WWE All Star Search #9 - 20th May 1985

WWE All Star Search #9 - 20th May 1985

Hello Turnbucklers! It's edition #9 of our All Star Search and the scores are starting to show who's been impressing...and who hasn't. I'll probably post an article looking at the Wrestler Scores before I get to Wrestlemania 2 and we'll delve into them. Until then, we move forwards in 1985 onto this MSG show in May! Last edition we had what was probably the best show I've watched in the series so far. The card for this one looks like sh*t on paper to me unfortunately with a lot of 1984 jobbers getting some time in the ring. We do get a WWE Title match with Don Muraco who is making his blog reappearance. The main event is exactly the match that should've been on the Wrestlemania 1 card but wasn't, in favour of a DUD. Finally we also get another match between the US Express and the tag champs but let's hope that this is the last one.

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The Card:

Rocky Johnson vs Rene Goulet

Jim Neidhart vs Ivan Putski

Pedro Morales vs Terry Gibbs

Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ) vs Don Muraco [WWE Title Match]

Bret Hart vs Rick McGraw

Ken Patera vs Tony Atlas

The US Express vs Iron Sheik/Nikolai Volkoff (Tag Team Champs) [Tag Team Title Match]

The Missing Link vs SD Jones

Jesse Ventura vs Tony Garea

David Sammartino/Bruno Sammartino vs Brutus Beefcake/Johnny Valiant

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The Show:

Our commentary team for tonight is Gorilla Monsoon and Mean Gene Okerlund.

Rocky Johnson vs Rene Goulet

Another opening contest featuring Rene Goulet? He must really be thought of highly backstage as he's still going strong being given 10+ minute matches. This is Rocky Johnson's final MSG appearance and his last appearance on this blog for now. Once again this is a 10 minute opener and the term 'nothing special' comes to mind. The main focus seems to be Goulet's missing glove? O...K. Johnson actually looks quite good in this one, showing off both strength and speed which I wasn't expecting so much. It's still weird to hear him being referred to as 'The Rock'. Goulet does get some offense in but its mixed in between his heely stalling tactics. I actually like Goulet, he's easy to hate which makes him a good heel. Johnson gets the 3 count in the end with a roll up and we move on. Match Rating: *

Jim Neidhart vs Ivan Putski

Straight into the next match now and on paper this one is self-explanatory as to what to expect. Neidhart is still fairly new to the WWE scene and Putski is coming to the end of his career. Both are pushed as powerhouses. That is exactly what we get in this one and the early goings are spent by both trying to out power the other. Of course it breaks down into restholds and the pace slows down by a hefty amount. The crowd are alive towards the end and really get behind Putski in his final flurry of offence but its no use and Neidhart counters a suplex attempt into a roll up for 3. Impressive way to end considering the size of both men and how smooth the sequence actually was. Neidhart still looks strong going forward but the match was too slow for the majority. Match Rating: 3/4*

Pedro Morales vs Terry Gibbs

This is another match that doesn't exactly make me jump out my seat. This is Morales' first appearance on our blog. His biggest career peaks came before this show but I'm interested to see how he comes off on his return and whether he's another former great who's still stuck in a former decade style-wise. Terry Gibbs is a perennial jobber here. The commentary team say Morales looks great....but he doesn't. This match itself was sinfully boring. So many restholds at such a slow pace, it was just hard for me to care. Unfortunately the timekeeper plays a harsh trick on me and rings the bell halfway through the match...but it wasn't over! Damn him! Eventually Morales gets the win with a Boston Crab to decent crowd noise, so I assume the crowd only watched the last 10 seconds of the match. Match Rating: 1/4*

Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ) vs Don Muraco [WWE Title Match]

The crowd has really lit up for this one and Don Muraco comes out to major heat with Mr Fuji! Eye of the Tiger plays and the crowd goes mental as usual! The ringbell is doing my head in at this point as it won't stop pissing ringing. Action kicks off straight away as Muraco blindsides Hogan before he de-belts. He lays in the boots before choking Hogan with his T-shirt. Muraco's offense doesn't last long as Hogan hulks up quickly and sends Muraco to the outside. He nails an atomic drop on the floor before they both make their way back in the ring. Hogan starts choking Muraco with his T-shirt now and even finds time to gob in his face...lovely. The crowd don't care though as they are unglued. They head back outside where they trade chairshots right in front of the ref but no DQ. It makes even less sense when Hogan rolls in and out of the ring to break the countout. Muraco actually gets busted open via these chairshots. Back in the ring and Hogan hits a back suplex and soon after, a standing suplex. Its not long before he hits the leg drop for the 3 count. However Mr Fuji had put Muraco's foot on the ropes so the 3 count doesn't count. This gives Muraco the chance to blast Hogan in the eyes with a load of salt for the DQ. Stupid, pointless finish to a glorified squash match. The crowd noise made this match much better but Muraco got no offense in after the initial phase and its safe to say his career ain't going higher than this. This match is very similar to Hogan vs Orndorff from the month before. Match Rating: *1/2

Lord Al Hayes replaces Mean Gene on commentary and immediately acts like a lecherous old git.

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Bret Hart vs Rick McGraw

Is this our first blog Bret singles match? It could possibly be! Last month he looked extra good in the tag match with the Bulldog's. This time out he's against Rick McGraw who is the definition of...OK. At this point he's still sporting an extra 'T' in his name. He seems less enthusiastic this time around and it shows in his in ring work. The match is slower than I expected with very little to talk about. Bret did show glimpses of good entertainment but that's all they were, glimpses. McGraw was...OK...considering the last time we saw him he was being jobbed out to Ken Patera quite quickly. Strange commentary as Lord Al rants on about Stu Hart but starts getting a bit creepy. Bret eventually got the win via a second rope elbow drop. I'm quite disappointed with this one and Bret honestly came off as well as any other lower card heel in this one. Match Rating: *

Ken Patera vs Tony Atlas

This card is not getting better is it. Out comes out favourite 1970's throwback in Ken Patera and the immensely roided Tony Atlas. Bobby Heenan is out with Patera so maybe he can add something. Before the match even gets under way, both men engage in a posedown with Patera looking old and Atlas looking camper than a picnic basket. Pretty basic start as both men try to out power the other. Patera gains early control using restholds early on. They end up outside where Patera rams Atlas into the apron before getting back in the ring to pose. Patera locks on a bearhug which Atlas wiggles out of into one of his own. That also looked really gay on Atlas' part. Nice cross body followed by a suplex by Atlas into a sleeper that is quickly broken up. Patera tries to stall but Atlas isn't having any of it and nails an atomic drop. They go back and forth until Patera is sent out to the floor. Patera and Heenan suffer a dreaded double noggin knocker before Atlas gets distracted trying to beat up Heenan/ Patera uses that to nail Atlas off the top rope for the 3 count. Better than I was expecting and better than most the crap on the card. Both men still seem very outdated though. Match Rating: *3/4

Into the back with Mean Gene and Bobby Heenan who is representing the Missing Link. Heenan tells us that everyone better have paid their insurance premiums because the Missing Link is going to be piling up the bodies. The Missing Link says nothing and wanders around the background. Its a middle-aged bloke with Einstein hair and a green face. He looks like someone sneezed on him. Thank God that Heenan gave him at least some legitimacy.

Still in the back and Jesse Ventura is now with Mean Gene. Mean Gene is just as shocked as me that Ventura looks somewhat human. Ventura says he's the best on commentary and the best in the ring so watch out Garea!

STILL in the back and this time Mean Gene is with Johnny Valiant and Brutus Beefcake. They talk about San Fransisco and then the Sammartino's. Beefcake doesn't freeze which is an improvement and actually shows off some good confidence. They're ready!

STILL...in the back with Mean Gene and this time he's with the Sammartino's. Bruno's promo's always seem the most real, no yelling and always confident in what he's saying. David on the other hand is a stuttery mofo. Bottom line...they're ready!

The US Express vs Iron Sheik/Nikolai Volkoff (Tag Team Champs) [Tag Team Title Match]

The heels are out first to big heat as per! 1980's xenephobia really was an amazing heat catalyst, I mean, it's hard to take the champs as seriously as I'd like too but the crowd disagree. Of course Volkoff sings before the match to big heat and I love hit! 'Born in the USA' hits and out come the US Express with Captain Lou Albano. The crowd don't seem as into them as they were 2 months ago which is strange. Big USA chant breaks out right on cue. Quick action to start with the faces taking control over Sheik to major crowd noise. Nice double leg drop by the faces and an atomic drop by Rotundo. Sheik misses a Senton splash attempt which was a nice suprise. Sheik eventually tags out to Volkoff just as Windham comes in and the pace slows down slightly. Windham does gets some shots in but misses a dropkick and the tide doth turn. The heels take turns working over Windham. Sheik hits a lovely gutwrench suplex and maintains control until Rotundo gets the hot tag. It doesn't last long as Volkoff pearl harbours him. Windham takes the time to bust Sheik open on the ringpost in the melee. It all breaks down outside the ring and the champs get counted out but keep their belts. Was a decent little match for what it was but I'm hoping thats the last we see between the two. Match Rating: **

The Missing Link vs SD Jones

Before the match starts, Bobby Heenan lists off a load of face wrestlers and tells them to pay attention. He tells them to pay attention to his newest Heenan family member...The Missing Link. For all that build up, this guy better be good! I should mention that in the time between this show and the last, Orndorff cemented his face turn and fired Heenan. Heenan is now offering $25,000 to anyone to take Orndorff out. None the less, Heenan feels the Missing Link is the dude who will get that dollar. Match is a total squash but christ, The Missing Link looks awful. He's slow, weak and very disjointed. He gets the quick 3 with a falling headbutt/punch (?) from the top rope. I would mention SD Jones...but there is literally nothing to mention other than he just got battered. The officials run away from the Missing Link after the match while Heenan tries and fails to control him. Match Rating: DUD

