WWWF All-Star Wrestling (9.23.1978) Review

-Originally aired September 23, 1978.

-Your host is Vince McMahon.

LARRY ZBYSZKO vs. STAN STASIAK
-We’re in day 21 of the Larry Zbyszko Mustache Crisis. Larry with a hammerlock. Stasiak tries for a toehold but Larry kicks him over the top and onto the floor. Stasiak is embarassed now and starts firing away with punches. We hear someone frantically blowing a whistle all through this, but Stasiak doesn’t have a manager, so either an annoying fan brought a whistle, or Captain Lou Albano is just wandering around near the curtain blowing his whistle for no reason. I can believe both.

-Larry goes for a top wristlock, but Stasiak yanks him by the hair. It turns into a fist fight and Larry has enough of that and sends Stasiak soaring across the ring with a hiptoss. Sunset flip looks to finish, but the bell sounds for the time limit. Pretty entertaining while it lasted, with good energy from both guys.

CRUSHER BLACKWELL (with The Grand Wizard) vs. FRANK WILLIAMS
-Blackwell’s orange, black, and white gear makes him look like a traffic barrier. He unleashes a fat guy variety pack on Williams as the damn whistle is blowing again. Blackwell works the arm and throws Williams to the floor, with Vince lamenting that there’s no need for that. I love the shitty carpet samples that they have scattered on the floor at this point.

-Big elbow by Blackwell could finish, but he pulls Williams up at two. Blackwell keeps murdering Williams for fun and profit, and a powerslam ends it. Williams stays there motionless, and Dominic DeNucci comes out to check on him and help carry him back to the locker room on a stretcher.

-Crusher complains that New York wrestling doesn’t have any competition for him, so damn it, Vince McMahon and the WWWF had better start providing competition. Noted, Crusher! Crusher declares himself the greatest, the strongest, the smartest, AND the prettiest wrestler in the business today, which is a great line for him.. Crusher warns us that, indeed, “there’s no way that you can pin my mat to the shoulders.” And on that note, here’s The Grand Wizard to mop up after that spill with a declaration of Crusher’s modesty because he’s even better than being the greatest, strongest, and smartest.

COCONUT WILLIE vs. LITTLE TOKYO
-Tokyo just knocks Willie around until he hurts his hand on Willie’s head. Forearm and a headbutt by Willie, but Tokyo comes back with rapid fire elbows for the three-count. Off the top of my head I actually can’t think of another time I’ve seen a heel go over in a little people match.

IVAN KOLOFF (with Captain Lou Albano) vs. STEVE KEGEL
-They don’t show a chyron with the jobber’s name, so I’m going to assume it’s spelled like this and he left the wrestling business to devote his life to inventing an exercise regimen to cure pants-pooping. Koloff whips Cagle around as suddenly all the whistling in the building has stopped and Albano doesn’t even have his whistle with him. This is instantly the most enjoyable match on this show in months as a result. Koloff finishes easily with a bear hug.

SPIROS ARION & BARON MIKEL SCICLUNA vs. SPECIAL DELIVERY JONES & JIM RAY
-Arion works the arm, pulling the tights for extra leverage on SD until Jim Ray runs in to try to help. Heels just beat down the jobbers. SD tags out, but Ray gets caught in the wrong corner immediately, and Arion finishes with a backbreaker.

5.0

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

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