World Wrestling Federation House Show
Date: 7/7/1984
From: Philadelphia, PA
Dick Graham and Mean Gene are on commentary. I can’t recall a time where Gene was doing color commentary for a whole show before.
MATCH #1: MOONDOG REX VS. SALVATORE BELLOMO
FINISH: Bellomo counters a powerslam attempt with a cradle to pickup the win. After the match, Rex decks Bellomo to the floor with a right hand.
Bob’s Take: Bellomo got a better reaction than he had gotten in previous showings, but there are still a scatter of boos. Bellomo gets momentum by hitting dropkicks early into the match. Bellomo hit a crossbody at one point, but got sent to the floor on a kick out and appears to have hurt his knee after crashing to the floor. The finish is fine, and this feels like a bit of an upset victory. Bellomo winning a match once in awhile is going to bring some doubt into his future matches at least in the short-term. Even with the victory, there are a few scattered jeers.
Match Rating: *
Backstage, Kal Rudman interviews Bobo Brazil regarding his match with Big John Studd. Brazil likes wrestling big guys, and wants to wrestle the big challenges. Brazil claims he’s double trouble and he’s here to stay in the WWF. He’s not going anywhere in the WWF.
MATCH #2: BOBO BRAZIL VS. BIG JOHN STUDD
NOTE: Despite saying he wasn’t going anywhere in his promo, this would mark Bobo’s last match for the WWF in 1984, and had one last non-televised match in 1987.
FINISH: Brazil misses a leg drop allowing Studd to hit an elbow drop for the win. After the match, Studd insists being called ‘Giant Studd.”
Bob’s Take: Brazil started wrestling in 1950, so at this point he’s been wrestling for over thirty years, and he honestly moves around a lot better than some guys who had worked half or less the amount of time. It’s a bit of a slower paced match, but the crowd responded fairly well to the action for the most part. There wasn’t much of impactful offense, but considering Brazil is a bit older that shouldn’t have been a surprise.
Match Rating: 1/2*
MATCH #3: PAT PATTERSON VS. GREG VALENTINE
FINISH: Valentine forces Patterson to submit to the figure four leg lock. After the match, Valentine puts the figure four on Patterson again.
Bob’s Take: A better paced match compared to the other matches beforehand as Valentine showed a more intense and determined offensive focus to work over Patterson at the start. Patterson has some good fire to get the crowd behind him working over Valentine with an atomic drop and backbreaker. The energy for this match far exceeded anything I expected. Patterson misses a top rope knee drop attempt and that lead to the finish for Valentine. Patterson got far more in this match and it’s an example of Valentine winning with mostly just his finisher. I thought this was a good undercard match.
Match Rating: ***
Backstage, WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan is interviewed by Kal Rudman. Hogan puts over his arms being bigger than anyones head. Hogan is on a natural high and says there was a party in the parking lot. Hogan is ready for Paula tonight. Hogan is ready for Orndorff and has pity for Orndorff. Orndorff has said that Hogan is a movie wrestler and can’t pick up Orndorff. Hogan says he has the bone that all the dogs want and he’s the baddest dog in the yard. Hogan wants Orndorff to step in the ring with him if he has enough courage. Hogan fell in love with the title when he won it and he likes being number one. Hogan uses the power of his fans to take it out on his opponent and tonight that is Orndorff.
MATCH #4: WWF WORLD CHAMPION HULK HOGAN VS. PAUL ORNDORFF
FINISH: Orndorff misses a top rope knee drop and is met with a clothesline and the leg drop allowing Hogan to win the match and retain the title. After the match, Orndorff decks the referee and attacks Hogan with strikes in the corner. Hogan stares at Orndorff prompting Orndorff to runaway.
Bob’s Take: The crowd is electric for this showdown, which may be more so for Hogan’s appearance than it is for Orndorff, but Orndorff does have some heat attached to him. Hogan goes right after Orndorff at the start with a series of strikes and atomic drops. Hogan continued on the floor and the crowd erupted for the early attack. Orndorff continues to struggle early on in the match and Hogan delivered a slam to keep the advantage. Orndorff finally gets some momentum by eye raking Hogan and sending Hogan into the railing followed by a chair shot, which the referee saw but didn’t disqualify Orndorff. Hogan is actually bleeding on the back of his head. That advantage is rather short as Hogan fought back quickly. Orndorff cuts off Hogan with a clothesline in the corner and drives Hogan face first onto the mat. There were a couple of moments where I thought Hogan was going to start his finishing sequence, but Orndorff fought back to keep the match going. Late in the match, Orndorff missed a top rope strike attempt leading to the finish. I thought this was a solid match, but Orndorff didn’t come across as a big time threat to Hogan compared to other challengers. Regardless, it was an enjoyable match.
Match Rating: **1/2
MATCH #5: THE WILD SAMOANS (AFA & SIKA) VS. MR FUJI & TIGER CHUNG LEE
FINISH: Samoans hit a double headbutt on Lee to win the match. After the match, Fuji returns to the ring and attacks Lee with the microphone cord and chops Lee to the floor.
