic drop. Rotundo works the leg but Goulet regains control and puts him in an abdominal stretch as the crowd is showing fans in the crowd wearing masks. Rotundo hits a backdrop then drops an elbow for two. He catches Goulet in an airplane spin then drops him for the win (10:38) ¾*.

Thoughts: Holy shit was this dull. The crowd couldn’t have cared less about either guy. I know it was tough to follow Snuka but this was atrocious.

WWF President Jack Tunney is in the ring. He introduces Wendi Richter and Hulk Hogan, who is carrying a trophy. He then introduces Dick Clark, who flew in from Los Angeles for this presentation. Finally, he introduces Cyndi Lauper, who is accompanied by David Wolfe. Clark awards Lauper with a special achievement award to her contribution to women’s wrestling. Hulk grabs the mic and the crowd goes ballistic as he puts over Lauper. She thanks everyone then presents the WWF a gold and platinum record then brings out Capt. Lou Albano, thanking him for raising four million for multiple sclerosis. Albano thanks everyone and says the award is an honor as Orton and Piper sneak in the ring and grab the mic. Piper grabs the mic, stating that he set up everything, then smashes the record over Albano’s head. Lauper dives at his legs but Piper kicks her off. He slams Wolfe then takes off as Hogan runs back out. The fans are spitting and tossing stuff all over Piper as he walks back up the aisle. Back in the ring, Hogan helps up Albano as Wolfe gets taken out on a stretcher as Lauper is crying. Now, that is how you start a feud. One hell of a segment and among the best in WWF history.

Well, my DVD kept freezing at the start of the tag-title match so I will run down the last three matches.

Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch retained the tag-titles against the Brisco Brothers when the match ended in a double count out. The match went (26:46) and after the bout, the Brisco’s had their opponents in the figure four. This match came to place when the Brisco’s beat the champs on TV after they went on Piper’s Pit, who got them a match with the champs, stating they owed him a favor. The Brisco’s would be gone from the WWF in a month.

Barry Windham beat Mr. Fuji with a bulldog in nineteen seconds. Nothing much to say about this.

Hulk Hogan retained the Heavyweight Title over the Iron Sheik in (3:31) with a legdrop.

Final Thoughts: A memorable show with some good matches, but what was bad really did suck. They turned Albano face after the attack by Piper and that set up the main event at Wrestlemania. The tag-title match was fun too. The undercard stuff was pretty dull and the Jr. Heavyweight match, while faster paced than most WWF stuff, was sloppy at points.

December 18, 1984

Your hosts are Lord Alfred Hayes and Vince McMahon

This week’s show is the wedding of Butcher Vachon. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first wrestling wedding ever shown on television. There would be many more to follow.

This week, Butcher Vachon gets married. Howard Finkel is in the ring, which is set up like an alter. There are wrestlers in both sides of the aisle, separated by heels and faces. Finkel introduces the attendee’s: Wild Samoans, Freddie Blassie, Jessie Ventura, Jose Luis Rivera, Mr & Mrs Executioner, David Schultz, and Capt. Lou Albano, who was a riot here, just blurting out stuff and cracking jokes.

The reverend is introduced. His name is Meyer Lipschitz. Mad Dog Vachon is the best man and the Fabulous Moolah is the maid of honor. Vince says this will be the 6th marriage for Butcher as Albano is screaming that he wants to make this a double wedding and marry Moolah. Jesse takes the flowers from the flower girl (Played by female midget wrestler Diamond Lil) and Sky Low Low is the ring bearer but Blassie whacks him with his cane and takes the ring. He inspects it then gives it back. The bride, Ophilia, is given away by George “The Animal” Steele. Some of this was pretty funny and stuff you would never see on WWE TV today as it is far from politically incorrect.

The ceremony takes place. Mad Dog interrupts to yell at those who came uninvited. The heels then yell at the reverend to hurry things up. Steele lifts up the bride’s veil and we see her wave around her green tongue, just like he does. Albano gets into the ring and the Vachon’s assure him that the bride is not a virgin. A clusterfuck but Albano was hilarious.

Back to the exchange of vows as Steele is eating the turnbuckles and taking apart the decorations. Just before Vachon kisses the bride, Schultz runs in and hits him with a slam. Chaos erupts as the bride is carried away.

We are with Vince and Hayes. They are standing in front of the ring with Jesse, discussing the wedding. Jesse says there should be violence in love. When asked why he ran into the ring, Jesse said it was to either kiss the bride or knock her out then states that anyone who marries Butcher Vachon should get knocked out. Jesse said he is itching to get back into the ring. His voice is really coarse here. We are then shown a clip of his match against Ivan Putski, four months prior in St. Louis. Jesse gives us commentary, accusing Putski of cheating. After the clips are shown, Jesse goes off about getting a blood clot in his lungs from being exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam. He closes by saying he will sue everyone for what has happened to him.

The Wild Samoans join Hayes and Vince. Afa said “many fun and good time” at the reception. A house show clip of them facing Lee and Fuji at the Meadowlands is shown afterwards.

Capt. Lou Albano joins the hosts. He brings up supporting Multiple Sclerosis. He says that he and Cyndi Lauper are voted as the national chairmen for MS. Albano came off as a complete face.

We are now at the reception. Vachon opens up gifts. Albano gives him a lifetime supply of rubber bands, Jesse gives some hair coloring to the bride, Blassie gives a pair of glasses to inspect cheap diamonds, a fish from the Samoans, and someone then gives a gift that is too risqué to be shown on TV. Schultz is seen inspecting all of the gifts as they are being opened.

Clip of JYD squashing Vachon from Maple Leaf wrestling. The poor guy cant even be featured winning a match during his wedding ceremony.

George Steele tries to gives a toastm, but he cannot speak. Everyone starts cheering for him to do a toast then he finally speaks, saying “pumpernickel.” Others start to give their own toast, including Sky Low Low, who got threatened by Blassie. Finally, McMahon goes to Schultz, who goes on a tirade (that gets bleeped out) and says he will only toast himself and finishes by threatening McMahon.

Vachon and his wife have their first dance as Albano constantly runs over to McMahon so he can burp into his microphone. Albano then threatens to moon everyone. He was out of his mind during this show.

Barry Windham vs. Moondog Rex

This is the featured match this week and took place on the November 26th Madison Square Garden show. Rex shoves Windham off a lockup. They do it again and Windham gets a hiptoss and a dropkick. The crowd has certainly deflated since the last match. Windham works the arm. Rex comes back and grabs a headlock. Windham catches him with a slam then goes back to working the arm. The announcers are talking about everything else but this match as Windham now works a headlock. Rex goes to the apron but Windham drags him and Rex’s feet are on the ropes. Windham drops him down just before the five count and that actually gets the crowd to make noise. Rex lands a few punches then drops a knee. Rex throws some forearms before catching him with a knee. Windham fights back and punches Rex through the ropes. Rex then fights back then starts biting the forehead. Windham is sent to the floor with a shoulderblock. Back in the ring, Rex drops Windham neck first on the top rope then uses clubbing forearms. Backbreaker gets two. He rams him in the corner then grabs a lengthy bearhug until Windham escapes. Rex sends him down with an elbow smash then picks him up for a body breaker. Windham escapes and backdrops Rex as both men are down. They then trade punches but Rex hooks the ropes on a dropkick attempt. He gets two off an elbow drop but Windhm punches him in midair after an axe handle attempt. Rex shoves Windham in the corner but misses a splash and Windham hits the running bulldog for the win (12:11) **3/4.

Thoughts: This was a really solid match. It was put in a tough spot, following the Piper match, but these guys were able to bring the crowd back into the show. The Moondogs, the Rex & Spot version anyway, were a solid and underappreciated team. Windham looked good too and you could tell right away that he had everything it took to become a star. If Windham was focused for his entire career, he could have been one of the all-time greats.

Back to dance, as Sky Low Low cuts in between the newlyweds.  Alban then dances with Diamond Lil, which causes Blassie to laugh hysterically.  

The Samoans and Albano, I guess patching up their differences, start to sing Wooly Bully. The Samoans then hold up Sky Low Low then Albano pulls up shirt and dumps his drink all over him. Poor Sky Low Low got abused during this show.

Schultz interrupts the cutting of cake. Says he wants to know if the bride knows how to take care of man. Schultz berates her, yelling that when a man want something, you get it. He then says a woman should change a flat tire and get fire wood when necessary. Schultz yells at Vince then shoves cake in the bride’s face. Steele hits the reverend then Vince starts to laugh uncontrollably as Hayes gets cake shoved in his face. Schultz nails Vicne then the organ plays as a food fight breaks out. Mad Dog Vachon is seen throwing chairs all over the place.

The show closes with Vince and Hayes, covered with cake, saying goodbye. Vince then pulls a pie tin from Hayes’ jacket and starts to laugh as the credits start scrolling down.

Final Thoughts: This was long but some of this was hilarious and the type of stuff that you never get to see on television nowadays. Albano was a riot and Vince did a really good job at playing the straight man to all of the insanity that surrounded him. It did not advance any story lines, but did drop a small hint of an Albano face turn.

November 26, 1984

Your hosts are Lord Alfred Hayes and Gorilla Monsoon

Charlie Fulton vs. SD Jones

According to thehistoryofwwe.com, Fulton replaced Samula in this match. SD backs Fulton into the corner. SD goes for an armdrag but falls, then takes down Fulton. Gorilla mentions how Fulton was in Vietnam as both men counter their moves as the crowd is bored. SD works a side headlock as the announcers talk about tonight’s Tonga Kid vs. Roddy Piper match. Fulton catches SD with a clothesline and grabs a chinlock. He hits a legdrop before going back to the chinlock for a long time. The crowd starts chanting for SD and he catches Fulton but falls down and Fulton goes back to the chinlock. SD picks him up and hits an inverted atomic drop. He hits another atomic drop and punches away. SD kicks him down then gets two off a headbutt. SD hits several more headbutts and knocks him down with a left. They trade punches until Fulton rakes the eyes. He misses a charge in the corner and SD hits a headbutt for the win (10:40) *1/2.  

Thoughts: Bland match but pretty much what you expected out of these two. Despite his status, SD was quite over with the crowds. Too bad his offense consisted of headbutts and punches. Fulton was always a solid worker and went on to train guys like Raven, Chris Harris and Johnny Swinger.  

Jose Luis Rivera vs. Moondog Spot

Rivera is subbing for Billy Jack, who left before his debut. Gorilla and Hayes talk about how ridiculous it is that someone can be announced from parts unknown. Spot doesn’t break cleanly and Rivera is pissed. He works the arm after Spot misses an elbow drop. They do that spot again as Rivera works the arm forever. He gets two off a sunset flip before going back to the arm. Spot misses a corner charge and Rivera goes back to the armbar, again. God, does Rivera suck. Spot breaks and ducks his head but Rivera kicks him, getting two. Even the announcers make fun of Rivera for going back to the armbar. Rivera charges but Spot kills him with a superkick. He gets a kneesmash then a splash from the second rope. Rivera gets tossed in the corner and Spot destroys him. Shoulderbreaker gets two as Spot pulls him up, so he can put him in a chinlock. Press slam by Spot and he hits the splash from the second rope but pulls him up and tosses him to the floor. Rivera fights back from the apron. He hits a dropkick and attacks Spot in the corner. He eats boot on a charge and Spot hits a clothesline from the middle rope for the win (9:16) *1/2.

Thoughts: Rivera was terrible and this match could have been better if Rivera could do anything besides punching or applying an armbar. Spot was a good worker and the match was better when he was on offense.

Salvatore Bellomo vs. Bobby “The Brain” Heenan

Both men shake hands to start. Heenan yells at the crowd then both men lockup. Heenan punches Bellomo then ducks between the ropes. Bellomo punches him back and slams his head off the turnbuckle. Heenan gets whipped in the corner and goes upside down. He ducks outside. Back in the ring, they fight over a wristlock. Bellomo dropkciks Heena,n, who is sprawled across the ropes as the crowd is going nuts. Bellomo stomps away and Heenan goes outside. In the ring, Heenan grabs a chinlock. He hits a backdrop then drops the knee. He yells at Bellomo to get up and they proceed to pull of the single worst double collision spot I have ever seen. Bellomo is up first and fires away in the corner, to the delight of the crowd. Heenan dumps Bellomo to the floor then knocks him off the apron. Bellomo tries a sunset flip but Heenan punches him and covers for the win (8:56) *.

Thoughts: Heenan was bad in the ring but at least he knew that the fans were dying to see him get his ass kicked so he put himself in positions that would get them to go nuts when he was attacked. Bellomo was the same as usual

Mr. Fuji vs. Angelo “King Kong” Mosca

Fuji does his pre-match ceremony to start. Fuji asks for a clean break and gets that but chops Mosca, who chops him back. Mosca uses a single leg takedown then fires away. Fuji is pissed off in the corner then loses a test of strength. Fuji kicks down Mosca then headbutts the groin. Mosca chops back but Fuji work a nerve hold. Mosca hulks up and take down Fuji with a shoulder block but gets chopped down. Fuji goes back to the nerve hold and Mosca escapes. He beats on Fuji in the corner and hits a shoulder thrust. Fuji pulls a salt package from his trunks but Mosca takes that and dumps it on the ring. Fuji begs for mercy as Mosca catches him with a sleeper. Fuji reaches down his tights and pulls out another salt package and throws it in Mosca’s face for the DQ (8:01) ½*.