Jesse Ventura vs Tony Garea

Straight into the next match now as we get the in-ring blog return of Jesse Ventura after his blood clot incident last year. His opponent is Tony Garea who is once again solid, but not spectacular. It takes an age for Jesse to take off all his shit and actually start the match. Of course, even then there's a fair amount of stalling. In fact, the first half of this match is a hefty mix of stalling by Jesse and rest holds by Garea. When Garea is on offense, he works over Jesse's arm throwing in some decent psychology but unfortunately its all for nothing as Jesse forgets to sell. The crowd really hate Jesse here so that adds a lot to this one. Garea gets in a sunset flip and tries to abdominal stretch but unfortunately it all goes sloppily wrong. Finish comes when Garea tries to ram Jesse into the turnbuckle but its countered so Garea levels his own head, staggers down to the mat allowing Jesse to hit a weak looking elbow drop for the win. I really, really wish I liked Jesse Ventura's in ring work more than I do but alas, I don't and this match was crap until the final third. Match Rating: 1/2*

David Sammartino/Bruno Sammartino vs Brutus Beefcake/Johnny Valiant

Time for our main event now and it's not quite a Wrestlemania rematch although this is the match that should've been on the card. Out first is Beefcake and Valiant to big boo's. Valiant is another 70's flashback by the look of him. Beefcake looks like a golden ticket allowing you into Wonka's factory. The Sammartino's come out with a Hogan style entrance (without music) and they get a huge pop, granted though, it was mainly for Bruno. Bruno starts and cleans house early while the crowd go mental. It's apparent though he's aged a little too much to be a regular in ring performer. He seems sluggish and clunky although the crowd distracts you from it. Bruno continues to keep control working over both heels. He works over Beefcakes arm and tags in David who keeps working on the arm. Eventually the heels take control and work over David with lots of chokes and strikes. The finish comes out of nowhere as Valiant misses a charge in the corner and David rolls him up for the win. The heels do some damage to Bruno after the match but in my opinion, they should've left this for a Sammartino feelgood moment. Match itself was better than the Wrestlemania match and I maintain this should've been on that card instead. Still a poor, dull match though. Neither David or Beefcake looked great in this which is wrong considering they're the future. Match Rating: *

So there we have it, edition #9 is done and wow, what a hard show to sit and watch. The things I do for my Turnbucklers. Nevertheless, onto the next show! First...let's see the updated Wrestler Scores.


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Wrestler Scores:

• Rocky Johnson +4 (10)
• Rene Goulet +2 (9)
• Jim Niedhart +4 (14)
• Ivan Putski +2 (6)
• Pedro Morales +2 (2)
• Terry Gibbs +1 (4)
• Hulk Hogan +5 (41)
• Don Muraco +3 (9)
• Bret Hart +4 (11)
• Rick McGraw +3 (8)
• Ken Patera +4 (14)
• Tony Atlas +3 (7)
• Mike Rotundo +6 (16)
• Barry Windham +5 (15)
• Iron Sheik +4 (23)
• Nikolai Volkoff +4 (15)
• The Missing Link +2 (2)
• SD Jones +1 (7)
• Jesse Ventura +3 (10)
• Tony Garea +3 (7)
• David Sammartino +3 (9)
• Bruno Sammartino +3 (3)
• Johnny Valiant +3 (3)
• Brutus Beefcake +4 (13)

So there we have our updated list after this show. After edition #10, I'll be going through the scores so far and the patterns and reasons behind them. Hopefully you'll see us in edition #10! Please leave a comment, follow us on Twitter @TheWrestlinDork, click on any affiliates that take your fancy and please check out Across The Pond where you can find these articles plus so much more!

WWE All Star Search #6: 17th March 1985 (ft. The War to Settle the Score)

WWE All Star Search #6: 17th March 1985 (ft. The War to Settle the Score)

Welcome Turnbucklers! Its edition #6 and we are back in MSG for another house show on our road to the very first Wrestlemania. Not going to lie, finding shows between October 1984 and March 1985 was hard, very hard. So to make up for it, I'm adding two HUGE events into this edition. First I'm going to look at an IC Title match, followed by a key match in the Rock 'n' Wrestling era which is the WWE Title match from the War to Settle the Score. Then it's onto the last big show before Wrestlemania 1 and we have a massive list of new faces in this one so let's see how they make their first impressions on the All Star Search. Finally, the main event is a Lumberjack Match so let's hope that turns out to be fun. Would like to add a big thank you and hello to any new readers out there, last edition broke my viewing records by x5 which is overwhelming and very humbling! Shall we begin...?

The Card:

Tito Santana (IC Champ) vs Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine [IC Title Match]

Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ) vs Rowdy Roddy Piper [WWE Title Match]

Rocky Johnson vs Charlie Fulton

Barry O vs Rene Goulet

Jim Neidhart vs SD Jones

King Kong Bundy vs Jose Luis Rivera

David Sammartino vs Matt Borne

Andre The Giant/Jimmy Snuka/Junkyard Dog vs Ken Patera/Jesse Ventura/Big John Studd

Ricky Steamboat vs Terry Gibbs

Greg Valentine (IC Champ) vs Tito Santana [IC Title Match - Lumberjack Match]

The Show:

Let's begin with an IC Title match from September 1984 between the champ, Tito Santana and Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine. They've had a run of good matches each in this series so far with Hammer made to look strong in his contendership. They had a decent match a few months earlier but it was overshadowed by the whole Jimmy Snuka stretcher job going on at the time.

Tito Santana (IC Champ) vs Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine [IC Title Match]

Its September 1984 here and Tito is your defending IC champion. They've had previous interactions and this feud has been simmering nicely. Albano is with Hammer in this one and both are getting solid heat. Tito is nursing a poor leg in this one and Valentine uses it to his advantage in his normal methodical way. Crowd is solidly behind Santana in this one with many a chant. Valentine works over the injured leg but Santana escapes and manages to hit his Flying Burrito for a close two count. He continues on the offense and gets another close two. He thinks he's won though and while his back is turned, Hammer nails him with a knee to the back...and that gets the 3 and we have a new IC Champion! Crowd chant bullshit and everyone seemed slightly confused about the finish. Santana did a great sympathy job and Valentine looked crisp as always. Match Rating: **1/4

Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ) vs Rowdy Roddy Piper [WWE Title Match]

Talk about a money match! This was hyped up beyond another level at this point in time. Hogan being Hogan was riding high as champion but oh boy, Piper was generating unparalleled heat! This was shown live on MTV much like the Brawl to End it All and again, drew HUGE numbers. Piper comes out to major heat accompanyed by his bagpipe players and Cowboy Bob Orton (with a cast on his arm). Piper to generate some extra heat...destroys a nice looking guitar! In the words of a friend...SOME GUY! is our special ring announcer...but being from anywhere that isn't America...no clue who he is. Eye of the Tiger hits to a monstrous pop...as per! You can't even dream of comparing Cena to Hogan watching this. Cyndi Lauper, her fella and Captain Lou Albano are accompanying Hogan. By the way, Albano is a face now after realising the errors of his ways. Crowd is hot as they start off like a house of fire trading shots. We hear Mr T is in the crowd as Hogan takes control in the early going with slams. The crowd is unglued. Piper does take control eventually with boots and gets solid heat. Sleeper by Piper and Hulk...Hulks up...but doesn't get too far with it. Piper with more offense than I was expecting at this point. Orton tries to get involved and fails so Hogan regains control. Mr Wonderful Paul Orndorff comes out to support Piper from the outside and the ref gets bumped. Orndorff gets involved and he and Piper double team Hogan. Lauper gets on the apron to do some mouthing off and the heels get sucked in but hold on...crowd pops HUGE...and Mr T of all people gets involved to even the odds. Mr T however ends up getting double teamed until Hogan is up and bails him out. The match itself is thrown out as a no contest. Well, well, well, that was certainly a fun little match. If Piper got the belt here in time for Wrestlemania...the reaction would have been catatonic. The heat for everyone involved was smoldering. Of course, this puts us firmly on the road to Wrestlemania 1! Exciting! Match Rating: **1/2

Onto the MSG House Show now and our commentary team are Gorilla Monsoon and Mean Gene Okerlund once again. At this point its worth me mentioning that their commentary dynamic is a little off. Both play very similar roles and are obviously both face. More balance is definitely needed soon.

