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Hardcore History Episode 7: 5-18-1993 ECW Review

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June 3, 2018

ECW Hardcore History: Episode 7 – May 18th, 1993

Introduction:
Hello everyone and welcome back to a Hardcore History. We are moving right along here and we are nearing some good action in the ECW. Last week we saw Paul E. Dangerously cut an awesome promo. We also got to see the ECW Tag Team Titles change hands when Tony Stetson and Larry Winters finally dethroned the Super Destroyers. Hot Stuff International won a squash match and we finally got a mixed tag team match between the Sandman/Peaches vs. The Rockin’ Rebel/Tigra. Lets see what this show has in store for us.

Show Opening:

The show opens like all the rest, we are ringside with Jay Sulli and Stevie Wonderful. Just want to re-state that these guys are still trash and I can’t wait until they are gone. They say we are going to show what happened between the Super Destroyers vs. Larry Winters/Tony Stetson from last week. We will also get the Dangerous Alliance/Hot Stuff international. The Sandman will be going against the Rockin’ Rebel but the ladies are barred from the ring. Sulli says that the Suicide Blondes will be facing off against the new tag team champions.

Dangerously comes out and says if you want to talk about people who are killing themselves then why is Tod Gordon killing his own company. Dangerously then calls out Tod Gordon. Dangerously says that the problem with Gordon is that he doesn’t listen and he doesn’t know who he is dealing with. Gordon says he’s not sure what kind of promotion that he is working with and that he won’t be throwing him around in the ECW. Dangerously asks if he is supposed to leave now. Out come Muraco and he bumps into Gordon. Dangerously says that Gordon isn’t going to do anything because he is Pennsylvania. Dangerously then says that the wrestling business needs a man like Gordon like a drowning man needs a Ted Kennedy. Dangerously just bringing the fire each week and it’s so refreshing.

Gordon walks off saying that Dangerously got the best of him this time but it won’t happen next time. Dangerously then starts interviewing Muraco and says it looks like he offended the commissioner. Muraco says he sure does hope so. Dangerously says that he thinks Gordon has a problem. Muraco says as he travels around the world and goes through all these federations and its the same stupid thing every time. Muraco says he recognizes how great Dangerously is. Muraco also says that there is no manager that could even shine the shoes of Dangerously because of how great he is. Muraco says he has gone shore to shore and has beat everyone in his sight. Muraco then challenges the Sandman and says that there is only room for one surfer boy in this company and it’s him. Muraco says he has beaten every bum he has been in the ring with and Sandman would be no different.

Muraco tells the Sandman to look around find some guts to put up the ECW Heavyweight Championship against the Muraco. Dangerously then gives the mic back to Sulli and tells him to earn his money by sending us to commercial.

They show the ECW Tag Team Title match from last weeks show.

Match 1: Eddie Gilbert/Jimmy Snuka vs. JT Smith/Max Thrasher

The match starts off with Max Thrasher and Eddie Gilbert in the ring. They start with a tie up and Thrasher drives Gilbert into the corner and gives him a clean break. We get another tie up and Thrasher gets Gilbert in an arm bar and he tags in JT Smith. Smith comes off the middle rope with a double ax handle to the arm. JT then gets Eddie in another arm bar as he tags in Thrasher. He comes in and drops and elbow on the arm then he winds it up and starts to work it over some more. ECW doing what they do and show the guy on the outside while stuff goes on in the ring.

Eddie tries to pull Thrasher over to the corner so he can make the tag but Thrasher stops it and makes another tag to JT Smith. Smith comes off the middle rope and hits a knee to the arm of Eddie Gilbert. JT works the arm some more then starts kicking Eddie in the gut a few times. Eddie rakes the eyes to get control and he lays in 3 chops to JT Smith. Eddie hits JT with a suplex and goes for the cover. Thrasher comes in and tries to make the save but he drops the elbow on JT Smith instead of Gilbert, who rolls out of the way. Eddie picks up JT and hits him with a bodyslam. Eddie then goes to the middle rope and tries for a fist drop but JT rolls out of the way and Eddie comes crashing to the mat.

JT drags Gilbert over to Max Thrasher and he holds him in a from behind. JT comes off the ropes and goes for Gilbert with a high knee but Gilbert moves out of the way and he nails Max Thrasher and knocks him off the apron. Eddie then hits a knee to the back of JT Smith then Thrasher grabs the feet of JT Smith and trips him. Gilbert hits JT with the back breaker and tags in Snuka. Snuka then goes off the top rope and nails the Super Fly Splash for the 1-2-3. Your winners by pinfall….Eddie Gilbert and Jimmy Snuka!

Recap:
This match wasn’t very good but it wasn’t bad either. Gilbert let the jobbers get some offense in and it also helped start a feud. Not to shabby for a squash match. I’m not sure if anyone is interested in a match between JT Smith and Max Thrasher but it’s better than just throwing them into a match together with no back story at all. Good on ECW for doing a little angle just to get a match or two of the two guys. Not worth watching but it served its purpose so good on them.

Promo by Terry Funk at the Double Cross Match

Funk says he has had fun with Eddie Gilbert but he is getting into a very dangerous match. Funk explains how you win the match but he says its unusual because they will be connected by an 8 foot chain. You have to walk around and touch all four corners to win. Funk says that he had a match with Race back in the 80s where he did 15% damage to Race’s eye. Funk says the match is brutal and violent and he wants to settle the score with Eddie Gilbert and become the king of Philly.

Promo by Suicide Blondes:

Suicide Blondes say they are back after a tour of England. They say they sold out Wembley stadium 3 nights in a row. They said the queen was on hand and they both got knighted as Sir Christopher Candido and Sir Jonathan Hotbody.

Match 2: Tony Stetson/Larry Winters vs. Suicide Blondes

It’s so awesome that the Blondes were announced at weighing a combined weight of 600 pounds including their ego. They were also billed from anywhere but Philadelphia. Such an easy way to get heat without even doing anything. The match starts with Candido and Stetson in the ring. Candido gets Stetson in a head lock and they go off the ropes. Candido hits Stetson with a shoulder block. Candido gets up and runs off the ropes and Stetson ends up hitting Candido with a hip toss. Candido complains to the ref that Stetson hooked the tights.

They get back in the middle and Candido gets in a head lock again and we get another shoulder block. Stetson goes for the hip toss again but Candido blocks it so Stetson spins him around and gets him in an atomic drop right into Hotbody. Stetson winds up the arm and tags in Winters who hits Candido in the arm with a elbow drop off the middle rope. Winters grabs the arm and starts working it over and ends up flipping Candido around and holds on to the arm. Winters then drops the leg on Candido. He does this a couple of times and he’s trying to get the crowd into it but they aren’t buying it.

Winters hits Candido in the gut with a kick then Stetson hits him with a spinning neck breaker. Stetson works the arm again and tags in Winters who comes off the middle rope again with an elbow drop. Winters then winds up the arm but Candido ends up punching Winters in the face to get control of the match. Candido picks up Winters and slams him and he ends up tagging in Hotbody. Meanwhile, outside the ring Salvatore Bellomo is seen walking around. Hotbody gets in the ring and gets hip tossed by Winters twice and he follows that up with a terrible looking drop kick. Winters tries to suplex Hotbody into the ring but Candido trips the leg and Hotbody comes down on Winters for a 2 count.

Hotbody and Candido hit a double elbow on Winters but Hotbody hits him first and Candido totally whiffs. Candido then hits Winters with a nice vertical suplex and gets a 2 count before Winters gets his foot on the rope. Candido tags in Hotbody and he comes off the top with a double ax handle. Candido and Hotbody then nail Winters with a double drop kick. Hotbody then chokes Winters with his boot then follows that up with a suplex. Hotbody tags in Candido and he comes in and lays in some right hands before quickly tagging back out to Hotbody.

Hotbody comes in and whips Winters into the ropes and Hotbody hits an ugly ass kick and goes for the cover. Hotbody tags in Candido and afterwards he hits Winters with a body slam. Candido climbs to the top and they do a Rocket Launcher type move by Winters gets the knees up and Candido goes crashing into them. Winters quickly makes the tag to Stetson and he comes in a house of fire. He hits some rights and lefts on both Candido and Hotbody. Stetson then hits a couple of body slams on Candido and Hotbody both. Candido pokes the eye and they get control of the match. Candido and Hotbody whip Stetson and Winters into the ropes and they both go for backdrops but Stetson and Winters hit them with sunset flips and get the double pin. Your winners the ECW Tag Team champions…..Larry Winters and Tony Stetson!

After the match Candido and Hotbody attack Winters and Stetson with a steel chair and they run them into the stage area where the wrestlers come out.

Recap:
This was a solid match but nothing special. There was a lot of feeling out at the beginning and the offense was sloppy. That seems to be a trend with early ECW. It’s not for a lack of effort but the matches just aren’t that good and the talent isn’t that great either. Candido sticks out like a sore thumb here because of how big he is and his look. You could clearly tell who was going to be a star at some point out of the 4. It’s always entertaining to watch Candido wrestle so that would really be the only reason to watch this match.

Match 3: Don Muraco vs. Glen Osbourne

Dangerously comes out to introduce Don Muraco and before he lets them know he says unlike the Flyers, the Eagles, and the 76ers finally a true champion in the city of Philadelphia….the next ECW Heavyweight Champion Don Muraco. Such a great introduction. We start with a collar and elbow tie up then they immediately cut to Snuka on the outside and you have no idea what happened in the ring. They get back in a tie up and Osbourne gets Muraco in the head lock. Muraco pushes him off and Osbourne goes for a shoulder block but Muraco stiffens up and nothing happens.

Osbourne then gets Muraco in a hip toss then an arm bar on Muraco. We get in another tie up and Osbourne gets Muraco in another arm drag then he gets him in an arm bar. Osbourne drops and elbow and a head butt into the arm of Muraco. Muraco gets up to his feet and he does his own arm drag but Osbourne hangs on and gets Muraco in an arm bar of his own. They release the hold and Muraco gets up to his feet. The camera man cuts to Snuka and Dangerously game planning while on the other side of the ring Muraco and Eddie Gilbert are game planning.

Muraco gets back in the ring and they get in another tie up. Osbourne goes for an arm bar again Can we do anything else in this match besides a shitty arm bar? Muraco gets tired of it and picks Osbourne up and dumps him with a samoan drop. Muraco then lays in the boots to Osbourne. Muraco goes to pick up Osbourne and but Osbourne starts hitting him with some rights and lefts to the midsection. Osbourne then does a jumping head butt to Muraco. Osbourne then backs Muraco into the ropes and irish whips him. Osbourne bounces off the ropes himself and hits Muraco with a flying clotheslines.

Osbourne then snap mares Muraco and drops and elbow on him. Osbourne goes for another head butt and another irish whip. Osbourne charges in and Muraco picks him up and hits him with the Hot Shot. Muraco then picks up Osbourne and dumps him with the tombstone for the 1-2-3. Your winner by pinfall…Don Muraco!

