JHawk
Before I begin this week’s edition, I want to let you know that Pro Wrestling Weekend at smartmarkradio.com will be airing a few “best of” shows over the next few weeks.
This week (October 20), we will replay the first of the five interviews we did with Bob Roop, this one from July 17, 2008. Bob Roop is one of those guys you can ask for the time and he’ll not only tell you how to build the watch, but also where to buy the parts for the watch and why the factories in Tampa are better than the factories in Amarillo, so it’s a great listen.
October 27 will be a replay of the interview we did on May 29, 2011 with former WCW World Champion Diamond Dallas Page, and on November 3 we will replay the interview we did with Fred Ottman, aka Tugboat, Typhoon, and The Shockmaster.
Next live show will be November 10.
But you’re not reading this for me to plug a podcast. You want to know where the WWF is going after losing Big John Studd and a few others, so let’s get to it.
April 1983, Monday, Week 4
Big John Studd has officially left the WWF for World Class Championship Wrestling.
Georgia Championship Wrestling has made offers to Afa and Don Muraco.
Ratings dropped for syndication this week.
Tonight is the monthly show at Madison Square Garden, and despite some defections to World Class, there are some solid matches that will still take place.
Bob Backlund vs. Ivan Koloff for the WWF Heavyweight Title: Backlund should retain but I wouldn’t be shocked to see Koloff get a short reign just so he can be the guy to end the two longest title reigns in WWF history.
Don Muraco vs. Rocky Johnson for the Intercontinental Title: Hopefully better than their match this past Saturday. At this point I’d just be happy for a clean finish no matter who wins.
The Wild Samoans vs. The Strongbows for the WWF Tag Team Title: I doubt the Samoans lose the titles this early.
Superstar Billy Graham vs. Jimmy Snuka: Snuka is due for a huge push this summer, so he should go over handily here.
Live coverage from Madison Square Garden (April 1983, Monday, Week 4)
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, Eddie Gilbert defeated Jose Estrada in 6:18 by pinfall with a Hot Shot.
Salvatore Bellomo pinned Baron Mikel Scicluna in 9:32 with a Pizza Splash. The match was surprisingly OK but Scicluna nearly passed out from exhaustion before it was over.
Mr. Fuji pinned S.D. Jones in 11:53 with a Kamikaze Clothesline. Fuji’s character is incredibly stale right now.
In a bout that had solid in-ring action but not much in the way of heat, Iron Mike Sharpe defeated Johnny Rodz in 9:39 by pinfall with a Running Forearm Smash. The crowd wound up cheering Rodz which makes for a weird dynamic.
Pedro Morales defeated Swede Hanson in 5:14 by submission.
Ray Stevens is interviewed backstage by Lord Alfred Hayes, he hypes an upcoming singles match against Tony Garea.
In a match that had some good action and average heat, Ray Stevens pinned Tony Garea in 10:15 with a Bombs Away.
Superstar Billy Graham is interviewed backstage by Lord Alfred Hayes, he hypes an upcoming singles match against Jimmy Snuka. Graham is still an amazing interview
Jimmy Snuka pinned Superstar Billy Graham with a Superfly Leap in 2:54.
Rocky Johnson defeated Don Muraco in 14:29 by count out, so Muraco again retains the Intercontinental Title. The match was good, but at this point they’ve wrestled each other so much that they need to have much better matches for it to seem as good as it really is. After the match, Johnson began celebrating as if he won the title, and Muraco ran back in and beat him down, so Muraco is at least getting some of his heat back.
In a match that had some good action and average heat, WWF Tag Team Champions The Wild Samoans, in their first official defense, defeated The Strongbows in 12:04 when Afa pinned Jules with a Samoan Drop. This is suffering from the same problem Johnson-Muraco is, as they’ve worked together a lot in the past few months so they need to up the ante a bit.
In a match that had some good action and average heat, Andre The Giant defeated Samu in 8:30 by count out when Andre headbutted Samu out of the ring, and he stayed on the ground until well after the bell. By far the best match of the night up to this point. Most fans were not aware of Studd leaving the company so the fact he wasn’t there did disappoint some people.
Prior to the main event, Lord Alfred Hayes conducted interviews with both Bob Backlund and Ivan Koloff regarding their match.
In a bout that featured great action and a good crowd, Bob Backlund defeated Ivan Koloff in 28:59 by submission with a Cross Face Chicken Wing to retain the WWF Heavyweight Title. Fantastic match!
I thought this was a very good show, although the IC Title and Tag Team storylines are getting hurt due to the matches themselves getting stale.