Rocky Johnson vs Charlie Fulton

What a way to start us off! Boring, slow paced match with literally nothing to mention. Punches and stalling head scissors is the peak of this one in fact. The crowd were somewhat dead during this one. At one point, Rocky is referred to as 'Rock' which is a fun little precursor. Johnson gets the win with a sunset flip. Match Rating: DUD

Barry O vs Rene Goulet

Into the next match now and we have a first debut of this edition. Barry O is Cowboy Bob's brother and Randy Orton's uncle. Rene Goulet is my 1984 foreign heel of the year...a trophy is on his way to him. 'Who knows what that O could mean' - Gorilla Monsoon. The match itself is as dull as dull can be. The commentary team spend the majority of the match discussing Wrestlemania and its tag team main event. Nice powerslam by Barry for 2. It picks up slightly towards the end of the match and a small package gets the win for Barry O. Dull, simple as. Barry O looked as vanilla as a discount Vienetta. Match Rating: 1/4*

Jim Neidhart vs SD Jones

Its blog debut number 2 and it's Jim 'soon to be Anvil' Neidhart! His appearance instantly makes him stand out from most of the roster in a positive way. His opponent is SD Jones who is slowly becoming more and more of a jobber as months drift by. Neidhart is with Jimmy Hart who I think is also making his blog debut. Fun early goings with both men trading offense. Neidhart shows off the personality we'll become accustomed too over time with his overexaggerations. He does show off his size and power though which is a good thing. They do the scoop slam/reversed into an armbar spot which I've seen numerous times since starting these reviews but I haven't seen it before. SD Jones uses the hard-head gimmick but its all in vain as Neidhart eventually gets the easy win with a crisp Powerslam. Good debut from Neidhart, I found it hard not to be entertained by him. Match Rating: 3/4*

King Kong Bundy vs Jose Luis Rivera

Blog debut number 3 - King Kong Bundy! We're going to be seeing a lot of him over the next year. Jimmy Hart is back out with Bundy. Rivera, much like SD Jones is slipping further into jobber territory. In comparison to everyone but Andre and Big John Studd, Bundy is just ridiculously big. He puts his size to good use, easily overpowering Rivera on a number of occasions. The crowd are quiet but seemingly because their in awe of Bundy. Rivera gets 2 dropkicks in but Bundy is barely phased. Bundy gets the win not long after with a massive elbow drop. Utter squash match but Bundy looked impressive as a beast, if not just for his look. Match Rating: 1/2*

Into the back with Hulk Hogan and Mr T. Hogan says Mr T is the best partner he could've found for Wrestlemania. Mr T says he specialises in work, torture and pain...his words, not mine. Bottom line 'they dead meat!' says T and Hogan says he apologizes for whats the come.

Well, well, well, we're getting a live Piper's Pit! Out comes Piper with 'Cowboy' Bob Orton alongside him to major heat. The microphone is annoying dodgy. Piper says that he's out there talking because no one wanted to fight him. He rips on New York as a heel would...but slightly funnier. He trolls the crowd something fierce by hyping up his next guest making it sound like Mr T...but it's Mr Wonderful Paul Orndorff. Big boo's for that one. Orndorff tries talking but just makes sound...I think I heard him say 'outhouse'. Piper tells Mr T to stop snorting Cocaine and come join him in the ring. Which he promptly does to big cheers and he's brought Hogan and Jimmy Snuka with him. Snuka hasn't been mentioned since he was stretchered out months ago which is nice. Piper tells T to sit down and of course, rips into him while still trying to play it friendly and cool. It doesn't last long and tensions soon rise but the crowd eat it up. Piper runs down T's life acheivements and tells him he's giving T the chance to back out the fight to save face and there will be no shame! T fires back and says he ain't quitting. Piper brings out a painting of Mr T with his arm in a sling but T ain't scared! Things start getting physical but no brawl. Heels bail out the ring leaving the faces to soak up mild cheers. Mr T says Piper gonna pay! He promises! Good promo and I am actually hyped for Mania 1! Piper was gold here and Mr T was great in his role too.

David Sammartino vs Matt Borne

Blog debuts number 4 and 5! David Sammartino is the vanilla looking son of Bruno and Matt Borne is the son of 'Tough' Tony Borne...but you'll know him better as Doink the Clown. Borne looks like Charlie Fulton and here's me thinking I'd never get Charlie Fulton in a reference. Slaps and shoves to start before we get into some back and forth. Sammartino shows of some decent greco roman skills and Borne nails a lovely belly to belly suplex. Borne showing good aggression that we'll see later down the road. Of course it breaks down into restholds and strikes before Borne eats a big back body drop. More restholds before Sammartino gets a suplex and takes control. Sammartino goes up top but Borne slams him down for a slow 2 count. He goes for a powerslam but Sammartino rolls through for the 3 count! Sammartino looked...vanilla and Borne looked decent but too many restholds. Match Rating: 1/2*

Andre The Giant/Jimmy Snuka/Junkyard Dog vs Ken Patera/Jesse Ventura/Big John Studd

We have blog debut number 6 in this one and you better grab dem cakes as it's the Junkyard Dog! Lots of big names in this one. Andre and Studd are developing a feud that will lead towards Wrestlemania. Jimmy Snuka makes his first blog appearance since turning one of my previous editions into an episode of Casualty. Jesse Ventura is back from his bloodclot late last year and Patera is enjoying a decent push since his return. Bobby Heenan is with the heels in this one and Cpt Lou Albano is with the faces. Andre wastes no time getting to Studd but Studd bails to the floor. Faces control the early stages with JYD hitting his unique strikes and headbutts and Andre nailing a double noggin knocker on the heels. Everyone brawls with both sides getting a brief advantage. Eventually Snuka comes in and finds himself as face in peril as each of the heels take turns working him over. Eventually Snuka gets the tag to Andre who comes in and nails Studd with strikes. Ventura gets tagged in but realises he's out of his depth. A big boot and a superfly splash get the win for Snuka and his team! I really enjoyed that one, good flow, good balance and everyone played their role well. JYD is already proving popular in the WWE and his brief in ring appearances in this were harmless. Andre and Studd continued their feud towards Wrestlemania and showed good heat between the two. Snuka played a good face in peril, which makes sense as he has the least reason to be protected. Jesse found himself with little to do but that's a good thing considering his recent health issues. Match Rating: **3/4

Ricky Steamboat vs Terry Gibbs

Another debut here as we have Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat making his first blog appearance. He's another performer who was on the 1983 Starrcade card and I think, also the 1984 card too. Terry Gibbs...is also here. Lots of back and forth with Gibbs getting a decent amount of offense in. Steamboat looked as crisp as ever hitting his usual arsenal of moves. He makes Gibbs look great when Gibbs is on the offense. Steamboat shows off his array of chops and strikes. With a couple of poses thrown in for good measure. Steamboat gets the win with a flying cross body! Nothing special, just a way to get Steamboat some ring time. Match Rating: *

Greg Valentine (IC Champ) vs Tito Santana [IC Title Match - Lumberjack Match]

It's the main event! As mentioned earlier, Valentine is now the IC Champ and is now with Jimmy Hart at his side and Tito wants his belt back! This is Lumberjack rules so we have an array of superstars around the ring. Big pop for Tito which is always a good sign. Hammer pearl harbours him to start put to no avail as Hammer quickly ends up outside. The heels seem to protect him but ultimate babyface Ricky Steamboat, calm as you like, walks over and throws him back in. Santana keeps control for a few minutes while Hammer sells like gold but the tide shifts with an atomic drop for Hammer. Santana regains control, Hammer tries to escape but the faces throw him back into the ring. Hammer selling so much like Flair its silly....that includes flops and all. Someone randomly rings the ringbell but its ignored so I have no idea what that was about. Hammer in control now and works over the legs of Tito...good psycology working his way to the figure four and what's even better, Tito sells it! Tito thrown outside and then thrown back in like he's just a corpse. He's thrown back outside to the faces who...protect him...no! That's not your job lads. Hammer goes for the figure four but its countered into a cradle for 2. Tito fights back and Hammer Flair flops again. Suplex by Santana and he goes for his own Figure Four. Hart distracts the ref while the heels help out Hammer. Tito distracts himself with the outside heels but gets pearl harboured by Hammer. They hit a shoulderblock on each other, Hammer falls on top of Santana and that gets the 3! Hammer is completely KO'd too though. Really enjoyed that one and the Lumberjack was a nice tweak to the usual formula between these two. Santana is by far the best at gaining sympathy from the crowd and Valentine is WWE's very own Flair (just not as good). Match Rating: ***

Wrestler Scores:

(I'm taking into consideration the two extra matches reviewed and the live Piper's Pit. Mr T gets a rating therefore as he played a crucial role in a main segment in the show.)

• Tito Santana +12 (29)
• Greg Valentine +13 (26)
• Hulk Hogan +7 (25)
• Roddy Piper +14 (21)
• Rocky Johnson +2 (6)
• Charlie Fulton +1 (4)
• Barry O +2 (2)
• Rene Goulet +2 (7)
• Jim Neidhart +4 (4)
• SD Jones +2 (4)
• King Kong Bundy +4 (4)
• Jose Luis Rivera +1 (4)
• Mr T +4 (4)
• David Sammartino +3 (3)
• Matt Borne +3 (3)
• Jesse Ventura +5 (7)
• Ken Patera +5 (10)
• Big John Studd +5 (8)
• Andre The Giant +5 (10)
• Jimmy Snuka +4 (14)
• Junkyard Dog +4 (4)
• Ricky Steamboat +3 (3)
• Terry Gibbs +3 (3) 

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @TheWreslinDork and I shall see you next time...for Wrestlemania 1!!

WWE All Star Search #5: September 22nd 1984

WWE All Star Search #5: September 22nd 1984

Welcome Turnbucklers! Its edition #5 and we are back in Madison Square Garden for the September supercard. So who's new to the blog this time round? Well we got...Brutus Beefcake (this show is his MSG debut), Nikolai Volkoff, Big John Studd and...AND...one of my personal favourites, Bobby Heenan, who makes his suprise debut on this show. Its worth mentioning Hogan is on this show and Santana isn't so let's do this shall we!

The Card:

Brutus Beefcake vs Salvatore Bellomo

Nikolai Volkoff vs Chief Jay Strongbow

David Schultz vs SD Jones

Greg Valentine vs Jose Luis Rivera

Big John Studd vs Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ) [WWE Title Match]

Ken Patera vs Rick McGraw

Sgt Slaughter/Wild Samoans vs Cpt Lou Albano/Adrain Adonis/Dick Murdoch (WWE Tag Team Champs)

B. Brian Blair vs Iron Mike Sharpe

Kamala vs Pat Patterson

The Show:

Your commentary team tonight are Gorilla Monsoon and Mean Gene Okerlund.

