WWWF: All Star Wrestling
February 18, 1978
Hamburg, PA
Hamburg Fieldhouse

Your current WWWF champions are as follows:
WWWF Heavyweight Champion: Superstar Billy Graham (4/30/1977)
WWWF World Tag Team Champions: Mr. Fuji & Professor Tanaka (10/1/1977)

Pop Culture #1s of the Time:
#1 Movie of the Week: Coming Home starring Jane Fonda, Jon Voight & Bruce Dern
#1 Song of the Week: Stayin’ Alive by Bee Gees
#1 TV Show of the 77-78 Season: Laverne & Shirley starring Penny Marshall & Cindy Williams

Follow along if you have the WWE Network!

The following wrestling exhibition requires discretionary viewer participation.

Your host is Vince McMahon. RIP Antonino Rocca.

• Bob Backlund vs. “DY-NO-MITE” Jack Evans

Evans is just here to make Backlund look like the wrestling machine he is. Backlund twists on the ankle and row boats the knee for a while. Evans pulls the hair and starts pummeling Backlund, but Backlund wins the slugfest. He then reverses a corner whip on Evans and executes a butterfly suplex for the win at 5:59.

After the bell, Captain Lou Albano comes out to cause trouble. Backlund invites Albano into the ring, but naturally he wants nothing to do with him.

• Dino Bravo vs. Sylvano Sousa

This is our earliest look at Dino Bravo. While really put together, he’s much thinner than during the period we are all most familiar with him in the late 1980s. Plus, he’s got dark hair instead of the bleached blonde look as well. Sousa frustrates him to the point Bravo gets MAD and comes back with the AIRPLANE SPIN to end things in 4:01.

Before the next match, Vince McMahon talks with Stan Stasiak and the Grand Wizard. Stasiak is adjusting the tape on his heart punching hand. Vince wants to see him take off all the tape to show his hand, but Stasiak won’t do it. Grand Wizard mentions there’s a long list of hospital beds that have been used after Stasiak gave people the Heart Punch. McMahon brings up that Stasiak hasn’t been able to land the Heart Punch lately. Wizard then accuses Vince of not being impartial. Vince continues to try to stir the pot within Wizard’s enterprise saying Graham is jealous of Wizard spending his time with Stasiak. CAN YOU BELIEVE HE JUST ASKED THAT?

• Stan Stasiak (w/The Grand Wizard) vs. Pete Austin

Austin tries to outwrestle Stasiak and gets punched in the face with the taped fist for his efforts just before he’s thrown to the floor where he hits his head on the steps. Back inside, Austin fights back and again he’s thrown to the floor. Back in, the HEART PUNCH ends Austin in 3:54.

After the bell, Stasiak takes off the tape for all to see that there’s nothing special or foreign about his hand. It’s just a hand like anyone else’s hand. Yep, totally on the level.

• Dominic DeNucci vs. Pretty Boy Larry Sharpe

FUTURE PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING TRAINERS EXPLODE~! Lots of back and forth punching and kicking. It looks like they are teasing a 10-minute draw as this match goes on and on. When Sharpe starts slamming, DeNucci counters one with an inside cradle for the win in 8:01.

• Mr. Fuji & Professor Toru Tanaka (w/Freddie Blassie) vs. SD Jones & Danny Johnson

Another week where SD Jones picks a lame duck partner who takes the fall. Jones headbutts out of the evil Japanese corner. Tag to Johnson, he gets destroyed by Tanaka and Fuji. To wrap things up, Tanaka drops an elbow right into Johnson’s throat for the three-count in 4:23.

That’s going to do it this week, folks. Until next time, so long for now.