World Wrestling Federation House Show
Date: 8/4/1984
From: Philadelphia, PA
MATCH #1: SALVATORE BELLOMO VS. BOB BACKLUND
FINISH: Backlund manages to counter Bellomo trying to counter a full nelson with a bridging pin to pickup the win. After the match, Backlund grabs the microphone and says he’s ready to get the belt back anytime. Well, this would be Backlund’s final appearance in the WWF until his return in 1992.
Bob’s Take: A bit of a slower start to the match with a mat wrestling start, and that shouldn’t be too surprising. The fans express a level of boredom, and that’s been a growing feeling in recent months with Backlund matches I’ve noticed. Backlund’s style seems to be the old trend and the audience is not vibing with it very well. Backlund as a singles top star may be old news and if he doesn’t turn heel, his team with B. Brian Blair could have potential to keep him relevant. Backlund has head scissor control for a bit, and the crowd is audibly booing him more audibly than before. Bellomo rallies and the crowd is supporting him quite a bit. Backlund dropkicked Bellomo to the floor, which Bellomo took a good bump to the floor to pop the crowd. The crowd popped positively for Backlund winning the bout, so their interest in Backlund is a bit confusing. The action wasn’t too bad and fairly enjoyable despite it’s slower pace.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #2: DAVE BARBIE VS. GAMA SINGH
FINISH: Singh prevails following a top rope missile dropkick.
Bob’s Take: Singh has a bizarre haircut as he’s horribly balding down the middle of his head, but seemingly refuses to embrace balding and is hanging onto hair as best as he can. I’m not familiar with either man and since there’s no connection it’s a bit difficult to care much for this one. The missile dropkick was a fine finish, but there wasn’t much here to enjoy.
Match Rating: *
Backstage, Kal Rudman interviews Mr. Fuji regarding his upcoming match and notes that Fuji turned on Tiger Chung Lee last month at the Spectrum. Fuji says Koreans were Japanese slaves and that Chung Lee didn’t listen to him and he had to punish him. Fuji thinks Japanese are always superior to Koreans. Chung Lee didn’t listen to Fuji telling him to deliver his kicks, apparently. Fuji is going to make Chung Lee suffer and scream for mercy. Rudman calls out Fuji for saying this before and then failing to get the job done. Fuji admits that’s happened, but tonight is going to be different. Fuji calls Chung Lee cabbage head.
MATCH #3: MR. FUJI VS. TIGER CHUNG LEE
FINISH: Fuji wins cleanly following two middle rope splashes.
Bob’s Take: I wasn’t sure if the crowd truly would care about this, but Chung Lee got a good babyface reaction upon his arrival. Chung Lee whacks Fuji with the kendo stick a couple of times right as the bell sounded, but the referee didn’t disqualify Chung Lee. Fuji is hiding a bag of salt clearly right in front of the referee. Fuji gets stuck in the ropes allowing Chung Lee to beat on Fuji some more. They end up on the floor where Fuji sent Chung Lee into the ring post. Chung Lee hit a nice double under hook suplex late in the match, but couldn’t followup on the advantage. Fuji puts the ever devastating claw hold on Chung Lee’s stomach at one point. The referee sees Fuji trying to use the salt, and Fuji panics when it’s taken away. The crowd pops for that and support Chung Lee’s flurry of offense. I am stunned to see Fuji pinning Chung Lee cleanly. I thought Chung Lee would have gotten a win here since the crowd was behind him quite a bit. This is an interesting choice. Chung Lee was entertaining when he was in control and thankfully this wasn’t a 20+ minute match or anything.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #4: ANDRE THE GIANT VS. BIG JOHN STUDD
FINISH: Andre wins the match by count-out after Studd left the ring after avoiding a slam attempt.