April 1983, Tuesday, Week 4)
Butcher Vachon got into an argument with Ivan Koloff last night to the point where several wrestlers had to step in between them to keep them from coming to blows. Vachon apologized to Koloff for the incident later in the show.
Increased attendance for the MSG show last night, as the crowd went up to 5,430. Certainly not at the levels of even a year ago but the largest crowd anywhere in three months. The show was incredible as well, so hopefully this is a sign of things to come.
Match of the night bonus went to Ivan Koloff and Bob Backlund. That was Bruno Sammartino’s last match as road agent, as he is leaving for World Class effective immediately. Vince McMahon Sr. will be assuming his duties for the time being.
Championship Wrestling taping (April 1983, Wednesday, Week 4)
S.D. Jones defeated Charlie Fulton in 2:48 by pinfall with a roll up.
Sgt. Slaughter defeated Bob Bradley in 3:54 by submission with a Cobra Clutch. Slaughter was way off his game and still looked better than most of the roster.
Tony Garea defeated Israel Matia in 4:29 by pinfall.
Ray Stevens defeated Tony Atlas in 2:39 by pinfall with a Bombs Away. Atlas looked horrible here.
The Wild Samoans defeated Nick DeCarlo and Pedro Morales in 1:42 when Afa pinned DeCarlo with a Samoan Drop.
Rogers’ Corner was next, and Iron Mike Sharpe is interviewed backstage by Buddy Rogers, he hypes his upcoming match at the Spectrum against Bob Backlund.
Jimmy Snuka pinned Johnny Rodz in 3:32 with a Superfly Splash.
Ivan Koloff defeated Barry Hart in 3:25 by pinfall with a Russian Sickle. They’ve had better matches against each other, which hurt this one.
Howard Finkel announced that next week, we’ll be seeing Don Muraco take on S.D. Jones. Again.
The Strongbows defeated Mac Rivera and Jose Estrada in 2:37 when Jules Strongbow pinned Estrada with a Powerbomb.
Howard Finkel puts over the fact that we’ll be seeing Tony Garea & Eddie Gilbert vs. Rodz and Estrada next week, and that they’ve added the Strongbows vs. The Samoans to Saturday’s card at the Spectrum.
Vince McMahon conducts an interview with The Wild Samoans, who discuss that Spectrum match with The Strongbows. He then interviews the Strongbows immediately following. Both of these were generic “I’m going to win this match” interviews.
Don Muraco is interviewed backstage by Vince McMahon, he hypes an upcoming match against Rocky Johnson and Andre the Giant at the Spectrum. He said now that Big John Studd has proven the only thing big about him is the yellow streak running down his back (ouch!), he will find a new partner for Philly and take care of business.
Adrian Adonis enters the ring and cuts a promo, claiming himself to be the toughest man alive. This leads into the main event, where he pinned Brian Blair with a small package in 7:27.
April 1983, Wednesday, Week 4
Frankie Williams and Lord Alfred Hayes have bonded backstage, having found a shared love of history.
The Iron Sheik is officially history and is expected to debut with World Class at the Sportatorium on Friday.
Last night’s attendance in Allentown was the usual sellout of 1,300. Most felt the show was pretty good, although not at the level of the last few weeks.
British wrestling legend Mick McManus has retired to open up a wrestling school called Mick McManus House. He will be training each wrestler personally and says he hopes to become the first British trainer to mold a legitimate World Champion.
WWF All-Star Wrestling taping (April 1983, Wednesday, Week 4)
Eddie Gilbert defeated Mr. Fuji in 2:48 by disqualification when Lou Albano interfered.
In a match that had some good action and average heat, Your New Heroes drew with The Strongbows in 7:50 following a double disqualification. Both teams brawled to the back after the match. Ray Stevens was the only one on their A game and the match suffered for it. If they’re turning Jules Strongbow heel, I wish they’d get on with it because it’s going to bomb.
Vince McMahon interviewed Ivan Koloff, who said he wants a rematch with Bob Backlund as soon as possible.
Gorilla Monsoon joins the commentary team for the next match.
In a match that had some good action and average heat, Pat Patterson defeated Tito Santana in 14:05 by pinfall. Probably a bit long since Patterson doesn’t wrestle much.
Tony Garea defeated Ivan Koloff in 3:14 by submission to an abdominal stretch.
Tony Atlas defeated Israel Matia in 7:13 by pinfall with The Press Slam. Atlas seemed off his game. McMahon interviewed Atlas briefly after the match.
