WWWF All-Star Wrestling Review 02-18-78

The era of Backlund is upon us!

WWWF ALL-STAR WRESTLING 02-18-78

All-Star Wrestling is taped from the Fieldhouse in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.
Taping date is February 1, 1978.  Your announcer is Vince McMahon.

 

 

 

 

 

Ring announcer is Joeeeeee McHugh!

 

MATCH #1: BOB BACKLUND VS. “DYNAMITE” JACK EVANS

 

 

 

 

[spacer height=”20px”]Bob has been getting a lot of play on TV as of late to groom him for his upcoming run as “THE MAN” of the WWWF.  This match is a basic showcase of Bob’s grappling ability, with Evans getting in even less offense than usual. Backlund puts Dynamite Jack away with a nice double underhook suplex in 5:59.

Winner is Bob Backlund

Following the match Lou Albano comes out to ringside to have some words for Bob. Backlund invites Albano into the ring. The Captain teases getting in the ring by removing his shirt, but Lou escapes before any harm can happen to him. I’m not particularly sure what this was all about, or if Lou just randomly liked to show up in segments he wasn’t booked.

Notes: When this aired, Bob was a mere TWO DAYS AWAY from capturing the WWWF Championship from Superstar Graham at MSG. I know the story goes that Vincent the elder wanted an Irish champion on this go around, and Backlund was a favorite of his. Bob certainly had the fundamentals, the raw strength and athleticism, and the ability to hold his own against anyone should someone try to get cute. Obviously, where Bob lacked was his promos and personality but that didn’t prevent his near 6 year run with the Championship. Many would argue that Bob should have lost the title long before the end of 1983, and I’d be hard pressed to argue that myself. However, Backlund spent those next six years holding pride in being the Champion and presented himself as being both professional and a role model to children and adults alike.[spacer height=”20px”]

 

MATCH #2: DINO BRAVO VS. SYLVANO SOUSA

Sousa is a big boy. Bravo was jacked, even in the mid 70’s, though he was a lot more trim and could really move. People forget, some may not even know how good Dino was before he became as wide as he was tall. It’s night and day from Bravo’s late 80’s WWF run. Aside from a little hair pulling from Sousa, this match is Dino dominating with an armbar. An airplane spin finishes things off in short fashion after 4:02.

Winner is Dino Bravo

Notes: Dino is a month out from capturing the Tag Team Titles with Dominic DeNucci. Bravo would have made a fine Intercontinental Champion around the turn of the decade. If you’ve never seen Dino’s work from the late 70’s or early 80’s go ahead and find some of his work, but not this match. This match was poop.

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RINGSIDE INTERVIEW WITH STAN STASIAK & THE GRAND WIZARD

 

 

 

 

[spacer height=”20px”]Vince McMahon stands by with the former World Champion Stasiak as Stan plays with the tape wrapped around his fist. McMahon questions if the fist is loaded. Stasiak is angered by such a suggestion. Stan offers Vince to feel his fist, that it’s not loaded and the only thing under the tape is his fist. The Grand Wizard claims there is no counter for the Heart Punch. That’s hard to sell when Stasiak has been countered on TV repeatedly. Stasiak says he is versatile, he doesn’t HAVE to use the Heart Punch. Stan is a complete wrestler. Stasiak says he doesn’t need the Heart Punch to win a match.

Vince mocks Stasiak, points out the Heart Punch has been blocked repeatedly lately, and says it’s been ineffective, essentially burying the hold. lol.

Vince adds more dissension by claiming the Wizard pays more attention to Superstar Graham than Stasiak. Stan doesn’t fall for McMahon’s evil tricks. Vince starts cracking up near the end of the promo, I’m not sure why but he’s trying not to laugh. Vince refers to Wizard and his stable as the Three Stooges, and we’re out of time.[spacer height=”20px”]

 

MATCH #3: STAN “THE MAN” STASIAK (w/THE GRAND WIZARD) VS. PETE AUSTIN

Austin is a big boy, but Stasiak is bigger. Stan blasts Austin in the face with his taped fist repeatedly, but apparently his fist only incapacitates the heart. Austin finally amount a comeback as he hammers away on Stasiak in the corner. Stan does a good job of blocking some of the blows before he takes right back over tosses Austin out of the ring. Pete returns for more punishment before Stasiak floors him with the HEART PUNCH in 3:52.