Thoughts: Fuji was really struggling to get around at this point but this wasn’t as bad as you would think. Mosca was a tiny bit better in the ring than he was on commentary.

“Cowboy” Bob Orton vs. Swede Hanson

Swede puts Orton in a bearhug then a wristlock. Swede puts on a headlock as Orton is unable to escape. The announcers put over Orton as the bodyguard for Piper as he takes control. Swede counters a neck vice with a front facelock and headbutts Orton in the corner. He puts Orton in a chinlock as this match is really dragging. Orton fights out and floats over Swede. He punches away in the corner as we see a replay of the float over. Orton continues to punch away but Swede continues to walk towards Orton then chops him in the corner. He gets a scoop slam and goes up top but Orton got a knee up and hits the Vader Bomb for the win (8:51) DUD.

Thoughts: Orton tried hard but wrestling against Swede is like wrestling a wall. Swede would do a few matches here and there but was not with the WWF in a full-time capacity.

Tonga Kid w/Jimmy Snuka vs. Roddy Piper w/Bob Orton

The crowd goes apeshit when Snuka comes out, causing Piper to go mental. He heads towards the locker room then goes back to the ring. Snuka is wearing a shirt that reads “I Want Piper.” Tonga and Piper have a stare down. Tonga no-sells three slaps then hits Piper. Piper calls for time and attempts a cheap shot but Tonga was ready and fires away. The crowd is berserk as Tonga is firing away on Piper, who is on the apron. Tonga drags him back in the ring by the hair and continues his assault. Piper chops Tonga after a leapfrog then taunts Snuka but takes his eyes off Tonga, who fires away. Piper gets a back suplex then tosses him out of the ring a few times. He calls Tonga then gets two off a throat thrust. Kneelift gets two as Piper is using arrogant pin attempts. He catches Tonga in a sleeper and drops him to the ground. Tonga hulks up then elbows out. He sends Piper into the ropes but Piper regains control. Tonga no-sells a few turnbuckle smashes then fires away. He tries a crossbody block but Piper catches him and dumps him over the ropes. Orton runs over and decks Snuka then attacks Tonga. Piper goes out and grabs a chair but Snuka pulls it away. Snuka is getting double teamed by Orton and Piper until Tonga makes the save. The match breaks down as the ref rings the bell for the DQ. The heels get dumped and retreat as the crowd is still going insane as the match is ruled a double disqualification (7:03) ***1/4. After the match, Snuka grabs the mic and challenges Piper.

Thoughts: Good stuff. The crowd was loving the feud between these men. Tonga did great and this looks to set up for a tag match in the future. Its amazing how this feud elevated Tonga from a lower mid-card guy to a star seemingly overnight.

Barry Windham is backstage by himself. He says that Madison Square Garden is the big time and is making his MSG debut against Moondog Rex. He states he will show Rex what its like to be a wrestler.

Moondog Rex vs. Barry Windham

Rex shoves Windham off a lockup. They do it again and Windham gets a hiptoss and a dropkick. The crowd has certainly deflated since the last match. Windham works the arm. Rex comes back and grabs a headlock. Windham catches him with a slam then goes back to working the arm. The announcers are talking about everything else but this match as Windham now works a headlock. Rex goes to the apron but Windham drags him and Rex’s feet are on the ropes. Windham drops him down just before the five count and that actually gets the crowd to make noise. Rex lands a few punches then drops a knee. Rex throws some forearms before catching him with a knee. Windham fights back and punches Rex through the ropes. Rex then fights back then starts biting the forehead. Windham is sent to the floor with a shoulderblock. Back in the ring, Rex drops Windham neck first on the top rope then uses clubbing forearms. Backbreaker gets two. He rams him in the corner then grabs a lengthy bearhug until Windham escapes. Rex sends him down with an elbow smash then picks him up for a body breaker. Windham escapes and backdrops Rex as both men are down. They then trade punches but Rex hooks the ropes on a dropkick attempt. He gets two off an elbow drop but Windhm punches him in midair after an axe handle attempt. Rex shoves Windham in the corner but misses a splash and Windham hits the running bulldog for the win (12:11) **3/4.

Thoughts: This was a really solid match. It was put in a tough spot, following the Piper match, but these guys were able to bring the crowd back into the show. The Moondogs, the Rex & Spot version anyway, were a solid and underappreciated team. Windham looked good too and you could tell right away that he had everything it took to become a star. If Windham was focused for his entire career, he could have been one of the all-time greats.

Tony Atlas vs. The Executioner

The Executioner attacks Atlas before the bell and pounds him in the corner. They then do a slow-motion Irish whip spot that ends with Atlas getting a dropkick. He hits another dropkick and stomps away. Atlas gets the fans going then hits the press slam and finishes him off with the splash (1:48) ¼*. After the match, Atlas tries to take off the mask of the Executioner, who manages to escape.

Thoughts: A quick win to build up Atlas. He was heavily into drugs at this time and wasn’t really around the WWF all that much after this match. There was a rumor that he was going to win the IC title when he came back but that never happened and probably for the best.

Rocky Johnson vs. David Schultz

Schultz tries to bait Rocky with a handshake but he isn’t having that. Schultz then does some more stalling tactics as Rocky is getting pissed. This is starting to really get old as Schultz will gesture towards Rocky then retreat and this spot gets repeated constantly. We are now four minutes into this match and no contact has been made. Finally, the two men lockup and Schultz knocks Rocky down after refusing to break cleanly. Rocky fights back but Schultz retreats. More stalling ensues as the crowd is chanting for Rocky. Schultz boots Rocky after going for a test of strength. Rocky escapes but Schultz retreats and the ref steps between them. Schultz hits Rocky from behind then the ref steps between them again. The fans are throwing trash into the ring at this point. Rocky fights back and knocks Schultz down with a pair of rights. Rocky goes for a slam but Schultz turns it into a rollup for the win (9:25) -***.

Thoughts: One of the worst matches I have seen, unless you are a diehard fan of stalling for the entire match, only to win by rollup. In regards to this match, Meltzer wrote in the observer that you could “burn more calories by sipping coffee” than Schultz did in this match. I felt that to be an accurate statement. It made you never want to see these two wrestle again instead of seeing Rocky getting his revenge, which I assume was the intention.

Bruno Sammartino is backstage, stating it is great to be back at MSG. He will be in the corner of his son, David.

Ken Patera w/Capt. Lou Albano vs. David Sammartino w/Bruno Sammartino

Patera overpowers Sammartino then starts taunting him. Sammartino picks up Patera and places him on the turnbuckle, which as Albano irate. He catches Patera with a press slam, which has the crowd going crazy. Patera ducks outside for a breather then re-enters the ring. Sammartino fires away but Patera backs him into the ropes and chops him across the chest. He chokes out Sammartino in the corner then uses a mix of brawling and matwork but Sammartino fights back. He knocks down Patera and beats on him in the corner. Patera begs for mercy and catches Sammartino off guard. He boots him outside then slams him on the floor. Patera beats on Sammartino, who is on the apron, then targets the back after he crawls into the ring. Patera tosses him halfway across the ring before hitting a suplex. Sammartino escapes from a bearhug but Patera goes right back to work on the back. Sammartino uses a bell clap to get out of another bearhug as the camera shows Bruno watching from ringside. Sammartino starts hammering away but the crowd isn’t responding to the comeback. He hits an atomic drop then gets two after dropping the knee. Sammartino gets nearfalls off a small package and a sunset flip but misses a charge in the corner, allowing Patera to hammer away. Samamrtino catches the foot off Patera but Albano trips him up. Bruno chases Albano into the ring and the ref rings the bell for the DQ, in favor of Sammartino (12:24) ***.

Thoughts: Good match that was all action. Patera was still solid in the ring at this point. He had nothing left after coming out of prison though. David Sammartino really wasn’t bad in the ring at all but he was not clicking with the crowds and lacked any characteristic that could have made him a star. Too bad, because if he even had a decent amount of charisma, he could have been a lot bigger than he was, seeing that he was Bruno’ son.

Finkel plugs the MSG show on December 28th. Announced matches are Cobra vs. Black Tiger, Tony Garea vs. Nikolai Volkoff, David Schultz vs. Antonio Inoki, Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch defend the titles against the Brisco Brothers, and Bob Orton & Roddy Piper vs. Tonga Kid & Jimmy Snuka. Cyndi Lauper will be presented with a special award.

Intercontinental Title Match

Tito Santana vs. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine (Champion)

Albano is not with Valentine. Match starts with Tito chasing after Valentine. After some stalling, they trade shots until Santana takes him down with a clothesline. Tito roughs him up in the corner then grabs a front facelock. He works that for a few minutes then breaks so he can ram his head off the mat. He grabs another front facelock but Valentine escapes then beats on Tito. He drags him outside but Tito fights back and rams Valentine’s head off a chair, prompting Hayes to proclaim that it was “vintage” Santana. Now we know where Michael Cole got that from. Back in the ring, Tito knocks Valenitne down with a forearm and slugs away. He goes for the figure four but Valentine reaches the ropes. He doesn’t break cleanly and takes control. He hits a shoulder breaker then drops a knee. He tries to put away Tito, who keeps kicking out. Valentine drops an elbow and wipes the mat with Tito’s face. He goes to work on the knee for a bit. Gutbuster gets two. Kneedrop gets two. Tito escapes from a figure four attempt then hits a flying forearm. Tito rams Valentine’s leg off the ringpost then uses a chair. The crowd is jacked as Tito goes to work on the leg. He tries a figure-four but Valentine yanks him down and attacks. He hits a suplex and puts on a chinlock as the fans are behind Tito. Valentine rams Tito in the corner but gets sent into the post after a charge. Santana boots him in the face and he is now bleeding from his forehead. Santana rams his head off the mat repeatedly then hits the flying forearm but that only gets two. Valentine tries to duck out but Tito pulls him back and hits an atomic drop. He gets two after a headbutt to the groin then both men brawl on the mat. Tito gets a few nearfalls then works on the leg. Valentine ducks out on the apron but Tito brings him back in with a suplex. He ducks his head but Valentine boots him then goes to work on the leg. He takes off Tito’s kneepad but he fights back and gets two off a small package. Valentine ducks outside and Tito pulls him back in by the hair. He puts on an abdominal stretch but the curfew bell rings and the match is ruled a draw (22:23) ***1/2. After the match, the ref holds Tito back as the fans are tossing garbage at Valentine.

Thoughts: Really good match. There was a fair amount of stalling at the beginning but this built up nicely and the crowd wanted Tito to destroy Valentine. This was not as good as their match from the June show, but it was close. This feud, along with Piper/Snuka, is starting to heat up and have been built up wonderfully. Valentine was one of the best workers in the promotion and Tito was really the only face they had who could contend for the IC belt.

Final Thoughts: The first half of the show was forgettable but the second half was pretty damn good. The tag match between Piper/Orton and Tonga/Snuka next month should be great too. Its weird not seeing Hogan on these shows, as he was the champ, but he was all over the place in 1984 and really didn’t wrestle all that much. I will be reviewing the December show in two weeks and next week, will review the December 18th TNT show, which was the Butcher Vachon wedding.

November 17th, 1984

Your hosts are Angelo Mosca and Jack Reynolds

This week, Tony Atlas, Barry Windham, Blackjack Mulligan, Tito Santana, and Paul Orndorff are in action. Also, Piper’s Pit with guest SD Jones.

Rene Goulet vs. Tony Atlas

Atlas is back after a brief stint in the AWA. The crowd is going nuts, starting a “Tony” chant. Atlas easily overpowers Goulet, occasionally stopping to taunt him. The crowd is eating up everything that Atlas does by the way. Goulet gets in an eye rake but Atlas fights back and hits a press slam for the win that had Mosca going out of his mind (3:28).

Thoughts: The crowd was hot for Atlas in his return. Atlas wasn’t around much longer after this as he was battling his substance abuse issues at this time.

WWF Update with Billy Red Lyons. It shows a Greg Valentine and Capt. Lou Albano clip from 10/21/84 show at MLG when he defended the Intercontinental Title against SD Jones.

Bob Wayne vs. Paul Orndorff w/Bobby Heenan

Orndorff is getting pelted with trash as he makes his way to the ring. Wayne doesn’t look to weigh more than 200 lbs. A loud “Paula” chant breaks out before the match. Orndorff starts by beating the shit out of Wayne. He tosses him to the floor then follows him out to slam him. In the ring, he hits a dropkick as Heenan briefly joins commentary, demanding respect for his client. Powerslam by Orndorff who then drops a pair of elbows. He murders him with a clothesline then hits the piledriver for the win (2:33).

Thoughts: Another dominating squash from Orndorff. I don’t think Orndorff needed a manager to get heat but adding Heenan certainly didn’t hurt things.

Billy Red Lyons is plugging the December 6th show in Vancouver. He is with Freddie Blassie and Nikolai Volkoff, who will be going against Sgt. Slaughter. That match never took place as Slaughter left the WWF and Volkoff ended up facing George Wells. Typical anti-Americn promo from Volkoff.

Mohammed Saad & Bobby Bass vs. Mike Rotundo & Barry Windham

This is the TV Debut for the team of Windham & Rotundo. Barry takes down Saad with a pair of armdrags then they take it to the mat. Rotundo tags and hits an elbow smash before working the arm. He does some matwork then ends up the wrong corner. Rotundo fights both men then Bass tags. They use quick tags that lead up to a double dropkick. Saad tags then Windham hits the running bulldog for the win (2:48). The crowd gives them a loud applause at the end.

