Titans of Wrestling #27: WWWF January to February 1975

[Ricky Jackson]

http://placetobenation.com/titans-of-wrestling-27-wwwf-january-to-february-1975/

 

 

Parv, Pete, Johnny and Kelly jump in the Quantum Leaping Lanny machine back to 1975!

 

On the docket tonight:

01-13-75 SAMMARTINO/GORILLA/STRONGBOW vs VALIANTS/DUNCUM BOSTON GARDEN
02-01-75 BRUNO SAMMARTINO vs BOBBY DUNCUM BOSTON GARDEN
02-17-75 TONY GAREA/DEAN HO vs KILLER KOWALSKI/BOBBY DUNCUM MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
02-17-75 BRUNO SAMMARTINO vs SPIROS ARION JIP (+ Arion/Blassie promo) MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
02-17-75 VALIANTS vs GORILLA MONSOON/JAY STRONGBOW MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

 

Also on this show:

- Introducing the world's most amazing commentator, Rocky Raymond! From The Boston Garden!
- Bios for Dean Ho, the vegetarian Killer Kowolski and Spiros Arion plus random discussion of the career of actor John Astin!
- Sammartino vs. Backlund, round 1
- Titans enters the sleazy 70s featuring ... Indian Jay Strongbow, Gorilla Monsoon and "some rat".

[Zoo Enthusiast]

Spectacular.

[Johnny Sorrow]

We fucking kill on this show. If there's a funnier wrestling podcast I'll eat my hat.

[SomethingSavage]

Mygoddamngod. Sorrow's opening story is epic all over again. The bump. The crimson mask. Parv posing the timeless question, "To sell or not to sell..."

 

It all just had me cracking up before you guys ever cranked up the real agenda.

[cubbymark]

Half way through it listening in bits and pieces walking to/from work and it's absolutely fantastic.

 

Johnny shitting on Kowalski the worker but praising Kowalski the man is quite funny. And people not understanding "Born in the USA" and what it really means was outstanding.

[SomethingSavage]

Yup. Tremendous talking points all up & down this one, guys.

 

Loved the parallels drawn between Bret and Bob. Ditto for Bruno and the other "mega stars" of each era. I've heard it all before of course, but it's real thought-provoking discussion when covered in this context. Hope the gang continues to touch base on the comparisons & contrasts of Bruno and Bob as we move along, too.

 

Got a kick out of Pete playing defense attorney for Backlund's reputation, by the way.

 

First the Mulligan-Sullivan conspiracy theory. And now Tatanka, "Crooked Casino Indian Chief." Brilliant. Sorrow's on a hot streak. It's fantasy booking the way it ought to be - freaking total and utter fantasy.

 

Enjoyed the hell out of the way Johnny literally marked out for the details of the Spiros turn, too. Moment by moment as the story crossed his mind for the first time, he was just eating that shit up. Just an awesome little piece of audio there.

 

Everything else was generally great, as per usual. Sorrow's impersonations. In-depth analysis. Thought-provoking discussion. And TRUCKLOADS of laughs. Titans is always good times with a fun atmosphere. Keep it coming, fellas.

[shoe]

Thanks for the kind words brother .

[Ricky Jackson]

Look for the first 1981 show this coming week, a review of a Valentine's Day card from the Spectrum with some Good, Bad and just plain Ugly (aka "Pete's Protest")

 

[BigBadMick]

Yeesh, that Rocky Raymond guy - what a loser!

 

It's not as if I used to record my own commentary on audio tapes in 1994-5 for Japanese matches....ahem.

[Kevin Ridge]

Was immediately laughing with Born In The USA opened the show. Great to see the Boston Garden make its debut on Titans. Now lets get to Rocky Raymond. I love the idea of him being Cliff Clavin! Part of me wishes we didn't know his name. Clavin would have been perfect. I have lived just outside Boston for over 25 years now. Maybe I have got use to the accent. But I don't know a whole lot of folks who have a accent as heavy as Rockys. Most of the people I do know are over 50. Go to some dive bar in Boston that has a bunch of old guys and you will hear those accents. It is really is an amazing start to 1975 to get these clipped matches with Rocky doing commentary. It was a total riot in the second match where he had Bruce music playing also. Was it cannon buckle or corner buckle that he used? He also said plexiglass for the guardrail. The plexiglass would be only used for hockey and would be nowhere near the ring since it was set up at center ice/court.

 

Thought the referees at MSG were dressed as janitors. Been watching loads of Night Court lately. Astin was Buddy in show. "I'm feeling much better now." Matches at MSG were out of order. We get an announcement right away that Bruno was DQ'd in his match. But that match was next after tag. Ring Announcer kept saying "Ladies and Gentlemen" during the intro. Pete was really down on this matches. I admit to not really paying much attention during first tag match. Was distracted. More on that later.

 

Great job Kelly on coming up with back history of Sammartino/Arion. It will be interesting to see how much Bruno gives compared to Backlund. I thought he did a lot of selling here. Bruno's comeback was awesome. Now that is how you hulk up! Crowd flipped out as Bruno went crazy on the attack. Even Skaaland hit the ring to try calm down Bruno. Easily the best match of the night.

 

Since you guys tend to really notice fans, I was very surprised that a certain one was not mentioned. Not until Kelly brings up a very enthusiastic young lady in the crowd. I spotted her almost immediately in the first tag match and was totally captivated by her. She cannot sit down more than three seconds. She pumps her fists and throws her arms in the air every moment. She throws punches the same time as the baby faces do it. Jumping up non stop. Having to brush the hair out of her face as she is just going so crazy. About the most intense fan I have ever seen. Could not keep my eyes off her. I'd want to go back in time just to go to an MSG show with her. So lets be clear she was doing this in all three matches for the baby faces. You had to go ruin it and call her a Strongbrow rat!

 

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That sleaze segment was so hilarious.