World Wrestling Federation House Show
Date: 11/10/1984
From: Philadelphia, PA
Dick Graham and Gorilla Monsoon are on commentary.
MATCH #1: RICK MCGRAW VS. RENE GOULET
FINISH: The match ends in a time limit draw. After the match, McGraw decks Goulet to the floor.
Bob’s Take: A bit of a slower start as expected as there’s a bit of stalling from Goulet and basic countering each other to kickoff the battle. McGraw’s early offense is mostly hip tosses and arm bars. Goulet gets control after biting McGraw’s forehead and kept delivering strikes in the corner. McGraw is dumped to the floor at one point and the crowd voices their displeasure towards Goulet. McGraw appears to be selling his ankle after being knocked off the apron. Goulet puts a double claw on McGraw at one point, but isn’t able to prevail with the hold. At one point, they collide heads in the middle of the ring. McGraw gets some steam with a press slam off the ropes and a dropkick, but can’t get a three count. They counter each other on rollup attempts and the bell sounded just as McGraw pummeled Goulet on the mat, which the crowd loved to see. This is a formula match where nothing happens for a good while and the last minute and half has substance, but it wasn’t very good anyway.
Match Rating: *
MATCH #2: JOSE LUIS RIVERA VS. TERRY GIBBS
FINISH: Gibbs wins following an atomic drop.
Bob’s Take: These two are wearing basically the same attire and it’s visually not appealing to have two basic dudes wearing black trunks and in the ring just squaring off. The crowd is not caring much about this one, and I don’t blame them as they are just rolling around on the mat not providing impactful offense for a good while. For me, I think I didn’t have interest because neither man stood out visually. This is a filler match if I’ve ever seen one.
Match Rating: 1/2*
MATCH #3: MIKE ROTUNDO VS. JOHNNY RODZ
NOTE: This is Rotundo’s first WWF televised match.
FINISH: Rotundo picks up the win with the airplane spin.
Bob’s Take: Coming off a match with two bland wrestlers, we get another bland wrestler in Rotundo being highlighted. At least their approach is a bit better with a strike focused attack to keep some level of interest instead of rest holds. Rotundo is very new to the area and there isn’t a connection with the audience to keep interest in his match. The crowd didn’t sound overly impressed by Rotundo and the finish.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Backstage, Kal Rudman interviews Brutus Beefcake and Johnny Valiant. Beefcake says everyone wants to touch him and confirms he’s single. Valiant chimes in saying that women have to go through him to touch Beefcake. The audio is not great on my copy, but Valiant does say ‘how do you like your eggs in the morning?’ towards potential women courting Beefcake.
MATCH #4: SAMULA VS. BRUTUS BEEFCAKE
FINISH: Beefcake wins following a jumping high knee strike.
Bob’s Take: Samula has the early advantage boot scrapping Beefcake’s face, which Beefcake didn’t like and naturally complains about it. Samula continued with arm drags, but Beefcake isn’t liking that either. Beefcake tried to gain control with mat wrestling, but is sent to the floor reeling. Beefcake gets the cheap advantage following an eye rake and pummels Samula on the mat. There’s some good energy between the two trading strikes, but Beefcake makes the mistake trying to headbutt Samula. Samula delivers several headbutts much to the delight of the fans, but missed a top rope diving headbutt. The finish is a bit abrupt, but probably necessary to keep Samula strong. This was a better match than what I’ve seen from Beefcake prior.
Match Rating: **1/4
MATCH #5: DAVID SAMMARTINO VS. CHARLIE FULTON
FINISH: Sammartino wins following a powerslam.
Bob’s Take: Fulton controls the match early on with basic strikes, but that didn’t last too long as Sammartino came back with a press slam. Sammartino keeps control for a bit focusing on arm bars. Fulton regained control with chokes and basic strikes. Sammartino battled back with a backdrop and a powerslam for the finish. A short match, which is fine by me. There wasn’t too much of a lull during the match and that’s appreciated.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #6: TONGA KID VS. MOONDOG SPOT
FINISH: Tonga wins following a top rope crossbody. After the match, Spot attacks Tonga with strikes. Moondog delivers a gut buster and a knee lift. Spot grabs his bone, but Tonga fights back and grabs the bone leading the crowd to erupt, but Spot bails to the floor.
Bob’s Take: Tonga got sent to the floor early, but quickly return much to the delight of the fans and works over Spot in the corner with strikes. Tonga boot strikes Spot on the mat and kept basic control for a bit. Tonga does have some great energy compared to other workers. I will say that. Spot stops Tonga with a thrust kick to the chest. Spot comes off the top for a strike onto Tonga causing Tonga to bail to the floor to regroup. Spot misses a middle rope knee drop attempt. Tonga tries to make a comeback, but is cut off by an elbow strike. Tonga quickly fights back with a chop and heads to the top hitting a crossbody for the win. I really enjoyed Tonga here as his energy stands out and his offense was enjoyable and fast paced.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #7: BLACKJACK MULLIGAN VS. MOONDOG REX
FINISH: Mulligan wins following a spinning elbow strike.
