Donnie watches WWWWF 1979

[BigVanDonnie]

LIVE EVENT-JULY 30th, 1979

Bob Backlund (c) w/ Arnold Skaalandvs Pat Patterson w/Grand Wizard (WWWF World Heavyweight Championship)
Backlund is PISSED and goes right after Patterson in amazing fashion, once again showing he has ALL the fire in the world. He pinballs him all over and Patterson is an incredible bumper and seller, so it's everything you want. Vince says this is "champion vs champion" but the NA title is all but dead as Pat is going to win the famous very real IC tournament, and the NA title will be killed off. So, consider it dead from this moment. Backlund works the arm for a while and it's not as manic as his early offence, but it's still a lot of fun because Bob rules no matter what. Pat goes after the eyes to finally cut him off for a second, but Bob fights through and keeps kicking his ass. Patterson finally clubs him running off the ropes and sends him to the floor, and Bob is all kinds of fucked up. Amazing concussion selling as he struggles to climb back in without falling over, and it lets Pat go after him. He goes after the knee in revenge and is a brutal shithead on it, and Bob's selling rules of both the knee and his shitty brain. Bob takes a beating but he never gives up and he manages to throw Patterson to the floor in revenge AND HE KICKS HIM FACE FIRST INTO THE GUARDRAIL AND NOW PAT IS ALL FUCKED UP. They're both dead and it turns into a dramatic slugest as both dudes try to end it quick. Bob throws him into the post and Patterson is busted open and he's fucking dead. INCREDIBLE selling as he slumps over the ropes and looks like he's taken his last breath. Backlund goes after him and hits the running Atomic Drop but his knee is hurt and stops him from covering quick enough and Pat kicks out. GW hands Pat some knucks and he clobbers Pat, but Skaaland gets in his face and hits him with the belt, and both dudes are very dead, and the ref calls it a draw.
***1/2

Patterson comes alive and tries going after him, but the ref stops him and he's taken to the back.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWWWF WORLD CHAMPION: BOB BACKLUND- Since 20/2/78
WWWWF WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: THE VALIANT BROTHERS-Since 6/3/79

WWWWF All-Star Wrestling
August 25th, 1979
Hamburg, Pennsylvania

Match#1 Pat Patterson w/Grand Wizard vs Johnny Rivera
Its genius "fuck you" booking to pair the openly gay wrestler with the gay jewish manager who is making fun of the KKK. PRO WRESTLING. Another awesome showing for Pat for a few minutes, and i can't wait for the Slaughter feud to start. Knee Drop does it
**1/2

Match#2 The Great Hussein Arab vs Paul Figueroa
BREAK HIS BACK AND FUCK HIS ASS UNTIL HE'S HUMBLE, BUBBA
*3/4

At ringside, Vince is with the dream team of Travis and DiBiase!!! They want a shot at those dirty Valiant Brothers. They cut a very bland promo about being deserving of said title shot.

Match#3 Ted DiBiase, Steve Travis & SD Jones vs The Valiant Brothers w/Cap Louis Albano
The full unit finally makes TV and life gets a little worse. As we've talked about, the brothers are terrible wrestlers and only got by being insane promos, so this is bad. The faces try to make it work, but it's an uphill battle and they never really get there, sadly. SD gets rolled up by one of them to end it
3/4*

Match#4 Nikolai Volkoff w/Classy Freddie Blassie vs Joe Mascara
Another bad one for the big fella. Backbreaker ends our pain
1/2*

Match#5 Johnny Rodz vs Ivan Putski
Massive waste of our hero. He does all he can to not make this worthless, big bumps and awesome punches etc. Just a great wrestler doing his thing. Sadly, Putski is well, a fucking putz and sucks all the shit. Polish Hammer does it.
*3/4

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWWWF WORLD CHAMPION: BOB BACKLUND- Since 20/2/78
WWWWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION; PAT PATTERSON-Since 1/9/79
WWWWF WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: THE VALIANT BROTHERS-Since 6/3/79

WWWWF All-Star Wrestling
September 15th, 1979
Hamburg, Pennsylvania

Match#1 Greg Valentine w/Grand Wizard vs Fred Marizno
Fuck yeah, Hammer squash. Figure Four does it after a hell of a beating.
**

Match#2 Tito Santana & Ivan Putski vs Rodriguez & Estrada
Fuck. I know the plan is to get Ivan points by leeching off Tito, and i hate it so much. The contrast between Tito and Putz is insane, as one dude moves so effortlessly and Putz just looks like a lumbering asshole. Tito wins with a stunning dropkick
*3/4

At ringside, Vince interviews them. They also want a shot at the tag titles, and in another world we would get a #1 contenders match, but it's the 70's, so no dice.

