Donnie watches WWF 1980

[BigVanDonnie]

The 28th is all replays from previous shows, so we move on to July

WWF World Champion; Bob Backlund- Since 20/2/78
WWF Intercontinental Champion; Ken Patera- Since 21/4/80
WWF Tag Team Champions; The Wild Samoans-Since 26/4/80

WWF All-Star Wrestling
July 5th, 1980
Hamburg, PA

Patterson has joined commentary as he's slowly winding down from the ring.

Match#1 Strong Kobayashi vs Steve King
SK is an old Japanese dude that was big in the 70's, but his back is fucked and doesn't have much longer. He moves very slowly and does a lot of basic stuff as his body can't handle more by the looks of it. He wins with an Atomic Drop
3/4*

Match#2 King King Mosca w/Lou Albano vs Jack Larson
Mosca looks like a horror monster without the makeup, and i mean that in the best way. Ugly motherfucker. He beats the crap out of the kid with some fun clubbing and some shit talking along the way. He backbreakers the kid and bends him over his knee to win via submission.
*3/4

Match#3 Curt Hennig vs Johnny Rodz
PERFECT DEBUT. Rodz guides him through it and does all he can to make the kid look like a million bucks. Hennig kicks out of a fucking piledriver and the crowd falls in love with him as he keeps fighting and fighting. He wins with a flash sunset flip
**

Rodz tries to attack him, but Perfect fights him off and holds the ring.

At ringside, Patterson interviews GW and his brand new client Don Muraco!!!! They are here to replace Bob Backlund as the WWF champion, and that's the only reason he left his beautiful island. Don cuts a bad promo where he stumbles over his words and just nervous as hell. YOU'RE A SKELETON OF WHAT YOU ONCE WERE, PATTERSON. He keeps yelling and making no sense and it's wonderful as hell. He challenges everyone to a fight and then talks about the dangers of the Spike that he wants to stick down Patterson's throat.

Match#4 Killer Khan w/Classy Freddie Blassie vs Freddie Marzino
Khan Is famous for the Andre feud that we'll get to next year, and I'm excited to see it. He does a lot of clubbing and choking and he's fine enough for a monster in the 80's before they figured it all out. He hits a kneedrop to the back of the head to win
*3/4

Match#5 Rick Martel, SD Jones & Tony Garea vs Siciculna, O'Hannon & Savage
Lots of debuts from men who will be here for the next decade plus, and it's pretty cool to see it. The babyface trio is full of fire and energy and it's a fun contrast with the old shitty heels that aren't long for the world. Martel gets some time to shine and while he's a baby, he looks pretty good. Garea rolls up Savage to beat him.
**

Match#6 Don Muraco w/Grand Wizard vs Peter Mitchell
Fuck yeah, love the Rock.The fans chant "BEACH BUM" at him like that's insult, so Don beats the crap out of the kid to shut them up. Some beautiful uppercuts and throws, and man the next few years of his peak are going to be awesome. He hits the Tombstone and then a legdrop to win
**1/2

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion; Bob Backlund- Since 20/2/78
WWF Intercontinental Champion; Ken Patera- Since 21/4/80
WWF Tag Team Champions; The Wild Samoans-Since 26/4/80

WWF All-Star Wrestling
July 19th, 1980
Hamburg, PA

Match#1 Johnny Rodz vs Pat Patterson
This feud won't die and i love it. Also, did you know Rodz is in the hall of fame? i learnt this last night and i couldn't stop smiling. Rodz drags him to the floor and breaks a wooden chair over his back and kicks the piss out of him, and Patterson puts on another manic selling performance. He makes an awesome comeback and Rodz eats ALL the shit as only he can. Patterson slingshots him into the turnbuckles and pins him when he lands
**

Match#2 Larry Zbyszko vs Frank Williams
Larry breaks out the amazing stooging as he argues with the crowd for chanting for Bruno, and is just a real dickhead. He eventually knocks it off and beats the crap out of the kid and it's the best. Suplex does the job
**

At ringside, Vince interviews him. He says it's the fans fault he beat that kid up because they have no class and they upset him. He says he is starting "Larry's Army" and all the fans need to do is cheer for him. He says turning his back on Bruno got him to the top, and the fans need to turn on people and they get to the top as well. IF YOU HAVE TO FIGHT CORRUPTION WITH A CHAIR, YOU FIGHT IT WITH A CHAIR. AMAZING. He says the world doesn't work because it run by goofy people, and everyone needs to stand up and do it themselves.

