WWWF All-Star Wrestling (7.15.1978) Review

-Originally aired July 15, 1978.

-Your host is Vince McMahon.

DINO BRAVO & JOHNNY RIVERA vs. THE UNPREDICTABLE JOHNNY RODZ & THE GENERALLY CONSISTENT JOSE ESTRADA
-The Yukon Lumberjacks are the Tag Team Champions now, and the ex-champions have disbanded, so Dino is trying his luck with a new partner. Rivera takes a beating in the corner. Hot tag to Dino Bravo, but it turns out Rodz is game and he lights up Dino with punches. Dino throws a dropkick for a one-count. Rivera tags in and the jobbers go right back to dominating him.

-They work the leg Anderson-style, restricting the mobility of Johnny Rivera. Rivera finally kicks Rodz away long enough to crawl over and hot tag Dino again. Dino takes on both jobbers, airplane spinning both of them and stacking them, and Dino pins both opponents, then gallantly carries his injured partner back to the locker room. Damn, they had plans for Dino at some point. Some good drama here, with Rodz and Estrada having the best week of their lives until Dino finally had enough.

IVAN KOLOFF (with Captain Lou Albano) vs. SPECIAL DELIVERY JONES
-Koloff throws SD to the floor, where Albano lays in a cheap shot. Fan throws trash in the ring, and Koloff just grabs it and rams it in Jones’ face. Backbreaker by Koloff finishes. Weird post-match antics, as Jones springs right up and puts up his dukes for a fight, and Koloff kicks his ass again.

-Vince is now at ringside with Captain Lou and the new Tag Team Champions, the Yukon Lumberjacks, for a live interview. Five minutes pass.

GEORGE “The Animal” STEELE vs. DAVE DARROW
-Steele is surprisingly without a manager here.

-Steele beats down Darrow and then munches on a turnbuckle, smearing the stuffing all over Darrow’s face. Steele takes him out to the floor and rams him into the timekeeper’s table, then chokes him out. Steele keeps breaking out his greatest hits, engaging in concealed weapon shenanigans before closing up with the flying hammerlock.

LUKE GRAHAM (with The Grand Wizard) vs. FRANK WILLIAMS
-Graham applies a really weird variation of the abdominal stretch, then goes to a chinlock. Williams suddenly comes to life, but Graham pulls something out of his tights and drives it into Williams’ neck for the three-count. Come on, guy, George Steele was JUST out there.

NON-TITLE: YUKON LUMBERJACKS (Tag Team Champions, with Captain Lou Albano) vs. CHIEF JAY STRONGBOW & TONY GAREA
-Eric carries Garea across the ring and parks him on the top rope, slapping him across the face while Albano entertains himself with his whistle. Pierre tags in but runs afoul of Strongbow right away. They criss-cross until Pierre runs into a sleeper. Eric gets free and Strongbow gets dumped to the floor, leaving Garea to fend for himself. Eric attacks Strongbow on the floor to keep him from getting back in and helping, and the Lumberjacks gang up on Garea until Strongbow has finally had enough and brings a stool out and uses it as a weapon, and the Lumberjacks and Albano ALL take a beating as fans eagerly swarm the ring to get a better look and this is instantly the most excitement we’ve ever had on this show since I started reviewing it. Gorilla Monsoon finally comes out and manages to break up the fight, and the crowd is still going absolutely nuts for this as the decision is announced and Strongbow & Garea take it by DQ. That was fantastic!!!

6.8

The final score: review Average

The 411

That last segment, tho...