Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

All Star Wrestling on the Network


Ricky Jackson

Recommended Posts

We have our 1979 WWF TV MOTY from what I've seen - Putski/Tito vs Valiants on 10/13/79. Super fun sprint tag match with great heat, like a great Memphis TV expiration of time match in a bigger venue with a better atmosphere. I can't believe I've fallen in love with the New York territory, I always just accepted all the bad things I heard about it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 193
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Haha, as a long time fan of this era (let's say 75-83) it warms my heart to see a convert. Most fans don't give it much of a chance or even reject it sight unseen. Yes, some of the undercards on the big shows are brutal, but the talent is top notch and a ton of fun to watch. The major matches, angles and feuds usually deliver and are well done, with some all time classics

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Haha, as a long time fan of this era (let's say 75-83) it warms my heart to see a convert. Most fans don't give it much of a chance or even reject it sight unseen. Yes, some of the undercards on the big shows are brutal, but the talent is top notch and a ton of fun to watch. The major matches, angles and feuds usually deliver and are well done, with some all time classics

And the great thing is, unlike every other territory, there isn't some sad period where everything fell apart and they went out of business. I'm super pumped for Mania and a post-Mania scene of Roman-Joe and DB headlining SD. Of course 75-83 is a much different product, a classic territory.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After I get back from New Orleans and need a breather from modern stuff, this is on my agenda.

It's not Memphis. But if you can learn to love Vince and Bruno and let them get you through some of the tougher stuff, there's some great gems. Also I love weekly territorial TV in general. Also it really helps if you have access to the Spectrum and MSG shows of the time to see their versions of PPVs that were the lifeblood of the whole operation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At one point in the 70s and early 80s their main TV slot in the New York area was midnight on a Saturday. I think this proves that if you have a hot product with a lot of top talent, the timeslot is irrelevant, the fans will follow

That's really interesting, I didn't know they were selling out the Garden every month which such a bad time slot. Maybe explains why they announced the next show's entire card every month, in case people didn't see the TV.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The idea behind announcing the next month's card was mostly to entice fans to buy tickets before they left the show. AFAIK, the box office would be opened after Finkel's announcement. It's also the main reason the main event was always mid-show, because then they could announce the main event for next month's card without giving away the finish

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I grew up in WWWF territory but I don't remember watching it pre 1982 so I'm enjoying watching it. I'm surprisedcat Blassie bumping as much as he did in the early shows and how much he and Albano interfered in the matches without a DQ. Albano, as crazy as he might have been, was clearly the heat magnet Hart and Heenan were in their territories.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They taped a few weeks of TV from the Steel Pier in Atlantic City in the summer of 79. Not sure if it was for a local Atlantic City TV show or if it aired everywhere in the territory. The matches were comnentated by Monsoon years before he became a regular commentator. Cawthon's site also has Bruno commentating solo for one of the tapings. The matches I've seen from the tapings are interesting, with no jobber matches, just matches between pushed guys, plus a midget tag. I remember DiBiase vs Valentine being good. For fans of the late Titans of Wrestling podcast, DiBiase and Andre vs Scicluna and Jerry Valiant was a legendary controversial match, with Parv calling it a classic, Johnny and Pete hating it, and me being in the middle

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Atlantic City show definitely aired on PRISM where they aired the Philly Spectrum shows too.

 

What was up with Crusher Blackwell? They make him look like a killer heel and credible threat to Backlund but looking at the results he only lasted 4 months in this run and got 1 or 2 shots at Backlund

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...