JHawk
Welcome to week two of Through the Booking Glass, a new and unique way to fantasy book the WWF from 1983 onward. Those of you who have given me feedback either through Facebook or Twitter, thank you very much. Seems the majority of you like the format, and I know this isn’t for everybody.
For those of you who are asking about my From JHawk’s Beak columns, I will still be doing those from time to time, but we are looking at once or twice a month instead of every week. Simply put, this is something I can work on whenever I have a free 10-15 minutes, plus if I limit these to one per week then it will take 30 years to get to the current WWE and I really don’t want to be writing these when I’m in my 60s. So my goal is to do as many of these as I can and use the From JHawk’s Beak format when I have something I feel really needs to be said.
For those of you who missed the debut and want the story so far, as well as an explanation on the format for this column, click here.
January 1983, Monday, Week 2
Buddy Rogers will be working for the Alabama-based Southeastern Championship Wrestling when he’s not working for the WWF. I like the policy of letting guys work elsewhere in their spare time but at some point either guys will leave altogether or there will be a scheduling conflict that will completely ruin an important booking plan.
January 1983, Tuesday, Week 2
Still no official decision by Buddy Rose as to whether he will sign his new deal. I’d expect a decision by Thursday. I know head booker Jared Hawkins is getting frustrated with the wait, and the longer he holds out, the less likely the Ray Stevens-Rose team will get that big push.
Championship Wrestling taping (January 1983, Tuesday, Week 2)
I just got back from the Agricultural Hall in Allentown for the next edition of Championship Wrestling that will be airing in syndication this weekend.
Salvatore Bellomo defeated Johnny Rodz in 3:04 by pinfall with a Pizza Splash.
Ray Stevens and Charlie Fulton defeated Jimmy Snuka and Curt Hennig in 2:48 when Charlie Fulton defeated Curt Hennig by pinfall with The Powerslam. Snuka looked good out there.
Rocky Johnson defeated Tiger Conway Jr. in 2:37 by pinfall with a quick cradle.
Swede Hanson defeated Jules Strongbow in 2:41 by pinfall.
Next up was Buddy Rogers’ Corner with Salvatore Bellomo. Bellomo took his time to thank the fans for their support and to say he loves wrestling in America.
Mr. Fuji defeated Ivan Putski in 1:16 by pinfall with a Kamikaze Clothesline. After the match, Fuji began attacking Putski with his kendo stick until Rocky Johnson made the save. As Fuji headed to the locker room, Johnson vowed that Fuji was going to stop using his kendo stick on Johnson’s friends and that he would take care of him at next weekend’s show at Madison Square Garden.
Tony Garea & Eddie Gilbert defeated Frankie Williams and Mac Rivera in 3:43 when Eddie Gilbert defeated Frankie Williams by pinfall with a quick cradle.
The Wild Samoans defeated Tony Atlas and S.D. Jones in 5:03 when Afa defeated Tony Atlas by pinfall with a Samoan Drop. After the match, Lou Albano cut a promo on behalf of the Samoans challenging the Strongbows to a title match.
WWF Intercontinental Champion Pedro Morales defeated Bob Bradley in 3:21 by submission. After the match, Morales was interviewed by Pat Patterson about his title defense against Don Muraco next weekend. You’d think after 13 years in the WWF off and on that Morales would have mastered the English language, but I couldn’t understand half of what he said here.
Vince McMahon interviewed Big John Studd about his title shot against Bob Backlund next weekend. Studd and Blassie have fantastic chemistry together, and Blassie especially knows how to make you want to see his man get his title shot.
In a bout that had a good crowd and good action, Superstar Billy Graham defeated Chief Jay Strongbow in 5:35 by submission to a bearhug. Good main event and the best match of the night. Not sure why you have both tag team champions job in the same night unless it’s to show they are better as a team than as individuals.
Another good effort by the WWF.
January 1983, Wednesday, Week 2
Not sure of the details, but several wrestlers ended up getting in between Ray Stevens and Tiger Conway Jr. backstage prior to the tapings last night. Most accounts have Stevens antagonizing Conway to the point where everybody was afraid they’d wind up coming to blows. No punishment was given out since no punches were thrown, but booker Jared Hawkins was said to be highly upset that Stevens was being so unprofessional.