Match#3 Angel Maravilla vs Marc Pole
From what i can tell, Angel was a journeyman who bounced around the 70's and early 80's and never left a mark, so it's a cool little introduction a man who time has forgot. He's not very good at all and is very sloppy, so this isn't a hidden gem type situation, sadly. He wins with a running headbutt to the face
3/4*

Match#4 Tor Kamata vs Rick McGraw
Massive test for the kid, and i wish we had gotten angle to set this up. He shows no fear and rushes him and does a really good job of knocking him down and staying on the attack for a while. He throws a bunch of punches and knees, and does anything he can to stop Tor from getting anything in. He keeps fighting him and it pisses Tor off more and more, and he eventually fights back and beats the fuck out of him. He snaps on a NERVE HOLD to wear him down and it goes the full 10 minutes.
**3/4

Match#5 Hulk Hogan w/Classy Freddie Blassie vs Fred Marizino
Another fun one from Brother Jack Dude. He wins with the Lariatoooooooooooooooooo
*3/4

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion; Bob Backlund- Since 20/2/78
WWF Intercontinental Champion; Ken Patera- Since 21/4/80
WWF Tag Team Champions; The Wild Samoans-Since 26/4/80

WWF All-Star Wrestling
July 26th, 1980
Hamburg, PA

Match#1 Pat Patterson vs Ron Shaw
Fun little Patterson showcase. He wins with a Boston Crab this time, which is a nice way to mix it up.
*

Match#2 Rick Martel vs Johnny Rodz
Fuck yeah. Rodz attacks him right away and goes after his Model like looks on the outside, and the Kid gets dirty in return and throws him in the post and beats his ugly mug in. Love that these old fucks are being challenged by the young guard, really sells them as the future. Rodz hits a dropkick through the middle ropes furthering himself as the best in the world. Martel fights through it all and gets a rollup to steal it
**1/2

At ringside, Martel gives the classic "HAPPY TO BE HERE" promo.

Coming from that, Hagman and Blassie are up next. Blassie says he's the reason Hangman made that jobber suffer for 6 minutes and he has all the power. He went all over the world to find the best wrestler and he's got him in Hangman. He's won every tournament in European wrestling, and that's only the start. Bruno wants to know where's from because he thinks Blassie is lying, and Freddie refuses to tell him because he's Italian and can't be trusted.

Match#3 Angel Maravilla vs Charlie Sharkey
Another bad one for Angel. Wonder how long until he's on jobber duty. I give it a month. He wins with the headbutt
1/2*

Match#4 Andre the Giant vs Marc Pole & Frank Rodriguez
Andre has his knee in a brace and he looks in pain, and it hurts man. Good squash though, as he mostly just clubs them to death and let's them do the work. He kills one of them with a giant ass splash to the chest
*3/4

Match#5 Tony Atlas vs Jose Estrada
Poor Jose deserves better than this. The show actually ends just as Atlas pins him with a Gorilla Press. Wild

 

[BigVanDonnie]

Andre the Giant vs Hulk Hogan (26/7/80)
Gino and Patterson are on commentary and are gleeful as hell at the prospect of Andre beating Hogan's head in. Andre easily handles him and really bullies as he pulls his arms back and playfully slaps him on the back. Just an awesome big brother beating of a little shit. Hogan gets dirty to get anything going when he starts choking him and going for the eyes, and he locks in a bearhug which is a wild sight. Andre sells it really well and fights hard to get out, and he finally does is with a GROSS boot to the face that just levels Hogan. He squashes him in the corner and is ready to end him, but Hogan drags the ref in front and he gets killed and Hogan bails to the outside. The ref comes to and DQ's him.
**1/2

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion; Bob Backlund- Since 20/2/78
WWF Intercontinental Champion; Ken Patera- Since 21/4/80
WWF Tag Team Champions; The Wild Samoans-Since 26/4/80

WWF All-Star Wrestling
August 2nd, 1980
Hamburg, PA

Match#1 Rene Goulet & Pat Patterson vs Estrada & Mihalko
Long showcase for the fellas and it's fine enough, but WAY too long at nearly 10 minutes. 3 is optimal, you crazy bastards. Both dudes can go so it's not like it's BAD, it's just a fucking slog of a watch. Knee-Drop ends it
*

