WWF: All Star Wrestling
July 19, 1980
Hamburg, PA
Hamburg Fieldhouse

Your current WWF champions are as follows:
WWF Heavyweight Champion: Bob Backlund (2/20/1978)
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Ken Patera (4/21/1980)
WWF World Tag Team Champions: The Wild Samoans (4/12/1980)

Pop Culture #1s of the Time:
#1 Movie of the Week: Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie starring Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong
#1 Song of the Week: It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me by Billy Joel
#1 TV Show of the 79-80 Season: 60 Minutes hosted by Mike Wallace

Follow along if you have the WWE Network!

Your hosts are Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino.

• Pat Patterson vs. Johnny Rodz

Rodz is sporting a cool orange “Garden State Pest Control” t-shirt. These two pick up where they left off when they had a wild brawl on the June 28 episode of All Star Wrestling. Rodz is the aggressor to start and feels pretty good about himself. When Patterson finally gets back in the ring, he punches Rodz out to the floor for a big bump. Rodz crawls under the ring and Patterson ends up having to go after him. He brings Rodz out from under the ring and runs him into the ringpost. Rodz makes it back in the ring to avoid the countout, but he’s run into the ringpost again. He flips over the ring steps and tries to throw them into the ring. WHOA. Back inside, Patterson gets Rodz on the mat and pounds away. Rodz winds up a corner rope to tie Patterson’s ankle, but of course it winds up working against Rodz once Patterson gets freed. CLASSIC WWF! Patterson catches Rodz with a kitchen sink knee. He continues to pound on Rodz, but only gets a one-count. A DOUBLE-KO ensues. Rodz catapults Patterson across the ring, but then Patterson comes back and catapults Rodz into the corner for the three-count. (8:06) A decent brawl, but it was weird how it went from a brawl to a wrestling match. The match they had in June was better. **

• Larry Zbyszko vs. Frank Williams

Zbyszko grabs the house mic away from Capetta and tells the people he is the new “Living Legend” of wrestling. Oh boy. Vince loves how good Zbyszko looks as an athlete, but he feels the man is just overconfident and has no respect for authority. He does look to be in incredible shape here. Bruno actually stays around to add color commentary to this match as we are less than a month away from the cage match at Shea Stadium. While he’s got a chinlock clamped, Zbyszko is barking at the referee. Vince and Bruno wonder what he possibly has to complain about to the ref. When Zbyszko tires of the chinlock, he takes Frankie to the floor and slams his head on the steps. Back inside, Zbyszko delivers his vertical suplex for the three-count in 5:43.

After the match, Vince McMahon talks with Larry Zbyszko at ringside. Larry says he treats guys like Frankie Williams the way he does because of the people who can’t accept the truth. Zbyszko says he’s looking to hang with people who have class like Ken Patera or Hulk Hogan and the fans who believe in guys like them. He decides he’s going to start “Larry’s Army” and all you have to do to join is stand up and applaud when Zbyszko gets in the ring. He’s not going to take it anymore with all these liars around here like Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund. When Zbyszko showed he had the guts to stand up for the truth, it took him straight to the top. If the people had any guts, it would also take them to the top in whatever they want to do instead of sitting there watching TV and believing whatever guys like Ivan Putski tell you. Dang, this could be a heel gimmick in the year 2020. Zbyszko says if you applaud when he comes to the ring, those people are actually applauding for themselves and for what is right, what is decent, and what is moral. As for violent attitudes, if you have to fight corruption with a chair, then fight corruption with a chair. Nothing else will happen to you except going straight to the top just like Larry. Zbyszko states that the majority of the people running the world are all goofy anyway. The few who applaud Zbyszko are doing what they believe is right. When you do what you believe in and not what you’re told to do, then you will always be number one and no one can take that away from you. This dude is the Donald Trump of the WWF. As Vince wraps up the interview, Zbyszko admits the only reason people boo him is because he hit a fraud over the head with a chair and he couldn’t take it anymore. Man, what a HEAT machine.

• Angel Maravilla vs. Marc Pole

Angel Maravilla makes his debut here to start a short stint in the WWF. To this point, he’s wrestled mostly in Canada and Puerto Rico. He’s a little on the smaller side with a Carlito afro. He also reminds me of Eric Andre a little bit. A lot of circling each other in this match. Let’s skip ahead to the finish. Not a lot of action. As he sends Pole into the ropes, Maravilla hits a jumping headbutt for the three-count in 5:58.

• Tor Kamata vs. Rick McGraw

I guess Blassie has given up on Kamata. This is the first time I’ve heard Vince refer to McGraw as “Quick Draw”. They really seem high on him right now. Vince and Bruno discuss the different training styles between the two. McGraw is serious about hurting Kamata’s back to start. He gets Kamata up for an atomic drop for 1-2-NO! Kamata has to take a break on the floor for a few seconds. Back in, Kamata kicks him back, but his back gives out on a slam and McGraw gets another nearfall. McGraw continues to deliver knees to the lower back. This dude is going to lose a KIDNEY! Kamata delivers a karate strike to come back and brawls to the floor with McGraw. Back inside, as he’s whipped into the corner, McGraw shoots off the second rope and crossbody blocks Kamata for 1-2-NO! McGraw continues to pound away on Kamata and then applies an abdominal stretch into a pin. Vince can’t believe what he’s doing here. Kamata chops back at McGraw, but then McGraw goes ARMDRAG CRAZY to set up an armbar. He tries turning Kamata over into a pin, but Kamata rakes the face and grabs a nerve hold until time runs out. (10:00) MCGRAW WILL NOT DIE! He continues to beat on Kamata until we wind up just going to commercial. Good match that really had nothing to do with Kamata here. McGraw is getting real good. He’s clearly seen a lot of good Carolina wrestling in his day. **½

• Hulk Hogan (w/Freddie Blassie) vs. Fred Marzino

Hogan continues to run through ham-and-eggers on this program. He’ll never face any real challenges – until the SHOWDOWN AT SHEA. Just a light workout for Hulk. The AX BOMBER (or Hogan Hammer according to Vince) ends Marzino in 3:04.

Until next time, so long for now.