JHawk
January 1984, Monday, Week 3
Add Jimmy Snuka vs. Iron Mike Sharpe to next Monday’s show at Madison Square Garden.
January 1984, Tuesday, Week 3
Jimmy Snuka appeared to tweak his knee working a Southeastern Championship Wrestling show in Florence, AL last night. Snuka pinned Roberto Soto in short order last night but may have banged his knee against the mat in hitting the Superfly Splash. He is not currently scheduled to work the WWF TV taping tonight.
WWF Championship Wrestling taping (January 1984, Tuesday, Week 3)
In a match that had an average crowd reaction and some decent in-ring action, WWF Tag Team Champions Rough and Tumble defeated Rene Goulet and Bob Bradley in 5:49 when S.D. Jones defeated Bradley by pinfall. Jones and Goulet seemed off their game but Rocky Johnson looked as good as I’ve ever seen him. Gene Okerlund interviewed the champions after the match regarding a series of defenses they have scheduled with the Samoans and their various matches scheduled for the Spectrum and MSG as well.
In an extremely short match, Don Kent pinned Lou Winston in 2:59 with a Bulldog.
Tony Garea defeated Samu (w/Lou Albano) in 2:24 by pinfall.
Mr. Fuji made his way to the ring, presumably for a match, but WWF Heavyweight Champion Ivan Koloff and handed him a few bills, so Fuji went to the back and Koloff went to the ring to take Fuji’s place. This led to Koloff defeating Nick DeCarlo by submission in 2:16 in a match much better than it sounds due to great chemistry between Koloff and DeCarlo.
Ivan Putski and Invader # 2 defeated Mr. Fuji and Israel Matia in 3:38 when Invader pinned Matia with a Heart Punch. Putski looked even worse than usual.
Sika (w/Lou Albano) pinned Salvatore Bellomo in 4:04 with a Headbutt. This was really bad.
Jose Luis Rivera pinned Frankie Williams in 2:51 with a Piledriver. As bad as Sika-Bellomo was, this was four times worse.
In a bout that had great heat and good action, Adrian Adonis pinned Pat Patterson in 9:52 with a bulldog. Really good but somewhat disappointing.
January 1984, Wednesday, Week 3
An extended highlight video pushing both of Ivan Koloff’s title defenses for this week, Saturday against Tony Garea and Monday against Pat Patterson, will air on TV this weekend. I have heard this is really well done and will include comments from all three men. Patterson will face Koloff no matter the result on Saturday, which leads to the possibility of Garea vs. Jose Luis Rivera on Monday being a title match. Yes, I’m serious.
There will also be a highlight video of Adrian Adonis airing on TV this weekend.
The attendance in Allentown last night was the usual sellout of 1,300. Most in attendance felt the show was pretty good but wasn’t the home run needed coming into this weekend.
January 1984, Thursday, Week 3
A weird match has been added to Saturday’s show at the Philadelphia Spectrum, as Mr. Fuji will team with Charlie Fulton to take on Invader #2 and Ivan Putski. As far as I know Tiger Chung Lee is healthy, so I don’t know why they’re not using the regular tag team.
January 1984, Friday, Week 3
Jerry Valiant and Bill Anderson have signed deals with Championship Wrestling from Florida and have given their seven day notices to the WWF. They weren’t really being used anyway, but Anderson had some matches that were better than they had any right to be with some bad workers, so it’s going to be a bit of a blow.
January 1984, Saturday, Week 3
To say this is a weak lineup for the Philadelphia Spectrum is an understatement, but they’re trying a few different combinations to see if something catches fire. The card:
WWF Heavyweight Champion Ivan Koloff vs. Tony Garea: Koloff just won the belt and Garea’s probably too old to be the number one guy, so I’d expect Koloff going over clean here.
WWF Intercontinental Champion George Steele vs. Salvatore Bellomo: Bellomo is getting the shot just because he’s still with the company, so Steele should go over fairly handily.