Thoughts: Good showing for this team. There was a glaring absence of face tag-teams at this time and these guys looked great. The crowd was behind them too.

Billy Red Lyons is with Rocky Johnson. Billy calls him a contender for the world title as Rocky puts over Canada, stating he was born in Nova Scotia. He states he will be ready and won’t back down from anyone. Luckily, his son did not inherit his mic skills.

Ted Grizzly vs. Blackjack Mulligan

Mulligan takes down Grizzly to start. They do a bunch of lockups that go nowhere then Mulligan uses the world’s slowest drop toehold. Mulligan no sells several punches before hitting a flying back elbow smash for the win (2:41).

Thoughts: Horrendous match. Grizzly is incredibly uncoordinated and could barely run the ropes and Mulligan was not good in the ring at this point at all (Honestly, I don’t know if he was ever good in the ring).

Piper’s Pit with SD Jones. Piper calls him one of the people he never wanted to wrestle because he has nothing to gain in beating him. Now that’s how you bury someone. SD yells at Piper then Blackjack Mulligan comes out and stares at Piper, who says he will not be intimidated. Mulligan says that they need someone else to give people a chance and states that he will now have Mulligan’s BBQ. They are pushing Mulligan strongly here and the thought of another talk-show segment seems to be hinting at a feud between both men. 

Goldie Rogers vs. Tito Santana

The announcers put over Tito for coming back from injury. He looks intense as he works on Rogers. Goldie uses an eye rake and punches away but Tito comes back with a backdrop as Mosca says that Goldie “has this Mexican in an uproar.” Tito then puts him away with a spinning toe hold into a bridge (2:17). Reynolds follows Tito’s victory with some of the least enthusiastic “Arriba” chants I have ever heard.

Thoughts: They continue to push Tito strongly since his return from injury.

Another Billy Jack vignette.

They show the Tonga Kid vs. Roddy Piper match from the 10/27/84 episode of Championship Wrestling is shown.

Billy Red Lyons is with Nikolai Volkoff, again. He cuts a prom on Sgt. Slaughter for their match November 6th in Vancouver. After that, Angelo Mosca comes out and says that his match against the Iron Sheik will be a war. He says that Iran has 75% of the world’s Pistachio nuts but they have one left over, the Iron Sheik. In his defense, Mosca was so bad he was funny. Sadly, the same cannot be said for today’s announce team.

Next week, David Schultz, Brutus Beefcake, Jimmy Snuka, Blackjack Mulligan, and the main event, Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff vs. Rick McGraw and SD Jones, which Mosca notes could be a main event anywhere in the country.

Final Thoughts: This show was good in the fact that they are pushing and re-introducing babyface wrestlers. Atlas and Mulligan were back, Tito still is pushed strong, and Windham & Rotunda debuted as a team. I have said it many times but the WWF had a glaring lack of good wrestlers on the face side of the roster. The fact that Valentine was defending his belt against SD Jones at house shows just about says it all.

On a side note, next week I will review the 11/26/84 house show at MSG then after that the 12/18/84 TNT show (Butcher Vachon’s Wedding) followed by the 12/26/84 MSG show until it reaches 1985, where I will be reviewing Championship Wrestling again, amongst other things. I will start in 1985 with the debut of Primetime Wrestling, which aired 1/1/85.  

Any questions, complaints, or comments, feel free to email me at [email protected]

November 10th, 1984

Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon

In action tonight are the Tag Team Champions, Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch. Plus, Big John Studd, Tito Santana, David Sammartino, Brutus Beefcake and the Tonga Kid. Roddy Piper is back with Piper’s Pit and guest Barry Windham.

The Executioner vs. Tito Santana

Looks like Paul Kelly is still playing the Executioner. Santana grabs a headlock and continuously wrenches the neck. This goes on for a while until he punches him down. The Executioner attempts to go for the knee but Tito grabs another headlock. He knocks him out of the ring and Tito brings him back in with a snapmare. Tito hits a backdrop then goes for the figure-four but instead uses a bridge and gets the win (4:11).

Thoughts: They had Tito look strong in his first match from the injury angle. I liked Tito a lot but his squash matches at this time were very dull.

WWF Update with Lord Alfred Hayes. This week’s subject is Hulk Hogan. Same deal as always, short clip of an entrance then Hayes puts you over for a bit.

Big John Studd w/Bobby Heenan vs. Tony Garea

The crowd chants for Hogan as Garea tries to slam Studd. He gets shoved to the floor and Heenan starts yelling at him. Garea fights back on the apron and lands on his feet after being tossed. He dodges a charge and fires away at Studd with his pathetic punches. The crowd is getting loud as the Hillbilly is shown. Garea then bounces off of Studd, who covers for the win (2:11).

Thoughts: In no way should Studd have sold this much for Garea. The crowd was red hot as they hated Studd and Heenan. The Hillbilly in the crowd is starting to get a bit old at this point.

Gene Okerlund is with Ivan Putski. He brings up the $50,000 Battle Royal in Los Angeles as Putski tells us that he likes LA broads with cleavage and brings up the time he and Gene met “Lucille” at the club. Putski promises that he will win and throw a Polish celebration afterwards, whatever the fuck that means. A bizarre interview. Meltzer wrote in the Observer at this time that Okerlund would constantly bring up real-life happenings in these interviews that the audience would have no clue about. I wonder if this was one of those occasions.

Rick McGraw & Jose Luis Rivera vs. Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch

The champs take turns working on the knee of McGraw, who was limping before the match. He finally tags out and the champs hit Rivera with their finisher almost immediately (2:26).

Thoughts: Simple match as they destroyed the knee of McGraw then hit Rivera with their finisher as soon as he tagged. They really made the champs look strong and they sold a lot in their TV matches. The tag team division was pure shit at this time.

Mean Gene is with Bobby Heenan, who is upset about the “Weasel” chants. He is representing Kamala for Freddie Blassie, who is on assignment. Kamala and Friday come out as Heenan is shocked that someone would marry Okerlund and cracks several jokes as Kamala is wandering around in front of the camera. Not Heenan’s best but still a solid interview.

Mario Mancini vs. Brutus Beefcake w/Luscious Johnny Valiant

Funny moment, as a fan holds up a sign that reads “Brutus Buttplug” right in front of the camera. The fans are actually taunting Beefcake, which is different than the usual silence that occurs whenever he sets foot in the ring.  Beefcake chokes out Mancini to start. He holds him over his head with one hand before slamming him down. Brutus then finishes off Mancini with a running kneelift (2:59).

Thoughts: Brutus was actually over a bit here, which was a minor miracle in itself. He is still a liability in the ring but after a few months straight of TV matches, he drew some heat. Johnny V wasn’t bringing much to the table as a manager.

Piper’s Pit with Barry Windham. Piper mocks Windham being from Texas, using an over-exaggerated accent. He orders Windham to stand up and take off his jacket as things are apparently turning homoerotic at the Pit. Piper makes a joke about women from Texas before comparing Windham to a woman, with his long legs, blond hair, and bandana. Windham asks Piper to take off his shirt, and he does, as this is starting to resemble a porno scene. Windham then makes a skirt joke before walking off. This was Piper trying to bully a younger wrestler mixed with some homoeroticism.  

Johnny Rodz vs. David Sammartino

They take it to the mat and it ends in a standoff. They trade shots in the corner then Rodz grabs a side headlock. He hammers away but gets kneed on a charge and Sammartino takes control. He grabs a chinlock but Rodz escapes. Rodz gets an elbow smash but Sammartino catches him with a powerslam for the win (2:31).

Thoughts: Match was fine but David, being billed as David Bruno Sammartino by Howard Finkel, was not getting over with the crowd. His father continues to stay silent on commentary whenever he wrestles. David tried but he had no charisma and looked like a bloated Rick McGraw and that is not the formula to create a wrestling star.

Another Billy Jack vignette. He still loves clean living and can’t wait to meet the fans. He was actually supposed to debut the following week on All-Star Wrestling but he left the promotion before that took place as, according to Meltzer, Vince promised to hire his mentor Stan Stasiak, as an announcer but decided against it at the last minute.

Dave Barbie vs. Tonga Kid

Tonga takes down Barbie and delivers some chops. He grabs a chinlock as McMahon updates the status of Snuka, stating that there is a chance that he might be able to return to the ring. Barbie is choking out Tonga. He whips Tonga in the corner but gets dropkicked. Tonga uses several headbutts before grabbing a front facelock. The fans are going nuts as Piper makes his way to the ring. Tonga is distracted and Barbie attacks him from behind. Scoop slam by Barbie only gets one. Tonga fights back as Piper is on the apron. Tonga chases him off then the fans erupt as Jimmy Snuka comes down the aisle and walks towards Piper, who leaves through the crowd. Snuka takes off his neck brace and the fans go crazy. It ends with Snuka and Tonga in the ring. No decision was made on the outcome of this match (5:22).

Thoughts: Match itself wasn’t much but the return of Snuka, chasing off Piper, was an awesome moment that had the fans go apeshit. This feud was really heating up and would continue to do so for the rest of the year.

Gene Okerlund is with Sgt. Slaughter and the Junkyard Dog. He asks them about their match in LA against Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Sheik. After JYD quotes George Thorogood, Gene asks JYD about soul music as they do hand gestures in the background as Slaughter cuts his promo It ends with JYD and Sarge performing dueling military chants. Another bizarre and hilarious interview from Okerlund.

Final Thoughts: The return of Snuka was a huge moment and the highlight of the show. There was some wacky interview segments throughout that were amusing too. They put over Windham, which was a necessity as they lacked babyfaces with actual wrestling talent. Overall, a good show.  

November 3, 1984

Your hosts are Angelo Mosca and Jack Reynolds

This week’s show features David Schultz, Sgt. Slaughter, Big John Studd, Brutus Beefcake, Kamala, Piper’s Pit with Tito Santana, and the SD Jones vs. Greg Valentine Intercontinental Title Match from the 10/21/84 Maple Leaf Garden show. The U.S. version of this show aired the Tonga Kid vs. Roddy Piper match from last week’s Championship Wrestling.

Tony Garea vs. “Dr. D” David Schultz w/Bobby “The Brain” Heenan

Garea starts off by beating Schultz in the corner. He hits a dropkick then gets two off a crossbody as Schultz bails. The crowd is quiet, except for a few kids chanting “Weasel.” Back in the ring, Schultz tries to avoid Garea but he gets manhandled. No one cares about any of this by the way. Garea hits an atomic drop but misses a crossbody and Schultz drops an elbow for the win (3:04). After the match, Garea, the sore loser that he is, chases away Schultz and Heenan.

Thoughts: The crowd was dead for this. Garea, quite possibly the worst babyface wrestler of the entire 1980’s, couldn’t even get cheered against Schultz. That says a lot right there. Plus, watching Garea destroy Schlutz then lose to an elbow drop after missing a move is an awful.

WWF Update with Billy Red Lyons. The subject is the Tonga Kid as we get a highlight package set to the song “Some Guys Have all the Luck” by Rod Stewart. It only took a month but Tonga is over like crazy

Goldie Rogers vs. Sgt. Slaughter

A “USA” chant breaks out in Canada, of all places. Sarge takes Rogers down with an armdrag as Mosca notes that he would pick Slaughter as a bodyguard because he would feel safe with him. Rogers rakes the eyes and hammers away but misses a corner charge and gets killed with the Slaughter Cannon. Sarge puts him in the Cobra Clutch for the win (2:24).

Thoughts: Slaughter is over and can do no wrong at this point. Sadly, he would be gone from the company in a month.

Billy Red Lyons interviews Angelo Mosca, who will be facing the Iron Sheik on the November 5th show in Vancouver. He tells the Sheik to look into his eyes and brings up an incident that took place a few years ago in Vancouver and he has made amends for that. I guess this was when Mosca was wrestling as a heel in the 1970’s? Anyway, Mosca sounded much less moronic here than he did on commentary.  

Nick DeCarlo vs. Kamala w/Friday and Luscious Johnny Valiant

Reynolds informs us that Blassie is on a “special assignment” and has blessed Valiant, whose shirt reads “I Love Johnny,” to make him a consultant. Kamala hits some chops as some fan repeatedly calls Valiant an asshole. Valiant yells at Mosca and Kamala finishes DeCarlo off with a pair of splashes (1:32). After the match, Kamala attacks DeCarlo and has to be ordered out of the ring by Friday.

Thoughts: Kamala was also on his way out. Apparently, he hated the travel schedule and left after wrapping up a series of house shows with Andre the Giant.

Billy Red Lyons is with Tony Garea. Lyons actually refers to Garea, who was 48 years old, as a young man. Garea says he is ready to face Bad News Allen on November 5th in Vancouver. Garea is terrible at just about everything he does and interviews are no exception.

Richard Cummings vs. Big John Studd w/Bobby Heenan

Cummings is a big fat guy who was wearing a flannel and a winter hat with a ball on top. A few “Andre” chants break out. Cummings fails to slam Studd and gets knocked down. Studd drops an elbow and pulls him up at the two count. He puts him in an armbar as Mosca says he will admit that Studd is a big man. And you think the commentary today is horrible. Heenan yells at the fans about the weasel chants as Studd hits a clothesline then drops the elbow for the win (2:25).

Thoughts: This match really sucked but the fans were all over Studd and Heenan, who were developing into a top heel act. Heenan really helped the minimally talented Studd.  

