peachchaos Posted April 22, 2016 Report Share Posted April 22, 2016 Bruno Sammartino vs. Superstar Billy Graham WWWF Championship - Baltimore, Maryland April 30, 1977 Graham's look really must have been a revelation. Perfect foil for the North East crowds. Vince Jr. is on commentary. They circle and tie-up with Graham powering Bruno into the corner twice in a row, with the second throw having an audible impact. They tie up a third time and now Bruno gets the arm drag take down. Brunoe works over a wristlock into an armbar and then throws him down into a hammerlock but Superstar rolls outside. Graham slides back in and begs off. Test of strength is only appropriate as Graham powers Sammartino down but can't get the pin. Bruno powers himself up with the help of the crowd and Graham escapes again. Superstar now takes over with an attempt at a wristlock but is overpowered by Bruno, who gets an armbar before Graham gets a big knee to the belly. Graham then stomps Bruno's abs and chops his throat. Bruno's selling is great here and Graham works him over by choking him with the ropes. Bruno waits for his chance and makes his comeback, even posting Graham and sending him to the floor. Superstar is bleeding when he comes back in and Bruno gets the crowd going with an all out assault. Superstar gets even with a bearhug, which Bruno eventually works out of into a bearhug of his own. He lets Graham go just to beat on him some more, but the ref argues with Bruno allowing Superstar to roll him up, get extra leverage with his feet on the ropes, and win the title at about 15 minutes. Both guys looked at their best here, with Bruno in complete control of the crowd and Graham coming across as a sneaky Hollywood prick. Sammartino won most of the exchanges and even had Superstar bleeding and begging but somehow Graham was able to cheat his way to the championship. Good stuff. ***1/2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danish Dynamite Posted April 23, 2016 Report Share Posted April 23, 2016 Good review of a good match :-) I think I agree with all of it. Over all I definetely think Bruno was the better guy of the two, but this match shows that Graham wasn't awful all the time at all. And what an awesome character he was in this period. Perfect contrast of character with these two. True heel vs. true face. Flashy arrogant fuck vs. working class hero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul sosnowski Posted July 28, 2018 Report Share Posted July 28, 2018 Available on the Network, Vault, Collections, Sammartino The Legend Lives, "An Historic Encounter 4/30/77" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted December 2, 2023 Report Share Posted December 2, 2023 WWWF Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino vs Superstar Billy Graham - WWF 4/30/77 Surprised I never thought to track this down and glad we have it in full. Superstar looked surprisingly spry in the match on top of looking like a million bucks. Vince is definitely a fan. Graham was just 7 years too early. Timing is everything. Although I do think Hogan was the better athlete and wrestler. Superstar surprisingly throws the powerhouse Bruno around to start but Vince tells us not to worry Bruno will make his comeback and he does throwing Graham into the buckles who ricochets off into an armdrag. The bump and sell whips Baltimore into a frenzy very reminiscent of a Rick Rude. Bruno controls the arm. Graham powders. Tests of strength. Just perfect. I love a test of strength. It is a great mini-battle within the match and these two work it perfectly. I thought this was the best part of the match. How Bruno worked from underneath and overcame Graham. Graham works a short pedestrian heat segment after a kneelift. Bruno fires up and somehow busts Graham open. He unloads. Great punches and ferocity. Graham is able to whip him into the buckles. Bear hug! That’s a Bruno special. Bruno escapes. Bruno comes roaring back with punches. He retaliates with a Bearhug of his own. Grahams makes it to the ropes. Bruno is teeing off in the corner. He clearly wants the ref to come over and distract him by breaking it up but the ref sucks. Graham double legs Bruno and uses his feet on ropes to WIN THE WWWF TITLE to shuck and dismay of everyone. This must have been mind blowing to those in attendance. Never thought Bruno would lose. This is definition of simple but effective. ***3/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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