Afa, Sika, Samu and The Great Wojo vs. Jimmy Snuka, Chief Jay Strongbow and WWF Tag Team Champions Rocky Johnson and S.D. Jones (Two out of Three Falls): The only result that would surprise me is Snuka being pinned. Either team can win this one.
Mr. Fuji and Charlie Fulton vs. Invader #2 and Ivan Putski: Invader and Putski win, Fulton likely gets pinned despite being the best worker among the four.
I’m told at least four more matches will be added. Local advertising had Eddie Gilbert vs. Rene Goulet but Goulet is working the AWA show tonight. Gilbert will wrestle, as will Swede Hanson.
Live coverage from the Philadelphia Spectrum (January 1984, Saturday, Week 3)
Gorilla Monsoon and Lord Alfred Hayes are on commentary again.
In a bout that had a good crowd but featured terrible wrestling, Tiger Conway Jr. drew with Eddie Gilbert in 20:00 when the time limit expired. This was just way too long given who was involved.
In an extremely short match, Swede Hanson defeated Tiger Chung Lee in 4:12 by pinfall. Hanson was way off his game tonight.
In a bout that had a good crowd and some decent in-ring action, Invader # 2 and Ivan Putski defeated Mr. Fuji and Charlie Fulton in 8:54 when Invader pinned Charlie Fulton with a Heart Punch. Lou Albano escorted Fuji to ringside and did some excellent work to keep the crowd involved.
Howard Finkel conducted interviews with both Ivan Koloff and Tony Garea about their upcoming title match. Nothing special although they wisely kept Garea’s interview short.
In a bout that had a good crowd and good action, Tony Garea drew with WWF Heavyweight Champion Ivan Koloff in 11:16 following a double disqualification when both wrestlers repeatedly threw referee Danny Davis down to the mat. Best match of the night so far.
Howard Finkel interviewed Salvatore Bellomo, and I’m not 100% sure if this was better or worse than having teeth pulled.
The Grand Wizard then cut a promo on behalf of George Steele regarding his upcoming match with Bellomo. This might have been better than any of the matches so far.
In a bout that had a good crowd and some decent in-ring action, WWF Intercontinental Champion George Steele pinned Salvatore Bellomo in 10:30 with a roll up. This was even better than Koloff-Garea. I can’t believe I’m saying that myself.
Intermission in the arena, and we get Howard Finkel conducting a long interview with David Sammartino about his upcoming match with Jules Strongbow. I forgot Jules was even with the company.
In a bout that had a good crowd but featured terrible wrestling, Jules Strongbow pinned David Sammartino in 16:56 with a Powerbomb. Who thought these two getting 17 minutes was a good idea?
In an extremely short match, Haiti Kid defeated Sky Low Low in 5:03 by pinfall. Considering Sky Low Low is essentially retired, this was OK.
In a bout that had a good crowd and some decent in-ring action, Jimmy Snuka, Chief Jay Strongbow and Rough and Tumble defeated Samu, The Great Wojo and The Wild Samoans in 10:30 at two falls to one after winning the first, with the final fall happening when Chief Jay Strongbow pinned Afa with a Tomahawk Chop. I expected a lot better out of this one.
January 1984, Sunday, Week 3
I’m told S.D. Jones and Arnold Skaaland had a long discussion about motorbikes backstage before the show.
A sparse crowd of 3,256 attended the show at the Spectrum last night. That made the show a huge money loser although feedback was generally pretty good overall. They announced a Saturday, Week 3 return date for February but why they’re torturing themselves is beyond me.
The match of the night bonus for last night went to George Steele and Salvatore Bellomo, which either means they had their A game last night or the rest of the roster has completely given up.
TV ratings held steady this week.
Two time former National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Champion and NFL Hall of Famer Bronko Nagurski will be tossing the coin prior to the start of Super Bowl XVIII.