Bob’s Take: In three short years Andre mobility is severely more limited, so it’s a bit odd to see him moving around so well on these house shows. You truly get a better appreciation for his skillset seeing him being able to move around better. Andre is such a force that I don’t see Studd as any sort of viable threat to him. Studd generates heel heat just by stalling for a bit. They did a great job at teasing Andre slamming Studd, but Studd avoided it twice and Studd bailed to prevent a blowoff of that angle. Action wise there wasn’t much going on here, but the fans are wanting to see Andre slam Studd and they’ve delayed it a bit longer. That’s just the business, folks. Maybe Andre will get it done next month.
Match Rating: *
Backstage, Kal Rudman interviews WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan regarding his title defense against Greg Valentine. They censored Hogan calling Kal ‘Killer’, by the way. Hogan likes Kal and talks about the Rocky statue having smaller arms than him. Hogan likes that his arms are bigger than Rocky. Hogan says that Kal has been holding out his association with top musical acts. Hogan puts over Greg Valentine and the figure four leg lock. Hogan asks Kal to watch his back tonight. Hogan does call Kal ‘killer’ several times that don’t go censored. Hogan warns Kal to expect the unexpected as Valentine has ended careers. Hogan recalls getting busted open last time in Philadelphia. Hogan asks Valentine what he’s going to do when he goes wild on him. Hogan believes he can break through anything as long as the crowd supports him.
MATCH #5: WWF WORLD CHAMPION HULK HOGAN VS. GREG VALENTINE
FINISH: Hogan retains the title after delivering a clothesline and a leg drop. After the match, Valentine tosses the referee down and Hogan punches Valentine in the corner to end the segment.
Bob’s Take: Greg Valentine is one of many wrestlers that I have found a greater appreciation watching his prime stuff and not his latter years. Valentine tries to get control early on with strikes, but Hogan battled back quickly to get the crowd lava hot for the champ. Valentine regains control and knee dropped Hogan several times. The crowd is noticeably buzzing for this match. Valentine continues with strikes on the floor and a middle rope strike to keep Hogan on the mat. Valentine’s offense is strong enough to hold interest as the throws in a slam and works over Hogan some more on the mat. Valentine throws a chair onto Hogan’s knee right in front of the referee, but didn’t get disqualified for his actions. Valentine’s figure four leg lock has been getting good hype on commentary and continues to be a focus for this match. Hogan decks Valentine with a clothesline off the ropes to start his comeback and a suplex from the apron into the ring. Valentine cuts off Hogan with a forearm and more strikes on the mat. Valentine pummeled Hogan on floor and rammed the champ into the ring steps face first. Valentine continues with a backbreaker and a middle rope elbow drop for a close fall. Hogan tries another comeback slamming Valentine off the top, but Valentine kept his focus on the knee. Hogan runs through Valentine with a clothesline and leg drop to retain the title. Hogan gave a lot to Valentine here, and I think this did quite a bit for Valentine to look like a viable threat. It’s not a high profile title defense for Hogan, but Hogan looked vulnerable and Valentine worked very well here.
Match Rating: ***
MATCH #6: THE FABULOUS FREEBIRDS (HAYES, GORDY & ROBERTS) VS. CHARLIE FULTON, RENE GOULET & RON SHAW
NOTE: This is the debut for the Fabulous Freebirds in the WWF. They had been wrestling for WCCW and the NWA previously. They arrived to the arena in a limo. It’s quite a different introduction than any other WWF act you’d see. Also, Cyndi Lauper came out with them. That’s a bit of a big deal.
FINISH: Roberts and Hayes backdrop Shaw into Gordy leading to a powerbomb finish for the win.
Bob’s Take: The Freebirds have never been in the WWF, but the audience responded well to them and it’s obvious that they have expanded nationally to be known amongst wrestling fans. Hayes antics especially got the crowd responding to him a they appeared to like his dance moves. The finish is fantastic and I’m thinking there’s potential here for the Freebirds. Lauper being associated with them makes them look like bigger deals. Freebirds are near the end of their WCCW run, but they’re not destined for a long run in the WWF here. Regardless, this was an entertaining enhancement segment.
Match Rating: **
MATCH #7: DANNY CARPENTER VS. HAITI KID
NOTE: This is a special attraction match featuring two ‘midget’ wrestlers.
