Goody Bag 69: WWF 1983

 

 

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Pedro Morales v Don Muraco: From New York City on January 22 1983. Muraco attacks during the introductions, but Pedro fights him off. Morales hooks a sunset flip for two, and a big right hand sends Muraco to the outside. Morales bashes his head into the turnbuckle from the outside, and Don flops off of the apron. Muraco beats the count, but Pedro doesn’t give him much of a breather, going right back to pounding away. Muraco fights him off with a mulekick, but Morales responds in kind, only to miss a high knee in the corner. That puts Pedro into trouble for the first time, and Muraco is quick to capitalize, working the leg. Figure four looks to finish, but Pedro reverses, though they roll right into the ropes for a break. Don tries going back to it, but Morales shoves him into the corner to block, and makes a comeback. Backbreaker works, but Pedro drops him right on the bad knee, and he’s all messed up. He still manages a Boston crab, but the knee gives out almost right away, and he’s left on the mat, clutching it. Don recovers, so Pedro tries a bodyslam, but the knee gives out again, and Muraco topples him for the title at 11:07. Not a great match, but it was psychologically sound, and both guys did a good job of selling. Plus, it didn’t drag on forever, and they didn’t rely on restholds. *

WWF Title Match: Bob Backlund v Big John Studd: From New York City on January 22 1983. Lots of sizing up in the early going, and Studd gets the first knockdown with a shoulderblock, but Bob dodges an elbowdrop, and both guys back off. More squaring off, and John manages to grab a standing side-headlock. Bob escapes, and tries chopping the big tree down, but doesn’t get much traction. He tries a bodyslam, and actually manages to get the challenger up, but can’t complete the move. Again, but Bob can’t even lift him a second time, and he’s in trouble now. Studd capitalizes with a bearhug, and his own bodyslam is worth one. Studd with a 2nd rope axehandle and a backbreaker for two, so he goes back to the bearhug, so Backlund throws headbutts. He can’t shake Studd off, so commentator Gorilla Monsoon suggests he start going for the eyes. No wonder he loved Hulk Hogan so much. Studd with an overhead backbreaker, but Bob gets a shoulder up at two. Studd is still in control, however, so he takes Bob up for another one, but Backlund kicks off the ropes, and turns it into a backdrop into a cradle at 7:34. The match was pretty dull, but the finish was awesome. ½*

WWF Title Match: Bob Backlund v Don Muraco: Don's WWF Intercontinental title is not on the line, and this is from NYC on February 18 1983. You know, for all the talk of how Hulk Hogan changed the whole business and put the WWF on top, they were doing huge sellouts at the Garden on a regular basis even with Backlund in his fifth year on top. They feel each other out to start, dominated by Backlund. He sinks his teeth into a mat-based side-headlock for a long while, until a criss cross results in both guys knocking heads, and Muraco delivers a backbreaker to take control. Muraco slaps on an abdominal stretch, but Bob fights free. Boston crab, but Backlund powers out, so Don goes back to the abdominal stretch, and, of course, Gorilla Monsoon can’t wait to critique it. Bob counters into a butterfly suplex for two, but a trip to the top rope ends badly when Don slams him off. Muraco goes for a piledriver, but Bob counters with a backdrop. He tries a charge, but Muraco blocks with a clothesline, and now Don goes upstairs. He dives with a flying splash, but Backlund lifts his knees to block, and Bob adds a headbutt to the ribs to further capitalize. Criss cross results in them knocking heads again, and Backlund ends up on the outside off of the collision. He tries climbing back in, but Don bashes his face into the apron. Bob tries again, so Muraco throws a knee to keep him out, since apparently he doesn’t have room in his luggage for two title belts, I guess? Don keeps playing king of the mountain with the world champion, before finally trying to bring him in with a suplex, but Bob escapes. That allows Backlund a shoulderbreaker, so Muraco tries a charge, but hits the corner to further aggravate the shoulder. Bob pounds the part ahead of the crossface chickenwing, but Muraco is in the ropes. The referee gets nailed while trying to break them up, however, and he disqualifies Backlund over it at 21:16. Really slow and boring for the first fifteen minutes, though it picked up in the third act. ¾*

WWF Title Match: Bob Backlund v Big John Studd: From Philadelphia Pennsylvania on February 19 1983. Bob tries evading him early on, trying to frustrate the challenger, but Studd ain’t so easy to rattle. Studd gets him in a wristlock, and he works on that for a good while. Bob eventually counters to a hammerlock, but Studd powers into the ropes to force a break, and then beats the absolute piss out of the champ in the corner. Studd with a cross corner whip, but an avalanche misses, and Bob hits him with a dropkick. A second dropkick gives him the confidence to try a bodyslam, but Studd topples him for two. The guy’s even dumber than Hogan, Monsoon! Studd capitalizes with a backbreaker for one, and a bodyslam sets up an elbowdrop for two. Shoulderblock knocks Backlund to the apron, and Studd swings away on him there, but Bob ducks the blows, and slaps a crossface chickenwing on. Unfortunately for him, he’s still on the apron when he does, and the referee counts the champion out at 10:15. Kind of weird that they’re doing the countout finish after Backlund already pinned him cleanly the month prior. I mean, it’s a different arena, but still the same market. ¼*

