Since nobody was here, I figured I could watch this without someone getting pissed off about me watching something without them. Because the footage is really old, and all.

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Starts off with a video package, of course, and now, to a match.

It's Pedro Morales vs. Ivan Koloff, for Koloff's WWWF Title, and the match took place at MSG on 2/8/1971.

Blow-by-blow: On a look at thehistoryofwwe.com, I see that the match has been clipped. However, I'll make an exception and rate it anyway, because I honestly couldn't tell. When I can't tell if something's clipped, I rate it, and it's probably clipped because the footage is so poor. Wow. If I didn't know better, I'd say that Koloff looked like King Kong Bundy. I'm so used to the, "my nephew Nikita" version that I had forgotten he looked like this before. Anyhow, both wrestlers act like they're going to box when the match starts, until Koloff begs off. Koloff threatens to leave, and Pedro grabs onto a headlock when Koloff comes back in. Pedro gives him a shoulderblock, and Koloff comes back with a backdrop. Pedro slams Ivan twice, and gives him two headlock takeovers. The crowd heat is off the charts. The ring also has 4 ropes, like a boxing ring. Pedro gets kicked, and Ivan grabs onto a chinlock. Koloff breaks it, and begins to choke Pedro with the strap on his attire. The crowd got PISSED off when he did that. Now Koloff wants to shake hands, but instead, we begin a TEST OF STRENGTH. Pedro monkeyflips out of it, but Koloff grabs onto a bearhug. Pedro gets out and slams Ivan, then does it again. Koloff gets 2 as Pedro can't slam him after an Ivan shoulderblock, and then, Koloff misses a splash. He gets a slam, though, but misses his finisher, a kneedrop off the top rope. Pedro goes up, and gets a crossbody for 2. Koloff rams Pedro into the buckle three times, then goes for a suplex, and on the cover, PEDRO MORALES lifts a shoulder at 2, gaining the win and WWWF Title, as Koloff's shoulders stay pinned to the mat. Crowd goes nuts, yadayadayada.

Match Analysis: FWIW, at that point, the title wasn't going to stay on a heel for longer than a few weeks. Heels had to be brought in for the champion to face, business wasn't going to stay the same if a heel champion faced off against babyfaces that came in every few months. Or so that was the conventional wisdom. You decide whether it was right or not. Match was *, and I was glad to see it end. Hate that finish (both men's shoulders on mat, one lifts at 2) with a passion, though. I can understand its use, but when it comes out of nowhere like this? Hell no.

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Bruno Sammartino vs. Killer Kowalski is joined in progress, and it's the same one from the shorties section two months back, which I never got around to watching. Let's put it this way, it's probably a good thing that the match is joined in progress. I fastforwarded, but Bruno bleeds, and the match gets stopped. Now THAT is a copout finish, UNLESS...it sets up a gimmick match at the next show. Which it did, a Texas Death Match. So no worries.

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From Baltimore, Maryland on 4/30/77, it's Superstar Billy Graham vs. Bruno Sammartino, for Bruno's WWWF Title. It's in full.

Blow-by-blow: Superstar pushes Bruno into the buckle on a lockup, and then does the same. Bruno returns the favor, and gives Graham an armdrag. Bruno applies a wristlock, then takes Superstar down to the canvas. Superstar puts his leg on the bottom rope to break the hold, then goes outside the ring to take a breather. Once he comes back in, we have a TEST OF STRENGTH that goes about 3, maybe 4 minutes. Superstar wins, Bruno comes back, Superstar puts Bruno's shoulders down for 2, and Bruno puts Superstar down to end the hold. That covers it. Superstar grabs onto Bruno's wrist, and Bruno reverses the hold, putting Superstar on the canvas. Superstar gets up, and begins to kick and punch Bruno. He chokes Bruno, and whips him hard into the turnbuckle. Bruno knocks Superstar out of the ring, and when Superstar comes back in, he's bleeding. Bruno punches Superstar a few times, but Superstar is able to grab onto a bearhug, after shoving Bruno into the buckle. Bruno also puts Superstar into the buckle after breaking the bearhug, but Superstar applies the bearhug again. Bruno hits Superstar a few times in the corner, and suddenly (somehow applies too), Superstar rolls up Bruno and sticks his feet on the ropes, giving him the leverage to get the 3 count and end Bruno's long title reign, at 13:45.

Match Analysis: It's really quite simple to explain why the title change happened in Baltimore. There was no way Graham would have made it home safely, had the match been at the Garden. No way, no how. The match sucked, IMO. It was centered around three things.

1. Test of Strength

 

2. Bearhug

 

3. Graham falling to the floor and bleeding.

That doesn't quite cut it for me. 1/2*. Maybe that's being nice. I really, really like old wrestling, but so far, I haven't liked what I've seen. Thankfully, that changes.

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Superstar Billy Graham vs. Bob Backlund is JIP, and cut to about a minute. Backlund wins the title with an atomic drop, while Superstar's foot is on the rope. Is that justice? I'd say so.

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And again, another JIP match, Greg Valentine vs. Bob Backlund in a steel cage. I'd like to see this one in full. Anyhow, it's cut to 4 minutes, and ends when Backlund escapes through the door after giving Valentine a piledriver.

