wrestling / Video Reviews
WWWF All-Star Wrestling (6.3.1978) Review
Image Credit: WWE/Peacock
Loading...-Originally aired June 3, 1978.
-Your host is Vince McMahon.
CRAZY LUKE GRAHAM (with The Grand Wizard) vs. JIMMY RAY
-Superstar Billy Graham’s “older brother” is one of those guys who looks like he’s somewhere between 31-79 years old. Graham rams Ray into the turnbuckle and applies a hammerlock, then hangs up on the top rope. Graham continues the extremely leisurely ass-kicking while Vince sits in utter silence, and I like to imagine him just doing the Jumble in the newspaper and glancing at his monitor every now and then to see if an actual spot is happening. Thumb to the throat by Graham gets the win.
STAN STASIAK (with The Grand Wizard) vs. JIM OLIVER
-The Grand Wizard continues his show-long vendetta against people named Jim. Stasiak is now 50, and he’s going to have a full-time schedule for six more years!
-Oliver manages to wring the arm for half a second, but Stasiak steps to the rope and takes him down to the mat. Heart punch finishes. This is certainly a faster pace than I’m used to from this show. Two three-minute matches in a row!
-Vince is at ringside with Bob Backlund, who looks like he’d rather be doing anything accept talking into a microphone, and bluntly I’d rather be doing anything but listening.
LARRY ZBYSZKO & HAYSTACKS CALHOUN vs. MOOSE MONROE & SYLVANO SOUSA
-Today I learned: There’s no such place as “Morgans Corner, Arkansas,” it was just a made-up hillbilly-sounding town name.
-Larry and the Moose lock up. Larry ducks a punch and Monroe leisurely rolls himself over the top rope and gently onto the steps, and sells it. Sousa tags in and gets armdragged by Larry. It’s weird to think that there was ever a time that the onus was on Larry Zbyszko to provide the energy in a match.
-Sousa resorts to aggressive rule-breaking tactics, but Larry reverses an attempted slam and crucifixes him for three. Haystacks never tagged in.
WWWF HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE: BOB BACKLUND (Champion, with Arnold Skaaland) vs. STRONG KOBAYASHI (with Fred Blassie)
-Now HERE’s a rarity for a 70s B-show.
-They lock up and Strong gets the strong start with an armdrag. Backlund tries amateur wrestling, but Kobayashi reverses it, only for Backlund to sit down and drag him around the ring with it. Kobayashi unleashes a series of spurious accusations, claiming that Backlund has an oily substance on him and that he’s using a chokehold.
-Knuckle lock overpowers Backlund, but Backlund gets free and shoulderblocks Kobayashi down to the mat, applying a wristlock. Kobayashi comes back with chops and a backbreaker…for TWO. Backlund shows signs of hulking up and the crowd is going crazy for it in ways that will baffle me from this lifetime into the next, but Kobayashi stops him from getting anything done and applies a neckbreaker. Backlund is still alive and throws punches to the stomach, and the crowd is on its feet. Backlund throws a knee and works the arm. Kobayashi gets to his feet and superkicks Backlund, but it only gets two. This crowd is reacting to this match like the Virgin Mary just walked through the doors and started handing out waffles.
-Kobayashi throws one big chop, but Backlund ducks, goes behind him, and turns it into an atomic drop for the three-count, and the crowd blows the proverbial roof off the dump when the bell sounds. It was a good match, don’t get me wrong, but damn, I still just cannot wrap my head around Bob Backlund. Watching the way the fans react to him is like trying to decipher smudged Ikea instructions.
DINO BRAVO & DOMINIC DENUCCI (Tag Team Champions) vs. TANK PATTON & BUTCHER VACHON
-Dino leapfrogs Patton and it actually goes well this time, as he follows with an armdrag. Vachon comes in for some offense, but Patton tags back in and runs right into a dropkick for three, in what seems like an unexpected “go home” signal for everyone.
