WWF: All Star Wrestling
August 25, 1979
Hamburg, PA
Hamburg Fieldhouse

Your current WWF champions are as follows:
WWF Heavyweight Champion: Bob Backlund (2/20/1978)
WWF North American Heavyweight Champion: Pat Patterson (6/23/1979)
WWF World Tag Team Champions: Johnny & Jerry Valiant (3/24/1979)

Pop Culture #1s of the Time:
#1 Movie of the Week: Apocalypse Now starring Martin Sheen & Marlon Brando
#1 Song of the Week: My Sharona by The Knack
#1 TV Show of the 78-79 Season: Laverne & Shirley starring Penny Marshall & Cindy Williams

Follow along if you have the WWE Network!

The following wrestling exhibition requires discretionary viewer participation.

This show is dated on the WWE Network with an airdate of August 25, but all the results I can find say July 28. You can take that for what it’s worth.

Your hosts are Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino.

• Pat Patterson (w/The Grand Wizard) vs. Johnny Rivera

Rivera stays one step ahead of Patterson to start. A closed fist and a kitchen sink knee helps Pat take control. He delivers a backbreaker and applies a headscissors. He then slams Rivera, but Rivera does the matrix slide out of the pinfall attempt. WHOA! Here comes the fiery Puerto Rican guy to corner Pat, but he doesn’t do anything to capitalize. Patterson rips and tears at Rivera’s face and does the standing Bossman straddle to Rivera. As Rivera looks to make a comeback, Patterson heads to the apron so that Rivera cools off. Back in, Pat gives Rivera an airplane spin and dumps him to the mat for the BOMBS AWAY knee drop for the three-count at 5:27.

• The Great Hussein vs. Paul Figueroa

Freddie Blassie is conspicuous by his absence here. He attacks Figueroa with his headdress and never lets up on the poor guy. After having him pinned on more than one occasion, Hussein dumps Figueroa on the floor and runs him into the steps. Back inside, Hussein delivers a vertical suplex and kicks him down with the LOADED BOOT. Here comes a jumping elbow drop and Hussein gets the win in 3:12.

After the break and another chance for everyone to know about the WWF helping out with fundraising events, Vince McMahon speaks with Ted DiBiase and Steve Travis at ringside for an interview. Travis talks about gaining more and more experience as the “rookie of the year” against guys like Greg Valentine and Pat Patterson. Vince mentions to Ted DiBiase that the North American title was stolen from him and wants him to explain how he feels about that. DiBiase won’t cry over the situation, but would love to get another shot at Patterson and the North American championship that he brought to the promotion. Travis says he and DiBiase are HUNGRY for some championship titles and they are looking to the Valiants to achieve that goal.

• The Valiant Brothers (w/Captain Lou Albano) vs. Ted DiBiase, Steve Travis & SD Jones

Luscious Johnny and DiBiase start the match. They trade armlocks in the middle of the ring. Johnny is trying to get DiBiase into his own corner, but DiBiase won’t let it happen. DiBiase and Johnny Valiant exchange some waistlocks. Johnny tags Jerry to rain blows down upon DiBiase. Jones gets tagged in and his head is too hard to be affected by Jerry’s punches. Tag to Jimmy, he finds himself stuck between a rock and a hard place between Jones and his partners. Travis tags in and applies a chinlock. After Jimmy rakes the eyes and tags out, Johnny walks into a wristlock from Travis. The babyfaces give the Valiants a taste of their own medicine and of course Vince and Bruno love it because that’s WWF babyface philosophy. This continues on for a few minutes. SD Jones gets a hot tag and he goes HEADBUTT CRAZY. He charges Jimmy in the corner, but misses the charge and Jimmy jumps on top of him for the three-count. (12:34) HUH? Weak finish if I ever saw one. ¾*

• Nikolai Volkoff (w/Freddie Blassie) vs. Joe Mascara

Volkoff eats this guy up and spits him out for several minutes. Throughout the match, he has trouble with the referee getting in his face telling him to obey the rules. He ties Mascara up in the ropes and takes the ref’s attention away while Blassie jabs him in the back with his cane. The GORILLA PRESS BACKBREAKER gets the win in 4:53.

Blassie talks to Vince after the bell. Vince asks Volkoff why he has to resort to such tactics if he’s so tough and strong. The guy does what he wants. It doesn’t matter how he wins a match as long as he WINS a match. Blassie threatens the pencil neck geeks Sammartino and Backlund to look out for Nikolai Volkoff.

• Ivan Putski vs. Johnny Rodz

POLISH POWER. So much for that. Rodz jumps him at the bell and goes to town on Putski. The match switches gears long enough for Putski to grab a headlock and lay in some punches. Rodz rakes his way out of a chinlock and puts the boots to Putski. He comes back as Rodz telegraphs a backdrop and grabs another chinlock. Rodz bites Putski’s arm to escape, but it won’t stop the POLISH HAMMER as Putski gets the three-count in 3:40.

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