Piper’s Pit with Tito Santana. Piper harasses Santana for hurting his leg and losing the IC title. Santana tells Piper that he’s never been a champion and states that he 100% right now and will face anyone. Piper orders Santana to stand up. Tito gets up and throws the crutches at Piper, stating that he is doesn’t need them. Piper ends by ranting about how he never needed to stand on anything. Great job putting over Tito as a face and starting his chase for the title against Valentine.

Rick McGraw vs. Brutus Beefcake w/Luscious Johnny Valiant

Beefcake attacks McGraw before the bell. He grabs a front facelock as the crowd remains silent. McGraw fights back and hits a dropkick. He gets two off a backslide but runs into the flying knee and Beefcake gets the win (1:56).

Thoughts: Another weak match. Brutus is still flopping in his role. The crowds don’t care at all.

Intercontinental Championship Match

SD Jones vs. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine (Champion)

This match took place at Maple Leaf Gardens on October 21st. The fact that SD Jones was fighting for the IC Title speaks volumes about the lack of quality babyfaces on the roster at this time. SD dodges an elbow smash and works the arm. Valentine gets out and kicks SD down. He works on the leg for a while until SD breaks free. Valentine then chokes him out with his foot and goes right back to work on the leg. He tries the figure-four but SD escapes. SD knocks Valentine out of the ring with a headbutt then beats him up on the outside. He rolls Valentine back in the ring but gets stopped on the apron and Valentine brings him back inside with a back suplex then covers for the win. This match was edited to about five minutes.

Thoughts: SD was status quo and Valentine was still very good. Really not much more to say other than SD was a sad choice as a challenger.

Billy Red Lyons is with Bobby Heenan, who he states is substituting for Freddie Blassie. Heenan brings out Kamala and Friday and promises that he will beat Andre the Giant in Vancouver.

Mosca and Reynolds plug next week’s show that includes the Junkyard Dog, Kamala, David Sammartino, David Schultz, Tonga Kid, and the featured match Big John Studd & Nikolai Volkoff vs. SD Jones and Samoan #3, which was the other name for Samula.

Final Thoughts: Not much of a show. The matches were poor and the crowd was cold. Piper’s Pit was easily the highlight of an otherwise dull hour of wrestling.

November 3, 1984

Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon

This week Sgt. Slaughter, Greg Valentine, David Sammartino, the Brisco Brothers and Mil Mascaras are in action. Also in action making their WWF debut is Barry Windham. Plus Piper’s Pit with Freddie Blassie and Nikolai Volkoff.

Johnny Rodz vs. Sgt. Slaughter

Rodz yells at the fans for not getting cheered. They lockup a few times as the camera shows Tito Santana sitting ringside. Sarge hits a back elbow smash and Rodz retreats to the corner, where he lands a cheapshot. He hits a pair of elbow smashes of the middle rope but gets tackled in midair on the third attempt and Slaughter puts on the Cobra Clutch for the win (3:36).

Thoughts: The fans always go crazy for Slaughter and this was no exception. Too bad he doesn’t have an interesting feud going on right now.

WWF Update with Lord Alfred Hayes. This week’s topic is Wendi Richter as they show  a clip of her beating Moolah for the Women’s Championship back in July.

Greg “The Hammer” Valentine w/Capt. Lou Albano vs. Rick McGraw

Santana is shown again in the crowd as Vince tells us that Santana bought a ticket this week. McGraw ducks an attack and hits a hiptoss. They take it to the mat and McGraw gains the advantage. Crossbody gets two as the crowd is going nuts. Valentine then beats on McGraw as a “Tito” chant breaks out. McGraw’s brief comeback ends when he misses a running knee smash in the corner and Valentine puts on the figure-four for the win (2:32). Valentine refuses to break the hold and Tito runs in and breaks it up. Tito gets in a few shots before Valentine escapes. The crowd was jacked the entire time.

Thoughts: Great segment. The fans erupted when Tito got his revenge on Valentine. McGraw got in a decent amount of offense and looked good here. This started off a feud that would really get hot heading into 1985.

Gene Okerlund is with Freddie Blassie and Nikolai Volkoff. He runs down Slaughter and JYD, stating that Volkoff and Sheik are the best team in the world. Volkoff tells Slaughter that this will be Vietnam all over for him. Not much but Sheik wasn’t at this taping and I do not know why. It could have been a rehab trip for him.

Carl Fury vs. David Sammartino

The Hillbilly is shown again in the audience. Sammartino works over Fury as his dad tells us on commentary that he has natural body strength. Fury gets a shoulder block but Sammartino takes him down with an armdrag and works the arm. Fury lands a few shots but Sammartino fights back. He boots him down and catches Fury with a powerslam for the win (3:13).

Thoughts: Sammartino was average in the ring but he displayed zero personality. His dad didn’t even put him over that strongly on commentary as Vince would usually ask him about his son, to which Bruno would give a short, generic answer. I know that David claims to have not spoken to his dad in many years so maybe they had a beef here too.

Gene Okerlund is with Bobby Heenan and John Studd. He runs down a list of lower-card workers in the 15 man battle royal. Studd is in the match and he and Heenan still blame the ref in Los Angeles for costing him the title. He says he will put up his $15,000 against Hogan’s title. Heenan was funny here and Gene was awesome at playing off of him. This is when Gene began to shine with the interviews as they made him focus on this and took him off as an announcer, where he was really terrible.

Charlie Fulton & Steve Lombardi vs. Brisco Brothers

The Championship Wrestling debut of the Brisco’s, who came over when Vince bought Georgia Championship Wrestling from them and others. They use quick tags and work on the arm of Lombardi. Bruno calls the Brisco’s the greatest tag-team in wrestling and puts over their amateur background. Fulton tags and Jack takes him down. The Brisco’s remain in control until they hit a double shoulder tackle on Lombardi and Jack puts on the figure-four, getting the win by submission (2:29).

Thoughts: Jack was in his 40’s and could still go in the ring. Jerry was okay. The Brisco’s only lasted a few more months in the WWF.

Piper’s Pit with Freddie Blassie and Nikolai Volkoff. Blassie mentions Piper’s match with the Tonga Kid, putting him over. Piper then asks Nikolai to sing the Russian National Anthem. The crowd is loudly booing as Piper grabs the mic and yells at the crowd. They get louder and Piper says that you can’t make chicken salad out of a bunch of garbage and leaves. Piper was a master at working the crowd and this is a fine example of that. No heel today could get this type of reaction from a crowd.

WWF Action Hotline Ad with Capt. Lou Albano and Roddy Piper. They both are shouting and acting manic in general. It was very brief.

The Executioner vs. Barry Windham

This is the WWF debut of Windham. They trade arm wringers as Bruno and Vince put over Windham’s physique. He works the arm for a while until the Executioner gets a slam. He misses an elbow drop then a charge in the corner and that allows Windham to hit the bulldog for the win (2:53).

Thoughts: Windham looked alright in the ring. He was just 24 years old at this point too. I can only imagine the amount of pussy this guy got in the 1980’s.

A vignette of Billy Jack. He is on a horse and satates that he does not smoke, drink, or use drugs but rather works out six days a week. He says that he will be arriving to the WWF shortly.

Terry Manton vs. Mil Mascaras

Mascaras does some matwork, which looks good. The announcers put over his scientific wrestling ability as he performs a variety of holds. Manton gets in a few shots but Mascaras takes him down. He hits a dropkick and a flying forearm then works the arm. Mascaras hits a backdrop then goes up top and uses a flying body press. He pulls Manton up at two then hits another flying tackle and then a splash but pulls him up at two then does the same sequence again for the win (4:32).

Thoughts: Mascaras was a hit in the Northeast. This run didn’t last all that long and was his last with the company. He is notorious for not selling for his opponents and only getting in his moves.

Gene Okerlund is with Tonga Kid. He gives a spirited interview about Piper and their match November 26th at Madison Square Garden. I will be reviewing that show shortly. Tonga exceeded all expectations in this role.

Next week’s show includes Big John Studd, Brutus Beefcake, Tonga Kid, Tito Santana, Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch, and David Sammartino in action.

Final Thoughts: Solid show. You had the debut of Windham and it was nice to see the Brisco’s and Mil Mascaras. The Santana/Valentine angle started off with a bang and everything else was passable.  

October 27, 1984

Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon

This week’s featured match is the Tonga Kid vs. Roddy Piper. Also, JYD, Paul Orndorff, Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch, and Brutus Beefcake will all be in action.

John Callahan vs. Junkyard Dog

Callahan attacks JYD as he enters but gets knocked down quickly. JYD hits a forearm smash then uses his crawling headbutts. Callahan comically oversells everything as Vince cant get enough of JYD’s taunts. He bites Callahan’s forehead then eventually gets the win with a running forearm smash (3:31). After the match, JYD dances with the fans as Vince talks about how he can boogie in and out of the ring.

Thoughts: Match was pretty bad but JYD was really over with the crowds. They were desperate for faces in the mid-card and JYD was an instant success.

WWF Update with Lord Alfred Hayes. This week’s subject is Kamala and his translator Friday. They show a clip of him beating Jose Luis Rivera from a few weeks ago. Kamala would be gone from the WWF in a few weeks.

Rick McGraw vs. Paul Orndorff

The “Paula” chants are in full effect. Orndorff starts by shoving McGraw, which triggers a brawl. Orndorff wins that easily then hits a backdrop. He hits a backbreaker then drops an elbow before grabbing a chinlock. McGraw breaks and starts a comeback. He hits a dropkick and gets two off a sunset flip. He tries a flying headscissors but Orndorff tosses him throat first on the ropes. He hits a swinging neckbreaker then gets the win with a piledriver (2:39).

Thoughts: Orndorff beat the shit out of McGraw. Orndorff squash matches are usually entertaining and this was no exception. Orndorff is another wrestler who needs a feud but the lack of quality faces is the problem.

Gene Okerlund plugs the November 26th show at Madison Square Garden. He brings out Greg Valentine, who talks about his rematch against Tito Santana. He promises to put him in the figure-four leg lock.

David Sammartino vs. Charlie Fulton

Sammartino shoves Fulton away a few times before they lock up. Sammartino hits a backdrop then goes to work on the arm. He ducks a clothesline and hits a scoop slam before going back to the arm. Sammartino hits several forearm smashes before catching him with a powerslam for the win (3:19). Finkle calls him David Bruno Sammartino.

Thoughts: Decent enough but Sammartino is not getting that much of a reaction. He is okay in the ring but lacks the charisma that his father has, to say the least.

Gene Okerlund is with Big John Studd and Bobby Heenan. He wants to put up $15,000 against Hulk Hogan’s title. He is outraged that he lost to Hogan in Los Angeles. Heenan says that they will win the belt in the Battle Royal on the November 27th show in Los Angeles.

Mario Mancini & Tony Garea vs. Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch

Garea and Murdoch start out, with Vince mentioning his previous title reigns. Garea ducks an attack and knocks down Murdoch. They do some matwork and Murdoch manages to tag out despite being in a headscissors. Adonis comes in but Garea knocks him out of the ring and cleans house. Murdoch tags in and Garea puts him in an abdominal stretch. Adonis breaks that up and Garea tags out. They rough up Mancini until Adonis gets the win with a top rope elbow drop (3:19).

Thoughts: It’s ridiculous to see how they protect a jobber like Garea. Hell, they protected him then better than the WWE protects their current Intercontinental Champion. Adonis and Murdoch were a good team. Adonis was also packing on the pounds at this point.

Piper’s Pit with Greg Valentine and Capt. Lou Albano. The Captain wants Valentine and Piper to “bury the hatchet,” which was in reference to their feud in the NWA from last year. They shake hands as Piper puts over Albano. It was a love-fest between the heels and a fine segment.

Salvatore Bellomo vs. Brutus Beefcake w/Luscious Johnny Valiant

Vince drools over Beefcake’s physique. Bellomo blocks a punch and grabs a headlock. They then fuck up an armdrag spot and Bellomo uses a hiptoss as Beefcake takes a breather in the corner. Beefcake ducks an attack and hits a flying knee smash for the win (1:49).

Thoughts: Awful match. No one cares about Beefcake as the fans are silent whenever he appears. He was not over at all when he first started, no matter how much Vince talks about his physique. Bellomo was is usual self, which meant he was terrible.

Tonga Kid vs. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper

Piper stalls by slowly walking around the ring. He pulls down Tonga and goes in the ring and beats him down. Tonga somersaults underneath a clothesline attempt and gets a crossbody block. He beats on Piper in the corner and hits a few headbutts. He hits a dropkick and the fans are going nuts. Piper begs for mercy for a bit then uses Tonga’s momentum to toss him over the ropes. Piper rolls Tonga back in the ring and grabs a chair. Tonga ducks a chairshot and knocks Piper down. He hits a top rope headbutt grabs the chair instead of covering and wails on Piper as the ref rings the bell for the DQ (3:40). Hw goes nuts as several heels run in to get him away. Tonga goes back and jumps on Piper, who gets taken out of the ring. Tonga celebrates in the ring.

Thoughts: The match was fine but the finish was wild and it turned the Tonga Kid into a star. Piper was awesome, nailing all of the heel mannerisms to go along with his brilliant selling of Tonga’s offense. Speaking of the Tonga Kid, he did great and showed a ton of fire, especially for someone who was only 19 years old that the time.

