JHawk
August 1983, Monday, Week 2
Negotiations to get WWF All-Star Wrestling back on the air have failed, as most stations feel two shows being on the air would be overkill for a promotion the size of the WWF right now.
The news is not all bad for TV though, as Championship Wrestling will be expanding into the New England states and they’ve been given a full one year deal. Word is the company is going to work on increasing its finances over the course of the deal and will try to expand its TV further in November.
August 1983, Tuesday, Week 2
George Steele vs. Ivan Putski has been added to Saturday’s show at the Philadelphia Spectrum.
Championship Wrestling taping (August 1983, Tuesday, Week 2)
In an extremely short match, Billy Red Lyons defeated Great Goliath in 3:02 by submission.
Ivan Putski pinned Israel Matia in 2:46 with a Polish Hammer.
Masked Superstar (w/The Grand Wizard of Wrestling) pinned Swede Hanson with a swinging neckbreaker in 4:26. Superstar looked good out there and his act is definitely enhanced by having the Wizard at ringside.
Tony Garea pinned Mac Rivera in 3:10.
Buddy Rogers’ guest this week was Tony Atlas, who cut a generic promo about being in the WWF for championship gold.
Salvatore Bellomo pinned Bob Bradley in 54 seconds with a Pizza Splash.
Jimmy Snuka pinned Buddy Rose (w/The Grand Wizard) in 1:17 with the Superfly Splash. Wizard’s reaction to the splash at ringside was priceless. After the match, Pat Patterson interviewed Snuka at ringside, with Snuka saying he would not rest until he got his revenge on Don Muraco and took the Intercontinental Title.
WWF Tag Team Champions The Wild Samoans defeated Rocky Johnson and Frankie Williams in 3:33 when Sika pinned Johnson with a Samoan Drop. Don’t ask me why Williams didn’t drop the fall here because I have absolutely no idea.
Nick DeCarlo and Invader # 2 defeated Don Kernodle and Johnny Rodz in 2:23 when the Invader pinned Rodz with a Heart Punch.
In one of the best TV main events in months, Andre the Giant pinned Adrian Adonis in 6:35. Adonis actually got several near falls on Andre late, but he came off the top rope and landed face first on Andre’s boot and Andre scored the pin. I am absolutely shocked this was as good as it was.
August 1983, Wednesday, Week 2
Nick DeCarlo will probably never get a real push in the WWF, but he is well liked backstage as he once again did some spot on impressions of his colleagues backstage before the show started.
The WWF recently filmed a video of Sgt. Slaughter in training for his upcoming title match with Bob Backlund, and it is expected to air on this weekend’s TV.
The show in Allentown last night drew the usual sellout of 1,300.
August 1983, Thursday, Week 2
The WWF announced that Pat Patterson will face Iron Mike Sharpe at Saturday’s show at the Philadelphia Spectrum. Patterson was one of the best anywhere in the world in his prime and still wrestles regularly in Canada, but has only wrestled sporadically for the WWF in the last three years, focusing mostly on commentary. This will be his first match in the WWF since April, when he upset Tito Santana.
August 1983, Friday, Week 2
Buddy Rose defeated Jules Strongbow in Fairbanks, AK last night to win the vacant Pacific Northwest title. This marks Rose’s eighth reign with the title. The title was vacated when Billy Jack Haynes left the territory about two weeks ago.
August 1983, Saturday, Week 2
Here’s a preview for tonight’s show at the Philadelphia Spectrum:
Bob Backlund vs. Sgt. Slaughter for the WWF Heavyweight Title: I would put the belt on Slaughter here for two reasons. First, the company badly needs a shakeup. Two, Slaughter has a ton of momentum and a strong heel champion will help draw bigger houses.
The Wild Samoans vs. Rocky Johnson and Salvatore Bellomo for the WWF Tag Team Titles: I’m expecting the Samoans to win here, but the angle is that Johnson is going to search for the right partner to go for the titles with, so I’d expect Johnson and whomever is permanent partner will be to eventually get the straps.
George Steele vs. Ivan Putski: Steele’s run with Backlund is done so I’d expect Putski to win here.
Pat Patterson vs. Iron Mike Sharpe: Sharpe should win since Patterson only wrestles part time at best here, but Patterson winning would not surprise me either.
I’m told there will be six more matches added to the show.
Live coverage from the Philadelphia Spectrum (August 1983, Saturday, Week 2)
Gorilla Monsoon and Howard Finkel are on commentary at ringside.
In an extremely poor match, Israel Matia defeated Brian Blair in 9:35 by submission. I would have expected a completely different result.
In a match that had some good action and average heat, Tito Santana defeated Mr. Fuji in 10:33 by pinfall.
In a match that had an average crowd reaction and some decent in-ring action, Bill Anderson pinned Chief Jay Strongbow in 6:50 with a Piledriver. These two don’t have a lot of chemistry, so this came off like a very awkward bout.
Jimmy Snuka defeated Great Goliath in 11:03 by count out. Swede Hanson was the special referee and was forced into the countout when Goliath rolled out of the ring to avoid the Superfly Splash and went to the back. Suprisingly good, and Snuka looked really good here.
Tiger Chung Lee defeated Tony Garea in 11:06 by count out. Back-to-back countouts?
In a bout that had a good crowd and good action, WWF Tag Team Champions The Wild Samoans defeated Rocky Johnson and Salvatore Bellomo in 10:15 when Afa pinned Bellomo with a Samoan Drop.
Pat Patterson defeated Iron Mike Sharpe in 3:36 by submission.
We’re at intermission inside the arena. During intermission, Gorilla Monsoon interviewed Sgt. Slaughter and Howard Finkel interviewed Bob Backlund regarding their upcoming title match.
In a bout that featured great action and great heat from the audience, WWF Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund defeated Sgt. Slaughter in 10:33 by count out when Slaughter was on the apron as Backlund locked in the crossface chickenwing. Shouldn’t Backlund have been disqualified for refusing to break the hold? Bad finish aside (THREE countouts in one show) this is by far the best match of the entire night.
Nick DeCarlo and Invader # 2 defeated Ivan Koloff and Don Kernodle in 6:39 when the Invader pinned Kernodle with a Heart Punch. Koloff and Kernodle have incredible chemistry as partners and need to be made into a full time tag team.
Ivan Putski defeated George Steele in 3:10 by pinfall with a Polish Hammer.
August 1983, Sunday, Week 2
There was a shocking incident backstage before the show, as Brian Blair attacked Bob Backlund backstage after a heated argument. He was charged his entire payday for last night’s show, and his scheduled victory against Israel Matia was turned into a loss. Blair complained to anybody he could that he was being unfairly targeted and that Backlund had it coming.
An absolutely horrible crowd last night, as the show drew just 2,863 to the Spectrum. Many were expecting in the 3,500-4,000 range, which would still be disappointing in a building that size. In my opinion, the Philly crowd is still upset about the Snuka-Muraco match never happening in June, so it will take several months before crowds start picking back up.
It should come as absolutely no surprise that Bob Backlund and Sgt. Slaughter received the Match of the Night bonus for last night’s show. The WWF has already announced a rematch for next month’s show at the Spectrum (taking place September 1983, Saturday, Week 4) which will be a no disqualification match with Tony Garea as the special referee.
TV ratings continue to hold steady.
The Fabulous Moolah is officially done as an active wrestler but will remain with the company as a road agent effective with Tuesday’s TV taping.