Brutus Beefcake vs Salvatore Bellomo

Beefcake's debut and he comes out looking like a gay magician. Before we start Howard Finkel announces Jesse Ventura is in hospital so won't be there tonight. Big heat for Fink giving the address for well wishes to be sent! Big John Studd is announced as his replacement to a MASSIVE pop. Wow. As far as jobbers go, Bellomo has been doing alright in this blog. He gets some nice offense in early in this one, so far so good. Beefcake admittedly is coming across as nothing special and has had barely any offense so far. Nice mule kick by Bellomo that I've not seen before....by a human at least. When Beefcake is in control, the problem is he shows no personality and neither does he move set and to me that's lowcard/jobber to me. The only personality he shows is a small hip shuffle to prove his flambouyancy. He is methodical but its all so basic and boring. He does however catch Bellomo is a lovely powerslam for the win! Not a great debut for Brutus but decent finish. Match Rating: 3/4*

Nikolai Volkoff vs Chief Jay Strongbow

I'm not expecting a high flying spectacle for this one. We start with Volkoff singing the USSR national anthem and gets big, Cold War heat. Turns out there were a lot of rest holds in this and a lot of scrappy looking punches. There was a long nerve hold spot by Volkoff. Volkoff gets the win with a shot to Strongbow's chest. Boring match that made Volkoff look poor. Match Rating: DUD

S.D Jones vs Dr D David Schultz

I've not seen much of either of these two so this might be interesting. Crowd seem restless and are still quite loud. The early goings of the match are just scraps between the two with Jones coming out on top. Jones looks like an idiot though as he keeps accepting Schult'z test of strength...except Schultz keeps slapping him at the last second. Jones didn't catch on until the THIRD time. The finish is awkward as Schultz nails a jumping leg lariat for the count 3...but the 3rd count was delayed and it looked like SD kicked out. Boring match where neither looked too great. Schultz was OK. Match Rating: 1/2*

Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine vs Jose Luis Rivera

I don't like Rivera's chances in this one as he was the quintessential jobber. Valentine had a decent match last month against Tito so I'm interested to see how he comes off with a less formidable opponent. Hammer gains control pretty early and shows off his methodical side while going for the figure four. He hits a lovely knee to the stomach which Gorilla calls a 'reverse backbreaker'. He throws Rivera to the outside, suplexes Rivera back in...or so it looked until he turned it into a shoulderbreaker instead, nice! Rivera eventually gets 2 scoop slams worth of offence but that's it as Hammer drops him over the top rope. Rivera fights back and the crowd is alive now. Lovely double underhook suplex by Hammer followed by an elbow. Figure four gets the win for Hammer not long after. Hammer looked good in this and Rivera got the crowds sympathy. Still a squash match but it was fun. Match Rating: *1/4

Into the back with BOBBY 'THE BRAIN' HEENAN and Big John Studd. I'm a massive Heenan fan so I'm buzzing he's now appeared. He claims he's outsmarted every one in wrestling for bagging Studd as his client and he's soon to be world champ. Studd claims to be the winner tonight and new champ too. Heenan finishes by saying Studdomania will run wild!

Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ) vs Big John Studd [WWE Title Match]

Big heat for Heenan and Studd but I don't know whether it's because they know them and their characters already or because they're facing Hogan. Hogan, by the way, comes out to the biggest pop I've heard yet on this blog. Holy ship, it's deafening and he's still using Eye of the Tiger so he looks like a complete superstar. That right there, gets the guy points already. Hogan is bleeding from the chest...before any physical interaction. The commentators say he might have scratched himself...I just think it's where the needle went in. Anyway...Studd controls from the start but Hulk instantly Hulk's up...but gets cut off with a knee to the chest. Hulk counters in the corner and sends Studd reeling outside while the crowd go mental. Hulk back in control, tries for a body slam but can't quite do it so Studd takes control. There's a bearhug spot by Studd but Hogan expectantly escapes...but runs into a shoulderblock. Crowd are still buzzing at this as another bearhug is applied. Hogan hulks up, counters and both men go down for a breather. Hogan sent outside where he blades and won't be let back in the ring by Studd. Hogan hulks up, back in the ring and plows through Studd. He tries to slam him again and fails again. Back outside the ring for a big brawl to take place. In the melee, Heenan pushes Studd back in the ring and he gets the countout win! The heels knick the belt and run off to the back while Hogan moans and bollocks the referee. Crap match, slow and sluggish but the crowd were molten hot. That is why Hogan will forever has his place in wrestling, because no wrestler with such unrelatability gained that reaction week in, week out. Big John Studd for me was Big John DUD. Match Rating: 3/4*

Ken Patera vs Rick McGraw

So it's the recently reappeared Ken Patera versus Quick Draw. Ken Patera still looks like a poor man's Ric Flair and is a complete throwback to the previous decade. This is a complete squash match and not a fun one. Patera uses his power and his Olympic prowess to quick control, working on McGraw's leg. Patera gets the win with a Full Nelson. Crowd didn't care and neither did I. Match Rating: 1/2*

Into the back with Captain Lou Albano who says he's going to un-mar his name and although he may be effectively useless in ring tonight, he can still help...and still may cripple someone.

Sgt Slaughter/Wild Samoans vs Cpt Lou Albano/Adrain Adonis/Dick Murdoch (WWE Tag Team Champs)

The Wild Samoans are after revenge here after being screwed out of the titles by Albano and the champs. Slaughter is added into this one because...extra face value? So was it better than last months *1/4 encounter...Well the crowd are hot early on when the faces clean house and Albano waddles to the back. The Samoans no sell a double noggin-knocker...because they're not American I assume. Albano briefly comes in and nails a few punches but they get no sold and he's quickly back out. More no selling by the Samoans and Murdoch finds himself in the wrong corner and panics like a hipster without hummus. If the Samoans don't feel pain with elbows shots and headbutts...does that make all head maneuvers irrelavant. Would they no sell an Undertaker Tombstone at Wrestlemania? The heels take control of Sgt Slaughter as he feels pain apparently. The heels are methodical and aggressive when controlling as you'd expect from the champs. The crowd love it all! Especially when Albano comes in and gets beaten by the Samoans. Adonis hits a great missile dropkick from the top rope! Slaughter eventually comes back in and cleans house of the heels then everyone brawls as the crowd eats it up.Finish comes when Slaughter manages to slam Murdoch off the top rope for 3! The crowd were hot and the heels successfully kept them intrigued and would up. It was the same Murdoch/Adonis match I've seen a couple of times so far. The Samoans used way too many headbutts and way too many no-sells. Slaughter was...Slaughter and Albano was fun to watch. The addition of Slaughter and Albano made this slightly better than last months match. Match Rating: *1/2

B. Brian Blair vs Iron Mike Sharpe

So here we have a rematch from last month where both men looked decent. Sharpe does his normal mouthing off routine and even hijacks the microphone to talk about his arms. Blair at this point was one of the smoother and quicker workers on the roster and was still enjoying his newbie push. The beginning of this match is a lot of stalling on the part of Sharpe until his aggressive nature gives him control. He uses the railings and chairs to punish Blair on the outside. Blair eventually gets some offense in of his own, working over Sharpe's legs. The match was very back and forth with lots of counters and reversals between the 2. Sharpe definitely had more control than I was expecting from him. Unfortunately it's Blairs lack of personality that's letting him down. If you took Blair's in-ring work and Sharpe's characteristics and charisma...you got yourself a superstar. The balance in this match has been perfect. Great balance between offense amount that both men get, the different styles of moves and their selling. The one thing that bugs me is the crowd seem I bit uninterested. Finish comes after some really good back and forth when Sharpe shoves the referee down after using a foreign object. Blair wins by DQ. Better than their original match, best match of this card so far and it's a shame neither man made it too far up the card. Match Rating: **1/4

Before our main event, Bobby Heenan comes back out. He complains about Studd not winning the title despite winning the match. Surely you know the rules Bobby? He has a contract for Hogan to sign for a rematch whereby Hogan can lose the title on a countout. Hogan comes out to a big pop as per and signs the contract. Hogan gets some fighting talk in and heads to the back.

Kamala vs Pat Patterson

So THIS is our main event?! WWF had some strange ideas when it came to card chronology. Kamala comes out to no reaction so we can appreciate he's stereotypical tribal theme in all it's outdated glory. Kamala pearl habours Auntie Pat and goes through his basic array of strikes and chokes. Patterson fights out but can't get the scoop slam. Pat Patterson uses his brains to keep control but it's a shame Kamala can't sell. Not long later, Kamala hits a splash for the 3 count. What a way to end the night. Match Rating: DUD

Awful show, highlight being Blair vs Sharpe, which should tell you all you need to know. Nice intro for Heenan though and it means I can look forward to his appearances from now on.

Wrestler Scores:

• Brutus Beefcake +2 (2)
• Salvatore Bellomo +2 (11)
• Nikolai Volkoff +2 (2)
• Cheif Jay Strongbow +1 (6)
• David Schultz +3 (3)
• SD Jones +2 (2)
• Greg Valentine +4 (13)
• Jose Luis Rivera +3 (3)
• Big John Studd +3 (3)
• Hulk Hogan +6 (18)
• Ken Patera +3 (6)
• Rick McGraw +2 (5)
• Sgt Slaughter +3 (11)
• Afa +3 (10)
• Sika +3 (10)
• Cpt Lou Albano +3 (3)
• Adrian Adonis +4 (11)
• Dick Murdoch +4 (10)
• B Brian Blair +5 (9)
• Iron Mike Sharpe +5 (8)
• Kamala +2 (4)
• Pat Patterson +2 (4)

WWE All Star Search #3: Brawl to End it All

WWE All Star Search #3: Brawl to End it All

Welcome Turnbucklers! Its edition #3 and it's The Brawl to End it All! This one is a biggie history wise as this was WWE's big break so to speak. The Rock 'n' Wrestling connection was under way with Cyndi Lauper and her fella/manager creating bridges between WWE and mainstream pop culture. This show had a portion featured on MTV at the time and that was a big deal regarding viewing figures. Strangely it was the women's match that was showcased as the main story going into this was Lauper vs Albano represented by a women's wrestler each. For added intrigue the women's title was on the line. Not only that but every men's title is being defended and we have a Battle Royal to boot so let's rumble on! Link to the show is below!

