JHawk
October 1983, Monday, Week 3
Iron Mike Sharpe has formed a tag team in Maple Leaf Wrestling called The Truth with Larry Sampson.
Tonight is the WWF’s first show in Madison Square Garden in three months, and the lineup is loaded. Here’s a preview.
Bob Backlund vs. The Masked Superstar for the WWF Heavyweight Title: Could go either way. Management is high on Superstar and there’s a ton of heat from the Eddie Gilbert angle, but Sgt. Slaughter has a title shot scheduled for Philadelphia on Saturday. I would still go with Superstar to win the title here and make Backlund-Slaughter a top contenders’ match.
George Steele vs. Jimmy Snuka in a cage for the vacant WWF Intercontinental Title: Snuka has to win the title here.
Afa vs. Andre the Giant: Champion or not, there’s virtually no chance Afa wins here.
Sika vs. Rocky Johnson: Sika might win but I’m betting Johnson does since he and Atlas are due for a title shot.
Sgt. Slaughter vs. Ivan Putski: Slaughter should win since he’s main eventing Philadelphia on Saturday, but Putski winning wouldn’t surprise me in the event of the Heavyweight Title changing hands, as the WWF likes babyfaces going over in as many key matches as possible.
Iron Mike Sharpe vs. Tito Santana: Santana should go over here.
Madison Square Garden coverage (October 1983, Monday, Week 3)
Gorilla Monsoon and Pat Patterson will be calling the action tonight.
In a match that had an average crowd reaction and some decent in-ring action, Tony Garea defeated Samu in 13:26 by pinfall.
Tiger Chung Lee pinned S.D. Jones in 8:34 with a Kiwi Roll.
Sgt. Slaughter defeated Ivan Putski by disqualification in 10:07 when Putski accidentally hit referee Dick Kroll when Slaughter moved out of the way of a right hand.
In a bout that had a good crowd and good action, Iron Mike Sharpe drew with Tito Santana in 20:00 when the time limit expired.
In a match that had a fantastic crowd and great wrestling action, Masked Superstar defeated Bob Backlund in 15:08 by count out after taking Backlund down on the concrete floor with a swinging neckbreaker. Backlund retains the WWF Heavyweight Title despite the loss. EMTs checked on Backlund’s condition after the match but he left the ring on his own power.
Nick DeCarlo defeated Bob Bradley in 5:03 by pinfall. Bradley seemed off his game, probably because he had to do the job for Nick DeCarlo.
Backstage, Vince McMahon interviewed The Grand Wizard, who vowed George Steele would be victorious and win the Intercontinental Title tonight. Nobody is believing that for a second.
In a bout that had a good crowd and good action, George Steele defeated Jimmy Snuka in a Cage match in 6:32 when Snuka’s flying headbutt sent Steele stumbling through the door of the cage and onto the floor. George Steele wins the WWF Intercontinental title in a major upset. An irate Snuka threw Steele back into the cage and continued the beatdown, climaxing it with a Superfly Leap off the top of the cage. The postmatch was awesome, but the match itself was just a little above average.
Rocky Johnson pinned Sika in 1:59 with a Johnson Shuffle.
Invader # 2 pinned Israel Matia in 6:32 with a Heart Punch. Invader was a bit off his game, but these two had fantastic chemistry so the match was better than expected.
Andre the Giant pinned Afa with a bodyslam in 55 seconds.
Good show overall.
October 1983, Tuesday, Week 3
Salvatore Bellomo was very popular backstage last night, as he brought enough free alcohol to float a battleship. The WWF’s policy on alcohol is just to make sure not to touch it until your match is done.
The attendance last night was a disappointing 3,520.
Bob Backlund and Masked Superstar received Match of the Night bonuses for last night, but Afa and Andre the Giant were given a lot of praise as well for how much energy they had during their short match.
WWF Championship Wrestling taping (October 1983, Tuesday, Week 3)
The show is back at Allentown’s Agricultural Hall after a one week absence. Bob Backlund is at ringside using an exercise wheel as promised last week.
Rocky Johnson pinned Charlie Fulton in 3:02 with a roll up. Johnson looked really good here.
Tito Santana defeated Tiger Conway Jr. in 3:23 by pinfall.
Ivan Putski pinned Bob Bradley in 4:07 with a Polish Hammer. Putski needs to change something up. Anything. He is so boring paint won’t even watch him while it’s drying.
Buddy Rogers’ Corner was next. His guest was Masked Superstar, who pointed at Backlund at ringside doing wheels and said that no amount of training will prevent Superstar from injuring Backlund’s neck. He acknowledged the countout win at MSG and told Backlund he got off lucky last weekend, and if Backlund tries to get him in the ring again, the title will be changing hands.
In an extremely short match, Masked Superstar defeated Steve Lombardi in 2:55 by pinfall. Superstar looked good.
Sgt. Slaughter defeated S.D. Jones in 3:28 by submission with a Cobra Clutch. They’ve wrestled too many times lately so this match needed to be a lot better.
In an extremely short match, Tiger Chung Lee defeated Salvatore Bellomo in 3:01 by submission.
Invader # 2 and Jimmy Snuka defeated Buddy Rose and Israel Matia in 1:58 when Invader # 2 pinned Rose with a Heart Punch.