Winner is Stan Stasiak

 

 

 

 

[spacer height=”20px”]Notes: Stasiak’s physique looked like chewed up bubblegum by this stage in his career, but he was a name and being a former World Champ gave him bragging rights. Nothing about this match was good, unless you’re a glutton for the Heart Punch.[spacer height=”20px”]

 

MATCH #4: DOMINIC DENUCCI VS. “PRETTY BOY” LARRY SHARPE

 

 

 

 

[spacer height=”20px”]Referee is Wee Willie Webber. I like how Joe McHugh would always try to break into an Italian accent to introduce DeNucci. He always had to add an extra “a” to the end of his first name… DOMINIC-A DENUCCI. That’s a’nice. As Sharpe gains control, DeNucci does the old Three Stooges spot, grabbing Sharpe’s nose and hitting his hand with the free hand. Ugh. Outside of a Sharpe backdrop, much of the never several minutes is back and forth mat wrestling holds and pinfall attempts. The Pretty Boy finally goes to the eyes of DeNucci to take over and Dominic falls to the floor to regroup. Once back inside DeNucci looks fired up. Dominic unloads with some jabs before Sharpe comes back with his own series of punches and a choke across the ropes. Sharpe nails a bodyslam, but when he tries it a second time DeNucci counters into an inside cradle to get the win after 8:01.

I don’t know if Matt Mittman was really keeping time, or if Joe McHugh had a hand in it, but they were generally spot on or off by a second by my count. Kudos to their ability to keep actual time of the matches.

Winner is Dominic DeNucci

Notes: This was the best of the DeNucci matches I’ve seen so far, he actually attempts to wrestle on his feet rather than just grabbing a hold and laying on the mat. Even though it was Dominic’s best match thus far, it was still a whole lot of nothing. I’ve seen worse on these shows, but this isn’t anything to write home about.[spacer height=”20px”]

 

MATCH #5: WWWF TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS MR. FUJI & TORU TANAKA (w/FRED BLASSIE) VS. SPECIAL DELIVERY JONES & DENNIS JOHNSON

 

 

 

 

[spacer height=”20px”]Referee is Dick Woehrle. Vince points out how much Jones has bulked up lately. No doubt SD had a solid physique by this point in his career. Tanaka has his troubles with SD to begin things, but a tag to Dennis Johnson changes all of that. Tanaka immediately gains control of Johnson and tags to Fuji. The champions take over and don’t look back. In reality we’re treated to mostly generic “judo chops” from both before Tanaka puts Johnson away with a forearm across the throat after 4:21.

Winners are Fuji & Tanaka

Notes: The closer Fuji & Tanaka get to losing the straps, the shittier their matches seem to get. I don’t know if that’s just a coincidence or what the story is, but they seemed to have stopped caring in their TV squashes. Fuji went from being really impressive to throwing a few chops and letting Tanaka do most of the work, which subsequently was also throwing more chops. DeNucci & Bravo would soon be champions and Tanaka would be on his way out of the territory for good. Fuji would also take a lengthy hiatus and not return until the summer of 1981 with his new partner, Mr. Saito.[spacer height=”20px”]

Closing Thoughts: Wrestling wise, this was another flat show. Backlund, DeNucci, and Bravo all get groomed for their upcoming championship runs. Fuji & Tanaka are showcased as the team to beat at the moment. Stasiak continues to get play on TV, but in reality he was nothing more than a mid-card heel who more often than not jobbed to the higher up babyfaces on the house shows. If you want to take a look at Backlund just a couple of days before his World Title win, then you can check him out here. If you opt not to watch this episode you’re not really missing much.

And that’ll do it for this installment of the Retro Rasslin’ Review…