Recap:
This match was sloppy as hell and just terrible. You could tell Muraco really had no interest in doing anything for Osbourne so it was your basic sell job from him. Once Muraco was done being bored he went ahead and went to the finish of the match. His tombstone move was pretty awesome that was good to see. Other than that this was just a typical squash match where the veteran didn’t feel like doing squat but you never felt like they were in any immediate danger or close to losing the match. Just some filler here.

Match 4: ECW Heavyweight Title Match: The Sandman (C) vs. Rockin’ Rebel

The show comes back from commercial and the Sandman is draped over the top rope trying to get at the Rockin’ Rebel. The Rebel walks around ringside trying to stall as long as he can before the Sandman can get his hands on him. Sandman heads out to the outside and chases the Rebel down but he rolls back in the ring. Rebel keeps stalling until he finally gets in the ring. The Sandman rushes after him and the Rebel quickly goes back outside. Sandman has finally had enough and goes outside and and gets ahold of the Rebel.

Sandman tries to whip the Rebel into the post on the outside but the Rebel reverses it and Sandman goes crashing into the post. Rebel picks up the Sandman and lays in some right hands and then bites him. Rebel picks up the ECW belt and starts rubbing it in the face of the Sandman. Rebel gets back into the ring with the Sandman. Rebel picks him up and whips him into the ropes and nails him with a big time drop kick. Sandman falls back into the corner and the Rebel whips him into the opposite corner but the Sandman reverses it and hits him with a back elbow. Sandman then gets in the mount and lays in some left hands.

Rebel rolls to the outside while the Sandman tries to get the crowd into the match. The Sandman lays on the mat trying to get the Rebel back in the ring. Rebel comes in and stomps the Sandman. However, the Sandman gets back to his feet and the Rebel whips him into the turnbuckle but Sandman reverses it and nails him with another elbow. Sandman whips the Rebel into the ropes and he goes for a back drop but the Rebel grabs him and throws him to the mat. He goes for the pin but gets a 2. Rebel picks up the Sandman and gets him in a jawbreaker using his head. Rebel whips the Sandman into the ropes and nails him with a clothesline then follows that up with a leg drop. Rebel goes for the pin and gets a 2 count.

Rebel gets the Sandman up and puts him in the corner and lays in 3-4 chops. Rebel whips the Sandman into the ropes but the Sandman reverses it and he hits the Sandman with a one footed drop kick. Sandman picks up the Rebel and gets him in a nice standing vertical suplex. They get in the middle of the ring and they start trading left and right hands. Rebel and the Sandman then nail each other with a right hand at the same time and they both get knocked out. Both men get up to their feet and they double clothesline each other. Sandman gets up to his feet first and he’s about to get him in a body slam but Tigra makes her way to the ring. Peaches isn’t to far behind. They start a cat fight in the middle of the ring as the ref calls for the bell and ends the match.

Recap:
This match was pretty solid but nothing special. The Sandman was really sloppy with his moves and the Rebel did a lot of stalling to make this match last longer than it was. The women getting involved prevented us from getting a definitive winner so that kind of ruins the match. There really isn’t anything wrong with this match but theres nothing good about it either.

Show Closing:

Sulli and Wonderful run down the card for next weeks show as Bellomo comes out holding a large pizza. The Suicide Blondes will be going against Larry Winters and Tony Stetson for the ECW Tag Team Titles. Jimmy Snuka is going to be in action as well next week. Bellomo interrupts Wonderful and Sulli and he says that Super Destroyer #3 will be on next weeks show and thats him.

Show Recap:
This show was weak from top to bottom. They showed the whole tag title match from the previous weeks show. We got a sloppy tag match between the new champs and the Blondes. The best part of the whole show was Paul E. Dangerously and thats to no ones surprise. I am really looking forward to getting past this garbage and getting to the good stuff. We are one show closer to getting there. So hang in there with me guys we will get there. Join me next time as we review more classic ECW from 1993.

Click here to view this episode in pictures

ScreenCaps: ECW 5-18-1993 in Pictures

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June 3, 2018

Screen Caps from ECW Hardcore TV 007 – May 18th, 1993

WWWF All-Star Wrestling Review 10-28-78

May 30, 2018

I got nothing…

WWWF ALL-STAR WRESTLING 10-28-78

All-Star Wrestling is taped from the Fieldhouse in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.
Taping date is October 11, 1978. Your announcer is Vince McMahon

MATCH #1: DINO BRAVO VS. JOSE ESTRADA

Once again, a certain site who CLAIMS to have the most accurate results on the net is wrong. They have this match listed as being on the 10/21 episode. That’s clearly not the case. Another example of their diligent work and effort which started as a novel idea only to devolve into a way to make half ass books for sale.

Dick Woehrle is the referee here. Dino has total control of this one and scores some near falls off a backdrop and a RUSSIAN LEGSWEEP! You go Dino!

Estrada manages to back Dino into a corner and take over with a series of shots, but it doesn’t last long for Jose.

Bravo with a really nice looking double underhook suplex gets 2. Inside cradle also gets 2 on Jose. Estrada goes to the eyes of Bravo. Estrada works Dino over in the corner and takes him down for a 2 count. Bravo powers out of the cover. Estrada begins to choke Bravo, which only angers Dino. Bravo breaks free and plants Jose with the dropkick, and an airplane spin, and this one is over in 5:28.

Winner is Dino Bravo

Notes: This was a good little squash. Every time I see Dino here it makes me sad to think about what we got circa 87-91.[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #2: CRUSHER BLACKWELL (w/THE GRAND WIZARD) VS. FRANKIE WILLIAMS

We’ve got John Stanley as the official. Blackwell clobbers Frankie right out of the gate and pummels him to the mat. Williams stands no chance as the Crusher continues to dominate him on the mat, stepping on him, choking him, and smashing Frankie upside down in the corner with a slam. Blackwell picks Frankie up into a suplex but turns it into a slam. Looks like he may have lost control when Frankie got up there.

Crusher smashes Frankie with a kneedrop, but pulls him up at the count of 2. BIG LEGDROP and this time it’s all she wrote for poor Frankie Williams after 5:33.

Winner is Crusher Blackwell

Notes: A simple squash. A little on the boring side compared to most of Blackwell’s squashes. Blackwell didn’t do as much here as he usually does. Not that he had to.[spacer height=”20px”]

RINGSIDE INTERVIEW WITH CRUSHER BLACKWELL & THE GRAND WIZARD

The Crusher is getting sick of the lack of competition. He talks about his abilities, his endurance, and how he apparently used to catch and slaughter pigs on his grandpa’s farm, because the next day he always had pork chops. Blackwell wants Andre, he wants handicap matches, he wants competition damn it!

The Wizard explains that Blackwell’s contracts state that whomever steps in the ring with him will enter at their own risk. Wizard won’t be responsible for what happens to the opponents who sign on to meet the Crusher…. Why would Wizard be responsible? Anyway, it sounded good.[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #3: LUKE GRAHAM (w/THE GRAND WIZARD) VS. JOHNNY RINGO

Whyyyy meeee? Here we go again. Lots of punching and eventually choking by Lucas. Ringo looks like he might amount some offense in the corner, but Graham quickly cuts him off with a shot to the stomach. Vince spends most of the match ignoring the match (smart move) and rather discussing Peter Maivia’s heel turn on Bob Backlund during a tag team match against Spiros Arion & Victor Rivera.

Somehow, Ringo manages to make a comeback, he event drops Graham to his knees. We’re supposed to assume Luke has loaded his thumb, because he places one thumb shot to the throat and it drops Ringo. Luke drops a chop or a thumb, or something else that looks awful and pins Ringo to end this horse shit after 5:18.

Winner is Luke Graham

Notes: I’m running out of adjectives and creative ways to describe how horrible these Luke Graham matches are in this era. They’re just bad. #drizzlingshits[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #4: “UNPREDICTABLE” JOHNNY RODZ & TONY RUSSO VS. STEVE KING & JIMMY RAY

John Stanley is referee. A really enjoyable fast pace start by all four men. Some of the best enhancement of the time period is involved in this match. Ray makes the mistake of head butting Rodz and hurting himself. First time I’ve seen that spot work in favor of the heel. Rodz with a unique looking snap mare slam, and a powerslam follows up for 2 on Ray before King breaks it up.

King tags in but eats a Flying Stomp by Rodz immediately. Russo is short and stocky but a heck of a talent. Russo throws a dropkick on King for 2. Rodz back in, but now it’s King who hits a pair of dropkicks on Rodz for 2.

Rodz smashes King with a kneelift, but the faces soon make a few quick tags to take over. King telegraphs a backdrop and Rodz plants him with a kick to the chest. A vertical suplex and fistdrop later and Rodz covers King for the win in 6:02.

Winners are Rodz & Russo

Notes: Russo and Rodz were easily some of the very best enhancement anywhere on the planet during this period. Rodz was just a machine. King was a capable opening match type of performer. I thought this match was fine for what it was, a way to keep the underneath guys looking somewhat competent. I liked the Rodz/Russo combo, I thought they worked well together.[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #5: LARRY ZBYSZKO, DOMINIC DENUCCI, TONY GAREA VS. SPIROS ARION, STAN STASIAK, BARON MIKEL SCICLUNA

Stasiak and DeNucci start, and after some wrestling around on the mat we end in a stalemate. DeNucci gets a little close to the heel corner and takes a shot from Arion. Scicluna tags in and gets in some shots on Dominic. And now it’s Arion’s turn to wrestle around with DeNucci on the mat. The heels continue to take turns working on Dominic.

During the match, Gorilla Monsoon joins Vince McMahon on commentary to discuss last week’s heel turn by “High Chief” Peter Maivia on his partner Bob Backlund and manager Arnold Skaaland. They really liked to work Gorilla into these heel turn conversations. Again, the story is that that dirty FRED BLASSIE has turned another wrestler heel. First it was Arion, then Rivera, and now the High Chief.

This match is an afterthought at this point, and for good reason as Tony Garea takes a beat down from the heels. Monsoon isn’t completely shocked at Maivia’s heel turn, because he knew Peter was a business man first and enjoys the money.

Back to the match as Zbyszko tags in. Perfect timing. Larry, still rocking that stache, has it out with the Iron Greek. Stasiak tags in next, sand haven’t we seen enough of Larry vs. Stasiak in 78? Zbyszko catches Stasiak in an Abdominal Stretch, but the Baron breaks it up.

DeNucci & Scicluna tag in and we get a series of botched spots and bumps from the Baron. Eww. The heels triple team Dominic in their corner while Dick Woehrle tries to hold back the baby faces. Woehrle tries to break things up as the heels continue their triple team on Dominic, but the Baron shoves the ref. Finally, the bell randomly sounds as the faces rush into the ring to aid Dominic and fight off the heels.