Match#3 Dominic DeNucci vs Jimmy Valiant
OH MY GOD, FUCK YOU. This is 10 minutes and one of the most boring and shtty matches ever. Neither man is good at wrestling or the like, so it's just goddamn painful. The time limit expires and i want to die
LOLWWWF

Match#4 Swede Hanson w/Classy Freddie Blassie vs Joe Mascara
Another great one for the big man, and i wish he had killed the other two assholes as well.
**

Match#5 Ted DiBiase vs Moose Monroe
Another fun little squash for baby Teddy. Abdominal Stretch does it
*3/4

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWWWF WORLD CHAMPION: BOB BACKLUND- Since 20/2/78
WWWWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION; PAT PATTERSON-Since 1/9/79
WWWWF WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: THE VALIANT BROTHERS-Since 6/3/79

WWWWF. All-Star Wrestling
September 22nd, 1979
Hamburg, Pennsylvania

Match#1 The Great Hussein Arab vs Johnny Rodz
Heel vs heel!!! They go at it on the mat and it's a hard battle between them and neither really gains and edge. Classy Blassie walks out and whispers something into Sheiky's ear, and Rodz swings at him and goes after Sheik. He drops him throat first over the ropes and the crowd is 100% behind him. Classy distracts him and Sheik takes over and beat the shit out of him in awesome fashion, and Rodz takes some great bumps. He has a wonderful brief comeback show a ton of fire, before he gets cut off and beaten by a belly to belly
**3/4

post match, the new duo celebrate and something amazing has begun (in 84)

Match#2 Larry Zbyszko vs Pat Smith
Bruno's son is finally back from waiting out the front of his dad's house like a real clb. Larry is pretty boring as a face and might need to leave the nest, if you know get me. He wins with a vertical Suplex
*

At ringside, Blassie does his thing and tries to make people give a shit about Volkoff. They want Bruno in a match, and i want to set myself on fire.

Match#3 The Valiant Brothers w/Cap Lou Albano vs DeNucci & Sanchez
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuk. 13 minutes of pure hell, and i don't want to see anything worse than this.
LOLWWWF

Match#4 Pat Patterson w/Grand Wizard vs Johnny Rivera
Awesome squash from the new IC champion. One day we'll get footage from the very real title match, and I'll review it. Knee Drop ends it
**

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWWWF WORLD CHAMPION: BOB BACKLUND- Since 20/2/78
WWWWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION; PAT PATTERSON-Since 1/9/79
WWWWF WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: THE VALIANT BROTHERS-Since 6/3/79

WWWWF. All-Star Wrestling
September 29th, 1979
Hamburg, Pennsylvania

Match#1 Chief Jay Strongfake & DeNucci vs Monroe & Rodriguez
Holy shit, no thanks.
Getting kicked in the balls

Match#2 Swede Hanson w/Classy Freddie Blassie vs Pete Sanchez
Another fun one for the big fella. He wins with a gross Butterfly Suplex
**

At ringside, Classy laughs his balls off at all the people who Swede has crippled over the last year, and he's a man with the will and desiree to win it all. They want Backlund, or maybe even Bruno. KILL HIM. Vince says the guy he just beat was a nobody, and Blassie snaps and says he's a GREAT wrestler and Vince is a punk for saying otherwise. Swede challenges all the faces and heels to fight him because he's the one!! Blassie says he used to manage the other Hanson who crippled Bruno, and this new one will finish the job.

Match#3 The Great Hussein Arab w/Classy Freddie Blassie vs Rivera
FUCK HIS ASS AND MAKE HIM HUMBLE, BUBBA
**

Match#4 Tito Santana & Ivan Putski vs Estrada & Schmidt
Another good handicap match for Tito. Polish Hammer ends it, which is a weird move for Tito to hit
*3/4

Match#5 Larry Zbyszko vs Dave Darrow
Larry puts on another fine squash, and our boy needs a heel turn asap. He wins with a boring ass rollup.
*

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWWWF LIVE EVENT. MADISON SQUARE GARDEN-SEPTEMBER 27TH, 1979

To open the show, we go to an interview with Grand Wizard and Patterson. Pat runs down all the titles he's held and how he's the most qualified man to ever fight Backlund, and now Bob is running scared.

