JHawk
September 1983, Monday, Week 2
WWF booker Jared Hawkins attended an independent show at the HOPE Community Center in Adrian, MI last night, looking to scout potential talent. We received a report from the show indicating the main event of Killer Khan vs. Mark Lewin was the best match of the show, but that Hawkins was also looking at Akio Sato and Luke Williams in particular. Hawkins was asked what he thought about the show, and he said he thought it was as good as some of the WWF’s recent TV tapings.
September 1983, Tuesday, Week 2
Dick Kroll has signed with Maple Leaf Wrestling and will begin appearing as a referee for them beginning this Thursday. He is expected to make most of his WWF bookings.
Recently retired Ox Baker is the latest member of the Hall of Immortals. Baker held 11 different titles in his career, most notably the NWA American Heavyweight Title (based in Dallas) twice, and as late as 1982 was listed in our Power 500 ratings, ranked at 482. Baker is the first unanimous inductee into the Hall since Lou Thesz.
Adrian Adonis defeated Don Muraco in Bayamon, Puerto Rico last night to win the Southwest Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Title.
Charlie Fulton did an interview for KDKA radio in Pittsburgh, PA last night. During the interview, he says he prefers to wrestle men smaller than him for two reasons. One, because it complements his wrestling style. And two, “they’re easier to beat so I get more money.” Kudos to him for keeping kayfabe.
TV will be taped in Hamburg this week.
Championship Wrestling taping (September 1983, Tuesday, Week 2)
In a match that had some good action and average heat, The Wild Samoans retained the WWF Tag Team Title against Tony Garea & Eddie Gilbert in 6:01 when Afa pinned Gilbert with a Samoan Drop. Gilbert was favoring his neck after the match. After the match, Lou Albano grabbed the house mic from Howard Finkel and said nobody can beat his team.
Bill Anderson pinned Swede Hanson in 2:52 with a Piledriver.
In an extremely short match, Masked Superstar defeated Curt Hennig in 2:38 by pinfall.
Don Kernodle pinned Nick DeCarlo in 3:16 with a Piledriver. The match was decent but these two had no chemistry together so this probably should have been better.
Buddy Rogers’ Corner was next, and Rogers held up a copy of the debut edition of Victory Magazine discussing his guest, Lou Albano, and his accomplishments he had before wrestling. Albano said that his past means nothing and issued a challenge to Rogers for a match, an offer which Rogers said he may just have to take Albano up on. For the love of God, change your mind on this one!
Sgt. Slaughter defeated S.D. Jones in 2:24 by submission with a Cobra Clutch. Jones was off his game tonight. After the match, Vince McMahon interviewed Slaughter at ringside regarding Slaughter’s title shot in two weeks against Bob Backlund. The interview was actually disappointing as Slaughter seemed like he couldn’t remember the point he was trying to make and McMahon couldn’t get him back on track.
Tony Atlas pinned Mac Rivera in 1:30 with the Press Slam.
In an Intercontinental Title match, Don Muraco pinned Chief Jay Strongbow in 2:30 with a Tombstone Piledriver. After the match, McMahon interviewed Muraco and accused him of ducking Jimmy Snuka. Muraco responded by saying Snuka isn’t worthy of a title shot so there’s no reason to duck him.
Ivan Putski pinned Israel Matia in 2:58 with a Polish Hammer.
Pat Patterson interviewed Superstar Billy Graham as Graham headed to the ring. He said that despite Andre the Giant’s reputation, Andre cannot and will not be able to beat him.
That led us to the main event, a match that had a fantastic crowd and great wrestling action. Superstar Billy Graham drew with Andre the Giant in 6:27 following a double count out. Rare for Andre not to win, which shows the tremendous respect he has for Graham.
This was a pretty solid show overall.
September 1983, Wednesday, Week 2
The Hamburg Fieldhouse drew a sellout crowd of 2,200 last night.
Don Muraco’s match with Chief Jay Strongbow was so short last night because they understand how thin Muraco’s being spread between all of his commitments and they don’t want to run the risk of injury before he has a chance to defend against Jimmy Snuka. Rumors are they may rearrange the normal schedule in October in order to guarantee that match takes place.
September 1983, Thursday, Week 2
Sgt. Slaughter did a radio interview for WBEC-AM 1420 radio in Pittsfield, MA last night. In addition to pushing the new time slots for Championship Wrestling, he also let it be known he likes wrestling guys like Andre the Giant who are bigger than him, as it complements his style and helps him remember what the strategy might be for guys like Bob Backlund who are fighting from underneath on a more regular basis. This makes three radio interviews for various WWF stars over the past week or so, so they are definitely improving upon their visibility over the last few weeks.
September 1983, Friday, Week 2
Apparently Eddie Gilbert had suffered a neck injury a couple of months back, which is why his appearances have been more sporadic recently and why he was favoring the neck after his match at Tuesday’s tapings. Expect the injury to play a factor in some of Gilbert’s appearances over the next 2-3 months.
September 1983, Saturday, Week 2
Today is a slow news day, so just for a change of pace, here are the top 5 wrestlers in the WWF based on overall drawing ability and crowd reactions.
- Andre the Giant
- Superstar Billy Graham
- Don Muraco
- Adrian Adonis
- The Masked Superstar
Very unusual to see the two men involved in the World Title feud, Sgt. Slaughter and Bob Backlund, not currently considered part of the top 5.
September 1983, Sunday, Week 2
TV ratings for WWF programming continue to hold steady.
Rene Goulet has made very few appearances since returning to the WWF several months ago, but that might be set to change. Rumors have it that Maple Leaf Wrestling has not offered a Rene Goulet a new contract, which would leave a number of open days on his schedule.