Gene Okerlund is with Ken Patera, who states everal magazines wrote about how he  beat Bruno Sammartino in 1979 then runs down his son, David, and says that Lou Albano will be in his corner when he faces Sammartino at MSG on Noember 26th.

Bruno Sammartino holds up the chair from the previous match as the camera closes up on a dent. Vince states that since Piper brought in the chair, Tonga Kid won by disqualification. They plug next week’s featured match, which is Judy Martin vs. Wendi Richter in a non-title match.

Final Thoughts: The featured bout was great. There was some really bad wrestling but the Piper/Tonga feud is really hot and they are continuing to get JYD over as a face act. They need to work on a feud for the tag-champs as the Samoans were about done and they were using JYD & Slaughter to go against Sheik & Volkoff for the house shows.

October 20th, 1984

Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon

This week’s show includes the Tonga Kid vs. The Executioner, Nikolai Volkoff & The Iron Sheik, and an update on Tito Santana

Charlie Fulton vs. Sgt. Slaughter

The crowd has tons of Slaughter stuff. He works the arm of Fulton as the crowd starts a “USA” chant. Fulton fights back and lands a few shots but Slaughter fights back and knocks him down. Fulton reverses a whip in the corner and takes him down with a shoulderblock. Sarge ducks a clothesline and hits Fulton with the Slaughter Cannon then gets the win with the Cobra Clutch (2:17).

Thoughts: The Sarge is still insanely over with the crowd but doesn’t have a hot feud at the moment. He was facing Volkoff at house shows and that wasn’t getting anything close to the reaction that he was getting with the Iron Sheik.

WWF update with Lord Alfred Hayes. This week’s focus is on Ken Patera as they show a clip of him destroying Billy Travis.

Judy Martin vs. Desiree Peterson

Martin takes down Peterson but she reverses it into a headscissors. She grabs Peterson by the hair to escape but gets knocked down by Peterson after she ducks a few punches. Martin works an armbar, which is reversed by Peterson. Martin escapes and roughs up Peterson for a bit. She side-steps a crossbody and hits a front suplex for the win (3:04). After the match, Martin grabs the mic and demands Wendi Richter come out and face her before tossing Peterson to the floor.

Thoughts: The match was fine for a women’s match. Martin was horrible on the mic. You could barely understand a word she was saying. After Moolah, they had no challengers for Richter.  

Jack Reynolds runs down the MSG show and interviews Big John Studd and Bobby Heenan about the title match against Hulk Hogan. Heenan gloats how Hogan can lose the title by pinfall or by countout. They play up the $15,000 bodyslam challenge and how Hogan will wear himself out by trying to slam him. Good stuff from Heenan.

The Executioner vs. Tonga Kid

This match was made on last week’s Piper’s Pit. They work an Irish whip sequence where they mis-time a leapfrog. Tonga chops down the Executioner then hits a headbutt. The Executioner bails as Tonga is all fired up. Back inside, Tonga hits another headbutt and fires away, while yelling “Piper.” He hits a dropkick then hammers away. He hits a slam but the Executioner rakes the eyes. Tonga reverses an Irish whip and catches him with a slam. He hits a jumping headbutt then finishes him off with a top rope splash (3:07). Nice splash as he went three-fourths across the ring. The crowd is loud, starting a “We want Piper” chant.

Thoughts: Tonga Kid is really gaining some momentum. He was a lower mid-card guy until he went on Piper’s Pit and injected himself into the Piper/Snuka feud. The crowd was solidly behind him in this match.

Jack Reynolds is with Nikolai Volkoff. He runs down Sgt. Slaughter, calling him a liar and says that Russians advised the Vietnam soldiers on how to beat the USA. He then spits on the ground and promises to spit on him after he beats him at MSG. Promos were not Nikolai’s strength, that’s for sure.

Billy Travis vs. Big John Studd w/Bobby Heenan

Studd knocks Travis through the ropes with a shoulder block. Outside, Travis manages to send Studd into the ring post but once they go back in the ring, Studd destroys him. He goes up to the second rope and hits an axe handle. He slams him on the ropes then drops an elbow, then repeats that same sequence for the win (2:30).

Thoughts: They continue to build up Studd for programs with Hogan and Andre.  Giving him Heenan helps him get more heat but he is still a lousy wrestler.

Piper’s Pit with guest David Sammartino. Piper asks him how he can think he can cut it in the WWF by riding on his dad’s fame. Sammartino says that he has worked hard as the Tonga Kid comes out and interrupts, demanding a match. The crowd is going nuts as Piper makes fun of him, saying he is nothing but garbage and demands that he leaves. Sammartino grabs the mic and calls Roddy “chicken” as Piper snaps and says he is not a chicken and will fight the Tonga Kid next week. The crowd went ballistic during this segment, which was well done.

We are shown footage of several jobbers helping Tito Santana on the stretcher after losing the Intercontinental Title to Greg Valentine on All-Star Wrestling the previous week. The crowd chants for Tito as we are shown Tito being wheeled into a hospital to get his knee operation. Tito speaks after the operation, saying that it was a success and promises that he will get better and come after Greg Valentine. Vince promises we will have another update next week. This segment lasted way longer than necessary.

Steve Lombardi & Salvatore Bellomo vs. Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff

After Volkoff sings the Russian National Anthem, Bellomo takes the mic and sings “God Bless America” until Volkoff jumps him from behind. Bellomo gets double-teamed in the corner as the crowd starts a “USA” chant. They continue the assault as the fans now chant “Russia Sucks.” Volkoff lifts Bellomo with one hand by the throat then tags the Sheik, who gets a slam. Bellomo kicks the Sheik and tags Lombardi. He throws his terrible punches then Sheik rams in the stomach and tags Volkoff. He stomps him repeatedly until he tags the Sheik, who puts him in the Camel Cltuch for the win (3:51)

Thoughts: The usual stuff from Sheik & Volkoff. Really not much more to say about this match although Lombardi & Bellomo are quite the jobbing duo. God, those two were fucking terrible.

Jack Reynolds is with Hulk Hogan. He tells Reynolds to shut up then goes on a rant about Big John Studd. He tells us that Studd stripped him of his pride after his loss last month. Typical Hulk promo.

Bruno and Vince recap the show, putting over the toughness of Sheik & Piper then plug next week’s featured match, Tonga Kid vs. Roddy Piper.

Final Thoughts: This show just about turned the Tonga Kid from nothing into a star. The crowd was going wild for him and he did a great job with everything. The heat on Piper was off the charts as well. The rest of the show was largely forgettable but next week’s show will have the Tonga Kid vs. Roddy Piper match, which should be crazy.

October 20th, 1984

Your hosts are Angelo Mosca and Jack Reynolds

In action this week are Big John Studd, David Schultz, Junkyard Dog (causing Mosca to howl like a wolf, not bark like a dog), Bob Orton, Moondogs, Piper’s Pit, and Andre the Giant.

Robbie Parliament vs. “Dr. D” David Schultz

Schutlz backs Parliament against the ropes then grabs a front facelock. Schultz pounds away and grabs a chinlock. The announcers run down the rest of the card as Schultz continues his dominance. He hits Parliament with an axe handle then drops an elbow for the win (2:41).

Thoughts: Dominating squash by Schultz, who has been doing nothing as of late. They look to be setting him up for an upcoming feud based on this match and how they put him over on commentary.

WWF Update with Lord Alfred Hayes. This week’ subjects are the Moondogs, who are returning to the WWF after a few years. They show a clip of them beating on Spike Huber as Hayes puts them over as a threat to the Tag-Team Titles.

Bubba Hawkins vs. Big John Studd w/Bobby “The Brain” Heenan

Hawkins hits a few dropkicks that have minimal effect. He tries a slam (The $15,000 prize is still in effect for those who can slam Studd) but Studd shoves him away. Studd hip-tosses Hawkins and grabs a chinlock. Studd hits a shoulder block and gets the thumbs up from Heenan. He hits a clothesline and drops an elbow for the win (2:27). After the match, Studd grabs the mic and says this was a piece of cake. He demands competition but Heenan tells us that there is no competition for him.

Thoughts: Studd is pure shit in the ring but Heenan got him a lot of heat as his manager. All signs are pointing to an upcoming feud with Andre.

Billy Red Lyons runs down the November 5th card in Vancouver. He brings in Luscious Johnny Valiant, who is substituting for Freddie Blassie. He brings in Kamala and Friday as he guarantees that Kamala will beat Andre the Giant. Nothing special.

“Gentleman” Jerry Valiant vs. Junkyard Dog

Valiant attempts to go after JYD with his own chains. The ref steps in then JYD lands a few shots. They lockup and Valiant lands a few punches. JYD is upset as Mosca tells us he can smell the excitement in the air. Valiant hammers away but JYD takes him down with a headbutt. After an Irish whip sequence, JYD catches Valiant with a powerslam for the win (2:10). After the match, JYD dances with some kids.

Thoughts: The match was nothing but the crowd was in love with JYD. He has been a hit with the fans ever since his debut two months prior.

Billy Red Lyons is with Capt. Lou Albano, who is now the “Technical Advisor” for Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch. He says that he cut loose the Samoans for not listening to him. He then goes off on one of his drunken rants, which is amusing to say the least. He makes fun of the Samoans the entire time.

Nick DeCarlo vs. “Cowboy” Bob Orton

Mosca says that we have to respect Orton because he is a man, then calls him the man of a 1,002 holds. They lockup then engage in some matwork. DeCarlo hits a backdrop after a criss-cross spot then grabs a front facelock. Orton picks him up and places on the top rope. He chops him then rams his head off the mat as they show the Hillbilly in the crowd. The crowd cheers Orton as he destroys DeCarlo. Orton misses a corner charge after a float over but hits an uppercut. He hits DeCarlo with a backbreaker then hits a corner slingshot splash for the win (3:02).

Thoughts: Orton looked fine but I’ve seen much better squash matches from him. Speaking of Orton, he is another guy who is languishing. The lack of midcard faces at the time was glaring and guys like Orton were left without anyone to feud with.

Piper’s Pit with Capt. Lou Albano and Greg Valentine. Piper brings up their problems in the past (They feuded in the NWA before coming to the WWF. I recommend checking out their dog collar match) then congratulate each other over their recent accomplishments. They hug it out as Piper wants to see Valentine’s belt. He kisses it and says they are the two toughest men around. Someone tosses a drink with ice that hits Piper and Albano. Good segment.

Mario Mancini & SD Jones vs. The Moondogs

The Moondogs use quick tags to beat the shit out of Mancini. Mosca says that he has an update on Tito Santana’s injury. The update is that we will have an update next week from his doctor. Spot hits a shoulderbreaker and Rex continues to destroy Mancini. He gets tossed near his partner and Jones makes the hot tag. He takes out the Moondogs with headbutts, as the crowd goes wild, then tags Mancini, which makes the fans and even the announcers groan. Rex hits him with a powerslam then tags Spot, who hits a legdrop off the middle rope for the win (3:10).

Thoughts: Moondogs looked really good, Spot in particular. Those guys could work. They are putting them over strong.

Butcher Vachon vs. Andre the Giant

The crowd goes ballistic for Andre as he makes his way towards the ring. Vachon grabs a front waistlock, which Andre easily breaks out of by using a thump. Vachon chops Andre hard but is has no effect. Vachon offers a handshake but Andre declines and chops him against the ropes. Kamala and Friday make their way towards the ring as Reynolds says that they have no business being out here. Well, what about Andre coming out for Kamala’s matches for the past month? Andre chops down Vachon then hits a backdrop. Friday orders Kamala to the dressing room as Andre backs Vachon in the corner. He hits the big boot and uses the sitdown splash for the win (4:20).

Thoughts: The match was horrendous but the focus was largely on Kamala at ringside. The feud between the two is getting a decent crowd reaction.

David Schultz is with Billy Red Lyons. He bullies Lyons, ordering him to stop talking. He makes fun of Vancouver, stating it’s filled with Canadian punks as well as fatties and skinny people. He tells his opponent, Rick McGraw, that he will quickly defeat him and take the next plane back to America before yelling at Lyons. He then tells him that he is thinking of slapping him and says that he has never been with a woman. Funny stuff by Schultz and a promo that you will never see today.

Final Thoughts: A couple of amusing interviews and a good tag squash was all this show really had. There was a lot of bad wrestling and they really didn’t advance or create any feuds. JYD remains a hit and Mosca is so bad he is funny on commentary but a lot of this was dull.

October 13, 1984

Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon

Charlie Fulton vs. Junkyard Dog

Fulton bails as JYD is dancing towards him. Vince is loving all of this. JYD taunts Fulton some more then escapes a headlock by dancing. Fulton backs JYD against the ropes but JYD punches away and Fulton bails. Back in the ring, JYD shoves down Fulton then takes him down with a hiptoss. Fulton gets an eye rake and lands several punches until JYD fights back. He knocks him down then hits the powerslam for the win (2:33). After the match, a woman goes into the ring and dances with JYD.

Thoughts: The match itself was crap but JYD did a great job of connecting with the fans and was over huge with the audience. The WWF was really weak on the face side at this time so JYD provides some depth in that department.

WWF Update with Lord Alfred Hayes. This week’s subject is Mr. Fuji and him becoming a manager, specifically the manager of Don Muraco. He states that Fuji is looking to add more clients.

