WWWF at Madison Square Garden (March 17, 1975)

Original Airdate: March 17, 1975

From New York, New York; Your Host is Vince McMahon

Chief Jay Strongbow v Butcher Vachon: Was the ring fucking enormous in those days, or are the guys just smaller? Big criss cross to start, which goes nowhere. Slugfest also goes nowhere. Strongbow tries cornering him, but takes a shot to the throat, and Vachon slaps on a nervehold. I dig how the ring crew couldn't even be bothered to place the guardrails in a straight line to form the aisle. I think even ECW managed to do that. Strongbow escapes with a bodyslam for one, but takes a turnbuckle smash, and Butcher bites at his back meat. Strongbow responds by dancing around like your uncle after a few too many at a New Years party, but - much like you do with your uncle - Vachon ignores it. Big boot gets him two, but Strongbow counters another big boot with a Thesz-press at 9:10. ½*

WWWF Title Match: Bruno Sammartino v Spiros Arion: Tons of Bruno supporters waving little Italian flags here. Spiros attacks him at the bell, and stomps the champion down, but Bruno fights back - unloading with a flurry of rights. Bodyslam gets two, and Bruno grabs a bearhug. Arion uses a closed fist to break, and he works the champ over with some punch-kick stuff. No wonder Vince had no idea how to call the action once things started to modernize with influences from Japan and Mexico in the nineties. Just listen to him here, he sounds exactly like Eric Bischoff with his calls of 'front leg kicks.' Arion with a bodyslam for two, but Bruno slugs back, and knocks his challenger over the top. The referee's method of laying in the count is really interesting in those days, he literally lies flat on his belly at the edge of the ring, and shouts out at Arion. It's also interesting to see how the crowd behaves, basically openly attacking Arion while he's on the floor. Inside, Bruno uppercuts him down for some stomping, and he applies a reverse chinlock. Slugfest goes Sammartino's way, but he walks into one of those dangerous front leg kicks in the corner, and Arion stomps him down again. This match could really use some suplexing, or something, right about now. Arion tries an abdominal stretch, but Bruno starts hiptossing everything that moves, and a bodyslam gets two. Another bodyslam gets the pin at 14:51, despite Arion having his foot on the ropes. This was, like, ALL punch-kick, but it's not like it was boring the crowd, or anything. Just different times. ¼*

Killer Kowalski v Victor Rivera: This is the tail end of Kowalski's career here. Kowalski smacks him around a bit to start, then starts kicking at the knee to put Rivera down. Kowalski works the leg on the mat, but Rivera counters with a wristlock, and he wins a slugfest. Killer responds by biting his leg - which is certainly an interesting strategy. Victor responds by pulling Kowalski's ears, as I wonder if this whole 'golden age of mat wrestling' hype might be just that. Kowalski works a clawhold on the abdomen, but Victor fights free. The biggest thing to get used to with this era is that the holds last for a really, really long time, and that the high spots in between usually consist of stuff that today would barely qualify as transitions or feeling out process stuff. Victor blasts him with a major uppercut and tries a sleeper, but Kowalski escapes, and hammers him with an axehandle. Turnbuckle smash gets blocked, however, and Rivera ties him up in the ropes for some abuse. Slugfest goes Victor's way, so Kowalski resorts to biting, and gets himself disqualified at 15:58. There was literal biting and ear pulling as legit counters! ½*

Ivan Putski v The Wolfman: This is Putski's debut at the Garden. Guy looks like a fucking boulder. Wolfman, meanwhile, totally looks like he would fit in in the 1980s, especially in JCP. Wolfman takes control with an eyerake and some biting, but Ivan powers his way out of a choke, and headbutts him a few times. Wolfman tries a bearhug, but Putski is just too fucking boulder-like, so he resorts back to biting instead. Like, an insane amount of biting. Was biting a really popular heel tactic in the 70s, or something? I mean, they're making quite a statement with it tonight. More biting, until Putski flips out with a bunch of forearms, and grabs a bearhug for the win at 6:45. Afterwards, Ivan beats Steve Austin to the punch by nearly a quarter century - chugging down a beer in the ring. Leave this one for the biting connoisseurs. DUD

BUExperience: Taking place nearly a full twenty years before I became a fan, this is just too far removed from what I grew up with (generally stuff from 1985 on) for me to enjoy. I can (and do) appreciate it, but I don’t enjoy it, if that makes sense. Makes me wonder if kids today put on Michaels/Ramon from WrestleMania or Hart/Austin from Survivor Series and feel the same way?

DUD