Match#2 Johnny Rodz vs Pedro Morales
Nowhere near as good as last time because Pedro controls most of it and doesn't let Rodz be as awesome as he is, so it's also a slog to get through. Pedro wins with a bad leverage pin holding Rodz's neck
3/4*

Match#3 Ken Patera w/Grand Wizard vs Ron Lee
Well, this episode sucks. Patera sucks as we know, and i can't even make funny jokes yet because he hasn't cut THAT promo. So, what's the point of you being alive, Kenneth. He wins with a single leg crab for some reason.
DIRTY YARD DOGS

Match#4 Rick McGraw vs Sicicula
SON OF A BITCH. Rick takes a beating this time round because the old man can never look weak despite being old and shit. Big bumps on the floor and into the steps, and he makes the bad offence look deadly, and it's a fucking crime he's dead in 5 years. Also, heartbreaking that I'll type that a million more times before the end. They fight on the outside to a double CO.
*1/2

Match#5 Rick Martel vs Marc Pole
Martel saves the show with a super energetic squash that lets him show off what he brings to the table. Smooth as hell, easy to like and can make a jobber look like he has a chance. He snapmares the guy and kicks him in the gut and flips his legs over to pin him
*3/4

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion; Bob Backlund- Since 20/2/78
WWF Intercontinental Champion; Ken Patera- Since 21/4/80
WWF Tag Team Champions; The Wild Samoans-Since 26/4/80

WWF SHOWDOWN AT SHEA
AUGUST 9TH, 1980
SHEA STADIUM ​

This is a WWE24/7 release and Cole and Foley are on the call, which is a choice.. Vince is doing the ring announcing and Cole explains that Fink was contracted to JCP that night to do TV, so Vince had to do it.


Match#1 Angel Marvailla vs Jose Estrada
Jose tries his best to get this piece of shit over, but Angel blows and can't be helped, so it's 7 minutes of very bad and boring wrestling. The only highlight is Cole and Foley riffing on the crowd and shirtless ring attendants that Vince would for sure fire on the spot. Angel wins with his shitty headbutt.
1/2*

Match#2 Dominic DeNucci vs Baron Mikel Scicluna
HELP ME. We get an awesome history lesson on DeNucci and how Vince snr used the Italian wrestlers to build his empire. It's a cool thing, and way more interesting than one second of this match. DeNucci wins via a move.
1/2*

Match#3 Tatsumi Fujinami (c) vs Chavo Guerrero (WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship)
I am not adding this to the list of titles, but a cool footnote nonetheless. Fun matwork to start, and it's so nice to see after some really terrible wrestling from the old guard who just need to fuck off. They trade ranas and have a standoff like they're Lynn and RVD, and it's a wild sight to see in 1980. FUJINAMI HITS A FUCKING TOPE IN 1980. HOLY FUCK, DUDE. Chavo responds by dragging him down to the mat and torturing him in revenge. He goes for the arm and has some fantastic work on it, and TJ sells it really well. Chavo flips off his chest and punches him in the mouth, and just keeps doing the most show-off stuff he can think of, and i love him so much. TJ catches him in an airplane spin to finally stop him. They trade rollups to prove me right, and TJ gets a fancy one to keep the title.
***

Match#4 Antonio Inoki (c) vs Larry Sharpe (NWF Heavyweight Championship)
They go to the mat right away and it's fine, but not the best idea after the last match. It's good because it can't not be, but man it's dry as hell. It picks up once Larry takes over and gets a chance to lay in some shots and look as good as he's going to for a couple of minutes. Larry misses a splash off the top and Inoki hits two enziguri's to win.
**

Match#5 The Wild Samoans (c) vs Bob Backlund & Pedro Morales (WWF Tag Team Championships-2/3 Falls)
No idea how this ended up the title match when they were building towards Pat finding a partner, but Pedro has a way of being rewarded despite being a boring asshole. Bob fighting them is awesome, and i wish it has been him and Pat. Cole tells an AMAZING story about Albano wandering down to ringside to shake fans hands during Cactus/H in 97, and no one could figure out if they had really seen him do it, so they never bothered to ask him why. Bob gets isolated and the Samoans put on another great one for a few minutes before a bad Pedro hot tag. He rolls one of them up to win the 1st fall. Pedro gets isolated and it's horrible because he can't sell or bump, and just outright sucks. It breaks down and Pedro dropkicks one of them when they get Backlund up for the Samoan drop and lands on him and the faces win the titles
*3/4

None of this matters as WWF has a rule you can't hold two titles at the same time (this will be used again for Warrior vacating the IC title) so they hold a tournament and the Samoan's wins them back. So a waste of time for us all.

