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A Journey Through the WWE Network


Swift

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The WWE Network is different here in Canada. The on demand portion of it is only available through a device. I'm not one for watching things on my phone or computer screen so never even bothered checking it out, but I recently got myself a Chromecast and so now I can watch on my TV. I was excited to go back and watch the early 90s stuff from when I was a kid, but I thought "where's my starting point? I can't just drop myself into 91 without experiencing what came before." The obvious easy starting point would then be WMI, but again I'm coming into the middle of things, so well, screw it, here I am starting at the very beginning.

This thread is essentially just my personal diary as I go through this. I'm just adding some thoughts as they come to me watching these shows. I hope to complete them up to about 2006 (no real interest in going past that) but am in no rush to get there. I very well could be here in 5 years writing about late 90s wrestling.

The vast majority of this stuff is new to me. I've essentially been a WWF/E only fan since 91 (but have seen all the WWF PPVs prior to that) with a tiny, tiny exposure to anything else. I'm only watching full cards/TV shows (and probably some of the Coliseum Home Video releases), so not checking out randomly uploaded segments, and will be copying the card info from Cawthon.

WWWF @ New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden - June 30, 1973
Televised on HBO - featured Vince McMahon on commentary:
Blackjack Lanza defeated Lee Wong via submission with the claw at 5:05
Prof. Toru Tanaka pinned El Olympico with a chop to the throat at 9:34
Gorilla Monsoon defeated Lou Albano via count-out at 2:58 after Monsoon knocked Albano over the top to the floor and Albano walked backstage
Victor Rivera pinned Black Gordman with a small package at 11:34
Joyce Grable & Jan Sheridan defeated Peggy Patterson & Dottie Downs in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match at 20:47; fall #1: Sheridan pinned Downs with a dropkick at 12:17; fall #2: Downs pinned Grable by grabbing the tights for leverage after Grable missed a dropkick at 6:21; fall #3: Grable pinned Patterson with a victory roll at 2:09
WWWF World Champion Pedro Morales defeated George Steele when the match was stopped due to blood at 8:16 after Morales repeatedly rammed Steele's face into the turnbuckles and punched him; after the bout, Steele attacked the champion until Morales gained the upper hand and chased Steele from ringside
Chief Jay Strongbow pinned Mr. Fuji with a double tomahawk chop to the face at 13:58
Haystacks Calhoun pinned Moondog Mayne with a splash at 6:03

- I had no idea HBO was around then. At one point on commentary, McMahon hypes a couple of upcoming Professional Bowling events. Was that shilling on behalf of HBO, or was he involved as a promoter of Bowling at one point?

- That Secrets of Wrestling show years back featuring the stunt granny was the first time I had heard of that. It's generally confirmed that was BS, right? There's a granny here who goes apeshit at Tanaka and Fuji and it's funny to see that she's able to go right up to the ring to wipe away their ceremonial salt. She slaps her ass, inviting them to kiss it and it's funny, but then gets cringy when she does the slant eyes gesture at them.

- The women's tag gave me a good laugh as it reminded me of the 'Vince favours blondes' arguments on here. All 4 women are peroxide blondes. It's interesting to see the body types on display here, and that goes for the men too. Everybody's quite lumpy and there's none of that toned athletic look. In a sign of the times, when the ref is consulting with the women before the match, Vince makes a joke that he's asking them out on dates after the show.

WWWF @ New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden - March 17, 1975
Televised on HBO - featured Vince McMahon on commentary:
Johnny Rodz pinned Bill White at 11:31 with a stomp from the middle rope after White failed a dropkick attempt
Mike Paidousis pinned Jack Evans at 5:43 with a kneedrop after Evans ran into the ropes when Paidousis moved out of the way
Manuel Soto & Pete Sanchez defeated Joe Nova & Hans Schroeder at 22:05 in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match
Chief Jay Strongbow pinned Butcher Vachon at 9:10 with a Thesz Press
WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino (w/ Arnold Skaaland) pinned Spiros Arion at 14:51 in a Texas Death match with a powerslam even though Arion's foot was on the bottom rope during the cover; prior to the bout, Freddie Blassie escorted Arion to the ring before returning to the dressing room
Victor Rivera defeated Killer Kowalski via disqualification at 15:58 after Kowalski began biting at Rivera's head; prior to the bout, the Grand Wizard escorted Kowalski to the ring before returning to the dressing room
Ivan Putski defeated the Wolfman via submission at 6:45 with a bearhug (Putski's MSG debut)
Dean Ho & Tony Garea fought WWWF Tag Team Champions Johnny & Jimmy Valiant to a draw in a Best 2 out of 3 falls non-title match; fall #1: Garea pinned Johnny at 1:49 after throwing him off the top rope; fall #2: Johnny pinned Garea at 4:05 with a sunset flip; fall #3: the bout was stopped due to the curfew at 12:13; prior to the bout, Capt. Lou Albano escorted the Valiants to the ring before returning to the dressing room