Time of the match was 7:48.

Winners are Zbyszko, DeNucci & Garea by DQ

Notes: DeNucci worked a good portion of the match. Garea came in and played whipping boy for a brief period before Zbyszko came in to finish things up. There was really nothing to this match as Vince and Gorilla spent most of the time discussing Maivia’s heel turn, which was easily the biggest thing that had happened in some time on TV.[spacer height=”20px”]

Closing Thoughts: A disappointing followup to last episode as it felt like the WWWF was starting to build momentum back into a better product. Major changes are coming as many of the names you’ve come to learn throughout 1978 will be gone within weeks of this episode. And you know what that means… Lots of new, younger, energetic talent headed in.

We’ll return with November of 78 in the next edition of the Retro Rasslin’ Review, and a rare Chief Jay Strongbow singles match..

WWWF All-Star Wrestling Review 10-14-78

Crazymax Jack

May 29, 2018

Featuring SABU!!!

WWWF ALL-STAR WRESTLING 10-14-78

All-Star Wrestling is taped from the Fieldhouse in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.
Taping date is October 11, 1978. Your announcer is Vince McMahon

A certain site with incorrect information would have you believe Bruno Sammartino joined for commentary on this episode, but that’s simply not the case. Surprise, Surprise, Surprise. #Gomer

[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #1: DINO BRAVO VS. MOOSE MONROE

[spacer height=”20px”]Referee is Dick Woehrle. Monroe getting his usual “MOOSE” calls from the crowd. Dino out wrestles the Moose early and often, though Monroe himself has some impressive strength. Bravo with a jackknife pin for 2. A nice kneelift and an inside cradle gets another near fall, but the Moose kicks out. Monroe finally powers Bravo back into a corner and lays in some shots. Dino fires up out of nowhere and a single punch floors Monroe! Bravo with the dropkick, and the Airplane Spin ends this in 6:19.

Winner is Dino Bravo

Notes: A typical squash match. You know the drill.[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #2: SPIROS ARION & VICTOR RIVERA (w/FRED BLASSIE) VS. LARRY ZBYSZKO & SPECIAL DELIVERY JONES

[spacer height=”20px”]Referee is John Stanley. Arion and SD will start. Jones does an odd spot where he runs the ropes alongside Arion but then abruptly stops. They go nowhere, which leads to Rivera and Larry tagging in. Zbyszko flips Rivera around with a series of armdrags and Victor quickly tags back out to the Iron Greek. Larry and Spiros trade Full Nelsons and top wrist locks before Arion forces Larry into the heel corner and Rivera tags back in. Victor is almost immediately pinned with a Zbyszko sunset flip, but he manages to kick out on 2 and a half and once again tag back out as quickly as he tagged in.

It’s Arion and Jones now. The heels work over Jones in their corner for a moment before SD no sells a turnbuckle smash. CUMMON Rivera, don’t you know by now SD has a hard head. Jones fights back and tags to Larry Land. Zbyszko is a house-o-fire on both heels, but Arion gets the worst of it. Rivera goes to Larry’s eyes and works him over in the corner. Victor with a backdrop and a knee drop but doesn’t cover. Instead, Arion tags back in as the heels continue to double team Larry in their corner. Blassie even joins in for a triple team.

Larry catches a boot from Arion and sends Spiros down. HOT TAG to SD Jones. SD explodes with a series of jabs and headbutts, one sends Rivera flying over the top rope to the floor. SD with a near fall on Arion. Tag back to Zbyszko, and Larry hooks Arion in the Abdominal Stretch!!! But Rivera is in to break it up! And the heels take back over.

Double gut buster on Zbyszko, Rivera covers but SD Jones is over to stop the pin. Victor sends Zbyszko out to the floor and into the “iron ring post” to quote Vince McMahon. Larry pulls Rivera outside to the floor and returns the favor by sending Victor face first into the post! Arion tries to interfere but fails.

Back in the ring, Zbyszko & Rivera crack heads in a collision. Larry is first to tag in SD Jones. SD with a high backdrop on Rivera! Jones tries a second backdrop but Rivera is ready with a big kick. The heels with a double bodyslam on Jones, and Rivera hits some sort of a jumping stomp but lands gingerly on his ass. WTF? No matter what it was supposed to be, that’s all it takes to pin SD Jones after 9:34.

Vince wants to know why the referee allowed the heels to double team near the end of the match. Oh that Vince, trying to make sense of things like logistics.

Winners are Rivera & Arion

Notes: Nothing to write home about, but I like Rivera and Arion a lot better here as a team. By this stage in their careers they’ve slowed down but as a team they were able to show more aggression and made a good heel team here. Perfectly fine match for TV and we got a real finish, which is always a plus. They finally find something that works for Arion and he’s going to be gone by Christmas. Irony for the Iron Greek.[spacer height=”20px”]

RINGSIDE INTERVIEW WITH FRED BLASSIE, SPIROS ARION, VICTOR RIVERA

[spacer height=”20px”]Fred Blassie thinks Rivera and Arion will be the next Tag Team Champions. Rivera speaks some Spanish. Arion calls their match a walk in the park. Arion says he’s an Iron Greek, and Rivera is a Puerto Rican made of steel. Blassie doesn’t forget to rip on the ringside fans, mentioning that a father and son share the same set of teeth. Freddie tries to make a joke about Ivan Putski’s height but fails miserably. Vince calls Freddie absurd. McMahon thinks Blassie is still upset that Bob Backlund chose Arnold Skaaland for his manager and not Blassie. Freddie refutes that statement. The fans cheer for Skaaland’s name, so Blassie says the fans are all Arnie’s family. Freddie leaves us with this “You spell Blassie’s charm M-O-N-E-Y!”. Well, then.[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #3: “RUSSIAN BEAR” IVAN KOLOFF (w/LOU ALBANO) VS. JOHNNY RINGO

Koloff tears right into Ringo and is relentless as he hammers him into the mat with elbows, knees, and whatever else he chooses. Ringo tries to fight back with an Irish whip but does a lousy job of following it up and eats a boot for his troubles. Koloff briefly works a bearhug before he continues to beat down on Ringo on the mat. A flying knee drop off the top ends it after 4:52.

Winner is Ivan Koloff

Notes: Another typical squash. That doesn’t make it bad, it just makes it a squash. I love Ivan’s aggression and realism he brings to most of his offense.[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #4: TONY GAREA VS. THE GREAT SABU

Nope, this is not the Sheik’s nephew, nor is it Cocoa Samoa. This is yet another incarnation of the Sabu name used by an enhancement talent. Most people don’t realize that the name Sabu is taken from a famous Indian actor from the 30’s – 50’s who made a name for himself in Hollywood under the Sabu character. Story goes the Sabu we all know best from ECW fame, Terry Brunk, was given the name “Sabu” by his uncle the Sheik, because the Sheik really enjoyed the old movies. How’s that for your tidbit of useless information for the day?

Okay, so there’s a match in the ring. Tony keeps full control of Sabu on the mat for the first couple of minutes with armbars and such. Sabu tries to come back by grabbing Garea’s arm, but he seemingly has no idea what to do with it once he has it, and Tony is right back on top with “tremendous” moves like a side headlock and a waist lock. Sabu finally comes fighting back with a series of kicks. Sabu with an Irish whip and follows up with an AWFUL punch. Tony cuts him off after that atrocious attempt at offense and what happens next is just as bad…

I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that Sabu had NO CLUE how to hit the ropes, or how God awful Garea’s shitty dropkick was. It’s like he tried to jump up and touch Sabu with his feet as fast as he could before catching himself on the mat. Garea literally lands on both hands and one foot to break his fall.

So after that crap spot, Tony scoops Sabu up in a slam and falls down on top of him with it. Vince calls it a “powerslam”. I’d use that term loosely. Garea wins with a friggin’ body slam in 5:03.

Winner is Tony Garea

Notes: Garea bored us with his mat basics early and often and then when it came time to pick up the tempo Sabu looked completely lost. Garea then followed that up with a ridiculous looking dropkick and a bodyslam to end it. And then there’s that stupid hair and forearm tattoos. No thank you.[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #5: CRUSHER BLACKWELL (W/THE GRAND WIZARD) VS. SYLVANO SOUSA

[spacer height=”20px”]Referee is Dick Woehrle. I love Woehrle’s pre-match look in this pic with Sousa. It’s like Dick is saying “you have no f**king chance”. Looking at the pic again, it looks like Sousa is saying the same thing about himself. After Crusher helps the Wiz over the top rope to the apron, Blackwell and Wizard stall as they talk things over. Woehrle makes Crusher get to the wrestling. Blackwell ambushes Sousa and just mauls him with an awesome looking Avalanche in the corner.

Blackwell crushes Sylvano’s face with his knee. With Sousa on the apron, Blackwell runs Sylvano into the corner buckle and down to the floor.

Back inside the ring, Crusher delivers a huge kneedrop and a running elbow drop that he also gets nice height on. Blackwell yanks Sousa up off the mat at the count of 2 after both moves and receives a warning from Woehrle. Blackwell steps on the chest of Sylvano and walks across him. Oof. Fistdrop on Sousa, but again Blackwell yanks him up on the count of 2. Running Powerslam finally puts Sousa out of his misery in 3:21. See, now that’s a powerslam.

Winner is Crusher Blackwell

Following the match Sylvano is being stretchered out of the ring, but Blackwell drops another elbow for good measure before the referees can get Sousa out of the ring.

Notes: A solid squash with Blackwell continuing to deliver impressive moves for a guy his size. I have no doubt if Blackwell could have maintained his health during the Rock & Wrestling era, or had 1978 Blackwell been around in 1985/1986, Vince would have easily plugged him into the WWF. Crusher may not have been the tallest heel in wrestling, but his mass still dwarfed most and he was an incredible talent.[spacer height=”20px”]

Closing Thoughts: This episode didn’t deliver anything special but it was still a step up from the most recent episodes. All of the matches felt like acceptable TV matches, whether they were squashes or the tag team feature with Rivera & Arion. Speaking of which, I actually enjoyed Spiros and Victor Rivera as a team here, it worked for me. They were big enough names and good enough heels that their lack of offense didn’t hurt as much as a team. I would have liked to seen them get a run together, but Arion was soon out of the territory, out of the United States, and for the most part out of the business. The only thing on this show that was downright bad was the Garea vs. Sabu match. There’s a reason Tony was stuck in the tag team scene all those years.

The Retro Rasslin’ Review returns next time with Crusher Blackwell, Dino Bravo, and a 6-man tag team main event.