The Card:


Sika vs Ron Shaw

The Iron Sheik vs Tony Garea

Tito Santana (IC Champ) vs 'Cowboy' Bob Orton [IC Title Match]

Bob Backlund vs Butcher Vachon

Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ) vs Greg Valentine [WWE Title Match]

Antonio Inoki vs Charlie Fulton

Adrian Adonis/Dick Murdoch (Tag Team Champs) vs Sgt Slaughter/Terry Daniels [Tag Team Title Match]

The Fabulous Moolah (Womens Champ) vs Wendi Richter [Womens Title Match]

Paul Orndorff vs Cheif Jay Strongbow

Afa vs Rene Goulet

20 Man Battle Royal


The Show:

We kick things off with Mean Gene but he ain't alone, he's with the WWE Champ, Hulk Hogan. We are 6 months into his title reign so far and the belt itself is a different design than the last time we saw it. I definitely prefer this smaller style. The word Hulkamania is used for the first time in the blog and Hogan puts himself over and Hulkamania over while claiming that the potential list of challengers to his title 'turns him on'. Frisky. We leave Hulk posing for the camera and I gotta say, that was one of his more easily understandable promo's. It was OK and Hogan looked to be having fun.

Our commentators tonight are Gorilla Monsoon and Mean Gene Okerland.

Sika vs Ron Shaw

It seems since last time, Sika (and I assume Afa too) has had a bit of a popularity boost as he gets most the positive reaction in the intro's while Shaw is booed. Sika can't be too much of a Wild Samoan judging by how maticulous he is with folding his t-shirt. We start with a gentle shove by Shaw but he bails out the ring before anything happens. They try a couple of lock ups but nothing comes of it until Shaw gets caught in the ropes and sent outside with a forearm to take a breather. Back in and both lads trade punches until Shaw is levelled by a running elbow. We have eye racks and hair pulling from Shaw now but Sika nails a headbutt and then locks on a chinlock. Shaw's punches are no-sold by Sika and then he eats a headbutt for his troubles. A snapmare by Sika and back to a chinlock. Shaw escapes but quickly eats a headbutt for a 3 count. Another stinker of an opening match. Match Rating: DUD

The Iron Sheik vs Tony Garea

Straight into the next match now and we have Tony Garea, who I'm sure is still looking for a new tag partner 6 months later, as well as The Iron Sheik with Freddie Blassie. Must mention the lovely all gold number Blassie is wearing. Tony Garea looks more like Alvin Stardust every edition which isn't a good trend. Still big heat for Sheik which is good as he hasn't really been doing much since his title loss 6 months previous. Sheik mouths off to the fans to stall and gets a USA chant in return. (Wrong chant number 1 - Tony Garea is from New Zealand). Headlock to start by Garea followed by a scoop slam and a headlock takedown. Lovely sunset flip by Garea gets 2 and back into the headlock. Sheik escapes, goes for a boot to the chest but its countered into an atomic drop which Sheik sells like a botched circumcision...and back into a headlock. Shoulderblock by Garea but he then eats a right hand by Sheik. That allows some crucial posing time for Sheik to some decent heat. He goes for a big back body drop but eats a boot to the face by Garea. Hip toss, dropkick and cross body gets a 1 count for Garea. Sheik whipped into the corner but he reverses it, Garea goes chest first into the turnbuckle and backs into a lovely back suplex for the 3 count! Enough entertainment in this one to keep it away from DUD territory and decent heat for Sheik. Garea is just a means to an end now. Sheiky mouths off after the match and camera cuts to a fan who is clearly a little too angry...so much so, he has a police escort. Match Rating: 1/2*

 Tito Santana (IC Champ) vs 'Cowboy' Bob Orton [IC Title Match]

This one should help the pace pick up now. Tito had won the IC Title from Muraco earlier in the year and was now well into his run. Orton is a new recruit to the WWE and was one of a few people to appear on this card who also featured on the first Starrcade at the end of 1983. Big cheers for Santana which he didn't have 6 months ago. They lock up, shoulderblock by Orton but Santana comes back with repeated armdargs. He locks in an armbar, its countered into a head scissors by Orton...but countered again back into an arm bar by Santana. More chain wrestling until Orton escapes to the ropes for a breather. They tease a lock up but it doesn't happen. Wristlock by Orton is countered into Hammerlock by Santana and countered again by Orton into a Hammerlock of his own into a pinning predicament. Santana whipped into the corner and Orton misses a charge, hurting his elbow. Santana responds...by working over the elbow! Nice! Santana upto the second rope and levels Orton with a right hand. Santana back to working over the arm, elbow and shoulder of Orton and locks on an armbar although not for long. They lock up again and Orton takes control with some aggressive quick punches. Orton hits what I can only describe as a galloping stomp...seriously, it was very horselike and Tito sells it like death. Orton taunts the crowd and it seems VERY familiar to see. A lovely running powerslam only gets 2 for Orton so he responds by working on the lower back! Nice! Psychology 101 in this one - Tito aiming for the arm, Orton aiming for the lower back. Orton lifts up Santana and nails him with a backbreaker for a close 2 count. Santana tries fighting back with right hands to the mush and the crowd love it. Orton, the heely bastard that he is, takes back control with an eye rake and we go into a headlock. Santana fights out with an arm drag but Orton levels him again with a boot to the tummy for 2. Scoop slam on Santana and Orton goes up top, tries for the VaderBomb but eats nothing but knees! Santana is pumped now and goes to work with right hands, Orton flops down and eats a knee drop. Ortons head now repeatedly driven into the mat but Orton takes back control AGAIN with a thrust to the throat. Not for long as Santana gets him in an abdominal stretch. Orton reverses and locks on one of his own! Nice! A hip lock by Santana breaks it up and onwards with the right hands until both men collapse to the mat in exhaustion. Suplex by Orton and he tries for a second but its reversed into a small package for 2. Santana goes for a cross body but eats nothing but air and regret. Orton whipped into the turnbuckle, eats a low punch by Santana and clotheslines himself off the top rope. Orton goes for a piledriver but eats a back body drop. Into the corner for 10 punches but Orton counters into an atomic drop half way through. Wait a minute...the bells goes and we've reached a time limit! No! Both men continue slugging it out afterwards until Santana is left in the ring. Crowd shit all over the draw. Either way, was still a really good match with top psychology and plenty of opportunities to get behind Santana. Orton was methodical and aggressive and the similarities between himself and his son are glaringly obvious here. It annoys me to think Orton will never get WWE gold when putting on matches like this. Tito was the typical babyface but the crowd seem to love him although I find him dull. Everytime it seemed the fightback was on, Orton cut it short and I loved it! That's not to take away from his performance here as I think it's the best Tito Santana match I've seen so far. I can't blame those who give this match a higher rating than myself as it would've been a classic in 1984...but it's 2014 so... Match Rating: ***1/2

Bob Backlund vs Butcher Vachon

Straight into the next match and after the last one, I somehow expect this not to match up in quality. Bob Backlund is still around 7 months after his title loss and Butcher Vachon is scary looking, but if he wins this, I'll eat my own face. Backlund dodges Vachon to start and the crowd go...uninterested. We almost get a wristlock but don't and Backlund does some more avoiding. Vachon takes control with punches and a shoulder thrust in the corner. Backlund reverses a whip attempt into a scoop slam, holding Vachon up for a while which is really impressive to see. Cross-face Chickenwing applied and Backlund gets the quick win. I really want to give this a DUD for wasting my time and yours but that slam was impressive. Match Rating: 1/4*

Into the back with Mean Gene and Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine. Greg promises Hogan he will feel the figure four leglock and...that's it!

Still in the back, this time with Mean Gene and Hulk Hogan. When Hogan puts the Hammer down, he's calling New York City electric company to shut off all the power because 'everyone will be glowing' and we're not going to see anything. That doesn't make sense Hulk, but at least you seemed pumped up.

Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ) vs Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine [WWE Title Match]

Out comes Valentine to big boo's, although many of them will be shared with Captain Lou who is out with Hammer. Hogan comes out to an explosion of noise and his entrance really makes him look like a superstar. He's still in his white ring gear here. Seriously, the reception for Hogan is amazing. Hammer tries to pearl harbour Hulk but to no avail as Hogan levels him with right hands sending Hammer staggering across the ring. Whip into the corner and Hammer face flops to the mat. If a Hammer falls in the woods and no ones around to hear him, does he make a noise? Hammer begs for mercy, tries for a cheap shot, gets countered and eats an atomic drop to send him flopping to the mat again. Hammer tries to escape but gets slammed back inside for his trouble. Chinlock applied by Hogan to bring the pace and crowd to a simmer. Headlock reversed into a nice back suplex by Hammer and then into a camel clutch. Hogan powers out but Valentine regains control and hits a flying forearm for 2...and another 2. Hammer works over Hogan with punches, elbows and knees. Hogan reverses a suplex attempt into one of his own. Lovely shoulderbreaker by Hogan followed by a big boot out of the ring. Hogan follows outside for a brawl and nails an atomic drop. Back into the ring we go and Valentine nails a knee as Mean Gene calls him a 'capitalist'. Elbow gets 2 for Hammer and into another headlock we go. Valentine heads outside and nails Hogan with two (very weak) looking chairshots to the knees. The chairs were bright red and very much padded I may add. The ref was watching but no DQ, just a slow 10 count that makes it to 6. Hammer works on the knees and the...balls...of Hogan. Hammer up top, attempts a flying forearm smash but eats a weak clothesline floor him. One leg drop later and Hogan gets the win! Classic Hogan formula as we'll come to expect. Crowd was electric for Hogan at the beginning but the pace of the match assisted in its diminishment. Hammer was fun to watch and Hogan was at least mobile and competant. Match Rating: *1/2