- As far as I can recall, neither the first match or last match on the card are on the Network presentation of this show.

- What's the deal with the Grand Wizard? The only other time I've heard of that phrase is with the KKK. Was there originally a racial component to his gimmick?

WWWF @ New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden - April 14, 1975 (26,000, which included several thousand at Felt Forum)
Televised on HBO - featured Vince McMahon on commentary:
Mike Paidousis pinned Tony Altimore at 13:05 after Altimore missed a running kick and fell onto his back; prior to the match, the ring announcer mispronounced both men's names; after the contest, Altimore confronted Vince McMahon at the ringside table and told him not to air the match
Greg Valentine pinned El Olympico at 7:49 with an elbow to the side of the head followed by an elbow drop; Olympico wore a mask with the face cut out since MSG did not allow wrestlers to wear full masks at the time; the ring announcer mispronounced Valentine's last name (Valentine's MSG debut)
Waldo Von Erich defeated Chief Jay Strongbow via count-out at the 39-second mark after Von Erich attacked Strongbow from behind and threw him over the top rope; immediately after the bout, WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino ran out to tend to Strongbow at ringside, with Strongbow and an official then carrying Strongbow backstage; Von Erich remained in the ring until the official decision was announced
Lord Littlebrook & Little Tokyo defeated Midget Tag Team Champions Sonny Boy Hayes & Little Louie in a non-title Best 2 out of 3 falls match at 18:59; fall #1: Tokyo pinned Hayes at 12:01 with a kick and grabbing the tights for leverage; fall #2: Hayes pinned Littlebrook at 4:25 after Tokyo accidentally hit his partner; fall #3: Littlebrook pinned Louie at 3:33 with a shoulderblock; the champions came to the ring in possession of title belts
WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino defeated Spiros Arion in a Greek Death match at 14:58 via submission with a half crab after the challenger missed a kneedrop off the top and Sammartino repeatedly stomped the injured leg; stipulations stated the match could only be won via submission; prior to the ring introductions, Vince McMahon briefly spoke with international banker Andrew D'Amato about the previous contest; Freddie Blassie escorted Arion to the ring and Arnold Skaaland escorted Sammartino before the opening bell; after the match, Arion attempted to pull himself up before Sammartino repeatedly stomped him and then stepped on his throat as Arion's head was on the bottom rope; following the commercial break, Arion refused to be taken backstage by a stretcher but was helped backstage by the referee
Edouard Carpentier pinned Joe Nova at 9:16 after three standing sentons; before the match, a brief on-screen graphic mistakenly read "Victor Rivera vs. Big Bob Duncum;" McMahon briefly spoke with Andrew D'Amato again before the contest
WWWF Tag Team Champions Jimmy & Johnny Valiant defeated Manuel Soto & Pete Sanchez in a non-title match when Johnny pinned Soto
Victor Rivera fought Bobby Duncum to a curfew draw at around the 16-minute mark; prior to the bout, the Grand Wizard escorted Duncum to the ring; the match ended after Rivera prevented Duncum from using a foreign object and knocked him to the mat

- Again I don't recall seeing the Valiants match on the Network presentation.

- Was surprised to see Carpentier on here. I know of him as a NWA World Champion in the 50s. Didn't know he was still wrestling in the 70s and for Vince.