Television Rewind Episode 4: WWF Raw 10-09-2000 Review

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May 26, 2018

Television Rewind Episode 4: WWF Raw October 9th, 2000

Introduction:
Hello everyone and welcome back to Television Rewind. This is where we take a trip down memory lane and review the memorable moments of wrestling TV. We have been all over the place so far on this trip and this time it is not different. We are going back to the year 2000 and the culmination of one of the bigger storylines of the time. We are going back to who ran over Steve Austin at Survivor Series 1999. We are going to Raw from October 2000 and we are doing this for…….The Rock!

Show Opening:

They show what has happened between Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. It shows Stephanie helping out Kurt Angle and Kurt asking Stephanie to be in his corner full time going forward. They also show Austin beating the hell out of Mick Foley as well as Foley suspending him indefinitely. Austin asks Foley to reconsider and he ends up stunning Foley again. They then cut to their music opening and all that pyro hoopla. Time to get this thing started.

Ross lets us know that tonight is the night that Mick Foley is going to tell us who ran over Stone Cold. They show a shot of WWF New York as well. Crowd is insane with signs and whatnot.

In Ring Segment: Mick Foley, Shawn Michaels

Foley comes down to the ring and gets booed by the crowd because some of the decisions he has made recently. Foley says he likes to get cheap pops but not at the expense of doing his job correctly. Foley says he is glad he suspended Austin indefinitely on Smackdown. He isn’t happy that he got stunned and embarrassed again by Stone Cold. Foley says he is on Austin’s side and he has spared no expense to bring in a very important person here tonight. It is somebody who likes Steve Austin and is a fellow Texan. The guy is also a former WWF champion and one of the greatest competitors of all time. Foley then calls out Shawn Michaels.

Foley welcomes Shawn Michaels to Anaheim, California the fellow broken down washed up wrestler. Foley says he is not going to accuse Shawn of running down Steve Austin. Foley is giving Shawn the chance to explain where he was that night. Shawn says Foley flew him out first class, put him in a five star hotel, and they dusted off the old HBK music. Shawn says he is not going to tell him where he was that night but what he was doing the whole damn day.

Shawn said he remembers waking up and giving his wife a squeeze on the butt and a kiss in the morning. Shawn then questions whether he flew to Detroit and snuck into the Joe Louis Arena and then run over Stone Cold. Shawn says, despite the chair shots, he would remember running Austin down. Shawn says the person who did it needs a motive but he doesn’t have one. Shawn says he hopes he finds his man and attempts to walk away but Foley stops him.

Foley then shows the video of Shawn getting pinned by Austin from Wrestlemania 14. Foley says he gets asked all of the time what his greatest match is. Foley says it is Foley vs. Shawn at Mind Games. Foley says nobody remembers 1996 and appreciates the trail Shawn blazed that allowed the wrestlers today to rake in the cash. Foley says if all that happened to him he would have ran the son of a bitch over himself. Foley says Shawn has the motive because Austin flipped him off at Wrestlemania 14.

Shawn says he never wants to see that footage on the screen again. Shawn then says that Foley has a whole lot of nerve to say what he just said. Shawn asks if everyone wants the truth. He says he is going to finally give it to them on where he was that night. Shawn says he was sitting at home watching Survivor Series thinking to himself what in the hell the World Wrestling Federation has come to with guys getting ran down backstage. Shawn says he doesn’t like Stone Cold but he doesn’t hate him either. Shawn says if he did it he would be the #1 guy in the WWF again. Shawn says that he thrives on being #1 and being in the spotlight but it wasn’t him. Shawn says he has an idea about who it was.

Shawn says there is one guy who loves the spotlight more than HBK even more than HBK. Shawn says he has the whole world wrapped around his finger. If you smelllllll what I’m cookin!

Match 1: Hardcore Rules WWF Women’s Title Match: Lita (c) vs. Jacqueline

Before the match they show some highlights of the feud, thus far, between Lita and Jacqueline. Jacqueline comes to the ring pushing a shopping cart and you can’t even see her behind the cart. Lita comes out after Jackie and floors her with a forearm shiver. Lita then throws Jacqueline into the ring and hits her with a bulldog type move. Lita goes out for some hardware but Jacqueline comes out and decks her with a baking sheet right to the head.

Jacqueline grabs a broom and breaks it across the back of Lita. Jaqueline sets up the trash can in the corner between the top and middle rope and whips Lita into it back first. Jacqueline then takes a hair dryer and nails Lita right in the head with it. That thud was brutal sounding. Jacqueline goes outside and gets a fire extinguisher and tries to spray it into the face of Lita but she didn’t pull the pin so it didn’t work. Lita then low blows Jacqueline and gets the advantage of the match. She goes outside and grabs a ladder and puts it into the ring. Lita sets the ladder up in the corner of the ring. She gets it set up then Jacqueline attacks her from behind. Jacqueline puts a baking sheet in the middle of the ring and drops Lita with a DDT on it. The thud on that shot was insane.

Jacqueline goes outside and climbs up to the top of the ladder and Lita ends up climbing up on the other side. Lita goes for a superplex off the ladder but Jacqueline pushes her off. Jacqueline then jumps down and ends up climbing up the ladder on the inside. She goes for a cross body and misses. Lita grabs the fire extinguisher and sprays it in the face of Jacqueline. Lita then nails Jacqueline with the cookie sheet and gets the 1-2-3. Your winner by pinfall and still WWF Women’s Champion…..Lita!

Recap:
This was a pretty entertaining opening match if you ask me. Some of the shots Lita took were just brutal. She took an unprotected shot with the cookie sheet and a hair dryer. The thud on the DDT sounded terrible but it really made the match stand out. The finish was kind of flat but all in all a nice little hardcore match here that wasn’t bad. Pretty good stuff.

Backstage Segment: Chyna and Debra Meet

They go to the back where Chyna is walking down a hall way and sees Debra. They embrace. Debra pulls back the hair of Chyna and asks what is this? Chyna says “a big set of boobs.” Classic. Debra says she is the one with the puppies. Chyna then asks Debra how her honeymoon was and Debra said it was wonderful. Debra says she missed her and wishes she was there with her? Why the hell would you want that? Anyways, Chyna said she won’t be far behind and asks Debra if she has seen Eddie. Debra says no but she is looking for Foley. Chyna tells her where his office is located as they cut to commercial.

Backstage Segment: Debra finds Mick Foley

They come back from commercial in the laundry room with a shot from the ground. They then show Debra walking and her wonderful legs. My goodness what a nice pair. Foley thanks Debra for showing up and asks how her flight was. Foley asks how Steve is and Debra says he is a little ticked off. Foley says he has some news that may make him feel better. Foley says being run over is a horrible incident but not everything that happened afterward was all that bad now was it?

Debra is confused as to what Foley is talking about. Foley says when Steve was hurt he needed someone there to nurture him and bring him back to health. Foley asks Debra how the wedding and honeymoon went. Foley says nobody hates the lives of a wrestler more than the wife of a wrestler. Foley then confronts Debra and accuses her of running him over. Debra says that is her husband and she loves him very much and it hurts her more than anything seeing him laying around hurt. Foley tells her not to leave the arena and to have a nice day as Debra walks off.

Backstage Segment: Triple H and Stephanie McMahon

Triple H can’t believe the match that Foley made with Jericho as his partner. Triple H says a month ago he was destroying him in last man standing matches and now he is his partner. Triple H is also mad that he has to fight his best friend X-Pac. Hunter says the only good thing about this is the fact that he gets his hands on Benoit.

Stephanie says this is exactly what she is talking about and why she is needed. Stephanie says he can’t trust Jericho and that Benoit and Foley are loose cannons. Stephanie says she is needed ring side. Hunter says we have been over this a million times and that he made a business decision and the decision is final. He doesn’t want her ringside and that’s it. Hunter says speaking of business decisions that he is glad that Stephanie decided not to accompany Kurt Angle to the ring full time.

They show a limo arriving and out steps Linda McMahon. They then show Foley welcoming Linda to the arena.

Match 2: Raven vs. Steve Blackman

This is a non hardcore match so the Hardcore title is not on. Blackman gets the early advantage with a nice looking side kick to Raven. Blackman hits Raven with an atomic drop then a right hand to stay in control. Blackman charges at Raven and Raven throws him over the top rope and to the outside. Raven then goes off the ropes and goes for a dive over the top but he gets hung up on the ropes a little bit and barely hits Blackman.

Blackman picks up Raven in a weird ass position and just drops him head first on to the steel steps. So, Blackman challenges Raven to a non-hardcore match then they go outside within 30 seconds and fight on the outside for the majority of the match. Just make it a damn hardcore title match and get it over with. Raven ends up hitting Blackman with a drop toe hold right into the steel steps. They then get back in the ring and try to put on a decent match.

Raven hits Blackman with a spinning discuss punch and gets a two count. Blackman gets Raven in a backslide and gets a 2 count out of it. We are getting sloppy here. Blackman ends up nailing Raven with a kick to the sternum and goes for the cover and gets the 1-2-3. Your winner by pinfall…..Steve Blackman!

After the match Raven hits Blackman with a clothesline that sends him out to the ring. Blackman grabs his sticks and nails Raven with them 4-5 times as Raven rolls out of the ring.

Recap:
The backstory of this one was that Raven wanted to challenge Blackman to a non-hardcore rules match. Blackman accepted and we got this match. Within 30 seconds both guys were outside and brawling using the rail and stairs. If you are going to dumb shit like that you might as well just have a hardcore title match and get it over with. Once they got into the ring and tried to put on a match it went south rather quickly. Raven was sloppy and just missing stuff. Blackman was Blackman and he was over and thats about the best thing I can say about all this. Skip this crap and move on.

Backstage Segment: Mick Foley talks w/ Linda McMahon

Foley says he thinks his office is a little homie. Linda says she did not run down Stone Cold Steve Austin. Foley says he found a hotel registry with Linda’s name on it from the night on the Survivor Series. Linda says its not unusual for her to be in the city whenever there is a PPV in a city. Linda says there is usually a lot of business she has to take care of during a PPV. Foley says that Austin has humiliated her husband and has beat up her baby Shane. Linda says outside of the ring Vince, Shane, and Stephanie handle their own business.

Linda says take her family out of it and as the CEO of the company it would not be smart business to take out one of the top stars in the WWF. Foley says that is true and he wants to know since Austin went down who has benefitted the most from merchandise sales and whatnot. Linda says it is the Rock.

Match 3: Triple H/Chris Jericho vs. X-Pac/Chris Benoit

Jericho and Triple H get some words in with each other before the match starts. X-Pac and Jericho go after it while Benoit and Hunter go at each other. All four men are still brawling until Triple H and Benoit get into the ring to get this thing started. Benoit lays in some rights and lefts until Triple H ends up hitting Benoit with a back elbow then a suplex. Jericho tags himself into the match and ends up nailing Benoit with a flying forearm. Triple H then tags himself back into the match.