Match#6 Tor Kamata vs Pat Patterson
Tor attacks from behind and a big donnybrook breaks out for a couple of minutes. They do some stuff and Tor throws powder and it hits the ref for the DQ
1/2*

There's a Moolah match on here, and there's no fucking chance i watch that foul cunt outside of the 84/85 women's stuff.

Match#7 Ken Patera w/Grand Wizard vs Tony Atlas (WWF Intercontinental Championship)
Maybe it's a good thing we don't get another major show until 85, because the undercard at this point is dire. This is decent enough as they actually throw shit with power and throw each around, and it's the best possible matchup for these two goofs. They fight on the outside and Patera throws Atlas in first and misses the ten count. Moron
*3/4

Match#8 Johnny Rodz vs Ivan Putski
Son of a bitch. Putz looks horrible as always and poor Rodz bumps his ass off for stuff that wouldn't drop anyone. Ivan wins with his dreadful Hammer. Wish Master had broke his face instead of poor Stevie.
1/2*

Match#9 The Hangman vs Rene Goulet
The fellas finally get us back on track with a classic power vs speed battle. Hangy beats him up for a while and it's good fun as he's mean as hell, and Goulet takes a beating well enough. He never makes a comeback and Hangy beats him by dropping him throat first on the ropes.
**

Match#10 Andre the Giant vs Hulk Hogan w/Classy Freddie Blassie
Hulk in the yellow and red in front of a massive stadium just feels right. Same opening as the last match where Andre just bullies him and REALLY fucks his day up just to do it. Hogan does the bearhug again and does ok, and Andre once again big brothers him to get out of it. The ref gets bumped AND HOGAN SLAMS ANDRE FOR THE FIRST TIME. Andre kick out and hits a slam and splash of his own to win
*3/4

Post match, Hogan attacks him and busts him open and kills him with a Lariat. Oh shit.

Match#11 Bruno Sammartino vs Larry Zbyszko (Steel Cage Match)
Bruno starts angry and kicks the fuck out of his shithead son for his sins, and it's a blast. Larry takes some horrific headers into the cage and is busted open, and we flash to a sign that says they want Larry's blood. Larry boots him in the dick to finally get him to stop. His control work is wonderful as he just mauls the old man and busts him open in revenge. Bruno takes some gross bumps as well and it's the best I've ever seen him. He makes a great comeback and makes Larry eat all the shit for the last 8 months, but it doesn't last as Larry cuts him back off and goes after his arm. Loads of awesome bumps into the cage AND BRUNO'S ARM IS BUSTED OPEN. JESUS CHRIST. Larry keeps kicking the shit out of him and all hope seems to be lost, but Bruno slowly fights bak and beats his ass worse than ever before, and Larry takes insane bumps on his head and neck. Bruno throws him one last time and walks out as Larry lays there helpless to stop him.
***1/2

Post match, they go nose to nose and Bruno punches him and raises his arm and Larry shoves him off and stumbles away.

Horrible show, but worth seeing for historical reasons.

 

[Chris]

Only seen the last two matches of this one, good to know I'm not missing much

 

[BigVanDonnie]

Only seen the last two matches of this one, good to know I'm not missing much

Yeah, i thought it was going to be this wonderful show that WWE just never bothered to talk about, and it was instead a really long and boring show that showcases the very good, and the completely dire. TJ/Chavo is well worth your time, though.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion; Bob Backlund- Since 20/2/78
WWF Intercontinental Champion; Ken Patera- Since 21/4/80
WWF Tag Team Champions; The Wild Samoans-Since 26/4/80

WWF All-Star Wrestling
August 16th, 1980
Hamburg, PA

Match#1 Larry Zbyszko vs Bill Berger
Another good one for Larry. His stooging never fails to piss everyone off, and it's such an easy way for him to get heat every time. Tony Garea watches from the crowd and looks very upset. Once Larry knocks it off, he kills the poor kid and ends it with the Suplex
**

Garea gets on the apron for some reason, AND LARRY ATTACKS HIM AND BEATS THE HOLY HELL OUT OF HIM. LARRY PUNCHES THE REF WHEN HE TRIES TO STOP HIM, AND STORMS OFF AS DOCTORS CHECK ON GAERA Garea had that coming tbh, don't stick your nose in other people business.