Match#1 Bob Backlund (c) w/Arnold Skaaland vs Pat Patterson w/Grand Wizard (WWWWF World Championship)
Bob is pissed and goes right after Patterson and kicks the holy shit out of him. Insane to think anyone talks shit about Backlund being boring. Fucking morons. Pat takes a series of insane bumps that are for sure the reason he's semi-retired in the next 3 years. Bob goes after the knee like a true crazed man and it's wonderful work again, and Pat's selling rules. Bob gets more and more violent and petty after all the shit Pat has done, and it's a blast watching Pat eat all the shit. Pat finally goes after the eyes to cut him off and throws him to the floor. He rips all the turnbuckle pads off. It backfires on him and he takes it headfirst in a true insane moment and he's a bloody mess. Bob loses it and beats the fucking shit out of the cut and Patterson dies on everything. The ref gets bumped and they murder each other on the outside and the ref comes to and throws the match
***

Match#2 Tito Santana vs The Great Huseen Arab
Tito goes right to grounding him as not to get fucked and humbled, and it's a smart play he's a lot bigger stronger than Sheik and it works for a good while. Sheik knees him in the gut to finally get free and he has a boring control seg that falls really flat, and the . same can be said about Tito's comeback as Sheik doesn't really bump for him because he's old fuck. It goes to a time limit draw.
1/2*

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWWWF WORLD CHAMPION: BOB BACKLUND- Since 20/2/78
WWWWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION; PAT PATTERSON-Since 1/9/79
WWWWF WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: THE VALIANT BROTHERS-Since 6/3/79

WWWWF. All-Star Wrestling
October 6th, 1979
Hamburg, Pennsylvania

Match#1 Larry Zbyszko vs Moose Monroe
Another incredibly dull squash from Larry. Rollup does it
1/2*

Match#2 Bobby Duncum w/Capt Lou Albano vs Ben Ortiz
Bobby is a big ol' cowboy that clobbers dudes, so he's a welcomed addition. He wins with a bulldog which blows Vince's mind.
**

At ringside, they challenge everyone as everyone fucking does at this point. Begging them to run an angle.

Match#3 Pat Patterson w'/Grand Wizard vs Steve King
Another super fun one for Pat. Knee Drop ends it
**

Match#4 Jerry Valiant w/Capt Lou Albano vs DeNucci
This gets nearly 10 minutes and i want to fucking die. Lou attacks for the DQ after a ton of bad shit
1/2*

The heels keep attacking, but Gorilla runs down for the save!!!!

Match#5 Swede Hanson w/Classy Freddie Blassie vs Mike Masters
Swede ends another jobbers' shitty life, and we're better off for it. Butterfly Suplex does the deed
**

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWWWF WORLD CHAMPION: BOB BACKLUND- Since 20/2/78
WWWWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION; PAT PATTERSON-Since 1/9/79
WWWWF WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: THE VALIANT BROTHERS-Since 6/3/79

WWWWF All-Star Wrestling
October 13th, 1979
Hamburg, PA.

Match#1 Chief Jay Strongfake vs Moose Monroe
Fuck off

Match#2 Ted DiBiase vs Johnny Rodz
Super fun back and forth to start and Vince gushes over both men, so you can tell he's a big fan of both. Rodz cracks Ted with a gross back elbow and WWWF shows a replay which is insane for the 70's, but welcomed sight. Rodz keeps beating his ass and it rules for the short time it gets before Ted fights back. Ted kicks his ass in revenge and it's such a wonderful babyface performance that you forget what he's known for. Ted gets a super fancy rollup to win.
***

Post match, they shake hands furthering Rodz' turn.

At ringside, DiBiase challenges Patterson to a rematch.

Match#3 The Valiant Brothers (c) w/Capt Lou Albano vs Tito Santana & Ivan Putski (WWWWF World Tag Team Championship)
Poor Tito is tasked with 3 of the worst wrestlers in the world, and he does the best he can because he's Tito fucking Santana. Whenever he's not in it's a bad shitshow between these morons, but the things he does makes it not horrible for a time. Putz gets isolated and it's terrible he can't sell, and they can't beat anyone up. Tito's hot tag is fine enough as he drags them through it as best he can. It breaks down and Lou attacks Putz for the DQ. Fuck
*

Post match, the brothers are mad at Lou for some reason (he just saved their titles, so what the fuck?) and they walk out on him. Lou storms over to Vince and says he's done with them, and he never wants to see their faces again.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

LIVE EVENTS. SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER.