Benoit tries to hit Hunter with a clothesline but Hunter ducks and hits Benoit with a neck breaker. Jericho then tags himself in and this pisses Hunter off so they start arguing until Benoit pushes Jericho into Hunter. Jericho and Benoit have a great bit of offense here until Jericho hits Benoit with a running bulldog type move for a 2 count. Jericho goes up to the second rope and goes for a drop kick but Benoit moves out of the way and Jericho crashes to the mat. Benoit tags in X-Pac and he starts laying in the chops to Jericho.

X-Pac does a leap frog then Jericho just floors him with a vicious chop. Jericho is stuck in the corner of Benoit and X-Pac and he did his best to keep them off him but Benoit ends up pulling Jericho nut first into the steel post so that he and X-Pac can get control of the match. Benoit dumps Jericho with a belly to back suplex and follows that up with a back breaker. Benoit tags X-Pac back in. X-Pac drives Jericho into the corner and nails him with his 3 kicks. X-Pac goes for a bronco buster but Jericho ends up nailing him with a clothesline. Both guys end up getting the tag so we got Benoit and Hunter again.

Hunter nails Benoit with his high knee. He then follows that up with a knee to the face again to Benoit. Hunter and Jericho double team Benoit into X-Pac comes in and throws Jericho off the apron. X-Pac hits a beautiful spin kick and lays Jericho out. Hunter ends up decking X-Pac, thinking it’s Jericho, so he checks on him and Benoit ends up hitting him with a German and damn near gets a 3 count. Benoit puts Hunter on the top rope and is going for a move but Hunter pushes him off. Jericho then clotheslines X-Pac over the top rope and this racks Hunter on the top rope. Hunter falls down the mat and Benoit goes for the cover and gets the 1-2-3. Your winners by way of pinfall…..Chris Benoit and X-Pac!

Recap:
This match wasn’t long enough to amount to anything special. The guys worked hard and it progress the feuds that were involved in the match. The finish came across as flat and the crowd gave no reaction towards it. It’s as if they didn’t expect the match to be over at that point but it was and they didn’t know what to do. All in all this was nothing special but it wasn’t terrible either. If you are a fan of any of the guys then I’d recommend checking this out just once and moving on.

Backstage Segment: Mick Foley w/ Edge & Christian

Foley is talking to his boys Edge and Christian when Hunter comes barding into the commissioners office. Hunter says that he wants Benoit because he has head butted his wife, cost him the #1 contendership for the WWF title, and he has busted his head open. He wants him and Benoit one on one. Foley says it will be Hunter and Benoit at No Mercy. Foley tells him to get out of here because he has business to tend to.

Hunter leaves the room and Edge says that was totally uncool of the Game. Edge then says The Game what is up with that? Who’s his manager Milton Bradley? What a reekazoid. Foley asks Edge and Christian where they were at Survivor Series. Christian says they were getting ready for a four corners match against the Hardyz, Too Cool, and the Holly Cousins. Edge says with competition like that we were getting ready for the match in our locker room. Edge says they gotta bail because they have surfing lessons.

Backstage Segment: Triple H and Stephanie Talk

They show Hunter walking through the back furious where he ends up in the locker room with Stephanie. Stephanie apologizes for the loss and says that Hunter hasn’t been winning a lot since he told her to stay in the back. Stephanie tells Hunter to think about that he and he looks pissed as they head to commercial.

Match 4 WWF Tag Team Title Match: Hardy Boyz (c) vs. Lo Down

The Hardyz attack Lo Down as they get into the ring. Matt throws out Chaz as they both start working over D-Lo. They hit D-Lo with a double suplex before Jeff and D-Lo settle in as the starters of the match. D-Lo tags in Chaz as Jeff tags in Matt. Matt goes off the middle rope with a leg drop as Jeff drops to legs into the midsection of Chaz. All four guys are outside as Matt hits Chaz with a clothesline off the apron. Matt tries to get back in the ring as D-Lo grabs him and drops him face first on the guard rail.

D-Lo gets the tag and hits Matt with a one legged drop kick. D-Lo ends up nailing Matt with a nice looking spine buster and he gets a 2 count out of it. Chaz gets the tag back in as he comes in and continues to work over Matt Hardy. Chaz and D-Lo exchange tags and continue to work over Matt Hardy. Matt stumbles out of the corner to go for the tag but D-Lo drops him with a clothesline, a body slam, then a leg drop. D-Lo tags in Chaz once again and gets Matt in a reverse death valley driver. That was pretty sweet looking.

Chaz goes for a big leg drop off the ropes but Matt rolls out of the way. Matt tries to get a tag but Chaz knocks Jeff off the apron to prevent the tag. Matt ends up distracting the ref so Lita comes out and trips up Chaz and racks him with the turnbuckle post. Chaz and Matt both get the tag. Jeff hits D-Lo with a flying clothesline then a leg scissors take down. We get some poetry in motion on D-Lo and then Chaz. Matt dumps D-Lo out with a clothesline. Jeff slams down Chaz and goes up top for the Swanton Bomb but the Conquistadors come out and push Jeff off of the top rope. Chaz puts Jeff on the top rope and hits him with a super plex followed by the Lo Down but Matt comes off the top rope with a leg drop and Jeff rolls over and pins D-Lo Brown for the 1-2-3. Your winners by way of pinfall and still the WWF Tag Team champions….The Hardy Boyz!

After the match Chaz nails Matt with the tag team title belt and poses over both of the Hardy Boyz.

Recap:
This was a typical Raw tag team match. Heels worked over the good guys then we got the hot tag and a quick finish. The “debut” of the conquistadors was funny but nothing special. Chaz and D-Lo really made no sense as a team and they weren’t very good. They have nothing on Power N’ Glory’s Power Plex finish. Lo Down’s sucked compared to that. Not a bad match here but nothing memorable and nothing special. Not really worth the time to watch it.

Backstage Segment: Mick Foley & Al Snow Talk

European Champ Al Snow says he is going to portray the country of Sweden because they are a country full of blonde people. Foley is trying to accuse Snow of being the culprit in stupid ass fashion but no dice. Foley tells Snow to change his wig since he has a match next.

Match 5: WWF European Title Match: Al Snow (c) vs. Test

European Champion Al Snow is representing Greece tonight and he comes out dressed as John Travolta form Grease. My goodness can this shit get any worse tonight. We got William Regal on commentary and he’s trashing Al Snow throughout. They work the mat a little bit until Snow gets it back to their feet. Test then gets control and slams Al 3-4 times before he starts clubbing him in the back. Al Snow regains the advantage but drop kicking Test in the knee. Trish grabs the leg of Snow and distracts him so Test goes for a big boot but Al moves out of the way and he racks himself.

Snow goes outside and tries to get Trish but Test levels him with a clothesline. Test rolls Snow back into the ring and gets in the ring himself just to get attacked by Snow. Snow lays in the clubs to the back and the right hands until he ends up running off the ropes. Test then comes out of no where and just floors Al Snow with an awesome big boot to the face. Test then puts his hand over his head as if he looking for the head of Al Snow then he does a it’s good field goal sign. That was hilarious and awesome.

The fight goes back and forth with some punches and kicks until Test nails Snow with a gut wrench power bomb for a 2 count. Al Snow climbs up to the top rope with Test and nails him with a super plex off the top rope. Al Snow lays in some rights, chops, and kicks until Test ends up getting him with a full nelson slam. Test then goes for a pump handle slam but Al Snow blocks it and nails Test with the Snow Plow for a 2 1/2 count. Al Snow grabs head and is about to nail Test with it but Trish gets on the apron and stops him. Test ends up running into Trish as Snow nails Test with Head and gets the 1-2-3. Your winner by pinfall and still European Champion…..Al Snow!

Recap:
Again nothing really special here. After doing over 3/4 of this show it comes across as they didn’t really care about the matches it was all about the segments. All the matches follow a similar formula and not much is going on during them. I understand the concept because you save the best for the paid shows but man these are hard to get through. Regal on commentary really saves this one. The action was good to be honest but theres just nothing special about the match at all and it’s really not worth watching like the majority of this show.

Backstage Segment: Chyna talking with Eddie Guerrero

Eddie finally shows up and Chyna is pissed off at him. Chyna asks him if he forgot he had a match tonight and Eddie points out that he is decked out in his wrestling gear so how could he forget. Chyna also says even though they are only fighting two members of Right To Censor, that they shouldn’t take the match for granted. Eddie says that he has never let Chyna down and he won’t start tonight. Eddie says he does it all for her and he has given his whole world to her. Eddie says where is the trust and Chyna says trust has nothing to do with. Eddie says we are supposed to get married and she doesn’t even trust him. There is some dissension in the ranks here and it appears Eddie is getting tired of Chyna’s shit.

They show Road Dogg at WWF New York being the DJ for a dance contest.

Match 6: Eddie Guerrero/Chyna vs. Godfather/Val Venis

Match starts with Eddie and Val in the ring. Eddie is a house of fire early and he lays in rapid fire rights then boots to Venis in the corner. Eddie and Val are still going at it then all of a sudden a weird ass noise comes over the arena and we get a GTV skit that shows up. The video shows what sounds like Eddie and a couple of women in a shower getting it on. Eddie is telling one of the ladies not to fight there is enough to go around for everybody. So clutch and hilarious. Eddie steps out of the shower with a towel on and says to keep it warm that he will be right back. One of the women pops their heads out and it’s Victoria and Mandy, Godfather’s Ho’s.

They head back to the ring where they show Chyna, who is devastated with what she has seen. Chyna steps off the apron and sits down on the stairs as RTC just destroy Eddie in the ring. Venis is in the ring now and he hit Eddie with a double arm suplex. They keep showing Chyna just sitting on the stairs devastated. Venis then picks up Eddie and gets him in a standing vertical suplex. Goodfather drags Eddie over to the corner where Chyna is at and he is just yelling at her. Goodfather then hits Eddie with a side suplex for a 2 count. Venis gets the tag and he comes in and slams Eddie and goes for an elbow but misses. Venis hits Eddie with a sit down power bomb and gets the 1-2-3. Your winners by pinfall…..Right to Censor!

After the match Stevie Richards gets in the face of Chyna and taunts her until Chyna levels him with a forearm. Val then grabs the hair of Chyna as the Goodfather puts Chyna in the ring. Val and Father hold up Chyna while Richards is yelling at Chyna. Mr. Ass comes out of no where and he dumps both Val and Goodfather. Gunn hugs Chyna in the middle of the ring and consoles her.

Recap:
This match was nothing more than an angle to get Chyna and Eddie broken up. The GTV skit was pretty cool and worked this go around. The match itself was a beat down by RTC with Eddie getting no help from Chyna, rightfully so. The post match stuff was pretty good with Billy Gunn coming to Chyna’s rescue like a good friend should. All in all this was a pretty good segment and one of the better ones on the card.