Bob’s Take: A far slower match at the start than the previous bout safe to say. Mulligan casually kicks Rex on the groin at one point. This match was maybe two minutes long and felt like their time got cut or something. Basically a squash for Mulligan.
Match Rating: 1/2*
MATCH #7: BARRY WINDHAM VS. JERRY VALIANT
FINISH: Windham picks up the win following a bulldog.
Bob’s Take: They didn’t spell Barry’s last name correctly as it says ‘Windom’ on the screen. Windham gets Valiant stuck in the ropes at one point and delivered strikes followed by a clothesline. Hilariously, Windham hits a bulldog, but Monsoon didn’t think he got it and it was the finish. I’m assuming Monsoon had never seen a bulldog before. Another squash on the show.
Match Rating: 1/2*
MATCH #8: ANDRE THE GIANT VS. BIG JOHN STUDD
FINISH: Andre and Studd are counted out. After the match, Andre and Studd continue to brawl on the floor. Studd tries to use a table, but escapes backstage to avoid Andre further.
Bob’s Take: Andre goes right after Studd as soon as he arrives and decks Studd. The crowd is loving this. Studd is able to avoid a back splash in the corner to get a few strikes, but Andre overcomes that offense attack with a right hand and stands on Studd! Studd hasn’t fully gotten his robe off until Andre rips it off and continues to beat on Studd. Studd gets control with several strikes and an elbow drop. Studd has a foreign object in his right hand, but has not used it. Heenann distracted the referee allowing Studd to use the object to lay out Andre. Studd and Andre both fall over the ropes and continue to brawl where Studd sent Andre into the railing. Andre is busted wide open, by the way. Studd sends Andre into the railing a couple of times. I liked this intensity and Andre getting color feels like a major deal and enhances this feud quite a bit for me. This is probably the most enjoyable match I’ve seen between the two up to this point.
Match Rating: **1/2
The match card for December 1st, 1984 is announced. Ken Patera will wrestle Rocky Johnson (doesn’t happen). Bob Orton in action against Mike Rotundo. Buddy Rose returns to wrestle Barry Windham. Mr. Fuji battles Blackjack Mulligan (doesn’t happen). WWF Women’s Champion Wendi Richter defends against Judy Martin. The main event will see Roddy Piper wrestling Tonga Kid. Jimmy Snuka will be Tonga Kid’s corner for the match.
Backstage, Kal Rudman interviews Junkyard Dog. JYD signed for the Texas Tornado match because he needs money to support his wife. Again, the audio isn’t very good to hear what’s being said.
MAIN EVENT: SGT. SLAUGHTER & JUNKYARD DOG VS. NIKOLAI VOLKOFF & THE IRON SHEIK — TEXAS TORNADO TAG MATCH
FINISH: Slaughter forces Sheik to pass out to the cobra clutch to win the match.
Bob’s Take: They don’t waste any time going at it as JYD and Slaughter are ready for battle and send the heels reeling to the floor much to the crowds delight. Slaughter nails Sheik with his helmet as JYD worked over Volkoff. The crowd is absolutely electric for his battle. The no rules aspect is enhancing the entertainment for the match. JYD delivers his trademark crawling headbutts on Sheik and Slaughter pretends to piss on Sheik like he’s a dog. This is just good stuff. Sheik and Volkoff gain control of the match and the crowd is giving them a ton of heat for it. Slaughter saved JYD from a top rope attack by Volkoff. They are portraying this as a fight very well instead of a wrestling bout. This may be one of the better main events I’ve seen on the house shows for the year and the match isn’t over yet. Sheik tosses Slaughter over the ropes in the corner to keep JYD by himself in the ring. Volkoff prevents Slaughter from getting int he ring and Sheik put the camel clutch on JYD. Volkoff assists for extra leverage and continues to prevent Slaughter fro getting in the ring. Slaughter is able to eventually get back in the ring and saves JYD. However, JYD and Slaughter are sent into each other and the faces are beaten down again with Sheik using his belt on Slaughter. Slaughter battles back with a double clothesline. Slaughter put the cobra clutch on Sheik. JYD prevents Volkoff from using a chair as Sheik passes out to the cobra clutch. Honestly, this was fantastic. The brawling and total lack of structure made this so much fun. It was a fight between two teams that do not like each other and the crowd was hot for the entire encounter. Great stuff.
Match Rating: ****
Final Thoughts:
The last two matches were enjoyable and the main event was truly a fantastic brawl. Philadelphia being red hot for the action made it even better. Tonga Kid is a fun wrestler to watch even in a short match. Before the final two matches I was leaning toward a thumbs down, but this is an overall average show with a must-see main event.
Thanks for reading.