At ringside, Bruno checks on Garea, and grabs the mic and asks Bruno to break every bone in Larry's body. Awesome angle.

Match#2 Johnny Rodz vs Tony Atlas
Another decent little carry job for Rodz. Really sucks he's tasked with all of the chosen ones when they all stink, but man's gotta eat. Bad Full Nelson ends it.
*

At ringside, Atlas stumbles over another promo where he challenges Patera to a title match.

Match#3 Afa w/Lou Albano vs Rick McGraw
Awesome squash for the big fella. McGraw gets a few moments to show off, but he mostly dies in amazing fashion. Afa wins with a headbutt
**

Match#4 Rick Martel vs Jose Estrada
This gets nearly 8 minutes and it's very fun. Jose goes after the arm and ground Martel for a while, and it's lot of fun watching him get a chance to shine. It also helps that Martel is easy to root for and his comeback is full of fire. He pinballs him all over and Jose is a madman with his bumping. Jose fights back and starts choking him and won't let go. Albano comes out to watch, and i'm 100% in the dark where this leads. Albano runs around the ring to attack AND A FUCKING FAN GRABS A WOODEN CHAIR AND SWINGS IT AT HIM A COP JUMPS ON THE GUY. WHAT THE FUCK. VINCE PLAYS IT COOL AND NEVER BRINGS IT UP AND KEEPS CALLING THE MATCH. Albano gets in the ring and Martel dropkicks him and Jose, and then snaprana's Jose into a pin to win.
**3/4

That was one of the weirdest and coolest matches I've ever seen.

At ringside, Martel calls the move a "victory roll" which isn't right, but we'll let him slide. He says he beat Albano to the punch and he'll do it again if he needs to. He talks about climbing the ladder and he would like to fight Patera for the IC title one of these days. Yes please.

Match#5 Sgt. Slaughter w/Grand Wizard vs Rick Stallone
STAND TO ATTENTION, YOU PUKE MAGGOTS. Ignoring the stolen valor stories, i love the Sarge. Just a big ugly dude who hits people really hard and cuts wild promos, what's not to love. He attacks the arm and talks endless shit as he does it, furthering his awesomeness. He kills the kid with a poweslam and then locks on the Cobra Clutch to win
**

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion; Bob Backlund- Since 20/2/78
WWF Intercontinental Champion; Ken Patera- Since 21/4/80
WWF Tag Team Champions; Vacated-Since 10/8/80

WWF All-Star Wrestling
August 23rd, 1980
Hamburg, PA

Match#1 Ken Patera w/Grand Wizard vs Angelo Gomez
Ken gets 7 minutes in a true test of wills. Very bad because he's a moron who doesn't know how to fill time, and he's boring as hell on top of it. Full-Nelson ends my pain
1/2*

Match#2 Pedro Morales vs Mikel Scicluna
I am a bad person who doesn't deserve happiness.

At ringside, Bruno talks to Albano. Bruno says he's know him for 20 years, and Albano says it's 18 years. Bruno asks if he's ever seeked mental help, and Albano struts around the ring like a real madman. He says Bruno is the one who isn't mentally component, and he calls the fans soft and slow and starts to trail off about "the blacks" before Bruno gets him back on topic. Bruno calls him fat, so Albano rips his shirt off and runs through the crowd. Vince walks over and says it's clear that Lou needs help. Lou walks back on and rips Vince and Bruno to shreds before they cut him off again.

Match#3 Rick Martel vs Charlies Sharky
Another good one for Martel. He goes after the leg and he's always doing something to it, and it's fun stuff. He hits a couple of dropkicks and an elbow to win
**

Match#4 Hulk Hogan w/Classy Freddie Blassie vs Steve King & Lindsey Lye
Standard Hulk squash at this point. He's not breaking any new ground, sadly. He backbreakers them both and does a stack pin to win
*

At ringside, Vince asks to see Hogan's arm where he now had an elbow bad, and he's calling his lariat "Hogan's Hammer" He refuses to let Vince touch it and says he cripples people on Blassie's command. Blassie says they'll never see the pad and the crippling will continue.

