WWWF: All Star Wrestling
April 15, 1978
Hamburg, PA
Hamburg Fieldhouse

Your current WWWF champions are as follows:
WWWF Heavyweight Champion: Bob Backlund (2/20/1978)
WWWF World Tag Team Champions: Dominic DeNucci & Dino Bravo (4/1/1978)

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: Night Fever 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.

• Dominic DeNucci & Dino Bravo vs. Johnny Rodz & Jose Estrada

In case you didn’t notice above, DeNucci and Bravo have upset Fuji and Tanaka for the tag titles a few weeks ago over on the A-show Championship Wrestling. Being the less experienced of the two, Bravo gets most of the abuse and the hot tag belongs to DeNucci. Bravo does get some fiery offense in, but tags in DeNucci for some double-team beating on Rodz. They do the bit where DeNucci turns Rodz around to take a shot from Estrada. The only time DeNucci is in any real trouble is when he’s double-teamed on the wrong side of town. Bravo gets the tag and runs wild. He dropkicks down Estrada and whips him into the ropes for the AIRPLANE SPIN by DeNucci for the three-count at 6:29.

• Spiros Arion (w/Freddie Blassie) vs. Dennis Johnson

Arion forces Johnson to the mat and tries for a quick pin, but no luck. He uppercuts Johnson a few times and then goes to work on the arm. Arion chokes on Johnson as he’s bent over the ropes. Just some real heel stuff here. Johnson is pretty much beaten, but Arion wants to keep punishing the poor guy. Blassie joins McMahon and talks about how Johnson is a great amateur, but no match for Arion. He then starts talking about what a mistake Bob Backlund made by choosing Arnold Skaaland as his manager over him and swears he’s going to take the WWWF title away from Backlund. GREEK BACKBREAKER submits Johnson in 4:21.

After the break, Vince McMahon meets with Spiros Arion and Freddie Blassie for an interview. Blassie again swears he will have the WWWF heavyweight title before he’s six feet under. Arion will be the champion and he will be the people’s champion. Blassie still claims Johnson is some sort of amateur success story, but Vince cries that what he’s saying is ridiculous. Blassie makes fun of Dominic DeNucci, Dino Bravo, and Haystacks Calhoun. This cracks Vince up a little bit. Blassie claims Calhoun has entered a bikini contest on Long Island. It’ll take 42 yards of fabric to cover the man. Three weeks ago, Blassie says Calhoun was arrested up in Maine for renting himself out as an umbrella without a license. When they opened him up, eight midgets escaped. Blassie is the man. Arion calls out the biggest babyfaces in the WWWF and says he will defeat Bob Backlund to become the next WWWF heavyweight champion.

• “High Chief” Peter Maivia & SD Jones vs. Butcher Vachon & Stan Stasiak (w/The Grand Wizard)

Stan the Man has got his mustache going here. Butcher can’t seem to do anything to Maivia until he goes to the eyes and chokes the guy. Stasiak helps out and puts Maivia on the floor for some stomping on the steps. Back inside, Vachon keeps Maivia away from SD and tags in Stasiak. Maivia punches away from an armbar and tags in SD Jones. The Heart Punch is blocked by Jones who then decides to return the favor with a Heart Punch to Stasiak. Tag to Vachon, he runs into a pair of slams. Butcher starts straight up choking Jones and then chops him in the throat. Maivia doesn’t care for that sort of thing and wallops Vachon from the apron. The match then breaks down as Maivia and Jones clunk their heads together and do the rowboat routine. Was that move pretty much abandoned in the 80s? Things quiet down and we’re back to Vachon and Jones. The test of strength goes nowhere. Jones grabs the beard and in comes Maivia for a DOUBLE TEAM BEARD YANK. Tag to Stasiak, he wears down Jones by grabbing the traps. Jones power out and NO-SELLS a turnbuckle smash. He headbutts Stasiak away who then runs over and tags Butcher. He runs down Jones a few times coming off the ropes, but then runs into a shot to the balls. Ref didn’t see it! Tag to Maivia, he delivers a gutbuster for two. We get a crisscross with Maivia and Stasiak. Turns out they are both too smart to run into each other. Maivia blocks a Heart Punch and forearms him back. Now Maivia and Jones are all headbutts on Vachon and Stasiak as we reach the ten minute time limit. (10:00) This was fun as everybody played to their strengths. Even though the match is over, it looks like the heels still want some and of course they bow out before any more punches are thrown. **

• Ken Patera (w/Captain Lou Albano) vs. Ted Adams & Mike Madero

Patera clunks their heads together to get them to stop punching him in the belly. Albano is another manager upset that Bob Backlund chose Arnold Skaaland as his manager over him. The ham and eggers actually come back on Patera and kick him out to the floor getting the crowd riled up. Back inside, they continue their attack and kick Patera back out to ringside. Finally, Patera has enough of this nonsense. He rakes eyes and dumps out Adams so he can slap the FULL NELSON on Madero for the submission in 5:56.

• Strong Kobayashi (w/Freddie Blassie) vs. Frank Rodriguez

This is our first look at Kobayashi. He wears red and yellow Mr. Fuji tights. This match ends abruptly on a two-count after a suplex and he’s awarded the match in :53. Not sure what the problem was there. You can even hear the crowd is confused.

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