Charlie Fulton vs Antonio Inoki

We've seen Charlie Fulton before and there's nothing to mention. Inoki is the Martial Arts Champion, which means nothing to me. Nice chain wrestling to start and Inoki eventually locks on an armbar. Fulton escapes and we get some stalling. Fulton with a series of shoulder thrusts and forearms which send Inoki down. Snapmare gets a 1 count for Fulton. Inoki has been getting tips off Sgt Slaughter on how to grow an oversized chin. Fulton locks on a headlock but Inoki escapes, nails some martial arts kicks to the legs and a jumping kick to Fulton's temple for the 3 count! That was crap. Match Rating: DUD

Sgt Slaughter/Terry Daniels vs Adrian Adonis/Dick Murdoch (Tag Team Champs) [Tag Team Title Match]

The Marine music hits and out comes Sgt Slaughter and the unknown Terry Daniels to big cheers and lots of flag waving. Terry Daniels is the first recruit to Slaughter's COBRA CORE which in the long and short term means...fuck all. Out next are the tag champs, Adonis and Murdoch. They had won the belts earlier in the year and were proving to be aggressive and well adjusted champs. Adonis at this point is wearing leather and looks like a Roman biker. Murdoch looks like a slightly slimmer Dusty Rhodes...emphasis on the slightly. Slaughter throws his shirt into the crowd and it's caught by the one bloke who doesn't have a shirt, talk about convenience! We start off with Daniels and Murdoch and of course, some stalling. They lock up, Daniels gets the upper hand but suprisingly just lets go. He gets some words of wisdom from Slaughter before another lock up, a wristlock and into an armbar. Murdoch tries to escape but Daniels holds on, hits an elbow then locks the armbar on again. Daniels gets kitchen sinked in the gut and both men tag out to their respective partners, big pop for Slaughter. Short chain wrestling sequence, a lock up and Slaughter nails Adonis with a right hand that sends him rolling backwards. Slaughter and Adonis start countering wristlocks between each other and in comes Daniels to lock on his favourite move...the armbar! Massive chop by Daniels followed by a run the ropes sequence. Daniels gets monkey flipped, lands on his feet...kind of...as he loses his balance, bounces off the ropes and lock on...the armbar! Crowd liked it all though! Adonis tags out to Murdoch who finds himself quickly in...an armbar! Bodyslam by Murdoch which is no sold and the armbar goes straight back on. Adonis in...and into an armbar...followed by a dropkick...and an armbar. Finally Slaughter comes in, takes control with a nice armbreaker and the crowd loves it. Daniels is and...no armbar! Its a kneedrop...followed by an armbar! Adonis comes in and finally beats on Daniels something fierce and nails a lovely running powerslam. A big USA chant goes up (Wrong chant #2 - EVERYONE IS AMERICAN!). Heely antics ensue which Slaughter doesn't help the situation until he finally gets the hot tag and locks on the Cobra Clutch to Murdoch. The crowd is buzzing but Adonis breaks it up, Daniels in with a series of dropkicks and a double team backbreaker move gets the win for Slaughter and Daniels. This match was essentially one long arm bar. Some decent action at the end saved it somewhat but Daniels was frustrating to watch. Match Rating: *

Out comes Captain Lou Albano who tells the crowd to stand in a few minutes time for the Fabulous Moolah. Bit rich, as Moolah can barely stand herself at her age...then again...she's champ again in 1999, sad.

The copy of the show I have gives me a cheeky Avengers advert. Dame Diana Rigg, you, were, stunning!

Into the back with Mean Gene who's with Fabulous Moolah and Captain Lou. Lou says Moolah and him discussed strategy and Moolah is beyond being beaten. Moolah sounds cocky...but as cocky as a sweet old lady can sound. Mean Gene bigs up Cyndi Lauper's training skills. That annoys Lou so much he gets Moolah's title reign length wrong and then corrected by the lady herself. Awkward.

The Fabulous Moolah (Womens Champ) vs Wendi Richter [Womens Title Match]

So before we start its worth knowing that out of all the matches on this card, this one is the most important. It was aired live on MTV and drew HUGE numbers, mainly thanks to the appearance of Cyndi Lauper with Richter. The huge ratings this drew was a big encouragement for Vince to gamble with Wrestlemania. So was Richter more influential than Hogan on the grand scheme of things...dwell on that...or don't, not arsed. Anyway, out comes Lauper, fella and Richter to big cheers and the only Lauper song I know, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Lauper's fella joins us for commentary and he sounds way out of his depth and very confused. I apologize for the lack of details but the match itself is very basic. The crowd is hot as hell as Moolah stalls and then hits some snapmares. Richter ends up on the commentary table before getting back in the ring for some basic back and forth with Moolah that gets a 2 count for Richter. Lauper is a little cutie a must point out. Moolah acts heely until Richter headbutts her in the cervix. Moolah gets trapped and Richter takes advantage. Moolah gets free but ends up in a full nelson. Lauper punches Moolah right in the mush in front of the ref...who does fuck all. Suplex gets a 2 count for Richter but Moolah comes back with a monkey flip. Back body drop into a pin but Moolah pulls her up because she can. Lou misses a cheapshot and Moolah goes for a roll up for 3. It looks awkward though and we see that Moolah's shoulders were down while Richter kicked out at 2. That means a new womens champion to HUGE cheers from the crowd. Lou and Moolah take it out on the ref and have a whinge but nevertheless. The match itself was crap, no two ways about it. Just awful. Match Rating: DUD

Into the back with Lauper and Richter. Lauper calls Lou fat and expects an apology. Richter is also happy and gives the soon to be standard 'I believed in myself' speech. Some randomer comes in and calls it an incredible match...christ. Did I mention Lauper is a cutie? Slaughter comes in and has banter! Hogan follows and everyone is celebrating.

Paul Orndorff vs Chief Jay Strongbow

Back to the ring and Orndorff is definitely over now, big boo's for Mr Wonderful. Crowd are indifferent to Strongbow but that isn't suprising. Stalling to start until Strongbow gets some shots on Orndorff in the corner. Orndorff misses a clothesline and both men collide. Strongbow is knocked to the outside and rings the bell on the way down. More back and forth until Strongbow takes no more and psychs up. Finally its an awkward clothesline that gets the win for Orndorff. Another poor match that did little for Orndorff taking so much from old man Strongbow. Match Rating: DUD

Afa vs Rene Goulet

Straight into the next match and it baffles me that THIS is the semi-main event. Think about that. I'm a new found Rene Goulet fan and I'm expecting his normal cheeky foreign heel escapades. Back-drop by Afa almost straight away followed by a bearhug. Way to kill ANY heat straight away. Goulet gets it back using his normal heely antics...including biting of the noodle. Afa with a headbutt but Goulet comes back with a snapmare. Goulet with the face claw but Afa escapes quickly with another headbutt. Afa nails a big samoan drop for the 3 count. Poor match but quick. Goulet was fun as always. Match Rating: 1/4*

20 Man Battle Royal

I'll just tell you who's in it and the finish: Sika, Jose Luis Rivera, Butcher Vachon, Antonio Inoki, Tony Garea, Chief Jay Strongbow, Afa, Steve Lombardi, Dick Murdoch, Bob Orton, Adrian Adonis, Rene Goulet, Ron Shaw, Charlie Fulton, Terry Daniels, Iron Sheik, Tito Santana, Paul Orndorff, Sgt Slaughter and Samu.

The last 5 is Orton, Inoki, Shaw, Garea and Goulet. I really want Orton or Goulet to win but its not to be as Inoki eliminates Shaw and Goulet last to win it. It was your standard battle royal so take that for what you will. Strange choice in the final men and strange that Inoki looked so strong tonight. Match Rating: *



Wrestler Scores:

• Sika +2 (5)
• Ron Shaw +2 (2)
• Iron Sheik +3 (9)
• Tony Garea +2 (4)
• Tito Santana +6 (12)
• Bob Orton +7 (7)
• Bob Backlund +2 (3)
• Butcher Vachon +1 (2)
• Hulk Hogan +6 (12)
• Greg Valentine +3 (3)
• Charlie Fulton +1 (3)
• Antonio Inoki +4 (4)
• Sgt Slaughter +4 (8)
• Terry Daniels +2 (2)
• Adrian Adonis +3 (3)
• Dick Murdoch +3 (3)
• Fabulous Moolah +1 (1)
• Wendi Richter +2 (2)
• Paul Orndorff +3 (8)
• Chief Jay Strongbow +2 (3)
• Afa +2 (5)
• Rene Goulet +2 (5)

WWE All Star Search #2: January 23rd 1984

WWE All Star Search #2: January 23rd 1984

Welcome Turnbucklers! It's edition #2 and we are live at Madison Square Garden. This show you may have heard of before...and we'll get to why later. We have a very similar main event to the last edition as well as two title matches. Lots of jobber matches on the lowcard but hey, might be a few surprises, who knows! We also have a handful of blog debuts. If you want to watch this show...the link is below. Onwards we go...!