After the match, Pat Patterson interviewed Snuka, who said he gets his rematch in Philly on Saturday against George Steele in a strap match, so this time there will be no way for Steele to escape with the title.
Pat Patterson interviews newcomer The Tonga Kid. He said he hopes to make an impact in the WWF.
Don Kernodle pinned David Sammartino in 3:40 with a Piledriver. Kernodle and Sammartino have great chemistry together, which helped lift the match.
Adrian Adonis pinned Nick DeCarlo in 3:30 with a bulldog.
This show needed more build up for the show at the Spectrum on Saturday but otherwise was actually pretty good.
October 1983, Wednesday, Week 3
The show in Allentown last night drew the usual sell out of 1,300.
Adrian Adonis has been offered a contract with World Class Championship Wrestling. It is expected he will sign, and my guess is if he signs the deal then he’ll be done with the WWF by the end of the month.
As announced at the taping last night, George Steele vs. Jimmy Snuka in a Fijian strap match for the Intercontinental Title has been added to Saturday’s show at the Spectrum.
Some insiders have become worried about the schedule for the Masked Superstar, who they believe is pushing himself too much. The concern is if he doesn’t take a few shows off that he’ll end up suffering an injury.
October 1983, Thursday, Week 3
It looks like the Samoans are being split up into singles matches for Saturday’s show at the Spectrum, as Afa vs. Rocky Johnson has been announced for the show.
October 1983, Friday, Week 3
In a follow up from a story a few days ago, the Masked Superstar is not going to be offered a contract extension with New Japan after the current tour. It is said that they recognize how fatigued he has been as of late, and since they have no immediate plans they are going to have him skip a tour or two to try to get him rested up.
October 1983, Saturday, Week 3
Many insiders are expecting a promotional war between Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and Mid-South Wrestling. Apparently Bill Watts has been trying to get NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair for a few shows, including one next month at the New Orleans Superdome, but Crockett is apparently asking too high a price to make the deal.
Here’s a preview for tonight’s show at the Spectrum:
Sgt. Slaughter vs. Bob Backlund in a stretcher match for the WWF Heavyweight Title: The loser is the man who is beaten down so far he gets taken out on a stretcher. With Masked Superstar getting a push, I’d expect Backlund to retain.
Jimmy Snuka vs. George Steele in a Fijian strap match for the Intercontinental Title: I can’t imagine any result besides Snuka taking the title, but I thought the same thing at MSG. Of course, there’s no cage spot to salvage the fan reaction this time if Snuka loses, which increases the odds of his victory.
Afa vs. Rocky Johnson: I’d expect Johnson to win since this is a singles match.
Iron Mike Sharpe vs. Swede Hanson: This match was set up from last month’s Spectrum show. Smart booking would be for Sharpe to go over here.
Spectrum Wrestling live coverage (October 1983, Saturday, Week 3)
Gorilla Monsoon and Pat Patterson are on commentary.
In a bout that had solid in-ring action but not much in the way of heat, Tony Garea pinned Charlie Fulton in 7:05 with a surprise cradle.
In a match that had an average crowd reaction and some decent in-ring action, Tiger Chung Lee pinned S.D. Jones in 11:41 with a Kiwi Roll. This was fine but Jones was tiring toward the end which brought it down.
In a bout that had a good crowd and good action, Tito Santana defeated Sika in 9:33 by pinfall. Santana’s character could use some freshening up. These two don’t click at all.
In a match that had an average crowd reaction and some decent in-ring action, Iron Mike Sharpe defeated Swede Hanson in 10:49 by pinfall after using his forearm pad. Lou Albano did a good job at ringside in Sharpe’s corner. After the match, Hanson protested the decision, then attacked Sharpe and ripped off the forearm pad, revealing a foreign object. This was way too long as Hanson, at 50 years old, simply can’t go this long anymore.
Intermission time. Gorilla Monsoon interviewed Sgt. Slaughter while Pat Patterson interviewed Bob Backlund about their upcoming match.
Bob Backlund defeated Sgt. Slaughter in a Stretcher Match in 13:25 when Sgt. Slaughter was knocked out to retain the WWF Heavyweight Title. While the crowd was hot for this, this was the worst of their matches together and felt like a complete let down.
Gorilla Monsoon interviewed Jimmy Snuka and Buddy Rogers backstage. Snuka seemed confident about finally getting his hands on the Intercontinental Title.
George Steele defeated Jimmy Snuka in a “Fijian Strap match” in 15:05 to retain the Intercontinental Title. Also a disappointment and not nearly as good as their cage match Monday night. I absolutely cannot believe Snuka didn’t win the title here.
In a bout that had great heat and great wrestling action, Rocky Johnson pinned Afa in 9:49 with a Johnson Shuffle. If Afa could sell at all this would have been on par with the best matches of the year.
In a bout that had solid in-ring action and average heat, Ivan Putski and Invader # 2 defeated Samu and Don Kernodle in 12:05 when Invader # 2 pinned Samu with a Heart Punch.
This show was fine but the two title matches being so poor really brought the show down.
October 1983, Sunday, Week 3
The show at the Spectrum last night drew just 2,499 paying fans, the smallest crowd I can ever remember in Philly. The next show in Philly will be on Thanksgiving Day, which sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
The Match of the Night bonus went to Rocky Johnson and Afa. I barely believe that myself.
TV ratings held steady again this weekend.