Backstage Segment: Mick Foley talks to Crash & Scotty 2 Hotty

Foley is on a pay phone when Crash shows up. Foley tells him he talked to his cousin Hardcore and Crash asks if he’s coming back soon. Foley says no but he did say he was going to kick his ass. Foley then questions Crash about him growing out his hair and where he was when Austin got ran down. Crash asks if he can leave and Foley says sure then Scotty 2 Hotty showed up. Scotty says that he, Grandmaster, and Rikishi in the locker room all night long waiting for the Rock so they can go party.

Backstage Segment: Chyna leaves the building

They show Chyna leaving the building with her bags while Eddie is chasing her down. Eddie says he knows it looks bad but he wants a chance to exchange. Eddie says those women mean nothing to him and that she means the world to him. Chyna says she’s not a ho or a floozie and that she loved Eddie. Chyna says she loved him and respected him. Chyna then took off the engagement ring and said it was the most important thing in her life. She then throws the ring to Eddie and says she never wants to see him again. Eddie gets on his knees and begs for forgiveness as Chyna pulls out.

Billy shows up and tells Eddie that he lost the best thing he had over 2 cheap ass ho’s. Billy tells Eddie to pick up his cheap ass ring, take it to the pawn shop he bought it from, and get his $20 bucks back. Billy says that will be the closest Eddie gets to Chyna as long as he is around and then he mocks the fact that Eddie is a Mexican. Billy turns around as Eddie grabs a glass bottle and smashes it over the head of Billy Gunn. Eddie then tells Billy to stay out of his business as we head to commercial break.

Match 7: The Rock/Rikishi vs. Kurt Angle/Kane

Kurt tries to calm Kane down but Kane floors him with a right hand. Kane then sends Angle packing over the top rope to the apron and then Kane hits him with a big boot to send him off the apron. Angle is then laid out on the outside. Kane just took out his partner before the match even starts. Rikishi gets in the ring and Kane attacks him right away. Kane continues to work over Rikishi until the Rock’s music hits as he comes out and starts working over Kane.

Rock hits the ropes until Kane nails him in the face with a big boot. Kane continues to work over the Rock in the corner. Kane comes out for a clothesline but the Rock ends up nailing Kane with a clothesline first. Rock then tags in Rikishi as he comes in and lays in the right hands to Kane. Kane gets whipped into the corner but Kane bounces out and nails Rikishi with a clothesline that turns him inside out. Angle props himself up on the guard rail as he watches the match. They then show Stephanie watching the match in the back. The Rock gets tagged back in as they exchange lefts and rights to each other.

The Rock goes into Kane and Kane picks him up and drops him with a power slam. Kane drops the Rock and then follows it up with a leg drop to the Rock as Angle continues to stand outside and not helping his partner. The Rock tries to get the advantage but again Kane drops him with a back elbow. Kane suplexes the Rock and gets a 2 count out of it. Kane then gets a reverse head lock on the ground to get a little bit of a rest. The Rock breaks free and hits the ropes again but again Kane drops him with a sidewalk slam. They show Angle on the guard rail as well as Stephanie watching the match from the back.

Kane goes for another clothesline but the Rock hits Kane with a nice looking spine buster. Rock finally gets the chance to make a tag to Rikishi and he makes it. Rikishi comes in and lays in the right hands. Rikishi hits Kane with a clothesline then a leg drop as he gets a 2 count. Kane hits Rikishi with a DDT then a choke slam. Angle gets up on the apron and asks for a tag from Kane. Instead of tagging in Angle, Kane drops him with a choke slam from the apron. Kane then gets out of the ring and leaves Angle by himself in the ring.

Angle gets up to his feet and hits Rikishi with the Angle Slam. Angle celebrates in the ring but when he turns around the Rock nails Angle with the Rock Bottom. Rikishi gets up to his feet and hits him with a bonsai drop and gets the cover 1-2-3. Your winners by way of pinfall…..The Rock and Rikishi!

Recap:
There was nothing special about this match either. It was more of a way to get everyone out to the ring that needed to be out there. We also got to progress the feud between Kane and Kurt Angle. So in that aspect this was a job well done but it was just filler to get to the meat of the show which is what happens right after the match is over. Not a bad match to end the action with.

Mick Foley Announces Who Done It

Right after the match Foley comes out and cuts a promo. Foley says he has made wild accusations in the past but tonight he is going to deliver the person who ran over Steve Austin tonight. Foley says this is the worst week of his professional career. He also says that all of the evidence points to The Rock. It was the Rock’s rental car, only his fingerprints, only his DNA, and a pair of The Rock’s sunglasses were in the glove box. Foley says that nobody had more to gain than the Rock. Who sold the t-shirts, who had the media appearances, who’s book went to #1, and who got the movie roles? Foley says that The Rock is not fooling him. Foley says the case of who ran over Stone Cold Steve Austin at Survivor Series Mick Foley finds the Rock…..not guilty!

Foley says he is going to say who did it and then he points to Rikishi and says he did it. Foley says he didn’t figure it out until he talked to Scotty 2 Hotty. Foley says that Rikishi wasn’t even apart of Survivor Series and that he hasn’t even made his debut on television. Foley questions who else is close to the Rock to go into dressing room and to reach in the Rock’s bag and grabs his keys. Foley says the seat and mirrors were configured for a very large man and that large man was Rikishi. Foley says the only thing he doesn’t know is why.

Rikishi then takes the mic and lets us know why he did. Rikishi says that he did it. Rikishi says he ran over Austin. Rikishi says he didn’t do it for himself but he did it for…….The Rock! Rikishi says that he took the Rock’s keys out of his bag that night when he went to check into the hotel. He was going to the car to leave when he saw Austin standing in the back. Rikishi says he saw everything flash before his eyes. Rikishi says that the WWF has always been about the “great white hope.” Rikishi is talking about people like Buddy Rogers, Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan, and people like Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Rikishi says that the WWF has always let the island boys in but they were always held back. Rikishi says people like High Chief Peter Maivia could have became a WWF Champion but they held him back. He mentions Jimmy Snuka and says that they held him back as well. Rikishi says people like Afa, Sika, Samu, and the Tonga Kid were all held back. Rikishi tells the Rock that he ran Stone Cold over and he did this for him. Rikishi says he expects no favors and no payback for what he did. Rikishi says that the Rock had nothing to do with this and that he takes full responsibility for running Austin over. Rikishi says that the way the Rock is today is good enough for him and his people. Rikishi tells us one more time that he ran over Stone Cold Steve Austin and to tell the truth he would do it again.

Show Recap:
This is one of the harder shows to get there because there are so many backstage segments and not a whole lot of action. Segment after segment is fine but when you have to review it, then it’s not a lot of fun. The matches themselves kind of sucked and didn’t really peak my interest at all. The backstage segments became repetitive and boring about mid way through. The opening segment was pretty good because Shawn Michaels was involved but other than that the segments were all the same with different guys getting questioned. Really makes the show hard to get through.

The closing segment with Rikishi outing himself as the guy who ran over Austin is mixed with me. The promo itself and the reasoning behind it I am a fan of. The problem with the whole storyline in general is that people didn’t care enough about Rikishi to actually get behind this and make it believable. From a kayfabe standpoint this really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Nobody in their right mind would think that Rikishi had a chance against Austin considering what Rikishi did to him and what he cost Austin, storyline wise. Therefore, the feud was going to be one sided and a waste within a month or two and that is exactly what happened. This is one of the bigger storylines of the Attitude Era and it was completely useless in 1-2 months. Thats not what you want out of a storyline like this.

The show as a whole is nothing special and is a waste of time to get through. The last match and segment where Rikishi gets outed is the best part of the whole show but it is a chore to sit through the hour and 20 minutes to get to this point. I’d recommend checking out the last 15-20 minutes and thats about it.

Well that does it for this episode of Television Rewind. These shows tend to pop up here and there but there are more on the horizon sooner rather than later so look out for those. I hope you enjoyed this episode and I also hope you tune in next time as we relive some of the biggest moments in wrestling TV history.

WWWF All-Star Wrestling Review 10-07-78

Crazymax Jack

May 23, 2018

HEEEE’S BAAA-AAAACK. Crazy Luke Graham returns to the Retro Rasslin’ Review.

WWWF ALL-STAR WRESTLING 10-07-78

All-Star Wrestling is taped from the Fieldhouse in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.
Taping date is September 20, 1978. Your announcer is Vince McMahon

MATCH #1: “RUSSIAN BEAR” IVAN KOLOFF (w/LOU ALBANO) VS. SPECIAL DELIVERY JONES

Pretty sure we just saw this match a few weeks back. I’ve noticed a lot of that lately. I mean it’s a different match, but the same opponents. SD holds his own to begin the match but it doesn’t take long for the Russian Bear to take over. Koloff hooks Jones in a front facelock, SD shows his strength by picking Koloff straight up in the air and sitting him on the top rope. Jones takes to long to takes too long to capitalize and Koloff jumps off the middle rope with a knee strike to SD’s jaw.

Ivan begins to work over Jones in the corner, but Koloff misses a charge. SD fires off some right hands on Ivan and Irish whips the Bear across the ring. But Jones runs right into a Koloff knee in the corner, and Ivan comes off the middle rope with a diving knee to the chest for the win after 3:08.

Winner is Ivan Koloff

Notes: Koloff continues to have solid squash matches as he puts in a lot of effort to show aggression and realism in trying to dismantle an opponent and wanting a win. Realism is key. Koloff continues to keep his matches at no more than 3:00 and still make them entertaining.[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #2: LUKE GRAHAM (w/GRAND WIZARD) VS. DAVE DARROW

Well shit, he’s back. I knew it couldn’t last forever. Referee is Al Bass, by the way. Early on there’s all sorts of video distortion issues, which will likely be the highlight of the match. Graham holds a front facelock forever. He lets go long enough to execute a lazy backdrop and then it’s right back to the facelock. Graham whips Darrow to the corner and kind of follows him in and falls into him with a thigh. LMAO. He just keeps getting worse.

Another dangerously sloppy backdrop. And a third backdrop. He’s out of moves people. Graham hooks another facelock and tries to take Darrow over, but he’s so sloppy and dangerous Luke tumbles backwards and inadvertently DDT’s Darrow into the mat. I’d imagine this has Jake’s version beat by a few years. Too bad Black Gordman was busting it out in the f’n late 60’s. Sorry people, but it’s true. Anyway, Luke drops a few short knees and covers for the win in 5:54.

What, no taped thumb this week?

Winner is Crazy Lucas

Notes: Why do Koloff matches go 3 minutes and Graham matches go 6 or 7? Yuck. If he MUST be on the program, I wish they’d cut his matches down to a couple of minutes.[spacer height=”20px”]

RINGSIDE INTERVIEW WITH THE GRAND WIZARD & LUKE GRAHAM

Vince McMahon begins by having the camera pan up from the ground to show off the Wiz’s ridiculous but awesome garb. Blue boots, multicolored patches on his pants. Wizard says his pants are called “Indian Mattress Pants”. lol. Blue coat, yellow shirt, pink polka dotted tie. Vince then says the the turban denotes the wizardry. LOL. So all you need is a turban and you’re a wizard? Awesome!