Match#5 The Hangman w/Classy Freddie Blassie vs Fred Marazino
Hangman does his thing and it's good, but he needs a proper feud at this point to see what he can really do. He drops the kid over the top rope and wins with the Hangman's noose
*3/4

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion; Bob Backlund- Since 20/2/78
WWF Intercontinental Champion; Ken Patera- Since 21/4/80
WWF Tag Team Champions; Vacated-Since 10/8/80

WWF All-Star Wrestling
August 30th, 1980
Hamburg, PA

Match#1 Rick Martel vs Billy Coleman
Martel does his thing and he gives the jobber some token offence this week to make it a bit more of a struggle, and I've always liked it when a jobber doesn't just get mauled like a moron. Martel wins with a crossbody this week
*3/4

Match#2 Sgt. Slaughter w/Grand Wizard vs Paul Figueroa
Sarge wreaks another maggot for being a maggot, and it's a blast. Cobra Clutch ends the fun
**

Post match, Sarge snaps the kids neck to wake him up.

At ringside, GW puts Slaughter over as the meanest marine who ever lived and he's now dedicated to pro wrestling. Sarge yells at Bruno for standing to attention! His new mission is to become the champion of everything, and he wants to make sure he's made himself clear. Cool intro to the big man.

Match#3 Tony Garea vs Mike Mihaiko
Tony is finally back and i can't say i missed him, but it does lead to Martel winning gold, so it's cool. The jobber is a big fat dude and Tony has to work hard to grind him down and it's nice to have a different squash from the norm. He wears him down with arm work and locks in the Abdominal Stretch to end it
**

Match#4 Pat Patterson & Rene Goulet vs Johnny Rodz & Scicluna
Fun showcase for the new super team. I say fun because of Rodz and not the old fuck, but you already knew that. He carries the old for this dumbshit and makes the boys look awesome with his wild bumps. Patterson gets another fancy leverage pin to win
**

To close the show, Vince interviews Andre.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion; Bob Backlund- Since 20/2/78
WWF Intercontinental Champion; Ken Patera- Since 21/4/80
WWF Tag Team Champions; Vacated-Since 10/8/80

WWF All-Star Wrestling
September 13th, 1980
Hamburg, PA

Match#1 Pedro Morales vs The Black Demon
Gross. Insane to think this old fuck is going to win the IC title, but the 80's are wild. Bad crab ends it
1/2*

Post match, Backlund walks down to the ring to shake Pedro's hand, and then he talks to Vince about how hard he's been working. Weird thing to do because the champion doesn't show up on TV before the boom period, but it's a cool thing nonetheless.

Match#2 Sgt. Slaughter w/Grand Wizard vs Steve King
Another awesome one for Sarge. Can't wait for the Patterson feud to kick off and blow everyone's minds. Cobra Clutch does the deed
**

At ringside, Sarge does star jumps as GW talks him up again. Pretty much the same promo as last week

Match#3 Larry Zbyszko vs Angel Maravilla
Larry does his thing and drags this complete nothing along the way. Suplex does it
**

Match#4 The Hangman w/Classy Freddie Blassie vs Rick Stallone
Same fun Hangy squash. He needs to hang someone to piss off a babyface. Maybe he could kill DeNucci, that would rock. Hangman's Noose does it
*3/4

 

[BigVanDonnie]

The Wild Samoans w/Lou Albano vs. Tony Garea & Rene Goulet (WWF Tag Team Championships-20/9/80- Championship Wrestling)
This is the finals of a tournament we'll never see, and given how bad the division is at this point (i mean, look at the finals) we aren't missing much. The babyfaces go on a run of offence to try and end it quick in a smart play, and they get as far as anyone as they get a lot of close 3 counts and really wear them down. It's the first real "heel in peril" moment that WWF will use a lot in the late 80's, and i don't hate it when it's done like this. One of them finally headbutts the shit out of Garea and goes to work with another fun control seg. Loads of clubbing and savagery, and Tony dying on everything. Goulet has a wonderful hot tag looking the best he has in months, but 30 seconds later he gets killed with a double bodyslam and the Samoans win the belts back
**3/4