FINISH: Haiti avoids a splash in the corner and pins Carpenter with a rollup.
Bob’s Take: This is essentially a rematch from the July 15th show in East Rutherford. Haiti tossed Carpenter to the floor a few times which allowed Carpenter to go under the ring, but there’s not a sneak attack as Haiti kept control with dropkicks. It feels like the July match was a test run and they shortened the match quite a bit in Philadelphia. It was a lot more tolerable at this length and the Philly crowd responded fairly well to it.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #8: JESSE VENTURA VS. ROCKY JOHNSON
NOTE: Before the match, Ventura claims that Johnson looks like a steroid and wants to do a pose down. Ventura would never touch steroids, so he says.
FINISH: Ventura wins the match by count-out.
Bob’s Take: Ventura naturally attacks Johnson with a top rope strike as Johnson was posing for the crowd and followed up with a piledriver. It’s one of the hotter ways to start a match that I’ve seen in 1984. Johnson is spazzing on the floor as if he’s injured his neck and the match is over that quickly. If they are setting up something more between these two they did an effective job. However, after looking it up.. they did nothing with this.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #9: KAMALA VS. FRED MARZINO
NOTE: Kamala has just arrived to the WWF a few weeks prior. This is Kamala’s debut at the Spectrum. Kamala is managed by Kimchee and Freddie Blassie.
FINISH: Kamala wins the squash following a big splash coming off the ropes.
Bob’s Take: Kamala pummels Marzino with strikes and chokes on the mat. The crowd appears to be stunned by Kamala. There’s a silence, but also a bit of a buzz attached to Kamala. A simple squash to the point. I dig Kamala.
Match Rating: *
MATCH #10: KEN PATERA VS. STEVE LOMBARDI
FINISH: Patera picks up the win following a leg drop.
Bob’s Take: I had to look it up, but Patera’s incident at McDonalds that led to a prison sentence took place in April of 1984. Such a different time for a wrestler involved in an alleged crime to be actively competing. Patera is getting a good crowd reaction from the crowd as he controls most of the match. Well, I’m a bit confused by Patera using the leg drop to win considering Hogan is using it and he’s a massive star. Anyway, this wasn’t anything all that worthwhile.
Match Rating: 1/2*
They rundown the card for the next show on September 1st, 1984. Rocky Johnson versus Greg Valentine. WWF Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch defend against the Wild Samoans. Jesse Ventura will square off against Ivan Putski. The feature attraction will see Roddy Piper battle Andre The Giant. All those matches do occur as advertised.
MAIN EVENT: WWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION TITO SANTANA VS. IRON SHEIK
NOTE: Freddie Blassie is the special referee.
FINISH: Santana gets an inside cradle on Sheik, and Blassie is ignoring it, but a second referee comes out and counts the fall for Santana to retain the title!
Bob’s Take: Okay, this is a bit odd. Blassie is clearly a manager for a heel wrestler (Kamala) and now he’s the special referee for this match. Commentary notes that Santana may need to wrestle against two guys. Is this going to setup Kamala as a potential challenger at some point? I feel like there’s not a ton of interest in this match, at least for me. Sheik keeps control on Santana with basic strikes and rams Santana into the corner a few times. Blassie is clearly trying to do a fast count on Santana at one point. Blassie takes forever to try and count a Santana pin on Sheik. Fans are throwing some trash into the ring because they know what Blassie is trying to do. Late in the match, Santana hit a flying forearm, but Blassie was kicking trash out of the ring. I honestly like that a second referee came out to allow a clean finish and send the crowd home happy. Blassie did a good job as a heel referee, too.
Match Rating: **
Final Thoughts:
Hogan/Valentine was a good match and Kamala being in the WWF could be fun to see. However, this is a mostly subpar show. I liked the Ventura/Johnson match, but they aren’t going to followup on that to mean more than what was accomplished here. Not a recommended show to view.
Thanks for reading.