Wizard says his brain is so huge that he can’t fit in hats. He can only wear turbans for his tall head. LOL, WTF. I love it.

Graham takes over on the mike and says nothing of importance. Vince tries to ask Luke questions but Graham growls every time Vince talks. LMAO. Vince gets frustrated before finally asking the question. Vince asks Luke if he could beat his half brother Billy Graham. Luke believes he can. Luke goes a little “crazy” as the promo ends.

Well, that wasn’t good, but it was still better than anything he’s done in the ring.[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #3: VICTOR RIVERA (w/FRED BLASSIE) VS. DOMINIC DENUCCI

The heel Rivera hails from Philadelphia. Not Puerto Rico, not Los Angeles where Blassie is from and Rivera just cam back from. Nope, he’s from good old Philly. Where’s the heel heat in that? DeNucci kicks things off with some quick armdrags which has Rivera flustered and Victor takes a powder to talk with Blassie. It works as Rivera takes over the match. All the great moves follow. Punches, choking, only the good stuff.

Dominic has enough and comes fighting back. DeNucci biels Rivera across the ring. Rivera is able to slow it back down and lays into DeNucci with chops and Dominic falls to the apron. Rivera gets Dominic back inside and makes a cover but DeNucci gets his foot on the rope to stop the count. This only makes Dominic hot, and you know what they say about that Italian temper? DeNucci begins to fight back.

DeNucci grabs a headlock but Rivera sends him into the ropes. The two men collide and both men take a bump to the mat. As Dick Woehrle counts both men down he reaches the count of 8 before both men are back up. Rivera immediately dropkicks DeNucci to the floor, where Dominic is counted out after 6:27.

Winner is Victor Rivera by count out

Notes: DeNucci has honestly stepped it up in the latter part of the year. It’s still a ways off from being anything worthy of entertaining, but the fire is there and he does have some nice moves from time to time. I wish I could say the same for Rivera. Not awful, but not good either. Finish was poo poo.[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #4: CRUSHER BLACKWELL (w/THE GRAND WIZARD) VS. STEVE KING & JERRY RALPH

Handicap match. Funny seeing Mempho jobber Jerry Ralph in the WWWF. Blackwell runs both men over and smashes Ralph in the corner. King comes from behind but takes a back kick from Blackwell. Wow, nice. Blackwell is just so agile for his size. King and Ralph somehow manage to knock Blackwell off his bearings and double team Crusher up against the ropes. Needless to say, that doesn’t last very long. There are video issues and it appears a very small piece of the match is edited out. Blackwell chokes both men at the same time. Kneedrop on King but Blackwell picks him up at a 2 count.

Blackwell levels King with a punch that sends Steve upside down backwards over the top to the floor. Crusher finishes Ralph off with the falling headbutt and the fist drop in 4:27.

Winners is Crusher Blackwell.

Notes: Not one of Blackwell’s better squashes. Nothing wrong with it, just a bland squash. I wish they would have done something more with Blackwell here in this run. He had all the potential and talent in the world to work a big angle or get a tag team title run.[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #5: CHIEF JAY STRONGBOW, DINO BRAVO & TONY GAREA VS. THE YUKON LUMBERJACKS & SPIROS ARION

[spacer height=”20px”]They’re really loving these six man tags. Bravo and Eric will start. Power vs. power leads to a stalemate between the two until Bravo goes to wrestling. Did you read that sentence? Bravo outwrestled someone! I’m telling you, Dino was pretty bad ass in his earlier years. Go out of your way to check out his Montreal stuff if you can find it. Bravo armdrags Eric all over the ring until Eric winds up in the wrong corner and takes some hits from Dino’s partners.

Not sure a tag was made but Strongbow tags in and grabs the trapezius hold on Eric. Pierre finally gets a tag in, but Bravo catches him in a Full nelson for Strongbow to take a cheap shot. And they call themselves faces. Test of strength between Pierre and Bravo, two French Canadians. Bravo with a nice backroll up into a top wrist lock. Then Dino goes and ruins things by tagging Garea in. Pierre takes over immediately and drives Tony down in a slam. Garea crawls over and tags in the Indian Chief.

STRINGBOW WITH A SLEEPER ON PIERRE! But Arion is in right away to break that up. ARION IS IN THIS MATCH??? I ALMOST FORGOT SINCE HE HASN’T DONE A SINGLE THING IN 6 MINUTES OF ACTION!!!!

Garea hooks Pierre in an abdominal stretch, but Arion is in to break it up again. Garea falls to his corner and tags to Dino Bravo. Bravo comes in with an Airplan Spin on Pierre. Eric then comes in and nails Bravo to stop him in mid-spin. Dick Woehrle calls for the bell, disqualifying the heels because Eric broke up a hold??? Well, I guess rules are rules. Match ends in 6:21.

As soon as the bell sounds, all six men hit the ring for a fight. Bravo, Garea and the Lumberjacks battle it out while Arion and Strongbow just look at each other. Seriously they just stand there and look at each other. You can tell who the lazy guys errr veterans are.

Winners are Strongbow, Bravo & Garea by DQ

Notes: Arion did absolutely NOTHING in this match. Not that I’m shocked. Bravo, the Lumberjacks, and even Garea tried their best here so it doesn’t merit any negative comments. Nothing you need to go out of your way to watch.[spacer height=”20px”]

Closing Thoughts: We’re on a string of bad shows. This wasn’t as bad as some of the other recent episodes, but it just feels like a bunch of squash matches with no direction in sight for anyone. Hang in there though because there’s lots of changes coming over the next few months in the WWWF and they’re all for the better.

WWWF All-Star Wrestling Review 09-30-78

Crazymax Jack

May 23, 2018

Barons, and Butchers, and Midgets… Oh, My!

WWWF ALL-STAR WRESTLING 09-30-78

All-Star Wrestling is taped from the Fieldhouse in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.
Taping date is September 20, 1978. Your announcer is Vince McMahon

MATCH #1: WWWF HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION BOB BACKLUND & “HIGH CHIEF” PETER MAIVIA VS. JOSE ESTRADA & MOOSE MONROE

[spacer height=”20px”]Arnold Skaaland accompanies the baby faces to ringside. Vince comments that this is the first time Skaaland is managing a team. Referee is Al Bass. Maivia and Moose will start. After a brief time in control, Maivia winds up in the heel corner where he is double teamed and worked over. The High Chief escapes a chinlock by arm dragging the Moose into the baby face corner. Moose tries to tag in Backlund before he realizes what corner he;s in. The High Chief tags in Backlund and Bob catches both opponents with a pair of over head slams. Backlund had freakish strength. Estrada comes in to aid his partner, but accidentally hits Monroe instead. Moose escapes a seated chinlock from Backlund after working hard to trip Bob up.

Moose and Jose double team Backlund, with Estrada coming off the top on the champ. But Bob still manages to tag out to Maivia. Peter comes in and lights up Estrada for a moment before tagging right back to Bob. Backlund comes back in and plants Estrada with the ATOMIC DROP and this is over after 6:04.

Lou Albano randomly shows up at ringside at the end of the match and stomps around. Vince suggests it’s in protest of Backlund and Maivia ever receiving a title shot at the Lumberjacks. I guess Vince forgot about Albano and Koloff heeling all over Backlund last week but what-evs.

Winners are Backlund & Maivia

Notes: A typical baby face squash. The heels got in just enough stuff to make them look credible as opponents, as it should be. Love the team of Backlund and Maivia, but this match did nothing for me other than a fun spot with Moose trying to escape Backlund’s seated chinlock.[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #2: COWBOY LANG VS. BILLY THE KID

Another midget match this week. For some ungodly reason Billy the Kid is introduced as “The Six Million Dollar Midget”. Ugh. Billy’s shirt reads “Cajun Power”. I can’t remember if it was Prichard or Cornette (I think Prichard) who mentioned how Cowboy Lang used to like to show his, a-hem, UNIT, to ladies as a pick up line because it was so large. Jokes on him though because Robert Fuller’s is as large as Cowboy Lang himself… or so I hear.

Another competitive fight this week. Lang winds up tied in the ropes and Billy takes advantage. Once freed from the ropes Lang is hit with a backdrop and double stomp from “The Kid”. Lang catches Billy in a head scissor in the corner. Billy hides behind referee Dick Woehrle, but they’re midgets so Lang just walks under Woehrle’s’s legs. LOL

Cowboy Lang places Billy’s legs spread eagle outside the ropes, like Goldust’s “Shattered Dreams” and Woehrle comically pulls Billy off the ropes. Lang hooks Billy in a Full Nelson, and Billy kicks his feet up and hooks Woehrle in a head scissors. Lang releases the hold and Billy takes a bump. As the referee argues with the Lang, Billy kicks the referee in the butt.

The midgets do a crisscross spot with Lang landing a dropkick. Cowboy lands some punches but swears to the ref they were open hand.

Cowboy with a backdrop and then an Airplane Spin, Lang gets dizzy himself. Lang stumbles around before dropping Billy the Kid in an AA (eat your heart out John Cena) and falling on top for the cover after 7:42

Winner is Cowboy Lang

Notes: Much longer and more fun than last week’s match with Tokyo vs. Coconut. The crowd was dead early but woke up for the comedy spots and continued to enjoy the match thereafter. They still treated this as competition versus a comedy match, but there was just enough comedy in the middle to give you a little bit of everything. It was a solid old school midget match if you’re into that type of thing.[spacer height=”20px”]

RINGSIDE INTERVIEW WITH VICTOR RIVERA & FRED BLASSIE

Vince is with Blassie and his latest charge. I never realized how thick of an accent Rivera had. Rivera loves to talk out of the side of his mouth. Blassie essentially name-drops the entire baby face roster and puts them on notice. Blassie says he taught Rivera all the cheap tricks and shortcuts and now Victor is unstoppable.

Rivera takes over the promo… In Spanish… No idea what he said. I think he just name dropped a bunch of faces again.

Blassie says he told Rivera to forget everything he’s learned and use Blassie’s methods. Freddie has fun with the fat ringside fans. Ahhh, it’s been a while since we’ve seen that. lol.

Shit like this is why the managers owned things back then. Without Blassie, or Wizard, or Albano, many of their wrestlers would have NEVER gotten over due to their inability to cut promos or speak English very well. Rivera was easily understandable, but he was just a lousy heel promo. This interview was the shits, but Blassie kept it from being unbearable.[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #3: VICTOR RIVERA (w/FRED BLASSIE) VS. STEVE CAGLE

Victor is all over Cagle as he roughs him up. The turnbuckle has been removed from the top buckle. Rivera drives Cagle’s head into the exposed steel turnbuckle repeatedly before dropping him in a poorly timed suplex. Rivera yanks Cagle up at the count of 2. This time Victor connects with a double underhook suplex and it’s over at 2:05.