- The midget match was fun with all kinds of comedy ref spots, but got me wondering about kayfabe. The crowds on these shows are mostly middle aged with very few kids, but they're rabidly into the good guys beating up the bad guys. How is it possible that they didn't know this stuff was fake? Everything is so over the top and exaggerated that anybody who's seen a real fight knows this isn't how it looks and the midget match kinda destroys any semblance of it being real, yet the crowd gets really, really worked up in anger.

 - International bankers being interviewed during wrestling shows is kinda unusual

WWWF @ Hamburg, PA - Fieldhouse - August 27, 1975
All Star Wrestling taping:
9/13/75 - hosted by Vince McMahon & Antonino Rocca; featured McMahon conducting a ringside interview with Superstar Billy Graham and the Grand Wizard, with Graham asking McMahon what it felt like to be the one to interview him and said all the boyfriends and husbands were jealous of him; Graham then said WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino was sitting at home in his EZ chair, overweight, and had been working to keep Graham out of the East Coast:
Superstar Billy Graham (w/ the Grand Wizard) defeated Tom Stanton via submission with a bearhug at 3:55; after the bout, the Grand Wizard distracted the referee as Graham repeatedly rammed Stanton into the corner
WWWF Tag Team Champions Blackjack Mulligan & Blackjack Lanza (w/ Capt. Lou Albano) defeated Buddy Porter & Buzz Sawyer in a non-title match at 5:11 when Lanza pinned Porter with the claw; after the match, Mulligan tossed Sawyer to the floor (Sawyer was not the same Buzz Sawyer who gained fame in the 80s)
Baron Mikel Scicluna pinned Manuel Miranda at 3:35 after two kneedrops across Miranda's throat
Fransicso Flores fought Frank Monte to a double count-out at 6:02 as both men were fighting on the ring apron; after the contest, Flores cleared Monte to the floor
Louis Cerdan & Tony Parisi fought Waldo Von Erich & Bugsy McGraw (w/ Freddie Blassie & Capt. Lou Albano) to a no contest at around the 10-minute mark when the show went off the air with the match still taking place; early in the bout, Cerdan & Parisi had Andre the Giant come out to be in their corner to combat the interference of Blassie & Albano; as the show was going off the air, Andre entered the ring and attacked Blassie and Albano, ramming their heads together, as Cerdan & Parisi fought Von Erich & McGraw in the ring

- Graham had just started here a few weeks earlier and he immediately comes across as a star. He is far above everybody else in terms of physique and promo ability

- No idea why Vince chose Rocca to be his co-commentator. He has a thick accent and doesn't seem particularly suited to the role of on screen professional commentator. Vince on the other hand has all of the TV presenter stuff locked down.

- Frank Monte has a good look for someone who doesn't appear to have had any kind of significant career in wrestling. There's a spot in that match that I've never seen elsewhere - Flores is on the apron outside but tied up in the ropes facing forward into the ring and getting boots to the face (think a reverse of when Savage got bit by the snake)

- Italian American Lou Albano managing Texan brawlers seems like a weird combo.

WWWF @ Hamburg, PA - Fieldhouse - January 7, 1976
All Star Wrestling taping:
1/10/76 - featured Vince McMahon & Antonino Rocca on commentary:
US Champion Bobo Brazil pinned Davey O'Hannon at 7:40 with the Coco Butt
Louis Cyr (w/ Freddie Blassie) pinned Pete McKay at 4:32 with a shoulderbreaker; after the bout, Cyr hit a second shoulderbreaker
Ernie Ladd defeated Tito Torres & Sylvano Sousa in a handicap match at 4:48 by pinning Sousa with a legdrop; prior to the bout, Vince McMahon interviewed Ladd at ringside, where Ladd said he wanted Bruno Sammartino in a match on television so he could embarass him, and that he had requested to face Ivan Putski and Bobo Brazil on television but the promoters wouldn't allow it
WWWF Tag Team Champions Tony Parisi & Louis Cerdan defeated Vincente Pometti & Baron Mikel Scicluna at 6:03 when Parisi pinned Pometti with an elbow drop
Crusher Blackwell (w/ Freddie Blassie) & Bugsy McGraw (w/ the Grand Wizard) defeated Kevin Sullivan & Francisco Flores via count-out at 5:38 when Sullivan was counted out after Sullivan got his foot tangled in the ropes after being hit by Blackwell when he was on the apron

- I had no idea Kevin Sullivan wrestled here. Based on the name alone, I thought Crusher Blackwell was gonna be a big tough looking dude, instead he looks like a guy you'd see posting on a wrestling message board.