Billy Travis & Rick McGraw vs. Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch

Sadly, all four men in this match are now dead and not one of them made it to the age of 50. McGraw takes down Murdoch with a few armdrags. He tags to Adonis, who takes McGraw down with a shoulderblock. McGraw comes back and hits a few more armdrags before getting slammed. Murdoch tags and gets dropkicked. He works the arm and tags Travis. Murdoch destroys Travis and tags Adonis. They beat on Travis then Adonis hits an elbow drop from the top for the win. (2:44).

Thoughts: Dull match as half of it consisted of McGraw using armdrags. The champs gave their opponents a lot of offense in their TV matches.

Gene Okerlund is with Hulk Hogan, who promotes his match in Los Angeles with Big John Studd. Hulk mentions being friends with Sylvester Stallone and Mr. T and promises to destroy Studd. Not bad.

Rudy Diamond vs. “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff

Havent seen Diamond since Orndorff destroyed him for wearing a “Paula” shirt a few onths back. Orndorff attacks Diamond from behind then tosses him to the floor. He goes outside and drops Diamond throat-first on the guardrail. Back inside, Orndorff hits a back elbow smash and several knee smashes. The crowd is screaming “Paula” as Orndorff kills Diamond with a back suplex. Orndorff taunts the fans then destroys Diamond some more before hitting the piledriver for the win (2:44). After the match, Orndorff pushes the ref away and raises his own hand in victory. Bruno and Vince also talk about how the piledriver should be banned.

Thoughts: Diamond looked really bad out there. Maybe he was scared because of how Orndorff beat the fuck out of him during their last encounter because he was really hesistant on everything and falling down well before contact was made. Don’t blame him too much as Orndorff is one tough dude.

Gene Okerlund is with Roddy Piper, who is flossing his teeth, promoting his match against Andre the Giant. Piper mentions that people usually fly out of Andre’s mouth when he flosses. He runs down the people from Los Angeles, saying that he does not want to be like them, then switches focus to Andre. Funny stuff.

Robbie Parliament vs. Kamala w/Friday

Kamala chops Parliament as the fans go crazy for Andre, who is making his way to the ring. Kamala is distracted for a bit then goes back to destroying Parliament until he finishes him off with a pair of splashes (1:47). After the match, Kamala hits another splash, which prompts Andre to go into the ring. The fans go shithouse then Kamala and Friday retreat.

Thoughts: The match was nothing but this feud has the fans going nuts. They just love Andre because the build for this hasn’t been particularly exciting.

Piper’s Pit with the Executioner. I believe this is Paul Kelly, a,jobber, playing the Executioner here. Buddy Rose was signed back to the WWF around this time but looking at the physique, you can tell its not him. Anyway, Piper calls him one of the best masked men that he has ever seen. The Tonga Kid appears and wants to talk to Piper, who insults his appearance. Tonga wants a match against Piper now for what he did to his cousin, Jimmy Snuka. Piper calls him garbage, stating that he is a star unlike Tonga then says that if he wants to fight somebody, he can fight the Executioner. Tonga screams how he wants Piper right now as the fans are going crazy.

Replay of Greg Valentine beating Tito Santana for the Intercontinental Title on Maple Leaf Wrestling

Chico Rodriguez vs. Brutus Beefcake

After a few weeks of speculation as to who will manage Beefcake, Luscious Johnny Valiant is announced by Finkle as the manager. Vince is shocked, thinking that Albano would be the choice. Valiant taunts Rodriguez with Beefcake’s vest, allowing Brutus to attack him from behind. He hits a slam and a gutwrench suplex before choking him out on the mat. Beefcake slams him then goes up top and hits a sitdown splash for the win (1:26).

Thoughts: Quick match. No one cares about Beefcake. He doesn’t even draw boos from the crowd, which has been responsive through the entire taping. You can tell Vince loves him though.

Gene Okerlund is with Bobby Heenan. He talks about Studd’s match with Hogan in Los Angeles. They show a clip of Studd beating a ref, which is why this match will feature two referees so that will not happen again. Heenan and Studd then accuse Hogan of using illegal tactics during their last match. 

Final Thoughts: The show wasn’t much but the Piper’s Pit segment kicked off a soon to be red-hot feud that would last all Winter long. With all of the newcomers coming in (and in a lot of cases, leaving right away) it was interesting to see who was over (JYD) and who was not (Beefcake).

October 13, 1984

Side Note: I have acquired a few more episodes of Championship Wrestling. I will post the one that aired on this week on Tuesday night. A lot of well known angles and segments took place in the next several weeks so I will be reviewing both shows, with Maple Leaf Wrestling going up on Sunday Nights.  

Your hosts are Jack Reynolds and Angelo Mosca

This week in action are the Dynamite Kid, Kamala, The Samoans, Piper’s Pit, and the main event, Tito Santana defends his Intercontinental Title against Greg Valentine. Mosca says nowhere in North America can you find a title match like this. Well, no shit. Anyway, Mosca says the word “Excitement” a few times in this segment and will continue to do so the entire time. If you drank every time he said the word, you’d be on the floor halfway through the show.

“Gentleman” Jerry Valiant vs. Dynamite Kid

Dynamite eludes Valiant as Mosca tells us that Dynamite reminds him of “Danny Boy Smith.” These two dumb fucks cannot get his name right. Dynamite hits an armdrag then shows off his speed. Valiant knocks down Dynamite then hammers away in the corner. Once again, they show the Hillbilly (Hillbilly Jim) in the crowd as the announcers comment on how he has the size to be a pro wrestler. Dynamite dropkicks Valiant and he gets caught in the ropes. Valiant fights back and tosses Dynamite to the floor. He slingshots him back in the ring but Dynamite hits a pair of flying headscissors then goes up top and hits the flying headbutt then drops an elbow for the win (3:59).

Thoughts: Valiant was far too slow to keep up with Dynamite and there was a major styles clash. Speaking of Dynamite, he is far too quick for the entire roster. There was no one who wrestled like him during this time.

WWF Update with Lord Alfred Hayes. This week’s subject are the Tag-Team Champs Dick Murdoch and Adrian Adonis. We see a clip of Murdoch at his ranch wrestling cattle.

“Silent” Brian Mackney vs. Iron Mike Sharpe

Sharpe cuts off the ring announcer and tells him that this match won’t last ten seconds. The crowd starts a “wimp” chant for Sharpe, who goes nuts. Mackney eludes Sharpe, who is getting pissed. Sharpe finally takes control with an eye rake and hits Mackney with several turnbuckle smashes. Sharpe yells at the crowd then goes back to beating Mackney. Sharpe gets an Irish whip reversed and Mackney hits a monkey flip. He dropkicks Sharpe, who rolls outside and hops the guardrail to yell at the fans. Back in the ring, Sharpe hits Mackney with a hangman’s drop then finishes Mackney off with a forearm smash (3:01). After the match, Sharpe proclaims that he is Canada’s greatest athlete.

Thoughts: Sharpe got a lot of heat for this match. He would get fired shortly after this aired as he refused to put over the Tonga Kid in a match.

Billy Red Lyons runs down the November 5th show in Vancouver then interviews Davey Boy Smith, Bret Hart, and the Dynamite Kid. Kid cuts a promo on his opponent, Butcher Vachon. He actually ended up wrestling Bobby Bass in that match. Hart cuts a promo on Ron Shaw, calling him a big boy and promises he will go down bad. Good lord was he awful here. Smith cuts a rhyming promo on his opponent, Rene Goulet. Well, that wasn’t too lame in 1984. Smith showed some personality at least, which is more than I can say for the others. Dynamite and Davey Boy would also be gone from the promotion shortly after this aired but would return in the middle of the following year.

Butcher Vachon & Goldie Rogers vs. The Wild Samoans

The Samoans are now full-fledged faces. The announcers cannot tell these two apart, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. By the way, the Samoans have there names on their tights. Mosca says that riling up people from the South Pacific can result in either a war or a luau. That’s good to know. Afa backdrops Vachon as they show the Hillbilly in the crowd again. That is how they are identifying him too, as “Hillbilly.” Afa slams Rogers and the Samoans double team him for a bit. Capt. Lou Albano comes out and Afa chases him away. Double clothesline to Rogers then Afa hits the Samoan Drop for the win (2:45).

Thoughts: The crowd loved the Samoans. They would also be gone from the company shortly, and wound up in the AWA for a bit. Sika would return to the WWF in 1986 I believe

Billy Red Lyons is with Rick McGraw, who is at least six inches shorter than Billy. He cuts a terrible promo on David Schultz, which was bordering on incoherency. Who knows what drugs he took prior to this.

Mario Mancini vs. Kamala w/Friday

Reynolds acknowledges that Blassie is absent this week. He knocks down Mancini and chops away. The fans go nuts as Andre makes his way to the ring. Kamala sees him then Friday redirects him to his opponent and Kamala hits the splash for the win (1:07). After the match, Friday calms down Kamala and hits him with his riding crop.

Thoughts: The fans are going crazy for Andre whenever he appears. This feud was short-lived as Kamala would leave the WWF shortly. According to Meltzer, he hated the traveling and that was his reason for leaving.

Piper’s Pit with guests Bobby Heenan and Big John Studd. Piper calls Heenan the greatest manager in wrestling. They both call Studd the biggest man in wrestling and both say how he is larger than Andre. Studd says that he will offer $15,000 to anyone who can body slam him. Dave Barbie comes out for a chance as Heenan insults him and says if he wants to lift something, he can carry their luggage. Funny line. This would eventually lead to a feud with Andre the Giant.  

Dave Barbie vs. Michael Hayes

Hayes struts around and gets the crowd to clap. He also came out by himself. The Hillbilly is shown clapping as well. Hayes hits a shoulderblock then grabs a chinlock as Mosca completely botches a sentence about Heenan being new to the WWF, but not to wrestling itself. Barbie shoves Hayes in the corner but Hayes no sells a turnbuckle smash and fires away. He hits a back elbow smash and goes back to the chinlock. Barbie escapes and briefly beats on Hayes in the corner. Hayes comes back and hits a clothesline then drops the elbow from the second rope, which is apparently a “disco” move to Mosca, and gets the win (2:42).

Thoughts: The match itself was terrible and the crowd didn’t really warm up to Hayes. He and the rest of the Freebirds would be gone very shortly as Vince wanted to break up the group and they did not want any part of that.

Intercontinental Title Match

Greg “The Hammer” Valentine w/Capt. Lou Albano vs. Tito Santana (Champion)

Before Santana enters the ring, Albano distracts him and that allows Valentine to attack him from behind. He goes after the leg of Tito, who is limping around. The bell still hasn’t rang yet but Mosca says that since Tito is a “true Mexican” he will enter the ring. The crowd chants for Tito and the bell rings. Tito fires away on Valentine then whips him in the corner. He hits a few turnbuckle smashes and Valentine goes down. Tito hammers on Valentine as Albano is going nuts. Valentine ducks out for a breather then rolls back in as Mosca calls Tito “Mexican Dynamite.” They trade shots until Valentine goes low then targets the leg. Valentine charges and Tito hits him with the flying foreman. He covers and thinks he won the match but Valentine’s leg was outside the ring. Tito celebrates but Valneitne hits him from behind then pins him while hooking the injured leg and gets the win and the Intercontinental Title (2:56). After the match, Valentine puts Tito in the figure-four and refuses to let go of the hold. Tito is screaming in pain on the mat as Valentine finally releases the hold. After the match, Tito is taking out on a stretcher.

Thoughts: Valentine had been looking great on TV and making Tito comeback from injury and chase him for the title is a good idea. At the time, there was a rumor that Ken Patera was going to get the IC title. Anyway, this was a great way to end the show.

Billy Red Lyons runs down the Vancouver card again, which he says was put together by Stu Hart. Andre comes out and talks with Lyons for what seems like a lifetime. He was wrestling Kamala on the card but just rambled on and on about other stuff on the card.

Reynolds and Mosca runs down next week’s show which includes Big John Studd, Junkyard Dog, David Schultz, and Andre the Giant in action.

Final Thoughts: The IC title change was a great and the rest of the show was decent enough. It was funny to see how many of the wrestlers on this card would be gone in just a month or two. The roster had a heavy turnover during this time, as Vince was trying to snatch up everyone he could and many of them left shortly afterwards. Mosca is so bad he is funny on commentary. He is perfect for people who find Dusty Rhodes too intellectual for them.

October 6, 1984

Side note: Last week, I said I was going to review Tuesday Night Titans but the version on YouTube was incomplete. I have the next several shows of Maple Leaf Wrestling, which was the Canadian version of All-Star Wrestling, to review. I do not have any Championship Wrestling episodes left for 1984 besides the 10/21 show, but I do have some TNT shows and the November and December MSG shows too. I have all of the Championship Wrestling shows from 1985 and 1986 with all the PPV’s, Saturday Night Main Events, and various house shows and episodes of Prime Time Wrestling to review as well.  

Your hosts are Angelo Mosca and Jack Reynolds, truly a dream combination.

Butcher Vachon vs. Junkyard Dog

The crowd goes nuts for JYD. He shoves Vachon in the corner then knocks him down. Vachon rolls outside as JYD gets on all fours and taunts him. Back inside, Vachon puts JYD in a bearhug then rakes his eyes after JYD reverses. Vachon with some back rakes and punches in the corner. JYD fights back and uses his own back rakes then bites the forehead of Vachon, who rolls outside. Back inside, JYD gets a headbutt then hits the powerslam for the win (3:03).

Thoughts: The match itself was awful but the crowd loved JYD. Mosca was so bad he was funny on commentary, telling corny dog jokes throughout the match.