The Wild Samoans defeated Nick DeCarlo and Rocky Johnson in 3:30 when Afa pinned Nick DeCarlo with a Samoan Drop. After the match, McMahon interviewed Lou Albano, who discussed not only the Samoans’ rivalry with the Strongbows, but also the ongoing battles between Don Muraco and Rocky Johnson.
Too wrestling heavy a show in my opinion.
April 1983, Thursday, Week 4
Paid attendance in Hamburg last night was 813, which included a walk up of about 75. While some people wanted more interviews, most felt the show was pretty good.
Ivan Koloff and Barry Hart are expected to be used less the next few weeks in order to heal some nagging injuries.
April 1983, Friday, Week 4
Georgia Championship Wrestling has made offers to Tony Garea and Mr. Fuji, while the World Wrestling Association out of Indianapolis has made offers to Don Muraco and Eddie Gilbert.
April 1983, Saturday, Week 4
The WWF has a show at the Philadelphia Spectrum tonight, although the announced lineup is paper thin. Here’s a short preview:
Bob Backlund vs. Iron Mike Sharpe for the WWF Heavyweight Title: Backlund has zero momentum since the Muraco feud ended, but Sharpe has no credibility whatsoever. I’d expect Backlund to retain but I doubt he holds it past May.
The Wild Samoans vs. The Strongbows for the WWF Tag Team Title: The Samoans should win and that should finish off the feud.
Don Muraco/??? vs. Rocky Johnson/??? with Swede Hanson as the guest referee: Andre the Giant is working for New Japan tonight and Big John Studd is gone, so all we know for sure is that this will be a tag team match between these two. It will be dependent on who the partners on but I’d expect Johnson to get the pin on Muraco and Hanson to play some part in the finish.
Barry Hart is expected to sign an extension in Memphis, but that would have no bearing on his WWF bookings.
Live coverage from the Philadelphia Spectrum (April 1983, Saturday, Week 4)
Gorilla Monsoon and Pat Patterson are on commentary.
In an extremely poor match, Eddie Gilbert defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna in 9:31 by pinfall with a Hotshot. Scicluna was so tired by the end of it that I’m expecting him to keel over after a show one night.
Howard Finkel introduces Buddy Rogers to the crowd. Rogers announced that Jimmy Snuka had issued a challenge to Afa for the next show at the Spectrum, scheduled for June 1983, Saturday, Week 1. Finkel then announced that the challenge was accepted earlier in the night and the match would happen the next time we’re in Philly. I hope they have something else in mind for the main event.
In a match that had some good action and average heat, Ray Stevens defeated Tony Garea in 10:42 by pinfall with a Bombs Away. After the match, Garea dropkicked Stevens out of the ring.
Howard Finkel conducts an interview with Don Muraco and Buddy Rose, who discuss their match tonight with Superfly Jimmy Snuka and Rocky Johnson. This was immediately followed up with Finkel interviewing the opposing team.
In a bout that featured great action and a good crowd, Rocky Johnson and Jimmy Snuka defeated Don Muraco and Buddy Rose in 17:09 when Johnson pinned Muraco with a dropkick. Muraco was yelling at special referee Swede Hanson and shoved him, leading to Hanson punching him in the face and the dropkick immediately followed. Muraco attacked Hanson after the match until Johnson made the save, so Hanson’s face turn is officially complete. The turn went over pretty well but Hanson is not a good face so he’s likely to drown.
Howard Finkel interviewed Johnny Rodz about his match with Mr. Fuji. This show must be running really short.
Jose Estrada defeated S.D. Jones in 12:46 by pinfall with a fast roll up.
Howard Finkel conducts a long interview with Bob Backlund regarding his match with Iron Mike Sharpe. This was followed by a much shorter interview with Sharpe.
Bob Backlund retained the WWF Heavyweight Title over Mike Sharpe, pinning him with a rolling cradle into a bridge in 19:01. Probably a bit too long but pretty good, surprisingly.
Mr. Fuji pinned Johnny Rodz in 8:24 with a Kamikaze Clothesline.
In a match that had some good action and average heat, The Wild Samoans defeated The Strongbows in 9:51 when Afa pinned Jules Strongbow with a Samoan Drop to retain the WWF Tag Team Title. Little to no selling by all four guys which killed the match.
April 1983, Sunday, Week 4
Paid attendance at the Spectrum last night was 4,153. Most felt the show was excellent, but that was a weak lineup on paper.
I’d expect them to add Swede Hanson vs. Don Muraco to the next Spectrum card but that is unofficial at this point.
After the show last night, Iron Mike Sharpe, Chief Jay Strongbow and Johnny Rodz all asked to have their bookings cut back due to fatigue.