The WWF drew another sell out at Agricultural Hall of 1,300. I wouldn’t assume they’ll be doing any less of a crowd there for that show. All-Star Wrestling in Hamburg might be a different story since everybody knows it’s a B level show but I’d still expect at least 1,500 for the next 4-6 months unless the company starts putting out subpar shows.
Buddy Rose has finally agreed to his three year deal, and the team with Ray Stevens will definitely be happening. Expect a promo at tonight’s taping.
All-Star Wrestling taping (January 1983, Wednesday, Week 2)
Just got back from the WWF show tonight, and it was another fairly big crowd at the Hamburg Field-house for All-Star Wrestling, which will air this weekend in syndication.
Mr. Fuji (w/Lou Albano) pinned Jimmy Snuka with a Kamikaze Drop in 2:00. Fuji seemed a step off here.
The Strongbows defeated Mac Rivera and Tiger Conway Jr. in 1:39 when Chief Jay Strongbow defeated Tiger Conway Jr. by pinfall with a Tomahawk Chop to retain the WWF Tag Team Title.
Don Muraco defeated Barry Hart in 1:22 by pinfall with a Tombstone Piledriver. Muraco looked really good here, which is good heading into MSG. After the match, Pat Patterson interviewed Muraco at ringside, and Muraco cut a fantastic promo about next weekend’s match with Morales here.
In a bout that had solid in-ring action but not much in the way of heat, Swede Hanson defeated Rocky Johnson in 5:57 by submission.
Pedro Morales defeated Charlie Fulton in 5:18 by pinfall with a roll up to retain the Intercontinental Title.
WWF Champion Bob Backlund was the guest in Buddy Rogers’ Corner, and he vowed to retain the title against Big John Studd next weekend.
In a match that had some good action and average heat, The Wild Samoans defeated S.D. Jones and Tito Santana in 12:37 when Tito Santana was counted out while fighting Afa. This was one of the best matches of the year so far, and Santana and Jones have fantastic chemistry together.
In an awful match that was completely devoid of heat, Salvatore Bellomo defeated Frankie Williams in 4:57 by pinfall with a Pizza Splash. Nobody thinks either of these guys has any credibility whatsoever, and the crowd turned on what had been a hot show up to this point.
Pat Patterson interviewed Buddy Rose and Ray Stevens, who began running down the babyface teams and saying “These are your heroes? You need new heroes, and we are Your New Heroes!”
Superstar Billy Graham defeated Tony Garea by countout in 6:38.
January 1983, Thursday, Week 2
Notes from last night’s tapings:
Attendance for the show was 1,768. The Hamburg Field-house can fit about 2,200 for wrestling.
Lord Alfred Hayes did an impression of Pat Patterson backstage that was said to be so spot on that even Patterson was caught laughing. It has to be good for morale to see someone as respected as Patterson is able to take a joke.
Jimmy Snuka’s loss to Mr. Fuji was designed as a test to see if he would be willing to lose a quick TV match to a midcarder after he refused to lose to Big John Studd last week. Tito Santana’s example must have worked for him. Most are expecting a major push for Snuka before the summer.
Wondering why the Wild Samoans-S.D. Jones/Tito Santana match got so much time last night? The feeling is that since All-Star Wrestling airs in fewer markets, they can experiment more with longer matches without affecting the bottom line. Not sure the fans in Hamburg really want to see 13 minutes of S.D. Jones every week.
Your New Heroes is officially the new name for the Rose/Stevens team.
Swede Hanson is showing signs of fatigue. I wouldn’t expect him to wrestle again before the MSG show next weekend.
January 1983, Friday, Week 2
Not much going on in the WWF today, although they did announce it will be Jimmy Snuka vs. Buddy Rose at MSG next weekend. It seems weird for Ray Stevens to take on Jules Strongbow but Jay Strongbow not to wrestle Rose, but it shows Rose and Stevens are, at least immediately, not in line for the belts.
January 1983, Saturday, Week 2
Rumors have The Grand Wizard working Puerto Rico part-time in the near future, but nothing has been made official at this point.
January 1983, Sunday, Week 2
Haven’t heard the ratings for Championship Wrestling yet, but All-Star Wrestling was down from last week. Don’t see how as TV has been great as of late.
Next week: The two go-home shows, as well as the big show from Madison Square Garden.