WWF Update with Lord Alfred Hayes. This week’s subject is Hulk Hogan and they show a clip of his entrance.

Mohammed Saad & Rene Goulet vs. Brett Hart & Davey Boy Smith

The WWF TV debut for Smith. Hart backs Goulet in the corner, who complains of a hairpull. Reynolds calls Smith “Danny Boy” as Hart takes Goulet down with an armdrag. Tag to Smith, who gets slammed by Goulet but holds onto the arm. Saad tags and takes Smith over with a headlock. Smith escpaes and hits a suplex and an elbow smash. He hits a slam then goes up top and hits the flying headbutt for the win (2:07).

Thoughts: The crowd was going nuts at the end. Smith was much smaller than he was even a few years after this match. Hart continues to give Garea a run for his money as the most miserable looking face in the company.

A backstage interviewer (I have no clue as to who this was. He had glasses and had gray hair) promotes a show in Vancouver and runs down the entire card. The Iron Sheik comes out alone and cuts a promo on Sgt. Slaughter to promote their match. Not much at all and he ends by spitting on the ground.  

Mario Mancini vs. Brutus Beefcake

Beefcake beats on Mancini as Capt. Lou Albano and Bobby Heenan appear ringside to scout Beefcake. He continues his assault on Mancini as the crowd starts a “weasel” chant. Back suplex by Beefcake who then puts Mancini in an airplane spin, then gets a leg drop for the win (2:30).

Thoughts: Most of the match was spent focusing on the managers scouting Beefcake, who they are pushing hard. The crowd doesn’t care about him yet though.

Another studio interview promoting the Vancouver show, this time with Kamala and Friday. Kamala walks right in front the camera and Friday doesn’t speak English and this goes on for about a minute until they leave.

Dave Barbie vs. Sgt. Slaughter

The Canadian fans love Slaughter too. Barbie hits a forearm smash and that pisses off Slaughter. Barbie grabs a headlock and rakes the eyes. He beats on Slaughter in the rocrner then catches him with a back elbow smash. Sarge coems back with the Slaughter Cannon then puts on the Cobra Clutch for the win (2:08).

Thoughts: A typical Slaughter squash. He flattened Barbie with the Slaughter Cannon. Sarge was insanely over with the crowd but would be gone from the company in two months.

Piper’s Pit with “Dr. D.” David Schultz. Piper makes fun of the crowd, calling them queens. Schultz congratulates Piper for taking out Snuka then they both praise each other as the crowd is throwing trash at them. Not a whole lot happened but Piper has nuclear heat since he took out Snuka.

AJ Petruzzi vs. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine w/Capt Lou Albano

Mosca notes that Valentine has been a wrestler for “one dozen years.” Valentine beats the piss out of Petruzzi then grabs a chinlock. He hits a shoulderbreaker then works the arm. He hits some forearm smashes before using a back suplex. The Hammer drops an elbow then goes for the figure-four leg lock and gets the win (2:30).

Thoughts: Impressive squash for Valentine. He beat the shit out of Petruzzi. Valentine is one of the best wrestlers in the company at this point too.  

Nick DeCarlo & Salvatore Bellomo vs. Nikolai Volkoff & Iron Sheik

Volkoff sings the Russian National Anthem before the match and in the crowd, we see a large man in overalls (The future Hillbilly Jim) as Mosca tries to explain world history. Bellomo and Sheik start out as Reynolds plugs next week’s feature match, which is Tito Santana vs. Greg Valentine for the Intercontinental Title. Bellomo uses his quickness against the Shiek and tags DeCarlo. Sheik misses an eblow drop and gets slammed. Bellomo tags back in and catches Sheik’s foot and hits an atomic drop. He dropkicks Sheik, who tags Volkoff. Bellomo runs into Volkoff then takes him down with a dropkick. Volkoff fights back and tags Sheik, who gets kicked down. DeCarlo tags in but Sheik boots him down and hits a gutwrench suplex. Volkoff tags and hits the backbreaker for the win (3:35).

Thoughts: The faces got in a lot of offense. Volkoff and Sheik continue to get massive amount of heat. If Slaughter had a partner, he could feud with this team as the WWF had a massive shortage of babyface teams.

Sgt. Slaughter interview is next. He promotes his match against the Iron Sheik in Vancouver. Sarge sticks up for Canada and tells Sheik they will be on a neutral soil and promises to make Sheik tap to the Cobra Clutch then take him to the hospital so they can remove his boot from his ass.

Mosca and Reynolds run down next week’s card, highlighted by the Intercontinental Title match between Tito Santana and Greg Valentine. Also, Kamala, Dynamite Kid, and Iron Mike Sharpe will be in action.

Final Thoughts: The show went along fine. Mosca and Reynolds are the drizzling shits but the pacing was great. The Intercontinental Title match next week should be awesome and the Dynamite Kid will be a treat to see again.  

September 29, 1984

Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon

This week’s feature matchup is Roddy Piper vs. Jimmy Snuka from the 8/25/84 MSG show. Also, newcomers Brett Hart (Yes, it was spelled that way) and the Dynamite Kid will be in action. Kamala and Sgt. Slaughter will also be in action.

Carl Fury vs. Sgt. Slaughter

Sarge goes around ringside and slaps hands with the fans. Vince lets us know that Fury is a newcomer to the WWF. He would job regularly for a few more years. He looked the part of your stereotypical 80’s jobber. The fans go crazy for Slaughter, as usual. Slaughter shoves Fury in the corner then catches him with a scoop slam. Fury backs Sarge in the corner and gets a knee. He then eats knee on a charge and Sarge hits a clothesline from the second rope. He then puts him in the Cobra Clutch for the win (1:54).

Thoughts: Slaughter is really over but since his feud with the Sheik is dying down, he has not found anyone else to feud with. He needs to find someone to start a program with. Based on last week, it might be with Volkoff or he could find a partner to go against both Sheik and Volkoff.

WWF Update with Lord Alfred Hayes. This week subjects are the tag-team champions, Dick Murdoch and Adrian Adonis. They show a clip of them at Murdoch’s ranch wrestling cattle. This was shown in its entirety on Tuesday Night Titans. I will be reviewing that episode next week.

WWF Magazine Plug

Jose Luis Rivera vs. Kamala w/Friday

No Blassie this week. Rivera eludes Kamala for a bit until Kamala corners him. He chops Rivera down as the fans are going nuts as Andre the Giant makes his way to the ring. Kamala chops Rivera several more times before hitting the splash for the win (2:08). After the match, Kamala stares down Andre, who is helping Rivera.

Thoughts: This is the start of a program between the two. It didn’t last long because Kamala would be leaving the WWF within the next two months. This match was pretty bad, actually.

Aldo Marino vs. Brett Hart

Yes, it is spelled “Brett” on the screen. Hart is wearing grey trunks with white and black stripes on the sides. Vince mentions that he has five other brothers that are wrestlers and that his dad is Stu Hart.  He takes Marino down with an armdrag and works the arm. Hart ducks a clothesline and gets another armdrag. The fans are silent as Hart continues to work on the arm. Marino gets in a few shots and a scoop slam but ducks his head and gets elbowed. Hart hits a European uppercut and a slam. He gets a legdrop then takes him down with a clothesline before finishing him off with a piledriver (2:38). Vince says we will see more of Hart in the coming weeks and might even see his brothers.

Thoughts: The crowd couldn’t have cared less about this match, which was on the dull side. Hart showed zero personality and despite playing the babyface, looked completely miserable. Hell, he made Tony Garea look like Ben Vereen by comparison. He really looked out of place.  

Sgt.Slaughter tells us to donate to the restoration of the Statue of Liberty

Steve Lombardi vs. Dynamite Kid

Dynamite gets an armdrag and a shoulderblock. Slam gets two. Gutwrench suplex gets two. Double underhook suplex gets two. Backbreaker gets two. Running legdrop gets two. Kid hits a backdrop then hits a missile dropkick, kipping right up afterwards, prompting Vince to channel J.J. Evans and yell “Dy-NO-Mite.” Dynamite hits a snap suplex then goes up top and hits the flying headbutt for the win (2:36).

Thoughts: Dynamite got the crowd into this by the end. He stood out above everyone else in this company with his speed and technical ability. His first stint didn’t last long as he was gone in several weeks but he would return the following year.

Piper’s Pit with Ken Patera and Capt. Lou Albano. Patera accuses guys like Santana, Slaughter and Hogan or cheating then claims that he was jumped and says he will find whoever did this. Meltzer reported at the time that Patera was rumored to win the IC title from Santana but that did not happen.

Joe Mirto & Joe Mascara vs. Nikolai Volkoff & Iron Sheik

Blassie is not with Sheik & Volkoff so I assume that he missed this taping. Sheik takes down Mascara and stomps away. Mascara manages to get a sunset flip for two then both men tag out. Volkoff beats on Mirto as the crowd starts a “We Want Slaughter” chant. Sheik tags and hits a waistlock suplex then tags Volkoff, who hits the backbreaker for the win as Vince goes off about how impressive it was for Volkoff to lift Mirto, who was billed at 280 lbs, above his head. (2:23)

Thoughts: Match wasn’t much but the crowd still hates these foreign heels.

Lord Alfred Hayes introduces the Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka match from the MSG show and says that it has a controversial finish.

Roddy Piper vs. Jimmy Snuka

This match is joined in progress. Snuka is mounting a comeback and eventually knocks Piper to the floor. Back inside, Snuka catches Piper with a sleeper. The crowd is going crazy for this match by the way. Piper manages to make the ropes then slides out of the ring but Snuka maintains the hold. Piper rams Snuka against the apron but gets shoved into the post. Piper grabs a chair but Snuka nails him. Piper rolls in the ring and sees that he is busted open. Snuka is punching away as Piper is bleeding. Snuka comes off the top but Piper shoves him in midair and Snuka lands throat first on the rope and h flips outside. Piper wins by countout then grabs a chair and uses it to injure Snuka’s neck. Snuka is selling like he is unconscious as the crowd is booing like crazy. The announcers are acting like Snuka might have broken his neck as the paramedics come down and carry Snuka out on a stretcher.

Thoughts: The match was really good and the ending was awesome. Snuka sold the finish, which looked clunky, like a champ and the crowd was livid with Piper. This furthered along the Piper/Snuka feud and did a mighty fine job at that.

McMahon and Sammartino comment on the last match as they speculate whether or not Snuka’s career might be over. Next week, Andre the Giant, Brutus Beefcake, Fabulous Freebirds and David Sammartino will all be in action.

Final Thoughts: A good show. It featured the Championship Wrestling debuts of Brett Hart and Dynamite Kid but most importantly, showed the Snuka vs. Piper match at MSG. That feud would remain red-hot until the end of the year. They also set up a feud between Andre and Kamala. Dynamite Kid made a really impressive debut too.  

September 22, 1984

Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon

We are back in Poughkeepsie for these tapings.

Howard Finkel introduces Bruno, who makes his entrance down the aisle and to the booth. He is now Vince’s new color commentator.

Ron Shaw vs. Junkyard Dog

This is JYD’s first appearance on Championship Wrestling. He comes out to “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen. Shaw attacks JYD as he enters the ring but that doesn’t last long as JYD knocks him down. They brawl for a bit outside the ring and JYD rolls inside and plays to the crowd. He hits a half-assed atomic drop, not even bothering to stick his knee out, then grabs a chinlock. Shaw escapes and bites JYD’s forehead but gets taken down with a headutt. JYD picks him up and hits the powerslam for the win (2:46).

Thoughts: JYD sucked in the ring but the fans reacted well enough to him. Vince put him over a lot on commentary.

WWF Update with Lord Alfred Hayes. He is in the event center for this segment. The topic is Hulk Hogan and him going back to Minnesota. They show the entrance for his match at the Met Centre against David Schultz.

A plug of the WWF Magazine.

Steve Lombardi vs. “Dr. D” David Schultz

Schultz offers a handshake to start things off. They do some matwork and Schultz overpowers Lombardi. Schultz refuses to break cleanly and hits Lombardi with a suplex. He hits a back elbow smash then a slam after Lombardi misses a charge. Schultz goes to the second rope and drops an elbow for the win (2:50).

Thoughts: Nothing new here as Schultz is floundering at this point. He hasn’t been on TV all that much in the past few months.

Gene Okerlund is with Dick Murdoch and Capt. Lou Albano.  They are plugging the six-man tag at MSG against Sgt. Slaughter and the Wild Samoans. Adonis is part of the match but not here during the interview. The MSG card took place the day this show aired. Albano was funny, as usual.

Aldo Marino & Rusty Brooks & Iron Mike Sharpe vs. Fabulous Freebirds w/David Woolf

Sharpe is holding a sign from the crowd that states he is not a wimp. Gordy and Brooks start off as Hayes and Woolf are clapping and circling the ring. Gordy kills Brooks with a clothesline. He hits a slam then slams his own head off the turnbuckle. Roberts tags and hits an eblow smash off the top rope. Marino tags and Roberts beats on him before tagging Hayes. Gordy tags in and catches Marino after a backdrop and hits the piledriver for the win (2:07). After the match, Cyndi Lauper comes into the ring and they all celebrate the victory. Hayes and Lauper then dance up the aisle.

Thoughts: The TV debut for the Freebirds. The crowd wasn’t that into them though. Lauper’s appearance got the loudest reaction of the show. Wolff would get booed out of the building if this was 2013. He looks like the biggest douchebag to ever step into a ring. The focused more on Hayes than anyone else.