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Finally, a match that looks good on paper. Sgt. Slaughter w/The Grand Wizard vs. Bob Backlund, for Backlund's WWF Title, from MSG on 5/23/83. Slaughter whipped Backlund like a government mule with a riding crop, so Backlund has all kinds of welts on his back.

Blow-by-blow: Brawl to start, of course, as these two are supposed to hate each other. Backlund rams Slaughter into the ringpost a whole bunch, and the crowd goes nuts. Gorilla says that Slaughter is on "Queer Street," and this time, I'm not laughing because of the lack of politically correctness. During HBO broadcasts, whenever a boxer gets knocked down, Lennox Lewis says that the guy was put on Queer Street. So there. Slaughter bails, and upon getting back in the ring, is beat up more. Backlund elbows Slaughter in the face twice, and Slaughter bails again. When getting back in the ring, Backlund gives Slaughter a snapmare, then stomps on his face a few times. You know, where the guy spins on his opponent's nose. Really don't like that. Backlund gives Slaughter two flying forearms, but on the third attempt, gets clotheslined. Slaughter drops Backlund on the top rope, and gives him a kneedrop for two. Slaughter rakes Backlund's back, and then his eyes, on the rop rope. Slaughter gets a backbreaker for 2, and then a back elbow for 2. Slaughter gives Backlund a chestbreaker, but the referee is unable to make the count, due to the position of Backlund's feet. Slaughter gives him a double stomp(!), and a knee to Backlund's gut. Backlund tries to clothesline Slaughter, but can't, so instead, we get a double collision. Both men are down and out, until Backlund rises up and gives Slaughter a swinging neckbreaker. Backlund misses a charge to the corner, and gets suplexed for a 2 count. Backlund reverses another suplex attempt by Slaughter, into a suplex of his own, which gets a 2 count. Backlund gives Slaughter an ugly looking piledriver, made that way because Slaughter was overly protective of his neck. But really now, you can't be overprotective of your neck, can you? It's one of those things you have to do. It gets a 2 count, and Backlund tries another swinging neckbreaker, but can't get it as Slaughter grabs the top rope, leading Backlund to hit his head on the canvas. Slaughter shoots Backlund into the ropes, and gives him a dropkick, which gets two. This match is very fun, if slow. Slaughter drops Backlund on the top rope and gets an elbowdrop for 2. However, he misses a charge to the buckle, ramming his own shoulder into the ringpost. Backlund begins to hit Slaughter's arm, then applies the Crossface-Chickenwing. It's locked in, but near the ropes, the Grand Wizard hands Slaughter that riding crop, and Slaughter hits Backlund with it, getting disqualified at 15:55. Backlund gets the riding crop away from Slaughter, and hits Slaughter a few times, before Slaughter runs away.

Match Analysis: Good, solid wrestling. The match featured a lot of good spots, most of which were the "highspots" of that era. Anyway, it's solid, and one of the better early (read: pre-1985) WWF matches I've seen. Yes, I know the WWF was around for long before that, and it really wasn't early. ***1/4.

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Yes! Haven't seen this one in a few years, so I'm glad to review it. It's "The Incredible" Hulk Hogan vs. The Iron Sheik w/Classy Freddie Blassie, for Sheik's WWF Title. Yeah, they called Hogan "the Incredible," and I don't know why. It's from 1/23/1984 at MSG, if you didn't already know. When MSG was doing extremely well, as far as getting asses in the seats.

Blow-by-blow: If you haven't seen any part of this match, you aren't a real wrestling fan. Hogan attacks Sheik, and gives him a back elbow in the corner. He takes Sheik's entrance attire, and clotheslines Sheik with it. Hogan gives Sheik a clothesline and kneedrop, then a choketoss. He spits on Sheik, and the crowd loves it. Hogan gets a big boot for 2, and then a running elbow and elbowdrop for 2. Hogan misses a charge to the corner, and Sheik takes over. The crowd is wild, of course. Not like during the Morales match, though. Sheik chops Hogan, and gives him a backbreaker for 2. Sheik "loads" his boot, and kicks Hogan in the gut. He applies a Boston Crab, but Hogan powers out of it in a hurry. Sheik gets a gutwrench suplex for 2, and applies the CAMEL CLUTCH, BREAK YOUR FUCKING BACK BRIAN BLAIR, IRAN #1, USA, AH PUH. Sorry, I had to get that out of my system. Hogan of course, powers out, and rams Sheik into the buckle. And then he DROPS THE FUCKING LEG, and HULKAMANIA'S RUNNIN' WILD BROTHER, as he wins his first WWF Title, at 5:40. Hurrah.

Match Analysis: Simple, and short. How it should have been, BUT...I didn't like that the match went so quickly to the legdrop after powering out of the Camel Clutch. Would have liked to see a slam or big boot, prior to the finish. For that, *3/4. And I know how picky my criticism is, in this case.

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No rating for this, cause I'm not doing the whole thing. I really enjoyed watching it, even though the matches weren't so great. Nostalgia trips are usually fun. What I review tomorrow depends on what happens today. How I feel, more or less. In all likelihood, it'll be Armageddon 2003. If not, it'll probably be the Jesse Ventura stuff.

The best thing on part 2, IMO, was the title change from the Main Event.

Andre the Giant: "I win the tag team championship, and now I present tag team championship to Ted DiBiase."

Great stuff.