 

[BigVanDonnie]

WWF World Champion; Bob Backlund- Since 20/2/78
WWF Intercontinental Champion; Ken Patera- Since 21/4/80
WWF Tag Team Champions; The Wild Samoans-Since 20/9/80

WWF All-Star Wrestling
September 20th, 1980
Hamburg, PA

Match#1 The Wild Samoans w/Lou Albano vs Rick Martel & DeNucci
Same idea as the title match where the face shitcan thema and control for a while, but the heels thankfully cut off the old man and beat his ass for being the worst. It's also good because it sets Martel up as the hot tag and our hero has ALL the fire in the world, and the Samoans take some wild bumps for him. DeNucci gets back in and is isolated right away in a funny moment. They kill him with a double headbutt that sends him to the floor and he gets counted out
**1/2

Match#2 Tony Atlas vs Jose Estrada
Once again, Jose is squashed by the bastard and it hurts.
1/2*

At ringside, Atlas says words.

Match#3 Tony Garea vs Johnny Rodz
Hell yeah. Rodz finally gets someone who can hang with him. and we get a fun back and forth as a result. Rodz beats the hell out of him and Tony uses his speed and cool counters to come back and him eat shit. He wins with a sunset flip
**1/2

Match#4 Hulk Hogan w/Classy Freddie Blassie vs Steve King & Angelo Gomez
Another decent little Hogan squash. Nothing really new to write about, so whatever.
*

 

[BigVanDonnie]

So, the network hasn't uploaded any of the October shows, so we're skipping to November.

WWF World Champion; Bob Backlund- Since 20/2/78
WWF Intercontinental Champion; Ken Patera- Since 21/4/80
WWF Tag Team Champions; The Wild Samoans-Since 20/9/80

WWF All-Star Wrestling
November 8th, 1980
Hamburg, PA

Match#1 Rick Martel & Tony Garea vs Scicluna & Black Demon
Good showcase for our new top babyface team. The heels suck shit, but out guys get them through it as always. Martel gets the old man with a sunset flip.
*3/4

Match#2 Pedro Morales vs Frank Savage
A thought hits me that the days of jobbers being called "savage" is going to be over once Randy debuts in 85. Also, how cool is the name Savage? like, that's a dude you gotta take notice of. A match happened and it sucked.
1/2*

At ringside, Pedro calls out Stan Hansen for a fight any time he wants it, and Patterson explains they had a confrontation before the show over who should be interviewed first. Not the best way to start a feud, but fuck yeah Stan. They move on to the IC title and Pat says he wants Pedro to avenge him like a real coward, and Pedro promises he will.

Match#3 Stan Hansen vs Ron Shaw
Stan murders the poor kid in maybe the best squash we've seen yet. Mean as fuck, wastes zero time and gets himself over as the baddest motherfucker in the land. A perfect squash. He keeps calling out Patterson, and i wish he had never lost the IC title so Stan could take it. Lariat ends it
**1/2

At ringside, Stan is with Vince. He says it took 4 years to get back here thanks to Blassie. Everyone has tried to copy the Lariat, but none of them can touch his. He demands that Patterson, Backlund and that dirty whatever, Pedro Morales stand up and fight him. SHUT UP YOU WEIRD YANKEES, I'LL SHOW YOU SOME SOUTHERN MANNERS IN JUST A MINUTE. Vince brings up Stan breaking Bruno's shitty neck, and Hansen says those are great memories and some of the crowd cheers. He says he's happy that Bruno is still here to see what happens. He calls out Hogan for trying to Lariat people when he has the real one. HE'S HERE TO RAISE HELL. OH MY GOD, YES.

Match#4 The Moondogs (Rex & King) w/Lou Albano vs Charlie Brown & Steve King
Not the famous lineup as King is gone in a few months when he gets banned from entering the States, but glad to have any of them here. Awesome wildman squash with tons of clubbing and power moves. Albano rips his shirt off and he might be more insane than any motherfucker in the ring. Powerslam/Splash combo does it
**

Match#5 Killer Khan w/Lou Albano vs Marc Pole
Good stuff from Khan, but coming after two of the best squashes in company history isn't a good choice. He wins with a big splash
*