WWWF All-Star Wrestling (1.17.1976) Review

-Originally aired January 17, 1976.

-Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Antonino Rocca.

SUPERSTAR BILLY GRAHAM (with The Grand Wizard) vs. SYLVANO SOUSA
-Graham is decked out in an amazing “Village People Caveman” ensemble complete with big furry hat tipped to the side. Graham beats down Sousa, who tries to fight back with some flimsy punches, but Graham throws him through the ropes and Sousa gets caught and hung upside down. Graham pulls up the carpeting around ringside and uses it like a chair across Sousa’s back in a ridiculous visual gag, then brings him back in to finish with a bearhug.

IVAN PUTSKI vs. BUGSY MCGRAW (with Ivan Koloff, The Grand Wizard, and Captain Lou Albano)
-Ivan is instantly annoyed by the sight of three guys in his opponent’s corner, so he books it out of there and the heels just naturally assume that means a win by forfeit, but nope, Ivan returns with Tony Parisi & Louis Cerdan.

-Collar and elbow lock-up. Putski has embarrassingly shown up to the arena without his usual physique and had to borrow Kevin Sullivan’s. If you’re familiar with Ivan in the 1980s you could never recognize him here. Bugsy reverses a top wristlock to bring Ivan to his knees, but Putski just pops his arms forward and flings Busgy across the ring. Bugsy pops up and beats on Ivan in the corner. Ivan fights back and in the midst of it both guys shove the referee down, which brings all of the seconds into the ring for a mini-battle royal. Except for the Grand Wizard who wisely sits this one out. Referee calls for the bell, and Bobo Brazil just hits the ring for no particular reason and clears the ring completely.

-Parisi and Cerdan cut the blandest of promos. Like…to the point that it made me go look up the length of their title reign. They have open contracts. They’ll take on all-comers. They have open contracts. They’ll fight anybody. They have contracts. And they’re fighting champions. They have open contracts. Also, they enjoy handball.

LOUIS CYR (with Fred Blassie) vs. JOHNNY RIVERA
-Rivera tries working the arm, but Cyr quite literally flips him off. GREAT move, with Cyr lifting Rivera into a body vice, then squatting down just a bit to choke Rivera from underneath the top rope. Blassie tells Cyr not to go for the pin, so Cyr just rips away at Rivera’s face. Series of uppercuts while Blassie dashes over to commentary to cut a promo.

-Squash goes on as Rocca aptly declares that “this is brutal.” Shoulderbreaker finishes.

IVAN KOLOFF (with Captain Lou Albano) vs. PETE MCKAY
-Koloff takes McKay down right away and just toys with him, clamping on a stomach claw (or as we called the move in high school, the fat grab). Albano just drifts over to commentary to pick a fight with Antonino Rocca, and it’s a battle to see who can be more coherent, ending in a draw.

-Koloff stomps away at McKay for a bit, and a bit more…and a knee from the top rope ends it.

KING ERNIE LADD vs. PETE SANCHEZ
-Ladd gives his entrance stuff to the ring attendant and just to be a dick, he mashes his giant cowboy hat over the guy’s head and it goes all the way down to his neck.

-Sanchez surprises everybody with an armdrag, and Ladd stops everything to complain about pulling the tights while the crowd is so desperate for something to cheer for at this point that they erupt for the armdrag and chant for the jobber. Sanchez has control of the match for a bit until Ladd digs into his tights and loads up his thumb for some shots to the throat. And Ladd finally gives him one good shot to send him out to the floor, and Ladd takes the win by count-out.

5.0

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

Again, it's up to a heel to save the hour on WWWF television. Ernie Ladd was fantastic, the rest is pretty forgettable.