WWF Title Texas Death Match: Bob Backlund v Don Muraco: From NYC on March 20 1983, and again, only Backlund’s gold is on the line, Muraco’s WWF Intercontinental title safe from loss. Backlund is all worked up at the bell, and he wrings his neck with a headlock to start. Bob lets off so he can have the pleasure of punching him in the head a bunch of times, and Muraco is kind of shocked, hiding in the ropes to regroup. Yeah, Backlund, crazy? Who would ever buy that? Bob cranks on another headlock as Don comes out of the corner (complete with a neat bit I’ve never seen where the fans count along with each crank like it’s a ten-punch count), until Don tries breaking via suplex, but Bob hangs on, taking him down into a mat-based version of the hold. Muraco fights to a vertical base and delivers a backbreaker, but Backlund still hangs on to the hold, really grinding it on. Muraco makes the ropes, so Backlund gives him an earringer, and it’s back to the headlock. Don forces a criss cross, and they knock heads, with Backlund ending up on the outside. Don bodyslams him back in, but Bob holds on into a cradle for two, and his own bodyslam follows. That allows Backlund to go back to the headlock, so Don tags him with a low blow to definitively escape, and considering it’s no DQ, he probably should have just done that right away. Now in control, Muraco delivers a pump-splash for two, and a series of boots send Backlund to the outside. Muraco follows to drop Bob across the guardrail, as Gorilla rants about the referee trying to enforce rules when there aren’t supposed to be DQs or countouts in this thing. Something tells me the official wasn’t actually informed, because he’s running this thing like it’s a standard match. Muraco tries to post him, but Bob reverses, and then bashes Don’s head into it a second time for good measure. That busts Muraco open, but Bob shows no mercy, dropping him across the rail out there. Back in, but Bob won’t let him, charging with a headbutt to knock Muraco into the rail. Bob allows him to get back in now, and he goes to town on his challenger with punches. Snapmare sets up a bootrake, and Bob hammers the cut. Muraco pulls out a powerslam out of nowhere, but it only gets two. It puts Don back in control, however, and he pounds Bob with kneedrops. Muraco goes upstairs, but Bob slams him off before he can dive, and he hooks Muraco in an overhead backbreaker hold. That’s some seriously impressive power from the champ there. Don escapes, triggering a reversal sequence that ends in Backlund using a bridging German suplex at 19:50. This one was also slow, but I dug the storytelling and psychology of it all more than in the February match. ** ¼

WWF Title Match: Bob Backlund v Sgt. Slaughter: From NYC, May 23 1983. Bob attacks before the bell, blitzing his challenger. Slaughter bumps all over the place for him, before bailing to regroup on the outside. Slaughter re-enters, so Bob welcomes him with a flurry of rights, and a cross corner whip gives Slaughter the opportunity to bump again. Bob hammers him with elbowsmashes, so Slaughter bails again, and he’s not looking well. Back in, more destruction from the champion. Finally, after over five minutes of non-stop abuse, Slaughter is able to fight back with a clothesline while Bob is charging him. That allows Slaughter to drop him across the top rope, and the challenger delivers a kneedrop for two. Slaughter with a backbreaker for two, so Bob uses a corner whip, but then runs into a knee when following in. Slaughter delivers a vertical suplex for two, but a second suplex gets reversed for two, and Bob adds a piledriver for two. Crossface chickenwing looks to finish, so Slaughter grabs his swagger stick, and whacks Bob for the DQ at 15:58. I was expecting something a lot more fun than this. ½*

WWF Title Match: Bob Backlund v Iron Sheik: From NYC, December 26 1983, and later aired on All American Wrestling on January 8 1984. Interestingly, I’ve never actually seen this one before. I’m not expecting a classic match, but it’ll be good to finally see it. Sheik attacks before the bell, choking Backlund down, and then holding him in an armbar. Bob escapes, so Sheik goes to a bow-and-arrow. Bob escapes, and tries a suplex, but his neck is battered from a pre-existing injury, and he can’t execute it. That allows Sheik to apply a mat-based abdominal stretch, until Bob escapes, but a bodyslam ends in Sheik toppling him for two. Sheik goes back to work with a bow-and-arrow, and man, Pat Patterson (on commentary) sounds so different at this point. Not just his voice and accent, but he’s not even mixing singulars and plurals! Backlund escapes, and tries a backslide, but the shoulder gives out. That allows Sheik to pound the part, but Bob blocks a suplex, and hooks a rollup - only for the neck to give out again! That allows Sheik to slap on the camel clutch, and Bob is done. But Bob doesn’t know he’s done, and won’t quit - so manager Arnold Skaaland throws in the towel at 11:48 to end Backlund's near six year long title reign. The match was not good, but it was certainly significant. And, of course, Sheik held the title for all of 28 days before Hulk Hogan steamrolled over him to kick start a new era. ¼*