Bob’s Take: Fuji is hiding an illegal object from the referee, but the fans are aware of it early on as Fuji started off with Afa. It’s a bit of a slower match to start with the Samoans having control on Fuji and Lee. I honestly have zero interest in the the duo of Fuji and Lee. The Samoans tend to have some entertainment to them, but knowing this match has a match time of over twenty minutes is terrifying. A good portion of the match is focused on the ever damaging nerve hold. It’s what I expected to see from Fuji and Lee, honestly. Late in the match, Fuji simply bails on his partner leading to the finish. There was no reason for this to go twenty minutes.
Match Rating: DUD
Backstage, Kal Rudman interviews Roddy Piper to promote likely a bloody match in Philly. Piper brags about coconut and bananas all over Snuka. Piper says Snuka shouldn’t even be wrestling because he has a concussion. Piper insults Snuka for not knowing when he’s being insulted. Piper doesn’t care who it is because he will fight anyone at any time.
MATCH #6: RODDY PIPER VS. JIMMY SNUKA
FINISH: Piper drops Snuka groin first over the top rope causing a disqualification. After the match, Piper decks the referee and the referee bounces on all three ropes in an infamous meme. However, the referee no sells the strike and is up quickly. Snuka recovers and scares Piper to the back.
Bob’s Take: The crowd is buzzing for this one, and Snuka wasted no time going right after Piper and there’s a noticeable investment from the crowd. Piper selling great for Snuka and begging off after talking crap moments earlier. This is fantastic. Piper getting beaten up for his antics and the crowd loving it. It’s these kinds of segments that make these shows so much fun to watch. Piper gets control with strikes and his demeanor changes to being a ruthless heel and not a cowardly begging off heel is quite the visual. At one point, Snuka and Piper fall over the ropes to the floor where Piper rams Snuka into the ring steps. The finish is a bit lame, but I hope there’s a blowoff between these two because the crowd was loving this and it was a fun segment.
Match Rating: **1/4
MATCH #7: STEVE LOMBARDI VS. GEORGE STEELE
FINISH: Steele wins by submission with a lifting hammerlock. After the match, Steele decks the referee. Steele also attacks the ring announcer before walking off.
Bob’s Take: A cool down match after the hot segment between Snuka and Piper is needed before the main event. So, I understand the placement here. Steele is a bit of a comedy character so it’s not a horribly dull segment because Steele provides entertainment with his antics to pop the crowd a little bit. Steele ripped open the turnbuckle pads and didn’t do much offensively. Steele focuses his attack sending Lombardi into the exposed buckle, and how that isn’t a disqualification is beyond me.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Announcement for the August 4th event is next. It is announced that Ken Patera will be on the show. The Fabulous Freebirds will make their debut. Bob Backlund (booed) will wrestle Sal Bellomo. Kamala will make his debut against Terry Daniels (doesn’t appear). There will be a special ‘midget match’ between Haiti Kid and Danny Carpenter. Jesse Ventura will be in singles action against Rocky Johnson. Mr. Fuji will square off against Tiger Chung Lee. WWF Intercontinental Champion Tito Santana defends against The Iron Sheik and Freddie Blassie will be the referee. WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan defends against Greg Valentine. There has been a bonus match signed. Big John Studd will battle Andre The Giant! This feels like a loaded show to me.
MAIN EVENT: WWF TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS ADRIAN ADONIS & DICK MURDOCH VS. B. BRIAN BLAIR & BOB BACKLUND
FINISH: Late in the match, Adonis & Murdoch hit a back suplex/top rope clothesline combo on Blair to win the match and retain the titles.
Bob’s Take: Blair and Murdoch started off the match and they had a stronger start than I thought there would be as it wasn’t a slow start with stalling or anything. Adonis tried to keep control after Murdoch knee lifted Blair, but failed to keep the advantage. Adonis does a great job bumping around for the Blair in the early moments of the match. Backlund gets involved delivering scoop slams to the champs along with Blair to continue the momentum. Backlund gets the hot tag and sends Adonis flipping into the corner, but the crowd doesn’t appear to be overly pumped for his involvement. I’m bit surprised that Blair and Backlund had control for a good portion of the match. Naturally, as soon as I type that, Blair gets double teamed for a bit by the champs. Adonis tries for a bulldog on Blair, but is sent hard into the corner. Backlund gets the hot tag and goes after Adonis. The crowd does pop for the attempted chicken wing, but Murdoch came off the top to break the hold. It’s bizarre to see the fans dislike Backlund, and then when it comes to the underdog segment of the match, they are behind him positively. At one point, Adonis gets trapped in the ropes, but is able to break free. The finish is good and I love a decisive finish to end the show. Blair and Backlund were a good team that could be something I’d like to see on a regular basis. Adonis bumping throughout the match was very good.
Match Rating: ***
Final Thoughts:
I thought this was a good overall show with Valentine/Patterson, Hogan/Orndorff, Snuka/Piper and the tag title main event matches all being good wrestling or enjoyable segment. I’m looking forward to the August show at the Spectrum.
Thanks for reading.