The Card:

Tony Garea vs Jose Luis Rivera

The Invaders vs Mr Fuji/Tiger Chung Lee

The Masked Superstar vs Cheif Jay Strongbow

Sgt. Slaughter vs Ivan Putski

Paul Orndorff vs Salvatore Bellomo

Don Muraco (IC Champ) vs Tito Santana [IC Title Match]

Haiti Kid/Tiger Jackson vs Pancho Boy/Dan Carpenter (2 out of 3 Falls)

Hulk Hogan vs Iron Sheik (WWE Champ) [WWE Title Match]

Jimmy Snuka vs Rene Goulet

Andre the Giant/Rocky Johnson/Tony Atlas vs The Wild Samoans


The Show:

We are live from Madison Square Garden and our commentary team is Gorilla Monsoon and Pat Patterson. Not expecting much from Patterson and his awful, awful English.

Tony Garea vs Jose Luis Rivera
Straight into the first match of the show and Howard Finkel proves how old school we actually are by introducing every official there is to introduce. Its the battle of the soon to be jobbers and someone in the crowd REALLY likes Rivera when he's introduced but Garea gets the bigger reaction by far. Garea is supposedly on the look out for a new tag partner so good luck to him! Chain wrestling and a stand off to start us off. Rivera takes control with a headlock followed by a quick cross body. Garea takes control with an arm drag and then puts on an arm bar. 2 Shoulderblocks followed by another arm drag for Garea who is firmly in control. Nice scoop slam by Rivera but Garea holds onto the armbar in a cool little spot. Rivera gets a close two count with a roll up but to no avail. Rivera goes for a monkey flip but Garea avoids it with a cartwheel. More back and forth until Rivera almost slips on a leapfrog and connects with a crap dropkick to big boos. Rivera goes up top for a cross body but Garea rolls through it for the pin and the win. Fast paced, even but dull. Simple as. Match Rating: 1/2*

The Invaders vs Mr Fuji/Tiger Chung Lee
Decent reaction for The Invaders who impressed me last edition so lets see if it's more of the same. I like Fuji and I can't remember much of Tiger Chung Lee but he's a big guy. Last time out we had three of these four in a similar but here Charlie Fulton is replaced with Lee. Should be a decent swap so let us see! Big reaction for The Invaders and for Fuji/Lee which is good for a throwaway tag match. Fuji throws salt into the front rows while Monsoon analyses which Invader has gone fat. Lock up to start with Lee and Invader 1 with Lee taking very brief control until he's suprised with a nice sunset flip for a 2 count. We get that cool Invader spot where they both jump in and out of the ring with extra quick tags while working on Tiger Chung Lee's arm. This goes on for a while until Lee has enough, picks up an Invader with one arm and casually walks over to the heel corner. He looks like he's about to tag in Fuji...but doesn't. He eventually does tag out to Mr Fuji who comes in with his big, evil smile. He's just so cute! He sells a punch to the midsection embarassingly, but none the less, the crowd eat it up. More strange tag tactics by Invaders who now work over Fuji's arm. In comes Lee who regains control for all of...a second...before the Invader hits some nice scoop slam and some decent chain wrestling. I'm enjoying this one so far! Awkward leapfdrop and snapmare attempts by an Invader that the crowd seems not to appreciate. I don't think it was a botch though but I can see how the crowd did. I love hearing Fuji's evil laugh on the apron. The heels isolate an Invader in their corner and use some mean heely bastard tactics behind a distracted ref's back. Fuji in now who delivers some evil headbutts and Lee comes in to work over the arm some more. Lee with a thrust kick to the face then nails a back drop for a 1 count. Fuji back in who sticks on a nerve hold and then nails a suplex. Patterson calls him a tool for not going for a cover and Invader nails a suplex of his own. Invader apparently gets the worst of it though as he didn't let his man go at the right time according to Monsoon. Clever! Fuji heads up top but classic wrestling 101 says...the Invader stops him halfway and throws him off to the mat. Invader makes a tag to...Invader and the crowd love it as they clean house on the heels. Really BRUTAL back suplex by Lee gets control back for the bad guys. Fuji back in with a side suplex of his own but it only gets a two count. Back to a nerve hold by Fuji but Invader escapes...for a second...before being re-grounded with a chop to the throat. Lee back in who works over the back and then locks in a bearhug. The crowd rally behind him and he escapes...for a second. Another bearhug, but the Invader on the outside gets frustrated and just breaks it up. Heels fake a tag and the crowd don't like that! Another nerve hold by Fuji, but Invader escapes for the hot tag to the other Invader who cleans house. Lee back in and Invader 1 goes for a cross body, gets caught and eats an atomic drop and the heels pose instead of covering. Headlock by Lee and the ref gets distracted by the apron Invader while the heels sneakily double team. Invader escapes the headlock, nails a dropkick, charges at Lee in the corner but misses the splash and eats turnbuckle instead for a 1 count. This match should've ended by now I think. Nice dropkick and bridging pin on Lee but it only gets another 1 count. Match speeds up significantly as the Invaders double team Lee's leg over and over and over and over...again. Crowd loves it and Lee finds himself in a leg lock. Tag out to Fuji who finds himself also being double teamed by the Invaders and their amazing quick tags. Fuji finds himself in a weakly applied abdominal stretch, he escapes and tags in Lee...who ends up in a weak abdominal stretch. Ref is distracted by an apparently stupid Invader so Fuji breaks up the Abdominal Stretch...although its not long before its reapplied. All 4 men end up in the ring and the Invaders whip both heels into each other and then apply one of my favourite forgotten moves...the rowboat! Sadly the bell rings for the Time Limit Draw. The Invaders celebrate afterwards as if they've won and then act peeved when they find out they haven't. Someone should tell them the rules. Anyway, I certainly wasn't expecting to enjoy this one so much but it was a solid 20 old school tag team match. The Invaders are awesome and seem to be 2 years ahead of scheduale for the WWF. Teams wouldn't attempt what the Invaders were upto until the Harts and the Bee's appeared and I can't work out why the Invaders weren't more long term in WWF. The heels were also great in this one. Fuji is just so great at wanting to see him get battered and Tiger Chung Lee is a beast of a man and he has the intensity a more comedic Fuji brings to the table. The match could've done with 5 less minutes and a clean finish but hey, this is 1984 WWF, one can dream. Match Rating: ***1/4

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The Masked Superstar vs Chief Jay Strongbow
A main event in any arena according to Gorilla but I think I have to disagree. Chief looks really old and we have a slow start here. More talk than action here but we do get a headlock albeit not for long. Chief takes control with more headlocks. More headlocks until Strongbow intimidates Masked Superstar out of the ring. Even I wouldn't be scared of ol' man Strongbow. Back to more headlocks...until he tries to de-mask the Masked Superstar. He almost gets away with it but he eventually fails and leaves the Masked Superstar growling. Kneelifts by Strongbow and back to the mask. Superstar takes over until Strongbow psychs himself up and locks on a sleeper. Superstar escapes out of it and nails Strongbow with a sloppy clothesline for the three count! So many headlocks! These are the matches I don't enjoy, constant restholds, not submissions but restholds! Yawn. Match Rating: DUD

Sgt Slaughter vs Ivan Putski
Out comes Putski first and oh lord does he look so roid-swollen even I ache. Slaughter comes out to some patriotic tune, I'm not American so fuck knows what it is. To be fair his entrance is pretty cool as the camera follows him from backstage. I wish someone would take the ringbell away from who ever has it as they won't stop ringing it! Lots of stalling to start with Putski shadow boxing and Slaughter making fun of Putski. Putski poses and he is certainly a big roid-ball. According to the commentators, he also stinks of garlic. They finally lock up and Putski overpowers Sarge into the corner and levels him with a scoop slam to big cheers. A Polish Power headlock with added scream followed by a big shoulderblock. Another headlock until Slaughter nails a big atomic drop. Backbreaker by Sarge barely gets a 1 count but is followed by another backbreaker for 2. Putski regains control in the corner and Sarge is busted open via the ringpost. Putski works over Slaughter, whips him into the corners and nails some quick punches on the bloody noodle. Putski goes to the turnbuckles again but Sarge reverses it into a nice clothesline. Gorilla tells us its called the 'Cannon'? Sarge goes for a slam but can't get him up so Putski falls on him for the 2 count. Putski nails the Polish Hammer, which looks crap but gets a big pop. Another shot sends Slaughter out over the top rope but he gets his massive chin stuck under the bottom rope on the way down. Way to use what you've got, son! Both lads trade punches on the apron and the bell rings. Putski power whips Sarge into the turnbuckle and he goes flying out to the floor. The fight continues back in the ring and eventually we find out Putski was counted out and Sarge wins. Crowd was into this one but I wasn't too thrilled. Another bundle of headlocks but both men showed enough character to add some edge. Crowd noise and those few backbreakers keep this one from a dud. Match Rating: 3/4*

We're in the back with Mean Gene and he's joined by 'Mr Wonderful' Paul Orndorff. He's facing Salvatore Bellomo tonight but apparently he's nothing more than a spaghetti eater. Orndorff wants more competition and he's better than everyone else. Mean Gene cuts him off but Orndorff finishes on promising to deliver the Piledriver. God bless you, Mr Wonderful!