- Davey O'Hannon has been the best jobber so far. He has some fight in him and he bounces and sells well for Brazil here.

- Torres & Sousa meanwhile have been the absolute worst. The well known gifs below are from this match and the crowd howls with a mixture of laughter and derision when they happen. First time seeing Ladd, he's impressive in stature and is a pretty good promo.

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The HBO stuff was a benefit of running the Garden, as they were doing anything to get numbers up to make it worth keeping.  

Grand Wizard was Ernie Roth, a really good manager in the 60's and 70's.  He was Jewish and Gay, so he was basically using the name as an open shot at the KKK. 

 

 

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Amused that they ran Bruno vs Arion in a Texas Death Match and then a Greek Death Match on consecutive shows. Did they attempt to mix up the stips at all?

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Great stuff! Raziel already hipped you to Ernie Roth (one of the best managers ever), but as to some other stuff...

Keep watching Crusher Blackwell, he will surprise you. For a guy that basically looked like a fireplug with arms and legs, he was incredibly agile, you will see that as a wrestler he was everything that Bruno and Pedro were not.

Johnny Rodz is loads of fun, perhaps the original template of JTTS, he got to beat all the guys that were lower on the totem pole and was pretty entertaining when doing so. 

Supersta*r Billy Graham is one of the most charismatic guys the business has ever seen, putting him and Roth together was sort of a waste as SBG is fucking gold on the mic and certainly didn't need Roth to talk for him. Everything about SBG is fantastic until he gets in the ring. "Limited" is perhaps a kindness. The thing is, you didn't care because he was so cool. If he had been able to keep his shit together, there would have been no need to raid Hogan from the AWA, Graham did everything Hogan did and did it better, the only area that Hogan had him beat (and we never got to see it in the States) was in actually wrestling. I think it's pretty well-known now that Hogan could go when he wanted to, whereas SBG was pretty much what you saw, an extremely charismatic man with loads of muscles, who couldn't work a lick. When Dusty Rhodes has trouble getting more than *** out of you, you pretty much suck. (1970s Dusty Rhodes was a great, great worker and people that just recall his days in JCP are really missing a treat.) Same can be said for Playboy Buddy Rose, in the 1970s he was in shape and he was sublime in the ring. Even after ballooning up in weight he was a great worker, but he just didn't look the part anymore. Dusty in the 1970s was like Dustin with more charisma.

Antonio Rocca was so popular that they wanted to do something with him. Unfortunately, that something should not have been giving him a live mic. When VKM can't carry you as part of a broadcast team, go do something else, please.

I'm not sure who was a bigger waste of space, Chief Jay Strongbow or Lou Albano, but ye gods they both sucked.

1970s WWWF is a fun ride, an odd mix of fading stars and guys on the way up mixed with VKM's favorites, if you had told me then that it would become the #1 promotion in the world, I'd have heartily laughed at you. In the Northwest we watched when we could only to marvel at how inferior it was to our beloved Portland wrestling. (See, if you had told me that Don Owens was going to expand nationally with the company built around Playboy Buddy Rose, I'd have believed that in a heartbeat. I was so young and foolish in the 1970s.

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19 minutes ago, peachchaos said:

In terms of pre-expansion era (W)WWF:

Greek Death Match = Texas Death Match = Alley Fight = Boot Camp Match

They're all strictly No Disqualification (& No Count Out) matches without any extra falls or breaks. 

And of course this begs the question with Bruno as Champ, why no Roman Death Match?

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Jerry Blackwell is the template for "really big guy that knows when and how to bump huge" as opposed to the guys who just no sell because they are big.

Vader bring probably the greatest guy in that Blackwell mold (in terms of his bumping and selling)

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re: the Grand Wizard, what are some of his best matches/segments/promos? he's always mentioned as an all-time great, but i've only seen a handful of his stuff. would be very interested in checking out more

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