Bob Backlund vs Pat Patterson (Steel Cage-24/9/79)
JIP for some reason. Bob is beating his ass as always and the cage lets him be more psychotic than normal, and he's pretty fucking psycho. Backlund again controls a ton of this and beats Pat's ass, and while that all rules, I'd love for Patterson to actually get a longer control seg. He finally rams his head off the cage and beats the shit out of him, and Bob's selling is wonderful. He takes a great beating for the brief time it goes, then he makes a comeback and busts Pat wide open! It turns into a dramatic fight as both dudes are badly hurt. They fight on top of the cage and Bob punches the shit out of him and they both fall to the mat. Bob drags him to the door and Pat tries to stop him, but he kicks off and tumbles out the door to win
**3/4


The Valiant Brothers (c) vs Tito Santana & Ivan "The Putz" Putski (WWWF World Tag Team Championships-22/10/79)
Like the TV match, poor ol Tito is tasked with carrying these bags of shit for nearly 20 minutes. Horrible stuff from everyone who isn't him, and this is a moment I'm glad we don't have much footage from this period because these fucks deserve to be forgotten. Tito finally ends out fucking nightmare with a running crossbody onto one of them.
*

 

[BigVanDonnie]

Going to do a drop of all the remaining TV shows, then a live event dump and then 79 is finally fucking finished.

WWWWF WORLD CHAMPION: BOB BACKLUND- Since 20/2/78
WWWWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION; PAT PATTERSON-Since 1/9/79
WWWWF WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: TITO SANTANA & IVAN PUTSKI-22/10/79

WWWWF. All-Star Wrestling
November 3rd, 1979
Hamburg, PA

Match#1 Great Hussein Arab w/Classy Freddie Blassie vs Moose Monroe
A MOOSE GETS FUCKED AND HUMBLED. GOD BLESS, BUBBA
*3/4

Match#2 Jimmy Valiant w/Brothers vs DeNucci
STOP IT.

At ringside, said Brothers talk some shit about Lou being bad at his job, which is dumb because it babyfaces Lou, and that's not happening until 84. So, yeah, whatever.

Match#3 Swede Hanson w/Classy Freddie Blassie vs Ron Lee
Same fun Swede squash as always. Bearhug ends it
**

Match#4 Ted DiBiase vs BB Coleman
Standard DiBiase babyface squash.
*

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWWWF WORLD CHAMPION: BOB BACKLUND- Since 20/2/78
WWWWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION; PAT PATTERSON-Since 1/9/79
WWWWF WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: TITO SANTANA & IVAN PUTSKI-22/10/79

WWWWF. All-Star Wrestling
November 10th, 1979
Hamburg, PA

Match#1 Tito Santana & Ivan Putski vs Coleman & Andrews
Another good squash from Tito's end, and nothing from Putz'. Crossbody does it
*

Match#2 Ted DiBiase vs Johnny Valiant
Holy shit, stop giving these untlaneted asshoes 10+, it's embarrassing. They fight to a double DQ. FUCK OFF.
1/2*

Match#3 Larry Zbyszko vs Rivera
Dull as shit as always. Turn heel, my man.
1/2*

Match#4 The Wild Samoans (Afa & Sika) w/Cap Lou Albano vs Berger & Marzino
FUCK YEAH, WILD SAMOANS MURDER SOME DUDES. Awesome and mean as shit for a few minutes. Just a perfect squash. Samoan Drop ends it
**

Post match, they headbutt each other and it fucking rules.

Match#5 Ken Patera w/Grand Wizard vs Frank Williams
Hey, it's the dude who murdered promos and McDonald windows. Decent little muscle head squash with some decent clubbing and whatnot. Full Nelson ends it
*

 

[BigVanDonnie]

This one needs it's own post because despite being a bastard, without him, we aren't here.



