World Wrestling Federation House Show
Date: 5/5/1984
From: Philadelphia, PA
MATCH #1: RENE GOULET VS. AKIRA MAEDA
FINISH: Goulet suplexs Maeda into the ring from the apron to win the match.
Bob’s Take: It’s amazing how livid the fans can get when Goulet complained of a hair pull early in the match. Man, such an easier time to get heel heat. The offense isn’t all that exciting as the focus is mostly on strikes by both men. Goulet picks up the intensity after slamming Maeda to the mat. Maeda didn’t get a whole lot of offense and this felt more like an extended squash for Goulet.
Match Rating: *
MATCH #2: RON SHAW VS. B. BRIAN BLAIR
FINISH: Blair picks up the win with an abdominal stretch rollup.
Bob’s Take: They kind of had a similar start as the opening contest, and I think the crowd is looking for a stronger start to the match. These early 80s house show matches certainly have a formula and the undercard matches tend to keep it pretty simple and to the point. Shaw cheap shots Blair in the corner to gain the advantage and makes use of his advantage with a slam and dropkick. Blair had some good fire on his comeback, and the crowd showed appreciation for his efforts.
Match Rating: *
MATCH #3: AFA VS. SALVATORE BELLOMO
FINISH: Afa pins Bellomo following a jumping headbutt to the mat.
Bob’s Take: Afa worked over Bellomo early on and the crowd seemed a lot more engaged in his offense than they normally are when a heel is working over a babyface. Bellomo must be a really good sympathetic character. Bellomo has some good fire on his attempted comeback and the crowd rallies behind him very well. This was a surprisingly enjoyable enhancement match. Afa seems to be over with the crowd and kept engagement and Bellomo is a lot of fun as an enhancement wrestler as the crowd gets behind him very well.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #4: SGT. SLAUGHTER VS. DAVID SCHULTZ
NOTE: There are two referees for this match, both of whom are in the ring at the same time.
FINISH: Slaughter decks Schultz with a clothesline to win the match.
Bob’s Take: The fans must have really been wanting to cheer Slaughter, because they are going nuts for Slaughter here. Schultz turned on Slaughter at the last Spectrum show. Slaughter gets the advantage and gets a bit extreme working over Schultz on the floor. Slaughter teased jumping off the top to the floor, but thought better of it. Schultz is able to sidestep a shoulder ram in the corner and Slaughter hit the post. Schultz hits a middle rope elbow drop to provide some impactful offense. There weren’t several layers to this as Slaughter won after avoiding a second elbow drop attempt. Schultz didn’t have a long beatdown segment. This went ten minutes, but it flew by. They could have said this went five minutes and I’d believe it.
Match Rating: **1/2
MATCH #5: JOSE LUIS RIVERA VS. TIGER CHUNG LEE
FINISH: Chung Lee rolls through a running crossbody and pins Rivera to win the match.
Bob’s Take: The shift in interest from the crowd is rather drastic here as they don’t seem to care too much for these two compared to Slaughter’s match. Safe to say they’ve been put in a tough spot. Chung Lee isn’t all that great with keeping compelling offense and it’s a slow bout when he’s in charge. The crowd can be heard expressing their boredom at some points in the match. The crowd isn’t very supportive of Rivera’s comeback attempts. This is quite a lame duck match.
Match Rating: DUD
MATCH #6: BUZZ SAWYER VS. TONGA KID
FINISH: Sawyer pins Tonga Kid following a bulldog. After the match, Sawyer bites Tonga. Capt. Lou tells commentary that Sawyer had been locked up for four months and promises that he’s not suicidal or homicidal.
Bob’s Take: Sawyer comes across as a maniac, and does a good job of portraying himself as a lunatic. Sawyer slowly got the crowd to be curious about him by pacing around ringside before the match started. I liked Sawyer’s performance and Tonga sold very well for him.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #7: WWF WORLD CHAMPION HULK HOGAN VS. IRON SHEIK
FINISH: Hogan and Sheik brawl to the floor causing a double count-out. After the match, Hogan continues to attack a bloodied Sheik hitting him with the championship. Hogan is stopped by a few wrestlers as the crowd eats up his beating on Sheik.
Bob’s Take: Sheik attacks Hogan before the bell sounds to get the cheap advantage. That may be the only way to realistically get control on the champ for Sheik. Sheik hit Hogan over the back with the belt, but the referee doesn’t disqualify Sheik. The crowd loves Hogan on his comeback on Sheik with several strikes. Sheik gets the advantage and busts Hogan up. Sheik focuses his attack on the open wound. Hogan fires back rather quickly and hits the leg drop after a scoop slam, but didn’t go for the cover. Hogan takes Sheik’s boot off. Hogan whacks Sheik over the head with the boot and Sheik is bloodied, too. They were both counted out, which means this feud must continue. I thought this was a good brawl and the blood added to the match.
Match Rating: **1/2
MATCH #8: WWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION TITO SANTANA VS. GREG VALENTINE
FINISH: Greg Valentine is disqualified for dropping Santana on the top rope groin first. Santana retains the title.
Bob’s Take: A slow start to the match as they focused on test of strength and general mat wrestling. The crowd engages with Santana striking Valentine in the corner as a sign of intensity is picking up for the match. Valentine cuts off Santana by dropping Santana over the top rope and proceeds to work over the champ for a bit. Valentine focused on working over Santana’s throat. Santana fights back, but runs into a knee in the corner to stall his offense. Valentine missed a few elbow drops and is met with a flying forearms smash by Santana. Santana misses a charging attack and crashed to the floor. Santana tries to fight back, but is crotched over the top by Valentine, and that caused the disqualification. This felt like setting up for a bigger match between the two. However, it’s a good sampler for a future battle between the two.
Match Rating: **
MATCH #9: TERRY DANIELS VS. RENE GOULET
FINISH: Daniels counters a slam attempt with a cradle and manages to pin Goulet. After the match, Goulet throws Daniels to the floor out of frustration.
Bob’s Take: Not entirely sure why Goulet would need to be pulling double duty, but here we are. Compared to everyone else on the show, Daniels looks like and kind of wrestlers like you’d expect a young kid to fight a grown man. One thing I like about Daniels is he’s constantly moving forward and trying to overwhelm Goulet. I don’t hate Daniels winning, but this felt like it went on far too long for a time filler.
Match Rating: 1/2*
MATCH #10: PEGGY LEE & WENDY RICHTER VS. DONNA CHRISTIANELLO & SUSAN STARR
FINISH: Starr pins Lee after Richter accidentally hit Lee with an elbow strike.
Bob’s Take: The crowd is far more interested in whistling at the women than they are enjoying the action, and that just tells you about how little respect some women’s wrestling was given at the time and continued that way for many, many years. There wasn’t much going on here and it was a rather dull match.
Match Rating: *
MAIN EVENT: ROCKY JOHNSON VS. SAMULA
FINISH: Johnson avoids a crossbody attempt by Samula and ends up winning with a sunset flip.
Bob’s Take: Johnson looks super human with his physique. Early on there’s not much wrestling going on as Samula controls Johnson for several minutes. The last thirty-seconds of the match had the crowd invested, but this was overall a quite boring encounter to close the show.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Final Thoughts:
Hogan/Sheik was the best match and it was clear that they’re going to have another meaningful match at some point to blowoff the feud. However, I thought this was a weak overall Spectrum show.
Thanks for reading.