Winner is Victor Rivera

Notes: They continue to play Rivera up as the next Spiros Arion in regards to his return as a heel with master manipulator Fred Blassie as his manager. Victor was aggressive enough here to put over that he’s a heel, but this match was pretty short. And by the looks of Rivera here in 1978 it was probably a good thing to keep this short.[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #4: DINO BRAVO VS. TONY RUSSO

Even though I’ve seen it before, it still amazes me to watch a much leaner Dino Bravo perform leapfrogs and armdrags, and at a speedy tempo nonetheless. Not that Bravo was ever fat, but he got so thick and musclebound by his second WWF run that he could barely move or bump. Dino reverses an Irish whip and hits Russo with a powerslam for 2.

Tony catches Dino with a boot to the gut and a kneelift to take over, momentarily. Bravo blocks an Irish whip and is right back on the offense. A dropkick and an airplane spin ends this in 3:51.

Winner is Dino Bravo

Notes: Wow, two Airplane Spin finishes on the same show. Who’da thunk it? Another quick squash. Nothing of substance here.[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #5: LARRY ZBYSZKO, DOMINIC DENUCCI & TONY GAREA VS. STAN STASIAK, BUTCHER VACHON & BARON MIKEL SCICLUNA

[spacer height=”20px”]My money is on Larry’s mustache. I was scared this match would go on too long, but thanks to Joe McHugh eating up 3 minutes for introductions I feel a little bit better. Stasiak and DeNucci will start. The heels get control of DeNucci and take turns working him over. The heels draw Garea into the ring to do more shady stuff to Dominic behind referee Al Bass’ back. They repeat this by luring Zbyszko into the ring. After several minutes of working over DeNucci, Dominic is able to tag to Larry Zbyszko.

Larry gets control of the Baron, and Dominic comes in and grabs Larry in a waistlock FOR NO REASON. Everyone is confused. lol. WTF?

Vachon meets the same fate as Larry works him over with an arm wringer. Now Garea tags in to continue working the arm of Vachon. Butcher realizes it’s Garea who is in and hauls off and nails Tony in the face. LOL, NICE. The heels get the advantage, but it’s short lived.

As Baron releases Garea to tag in the Butcher, Tony finally staggers to his corner to hot tag Larry Z. The Magical Mustache of Zbyszko is in the ring no time before he lands a backdrop on Vachon and gets the easy win as his partners fend off the other heels. Time was 7:55.

Winners are Zbyszko, DeNucci & Garea

Notes: Three quarters of the match was a generic beat down on DeNucci. This was not good.[spacer height=”20px”]

Closing Thoughts: The midget match wasn’t bad as far as midget matches go. I still like the team of Backlund and Maivia, but Bob is clearly the work horse. Having been bored with some of Backlund’s later stuff as Champion in the 1980’s, watching his TV stuff here has reminded me of how good he was and boosted my appreciation for him in the position he was given. Another underwhelming show. Even without the Luke Graham curve these last two shows have been pretty uneventful.

Even still, the Retro Rasslin’ Review will continue with more of 1978!

WWWF All-Star Wrestling Review 09-23-78

Crazymax Jack

May 23, 2018

Can it be true? No Luke Graham… AGAIN?

WWWF ALL-STAR WRESTLING 09-23-78

All-Star Wrestling is taped from the Fieldhouse in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.
Taping date is September 20, 1978. Your announcer is Vince McMahon

MATCH #1: LARRY ZBYSZKO VS. STAN “THE MAN” STASIAK

Referee is Dick Woehrle. The mustache man Zbyszko works a hammerlock early. Stan talks through the entire segment of the match. Stasiak smiles throughout the hold, and Larry appears to be fighting back a smile as well. Even Vince mentions how Stan doesn’t appear to be in pain. Doesn’t appear either man is taking this match too seriously, TV or not. After a brief stay on the floor, Stasiak returns to the ring and takes over by countering a top wrist lock with a series of taped fist shots to Larry’s head. Stan the Man goes to work on Zbyszko’s arm for several minutes. Larry kicks himself free of a hammerlock, but Stan is right back on top with his amazing arsenal of punches and stomps. Ya know, when they say New York is a “kick and punch” territory, they weren’t kidding.

Larry finally has enough, the two men begin to trade punches. Larry wins out and biels Stasiak to the mat. Not it’s Larry’s turn to stomp on Stasiak. Larry drives knees into the back of Stan until Stasiak goes to the floor to regroup. When Stan returns he takes another big biel from Larry Z. Zbyszko hits a big scoop slam for a 2 count. Zbyszko comes off the ropes with a sunset flip, but the bell sounds as time expires.

The result is a 10:00 time limit draw

Notes: This match ranged from stale to just weird. In the early going Larry appeared to be holding back a smile, Stasiak spent much of the first few minutes smiling and having conversation with Zbyszko. Larry was so loose with the hammerlock it looked as if Stan’s arm was just going to fall out. Then we got a long period of rest holds by “The Man” before going into the finish. And didn’t we JUST see this match a couple of episodes ago??? Blah.[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #2: CRUSHER BLACKWELL (w/THE GRAND WIZARD) VS. FRANKIE WILLIAMS

[spacer height=”20px”]Referee is Wee Willie Webber. Blackwell gently escorts the Wizard from the ring by picking him up in his arms and setting him down on the apron. Crusher hammers Frankie all around the ring and then goes to work on Williams’ arm. Lots of arm locks and legdrops to Frankie’s arm. Blackwell toys with Williams as he tosses him to the floor. Back inside, Crusher with a giant elbow drop but yanks him up at the 2 count. BIG KNEE DROP from Blackwell. He picks Frankie up at 2 once again. Nice legdrop on Williams as some fans begin to chant “We Want Dino”. Running powerslam ends this in 5:31.

Following the match the referees place Frankie Williams on a stretcher and carry him off.

Winner is Da Crusher

[spacer height=”20px”]Notes: Blackwell has had more entertaining squashes than this, but he continues to be impressive nevertheless. The stretcher job was a nice addition. Solid squash.[spacer height=”20px”]

RINGSIDE INTERVIEW WITH THE GRAND WIZARD & CRUSHER BLACKWELL

Vince McMahon is cut off by Blackwell right away. Crusher says he’s the greatest and everyone’s afraid to rassle him because they’ll go to the hospital. Not only is Blackwell the biggest, strongest, fastest, but he’s the “Pertiest”. If he got a hold of Dusty Rhodes we’d call him a Dirty Road, because there would be nothing left. lol.

Blackwell is sick of being handed bums to wrestle, he’s going to start sending people to the hospital until he gets some real competition. When Vince isn’t impressed with the comments, Blackwell offers to “do” McMahon “right here on the floor”. I bet Wizard got excited until he figured out Blackwell wasn’t referring to sex.

Crusher shows off his 22 inch arm. He says there’s no way Backlund can perform his atomic drop on him. Blackwell is beautiful, and he can out-rassle Backlund.

Grand Wizard finally speaks. He talks about how modest Blackwell is for holding back how great he is. This was a fun little segment. Further proof that scripted promos ruin half the fun of a character.[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #3: COCONUT WILLIE VS. LITTLE TOKYO

I’ve not seen much of Coconut, but I’ve seen Tokyo a shit ton. I still say they dropped the ball on not letting Tokyo act as Mr. Fuji’s servant when they wore matching tuxedos on TNT. Tokyo tries to gain control but he hurts his hand when he hits the head of coconut. DUH. Willie gains control until Tokyo gives him a headbutt to the gut. Big little backdrop by Tokyo. Willie fights back, wiggling his hips and landing a pair of jumping headbutts. He must have gotten a whole foot off the ground with those!

Willie lands a nice dropkick, but misses on a second attempt. Tokyo capitalizes with a big little elbow drop and that’s all she wrote in 4:15.

Winner is Little Tokyo

Notes: A no nonsense competitive match, all be it short. Not a lot of midget comedy here, more of a wrestling match. Lacked crowd response but it was fine for what it was.[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #4: “RUSSIAN BEAR” IVAN KOLOFF (w/LOU ALBANO) VS. STEVE CAGLE

Koloff goes right after Cagle and grounds him into the mat. Terrible backdrop taken by Cagle, he sort of rolled to the side. Koloff makes him pay as he lays him across the middle rope and pounds the hell out of him. Albano gets in a sucker punch as well. Ivan with a backbreaker but pulls Cagle up at 2. Koloff refers to Cagle as “Backlund” as he continues to work him over. A pair of slams and a bear hug ends the match quickly in only 2:57.

Following the match, Albano distracts Willie Webber to allow Koloff to come off the ropes with a kneedrop on Cagle for good measure. Albano continues to refer to Cagle as “Backlund”.

Winner is the Russian Bear

Notes: Quick match. Cagle isn’t the best bumper. This wasn’t one of the better Koloff squashes. I’ll pass.[spacer height=”20px”]

MATCH #5: SPIROS ARION & BARON MIKEL SCICLUNA VS. SPECIAL DELIVERY JONES & JIMMY RAY

Referee is Al Bass. The Baron will start with Jim Ray. Scicluna keeps Ray on the mat for a minute before he’s able to tag in SD Jones. Arion tags in as well. SD misses a quick jab and Arion grabs the tights to yank SD to the mat. The Baron tags in and stomps the hand of SD while Arion holds it down. Jim Ray comes in to help and is immediately beaten like a bruised turd. Baron places Jones in an armbar but SD headbutts his way out. Scicluna manages to maintain control, and this brings Jimmy Ray in to attack Scicluna for no reason whatsoever. The heels double team Jones in their corner. Arion grabs a hammerlock.

SD finally breaks free with a headbutt to Spiros. Tag to Jim Ray who comes in and lands two kicks, which Arion doesn’t sell, before Baron grabs Ray from behind. Arion whips Ray into a booth to the stomach from the Baron, and Spiros finishes Ray off in short fashion with a backbreaker in 4:49.

Winners are Arion & Scicluna

Notes: These guys managed to go 5 minutes and do almost nothing. SD joins Larry Zbyszko in guys who have learned not to tag with Jimmy Ray. It’s short crap, but it’s still crap.[spacer height=”20px”]

Closing Thoughts: I thought the midget match this week would be a breath of fresh air, something different. I enjoyed the ladies match a few shows back and thought this would deliver something different as well. Unfortunately, it was short and bland. The rest of the matches ranged from sub-par squashes to a time limit draw that was hard to sit through. Not a good week. I must look at the silver lining… Imagine how much worse this would have been had Luke Graham been involved.

Hopefully business picks back up with the next edition of the Retro Rasslin’ Review…

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