Hulk Hogan w/Classy Freddie Blassie vs Harry Valdez
He's still a baby and a heel, so this is SUPER fucking jarring to see. He moves pretty well though, and kicks the jobber's ass, so it's a cool introduction to the man. Lots of slams and posing, and he even uses the Legdrop and it looks brutal as he's running without a bad back. He wins with the Argentine Backbreaker
**

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWWWF WORLD CHAMPION: BOB BACKLUND- Since 20/2/78
WWWWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION; PAT PATTERSON-Since 1/9/79
WWWWF WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: TITO SANTANA & IVAN PUTSKI-22/10/79

WWWWF. All-Star Wrestling
November 17th, 1979
Hamburg, PA

Match#1 Johnny Rodz vs Larry Zbyszko
Rodz finally forces Larry into being actually fucking interesting for once and they have a fun back and forth to start, and Rodz gets the best of it and whips his ass. So much fun to watch Larry eat shit after the last few weeks, and his comebacks have actual fire and pep to them for the first time in a while. Rodz misses a kick and lands on the ground and Larry splashes him and gets the 3. Cool finish
**3/4

At ringside, Duncum explains what the Bulldog is and how it breaks a man's face. Fucking love how they were blown away from these moves and needed entire segments where they broke it all down for the the marks.

Match#2 Tito Santana & Ivan Putski vs Estrada & Doherty
Same as always, and i can't see it changing any time soon. Crossbody ends it
*

At ringside, they cut a bad promo about facing all challengers.

Match#3 The Wild Samoans w/Capt Lou Albano vs DeNucci & Rivera
Awesome mualing from the monsters, and it's the best watching DeNucci eat shit. Samoan Drop does it
**

They replay Patera's debut squash to end the show.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWWWF WORLD CHAMPION: BOB BACKLUND- Since 20/2/78
WWWWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION; PAT PATTERSON-Since 1/9/79
WWWWF WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: TITO SANTANA & IVAN PUTSKI-22/10/79

WWWWF. All-Star Wrestling
December 8th, 1979
Hamburg, PA

Match#1 Tito Santana & Ivan Putski vs Rodz & Dohetery
Damn it, give me the dream singles match, not this. Tito/Rodz is wonderful as you'd expect, but the others really stink, so call it in the middle. Dropkick ends it
*3/4

Match#2 Ken Patera w/Grand Wizard vs Rivera
Another decent little one for Ken. Full Nelson does it
*

At ringside, Bruno interviews them and it's two dudes who can't speak, and poor GW trying his best to keep this mess alive. He puts him over as the strongest man in wrestling, and he'll win the title soon. Ken tries to talk and yeah, he's horrible as everyone knows and i wonder if Vince gave him a mic as a joke.

Match#3 Hulk Hogan w/Classy Freddie Blassie vs Frankie Williams
Hogan again throws the jobber around and hits a lot of body slams, and you can tell he really has no clue what type of wrestler he wants to be and he's just throwing it all out there. To show this, he wins with a bearhug this week.
*3/4

Match#4 Larry Zbyszko vs Estrada
Larry goes back to being a boring asshole and i hate everything. Rollup does it
3/4*

Match#5 Tony Atlas vs John Callahan
THE GOD OF FEET IS HERE. He's not a good wrestler at all, but i love me an insane human. Bad strikes that look like shit, and he wins with even worse Headbutt.
1/2*

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWWWF WORLD CHAMPION: BOB BACKLUND- Since 20/2/78
WWWWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION; PAT PATTERSON-Since 1/9/79
WWWWF WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS: TITO SANTANA & IVAN PUTSKI-22/10/79

WWWWF. All-Star Wrestling
December 15th, 1979
Hamburg, PA

Match#1 Andre the Giant vs Bulford & Doherty
Andre murders some dudes and it's a blast.
**

Match#2 Hulk Hogan w/Classy Freddie Blassie vs Dan Patrick
Hogan really needs some house show reps so his squashes can get better, or at least change. He hits the legdrop again, but doesn't win with it, which is shame because it looks awesome. He wins with the Backbreaker
*3/4

At ringside, Albano and the Samoans are interviewed by Vince. He says he's had 8 teams as champions and they'll be #9, as he says this, the boys get in the ring and headbutt the shit out of each other and Vince looks fucking terrified. This rules. Albano challenges Bruno and Backlund to face his men to show they can not stop his men. He offers 25K to anyone who can beat them.

Match#3 The Wild Samoans w/Lou Albano vs Souso & Rivera
Another wonderful murder in the ring. Samoan Drop ends the fun
**

Match#4 DeNucci vs..
NO

Match#5 The Great Hussein Arab w/Classy Freddie Blassie vs Angelo Gomez
FUCKING ASSES, BUBBA
*