Gene Okerlund is with Hulk Hogan. Hulk says that the dumbells were talking to him at the gym and that Jesse Ventura is no match for him. Okerlund did a great job playing off of Hulk’s craziness.

“Cowboy” Bob Orton vs. Joe Mascara

Orton grounds Mascara to start. Mascara takes Orton down and works the arm for a bit. Orton takes control and hits a backbreaker. He stomps him then drags him outside and slams his head off the guardrail. Orton pulls Mascara on the apron and they mess up a suplex spot. Orton then has difficulty placing Mascara on top for the superplex and eventually hits it for the win (3:28).

Thoughts: The last minute fell apart and Orton seemed pissed. Mascara was a longtime WWWF jobber. This match got next to nothing in terms of crowd response.

Piper’s Pit with Iron Mike Sharpe. Piper brings up how people call Sharpe a wimp, which sets him off Piper settles him down and has his producers set up two boards for Sharpe to break. He is about to break the boards then walks off saying he has nothing to prove to the people. Piper was fantastic here and the segment worked well with the crowd.

“Gentleman” Jerry Valiant vs. David Sammartino

This is the debut for Bruno’s son, who is not a tall man either. He puts him over by stating he has wrestling all over the world for the past few years so he could be ready before starting in the WWF. The crowd couldn’t care less about him. Sammartino hits a few armdrags and works the arm. Brutus Beefcake comes out and watches the match as Valiant hits a slam. Sammartino hits another armdrag and goes back to the arm as Vince tells us that all the managers are trying to sign Beefcake. Sammartino hits a few more armdrags and shortly after that, catches Valiant with a powerslam for the win (2:47).

Thoughts: The match was nothing and Sammartino’s debut bombed. All he did was hit a bunch of armdrags. He doesn’t even have one percent of the charisma that his father had in the ring.

Terry Daniels vs. Nikolai Volkoff w/Freddie Blassie

This is from the Canadian TV tapings. Volkoff starts with the Russian National Anthem. Volkoff pummels Daniels to start. He catches him with a knee then drops him throat first on the ropes. Volkoff gets a flying stomp before Daniels makes a comeback. He hits a few dropkicks before Volkoff catches him and drop shim on the top rope. He then hits him with two backbreakers and stomps him repeatedly until Sgt. Slaughter comes out. Volkoff punches him off the apron and rams his head off the ringpost. Volkoff knocks Slaughter down again before beating on Daniels. Sarge goes into the ring and beats on Volkoff, causing the ref to ring the bell for the DQ (3:50). Iron Sheik comes in and both men are stomping Slaughter. The fans are pelting the ring with trash as several jobbers run out to break things up.

Thoughts: This was the end of Terry Daniels in the WWF. He flopped as the Cobra Corps inductee and never connected with the crowd. They just saw him as a nobody and he got his ass kicked the entire match. Slaughter would go on as a singles wrestler until leaving at the end of the year.

Gene Okerlund is with Jesse Ventura. He calls Hulk “Chump Hogan” and says he will lose the belt in the same place that he won it. Hogan stands for good and he stands for evil, according to him. This match never took place due to Jesse suffering a pulmonary embolism. Big John Studd took the place of Ventura in a match that saw Bobby Heenan make his WWF debut by shoving Studd in the ring so he could get the victory by countout. By the way, that MSG show was an awful one. I was going to review it but will instead wait until the one from November, which had a better card.

Vince asks Bruno about his son, who states he was proud. Next week, Roddy Piper vs. Jimmy Snuka from MSG is the featured bout, along with Sgt. Slaughter and Kamala in action.

Final Thoughts: The second taping from Poughkeepsie was nowhere near as loud as the first. The crowd was dead halfway through the show. The matches were back to being a couple of minutes and besides the debuts, nothing else exciting happened.

September 15, 1984

Your hosts are Angelo Mosca and Vince McMahon. If you haven’t heard Mosca on commentary before, you need to listen to him. Pull this up on YouTube if you must as he comes across as a very simple man.

This show was filmed during the Canadian TV tapings. During these tapings, Bret Hart and the Dynamite Kid made their WWF TV debuts teaming together against two jobbers (The match was only shown on Maple Leaf Wrestling). The next show was filmed from Poughkeepsie.

Tonight’s show includes Salvatore Bellomo vs. Greg Valentine, The WWF Ladies Tag-Team Champions Velvet McIntyre & Princess Victoria vs. Despina Montages & Leilani Kai, and Tito Santana is in action.

Salvatore Bellomo vs. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine w/Capt. Lou Albano

Vince puts over Valentine’s physique as he shoves Bellomo away. Bellomo works the arm until Valentine picks him up for a backbreaker. Bellomo fights back and connects on a dropkick before grabbing a chinlock. Bellomo breaks and hits another dropkick, which causes Valentine to consult with Albano. Back inside, Valentine drops Bellomo throat first on the ropes. Bellomo kicks out of a figure four attempt but Valentine delivers several knee smashes. He pushes Bellomo to the floor then drags him back in to continue the assault. Bellomo fights back and hits another dropkick and takes him down. He hits a few headbutts to the groin as the crowd starts to wake up. Crossbody gets two but Valentine catches him with an inverted atomic drop then puts on the figure-four for the win (6:48) *1/2.

Thoughts: Decent enough TV match. They are putting over Valentine’s figure four as a devastating finisher.

Freddie Miller interviews Paul Orndorff about his upcoming match in Boston against Tito Santana for the Intercontinental Title. Orndorff states he is proud of hurting people and that he is undefeated in the WWF. He promises victory.

Despina Montages & Leilani Kai vs. Velvet McIntyre & Princess Victoria

The tag belts are not on the line. Some in the crowd are actually whistling towards the ladies, if you can believe that. Victoria hits Montages with a few armdrags as Mosca is unintentionally hilarious on commentary. Tag to Velvet, who works the arm for a while. Kai tags in and Velvet works over her arm as well. Kai hits a few shoulderblocks but gets caught with a hiptoss. Flying headscissors gets two. Victoria tags and gets taken down by Kai. Montages tags and gets tossed down. The ref falls for Montages false claim of a hair pull and breaks a hold. The ladies work over Kai’s arm until she makes a tag. The heels double team McIntyre in the corner for a bit until she escapes. The match breaks down for a bit until Victoria cleans house. In a terribly botched spot, Montages pulls the hair of Victoria from the apron and she falls, allowing Kai to get a splash for the win (5:59) ¼*.

Thoughts: They tried but this was really rough in spots. The ending looked awful. Looks like these two teams will face off again in the future.

Freddie Miller is with Freddie Blassie and the Iron Sheik. Sheik, along with Nikolai Volkoff, will be facing Sgt. Slaughter and a mystery partner in Boston. Sheik runs down America for winning medals in the Olympics against inferior competition.

Jerry Valiant vs. Tito Santana

Both men trade forearms after a lockup. Valiant fires away but Tito fights right back. They work the double collision spot, which was performed awkwardly. They then battle over a surfboard for a few minutes until Tito wins that battle. He hits a pair of flying headscissors and connects on a dropkick. He leapfrogs over Valiant and hits the flying forearm for the win (5:32).

Thoughts: Man, this was painful. More than half of the match was watching these two fight over a surfboard move.

Gene Okerlund is backstage with “Quick Draw” Rick McGraw. This interview is torture as McGraw speaks in a low, monotone voice and says nothing at all of importance. After reading Hart’s book, he could have just been really fucked up during this. He is also wearing a suit and a tie. Okerlund is taller than him too, which doesn’t make him look good.

Sgt. Slaughter asks us to stand up for America as Vince does a voice over to send a charitable donation and an address appears on screen.

WWF Update with Vince McMahon. This week’s spotlight is on Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch. They showed a clip of them walking to the ring.

Piper’s Pit with guest Jack Tunney. Piper asks Tunney if gets all of the praising letters that he gets from his fans. Piper gets upset when Tunney tells him the fan mail for him is negative. Tunney then tells him that Hulk Hogan is the most popular wrestler and Piper gets more upset, asking why Hogan has not giving him a title shot. The interview ends in the middle of Piper ranting. This was to set up the Hogan/Piper feud.

Nick DeCarlo & “Quick Draw” Rick McGraw vs. Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff w/Freddie Blassie

Crowd starts an “Iran sucks” chant as Nikolai grabs the mic so he can sing the Russian National anthem. McGraw gets a crossbody on Sheik for one then tags out. DeCarlo grabs a side headlock then hits an atomic drop. McGraw tags back in and hits a terrible looking dropkick. Sheik Tosses him into Volkoff’s foot and tags out. DeCarlo tags and Nikolai punches away. The crowd is dead for this match as Volkoff gets a slam then gets the win with a backbreaker (3:26).

Thoughts: I’m surprised that the crowd was dead for this as they are usually nuts during a Sheik match. There was only a faint chant for Slaughter and they were silent when the faces were on offense.

Final Thoughts: This show was mediocre. They planted the seeds for the Hogan/Piper feud but that is about it. The wrestling was bad and the interviews unmemorable.

September 1, 1984

Your hosts are Tony Garea and Vince McMahon

On the show this week will be B. Brian Blair, Nikolai Volkoff, Big John Studd, and Piper’s Pit along with other “surprises.”

Nikolai Volkoff w/Freddie Blassie vs. SD Jones

Volkoff pisses off the crowd by singing the Russian National Anthem and they respond with a loud “U-S-A” chant. The crowd is fully behind SD as Volkoff shoves him in the corner. Volkoff overpowers SD and beats him in the corner. He shoves him down and puts on a chinlock. They end up fighting over a wristlock but Volkoff yanks SD down by the hair. SD runs into a knee and Volkoff continues to hammer away. SD manages a few punches but misses a charge in the corner. Volkoff stomps SD for a bit then finishes him off with a backbreaker (4:41).

Thoughts: Volkoff returns to WWF television after a several year absence. The match itself was pretty bad but the foreign heel gimmicked worked very well at this time and they played up on current events as the USSR was boycotting the Olympics at this time so it worked out okay.

Charlie Fulton vs. B. Brian Blair

Blair takes Fulton down with a drop toehold. He does some matwork then grabs an armbar as Brutus Beefcake is strutting around the ring. The fans, which have been into just about everything during this taping, are not reacting to Beefcake at all. Fulton has Blair in a headlock then beats him in the corner. He hits a backbreaker then stretches Blair out as the crowd starts a “Brian” chant. Fulton misses an elbow drop and Blair takes control. He hits an elbow smash from the second rope and a scoop slam before catching him with the abdominal stretch cradle for the win (6:37).

Thoughts: These two have had several TV matches and they are usually boring, despite both guys being solid workers. This was no exception. Blair, who usually gets a poor reaction, was over with this crowd. The Beefcake stuff was a waste of time, especially since the fans were ignoring him.

Billy Travis vs. Jesse “The Body” Ventura

The crowd starts chanting for Ivan Putski. David Woolf, for the second straight show, joins on commentary to talks about the Fabulous Freebirds. Ventura grabs a bearhug as the crowd is still chanting like crazy for Putski. Jesse taunts the crowd and stomps away on Travis as Woolf tells us on commentary that Michael Hayes has received a recording contract from CBS Records. Travis lands a few punches but Ventura chops him back down. Jesse follows a slam with a leg drop then tosses Travis to the floor. Back inside, Ventura applies the Bodybreaker for the win (4:53). After the match, Ventura stomps on the back of Travis.

Thoughts: About what you would expect as far as the match quality. The crowd was hot for Putski, who Ventura was feuding with at this time. Ventura wouldn’t be wrestling much longer as he had a pulmonary embolism a few weeks after this match aired, which ended his career in the ring. 

WWF Update with Vince McMahon. This week’s subject is Paul Orndorff. In a comedy bit, Vince tells us that a woman named Amy MacMullen did some research and found that Orndorff’s real name is “Paul Paula Orndorff Jr.” Lame but inoffensive comedy here that was designed to get more “Paula” chants directed at Orndorff.

Piper’s Pit with guests Nikolai Volkoff and Freddie Blassie. Piper brings up the USSR boycotting the Olympics and how that is the only reason for the USA and Canada winning medals. Piper also said the same type of stuff when Blair was a guest a few weeks back. Volkoff then sings the Russian National Anthem, again, as the crowd boos. A tame installment of the Piper’s Pit. They seem to be pushing Volkoff hard in his return.

Jeff Lang vs. Big John Studd

The crowd chants for Andre the Giant. Lang attempts to slam Studd but fails and gets shoved away. Studd eggs on the fans then taunts Lang. He takes him down with a shoulder block. Clothesline by Studd who then finishes off Lang with an elbow drop (1:27).

Thoughts: The feud between Studd and Andre is over big with this crowd. Studd was awful in the ring and barely had any charisma but luckily for him, he was huge.

WWF Review with this week’s song being “Infatuation” by Rod Stewart. They show clips of the Bob Backlund vs. Salvatore Bellomo match at the Philadelphia Spectrum (which was Backlund’s last match in the WWF until he returned in the early 90’s) and Greg Valentine destroying a jobber in a squash match from a TV taping.

Final Thoughts: This was not that great of a show. This crowd was awesome though as this show was the 4th and final one of this taping cycle and they were loud the entire time. The crowds are into the feuds but nothing really got advanced here and even Piper’s Pit was subpar. Beefcake’s gimmick of strutting around the ring is already old three weeks in and will not get him over.