'Mr Wonderful' Paul Orndorff vs Salvatore Bellomo
Out comes...Rowdy Roddy Piper! He's accompanying Paul Orndorff and not only is this his MSG debut but it's also Piper's MSG return. The crowd give them steady heat but it's nothing compared with whats to come later in the year. Salvatore Bellomo had a noticable match last time so lets see how this one turns out. Piper wants a handshake, doesn't get one and responds by screaming at Bellomo. The heels complain about Bellomo's knee brace and try walking out. Since the bell has already rung, they should be counted out but they aren't. They get back in the ring but stall for an age, I guess because that's what all 1984 heels do. Orndorff eventually pearl habours Bellomo and works him over with vicious punches and elbow drops. A scoop slam and some vicious stomps to the head follow. Orndorff with knees to the back and then a blatant choke in the ropes while Piper screams on the outside. Orndorff with a Big Back Body Drop for 2, tries for a scoop slam but Bellomo falls on him for 2. Orndorff misses a charge in the corner and Bellomo gets some kicks in, finishing with some dropkick. Orndorff misses an elbow drop and Bellomo works on his arm. They trade punches and armdrags and Bellomo comes out on top still while Piper complains about pulled hair. Nice try, Roddy! Amateur suplex throw by Orndorff but Bellomo catches him in a head scissors. A nasty looking side back suplex by Orndorff and Bellomo takes a nasty bump outside. He tries to get back in but Piper screams in his face and Orndorff nails a cheap shot. Crowd heat for Orndorff but we've heard worse already tonight. Scoop slam by Orndorff outside on the concrete! Back in the ring and Orndorff hits a nice suplex and Bellomo attempts to fight back but to no avail. Another scoop slam by Orndorff but misses a knee drop from the top rope! Bellomo goes to work on Orndorff to big cheers but his momentum is cut short by a nice Powerslam by Orndorff. A Piledriver comes next and Orndorff gets the win! Good introduction and return for Orndorff and Piper. Piper I would of assumed would've done more on the card but oh well. If anyone knows why he was just managing, let me know below! Bellomo was a good sympathetic babyface again but nothing spectacular. Match Rating: *
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Don Muraco (IC Champ) vs Tito Santana [IC Title Match]
Out they come to decent reactions each. Muraco is with Captain Lou Albano and Tito is....Tito. They lock up to start but neither man can gain an advantage. Another lock up followed by another stand off as the commentators put both lads over. Tito finally manages to take control with a headlock and nails Muraco with some swift punches. A headlock takedown floors Muraco and Santana drives Muraco face first into the mat. Another headlock follows and I am getting frustrated with how many headlocks I've sat through in this show. Muraco finally hits a nice backbreaker to end the headlock but Santana floors him again, drops him on his back and goes back to the headlock. After a LONG time, Muraco finally ends the headlock with a Side Russian Leg Sweep. Muraco starts to work on the back of the head and neck of Santana then nails a stalling Powerslam for a 2 count. Muraco chokes Santana in the ropes and the crowd starts to liven up with Tito chants. Both men trade punches in the middle of the ring, Santana wins the battle and Captain Lou involves himself but only gets a beating for his trouble. Santana goes for a flying cross body but misses Muraco and nails the bottom turnbuckle! They start fighting outside and the bell starts ringing. Its a double DQ and I don't know really why. Both lads continue beating each other after the match until Muraco makes a hasty escape. Far too many headlocks again in that match and it meant both I and the crowd were drained before the match was even halfway through. The last quarter of the match picked up slightly but not enough to save the match. The end result is a stinker as well. Match Rating: 3/4*

Backstage once more with Mean Gene who's standing by with a somewhat aggrieved Tito Santana. He's annoyed at the double DQ and much like myself, can't understand why the bell was ring. Muraco, Tito is coming for you! Ariba!

Haiti Kid/Tiger Jackson vs Pancho Boy/Dan Carpenter (2 out of 3 Falls)
It's this edition's Midget Match now and this is always uncomfortable viewing for me. Its a rematch from Edtion #1 only this time it is 2/3 falls! Once the introductions are done, the commentators let loose on their jokes and quips. I can't tell if Dan Carpenter is a big midget or a small non-midget. We start off with Tiger Jackson de-pantsing Pancho Boy. Patterson quips 'Ain't he cute' which is creepy. Side headlock by Jackson and Pancho has no hair to pull on to escape, d'oh! A monkey flip by Pancho and we have ourselves a stand off. At least the midgets are patronising themselves and not leaving just for the commentary team to do. Hammerlock for Jackson but he's not in it for long as he nails a dropkick and a flying head scissors. Jackson ends up vertically on his hand and Pancho Boy spins him round on his noodle. In comes the Haiti Kid now who cleans house on the heels and then shenanigans ensues. Carpenter manages a leapfrog, thinks he's outsmarted Haiti Kid but gets dropkicked out to the floor for his troubles. Fun spot with Jackson standing on the ropes but the momentum of the bounce caused by Pancho Boy on the other side of the ring propels him over the top rope into the ring. Once Jackson is the legal man, he nails a sunset flip for a 3 count and the first fall. Straight into the second fall here with Haiti Kid and Pancho Boy in the ring. Haiti's head gets slammed into the turnbuckle...but he no sells it and taunts Pancho. In comes Carpenter but he eats an awkward looking suplex. 4 midget criss-cross now, Carpenter falls for the same trick as last edition and eats an airplane spin for 2. Carpenter hits a slam, goes for a pin but its reversed into the longest pin attempt in history...and it still gets the three! That looked bizarre. Either way, somewhat entertaining but overall still uncomfortable. Match Rating: 1/2*

We're backstage with Mean Gene who's with 'Classy' Freddie Blassie (sporting a lovely arabic head garment) and the Iron Sheik. Blassie complains about Backlund being replaced by Hulk Hogan in the following title match but no matter, Sheiky will have it dealt with nonetheless. Sheiky gets a few words in Iranian but tells us in English that he's the best, Backlund is weak and Hogan has no chance.

Hulk Hogan vs Iron Sheik (WWE Champ) [WWE Title Match]
So here we go, title match time. Sheik is already in the ring and we cut to Hogan backstage. He starts walking as the familiar Real American plays. Out he comes to a big pop and plays with the crowd during the introductions. Crowd is on fire now with big boo's for Sheik too. The bell rings and Hogan pearl harbours Sheik in the corner while he is de-robing. Clothesline on Sheik with his head garment and the crowd is exploding. Another clothesline and a knee to the face by Hogan, followed by an eye rake and a standing double handed choke. Sheik thrown into the ropes and gets a big boot to the mush but it only gets a one count. Elbow drop gets two for Hogan but he misses a charge and Sheik takes control. Crowd is deafening at this point as Sheik nails a backbreaker for 2. Sheik picks him up...and takes him down to apply a Boston Crab. Hogan powers out of it but eats a gutwrench suplex. Sheik locks on the Camel Clutch and the crowd is on fire. Hulk powers up, lifts Sheik on his back and slams him into the corner. Sheik goes down, Hogan runs the ropes, Leg Drop, cover, 1,2,3 and the crowd EXPLODES. Wow! Big celebrations are now underway. The match itself was quick but I actually liked it. Sheik got in some offense which was unexpected and Hogan's obvious flaws were well hidden within the pace and basic maneuvers of the match. Either way, Hulkamania has officially started and wrestling will never be the same again. Match Rating: *1/2

Into the back with Mean Gene and NEW WWF Champion Hulk Hogan. Hogan promised us he'd do it and he did it for us and the USA. Cheers Hulk! Andre the Giant appears and showers the champ with champagne as does Ivan Putski!

Jimmy Snuka vs Rene Goulet
I feel I should mention the crowd are still going insane a good few minutes after Hogan's title win so I don't like the chances of the following matches regarding crowd noise. Rene Goulet is already in the ring and I am ready for some old school heel antics! Big pop for Jimmy Snuka but Goulet pearl harbours him from the off and Snuka eats an elbow and a scoop slam. I just noticed there's only 15 minutes left of the show and 2 matches...hmmm. Heel antics by Goulet but Snuka still starts to dominate although not for long as Goulet locks on the dreaded face claw! Snuka finally regains some offense with some chops and leapfrogs. Up top and a Superfly Splash gets the win! That was crap! Match Rating: DUD

Into the back with Mean Gene who's with the Hogan family...mum, dad and baby Hulk. Mr and Mrs Hogan are very proud of their son. Hogan finishes by cutting a promo on his parents!

Andre the Giant/Rocky Johnson/Tony Atlas vs The Wild Samoans
Main event time and out come the Samoans wearing a lovely pink top. They look like savages, but ones in touch with their sensitive time. Out come the tag champs, Johnson and Atlas, followed by Andre. Crowd are more subdued than expected but I don't blame them after the earlier title match. Samula and Atlas start, albeit slowly although Atlas nails a crossbody. They trade wastelocks until they end up in face corner. Andre looks like he's gonna slap the shit out of Samula's chest, but Johnson comes in instead...then Andre gets to do his chop from the apron. A criss-cross leads to some slight embarassment on Samula's part. They lock up again and Johnson nails the Samoans with a double noggin-knocker. Atlas in now who finds himself in a full nelson but not for long as he powers out of it. In comes Andre but he gets nailed with a headbutt. He starts no selling the headbutts, nails one of his own, another double noggin-knocker, a big boot and Andre gets the 3 count. Last editions was better, this one just had nothing really going for it. Andre and the two main Samoans did very little. Match Rating: 1/2*

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Wrestler Scores:

• Tony Garea +2 (2)
• Jose Luis Rivera +2 (2)
• Invader 1 +5 (8)
• Invader 2 +5 (8)
• Mr Fuji +5 (7)
• Tiger Chung Lee +4 (4)
• The Masked Superstar +2 (3)
• Cheif Jay Strongbow +1 (1)
• Sgt Slaughter +2 (4)
• Ivan Putski +2 (2)
• Paul Orndorff +5 (5)
• Salvatore Bellomo +3 (6)
• Tito Santana +3 (6)
• Don Muraco +3 (6)
• Haiti Kid +1 (2)
• Tiger Jackson +1 (2)
• Dana Carpenter +1 (2)
• Pancho Boy +1 (2)
• Hulk Hogan +6 (6)
• Iron Sheik +3 (6)
• Jimmy Snuka +1 (4)
• Rene Goulet +1 (3)
• Andre the Giant +2 (6)
• Rocky Johnson +2 (4)
• Tony Atlas +2 (4)
• Afa +1 (3)
• Sika +1 (3)
• Samula +2 (4)