WWF Championship Wrestling 1/7/1984

WWF Championship Wrestling 1/7/1984

Mean Gene Okerlund and Vince McMahon are our hosts. They say Dr. D David Schultz makes his first TV appearance for the promotion but he had already debuted the week prior on Wrestling at The Chase.

Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas vs Bill Dixon and Charlie Fulton

Rocky gets a hammerlock on CF and CF ropebreaks. Tony wristlocks him and CF tags out. Bill gets wristlocked then Rocky armlocks him. Rocky shoulders Bill over then armdrags him. Tony armlocks Bill.

CF gets back in. Tony top wristlocks him, CF does a hammerlock then Tony reverses it. Rocky keeps them hammerlock on. Rocky boots away Bill. Tony wristlocks Bill. Tony hits corner spears then hiptosses Bill.

Bill is hit in the gut then takes a slingshot sunset flip from Rocky. Rocky pins Bill.

Thoughts: Not too much of note here. The jobbers did some good hold trading with Rocky and Tony though before being put down. The finish wasn't as clean as it could have been but the idea was there.

"Dr. D" David Schultz vs Steve Lombardi

Roddy Piper is with Dr. D. Steve is called "Steve Lombardo" here by the announcer. Dr. D is called "Mr. D." by the announcer. This is called his TV debut but it isn't.

Steve backs up DS in the corner and on the ropes. DS clubs him. DS slams Steve then knee drops him. DS knee drops him then hits a double throat thrust. DS puts him in tree of woe and backbreakers him. DS back elbows Steve then slams him. DS 2nd rope elbow drops him and pins him casually.

Thoughts: It was a quick squash here. Dr. D had a nice rougher style to him here.

Mean Gene interviews Schultz and Piper after. Piper says Schultz is ready for prime time. He says wrestlers all come in and say they wrote the book on wrestling but says they wrote the revised edition. Piper says they are 28 years old and in their prime. Piper asks if we had a prime when we were 28.

The Iron Sheik vs John Callahan

 

Sheik is announced as the new heavyweight champ. Sheik is with Freddie Blassie.

Sheik fireman's carry takeovers John then forearms him. Sheik clubs him then gutbusters him. Sheik kicks him in the shoulder and poses. Sheik slams him then boots him. Sheik hits a backdrop then camel clutches him for the win.

Thoughts: It was a quick one as expected. Sheik seemed pretty happy here and won easy.

Sheik says Iran #1 on the mic after.

Mean Gene is doing pre-taped interviews and he interviews Sgt. Slaughter. Sarge says there's a lot of men in the upcoming $50,000 battle royale in LA. He says people like Sheik, Atlas and Andre won't be easy to get over the top. He says he's done harder things like fighting while wounded. He says Andre will get a 9 on the Richter scale when he is dumped on the floor.

Tito Santana is interviewed. He says Sarge mentioned people in the battle royale but not him. He says everyone is going for the big prize then speaks in Spanish.

Captain Lou Albano and The Samoans are interviewed. He says they have a combined weight of 618 lbs. He says when you live together and wrestle together you have an advantage. Lou says he doesn't care about Hulk, Tito or Andre. He cares about battle royales.

Tito Santana vs Bob Bradley

 

Tito hits 2 nice armdrags to start and Bob goes out to stall. Bob is slingshotted in and takes a big bump. Tito hiptosses him. Tito armlocks him. Bob tries to slam him but Tito hangs on. Vince states Moolah said she won her title from Mildred Burke but Burke wrote them and said that wasn't true.

Bob eye rakes Tito and hits some punches. Tito punches back then Bob takes a nice back body drop. Tito hits a nice flying forearm and wins.

Thoughts: Bob's bumping was fantastic here and Tito worked well with him. This was a good squash.

Victory Corner

The Iron Sheik and Freddie Blassie are interviewed by Robert Debord. Sheik says Iran is known for wrestling and oil and is one of the oldest countries in the world. He says his real name and says he was an olympic champ. He says he's the world champ now. He says everyone knows about The Sheik because he has the gold. He says this piece of gold is more important than all the gold he has had in his career. He then talks in his language.

The Masked Superstar vs Victor Mercado

 

No entrance for MS here. Fans have paper bags on their heads to mock MS.

MS waistlock takedowns Vic then front facelocks him. Vic ropebreaks then is rolled over into a pin attempt. MS snapmares him then chinlocks him. MS throws him down.

MS hits a nice lariat then a spinning neckbreaker to win.

Thoughts: It was a quick one but The Superstar looked good. His mask was very nice here and everything he did looked like it hurt.

Bob Backlund vs Wild Samoan #3

That's definitely Samu.

Bob ducks lock-ups. One of the Samoans tries to trip Bob from the outside. Bob is backed up in the corner. 3 misses a shot and goes over the top. Bob sweeps 3 in the ring. The other Samoans gets on the apron then Bob walks to the back. Bob then comes out with Hulk Hogan.

Bob and Hulk get in the ring and The Samoan's back off. They say Hulk is returning here though he did return a week ago on Wrestling at The Chase. 3 clubs and chops Bob. 3 then legdrops his arm.

Bob hits shots and catches him with a chicken wing. The Samoans interfere and Bob wins by DQ.

Thoughts: There wasn't much of a match here and it was mostly all shenanigans. They pushed this as Hulk's return to TV but he returned one week earlier on Wrestling at The Chase.

Everyone fights. Lou gets hit and The Samoans heads are banged together. The faces clean house but they focus on Hulk. The heels try to come back in and get hit. Hulk holds up Bob's hand and walks out with him.

 

Hulk Hogan and Bob Backlund are interviewed. Bob says everyone knows The Hulk. He says he has changed his way and he is a great man. Bob says he won't have Blassie around and is sorry. Hulk thanks Bob and the WWF for bringing him back. He says Hulkamania is already running wild. He says it turns him on and he's going to the top of the ladder. He says Hulkamania is running wild.

Thoughts: It was a huge moment in wrestling history and would basically set the stage for the next 16 years or so of wrestling. Bob did what he was supposed to do but I feel bad for him. It's like being fired and having to train the guy who is replacing you. Even if Bob wasn't finishing up here, it was as clear as day that he had no chance competing with Hulk for popularity.

Mr. Fuji vs Denny Hill

Gene says he is surprised about Hulk's reutrn. Fuji throws salt before the match and does karate poses.

They lock up and Fuji chops him on the ropes. Fuji elbows him in the back of the neck and kicks him. Fuji leg kicks him then chops him over. Fuji front facelocks him.

Fuji hits a shot to the side of the head and bangs Denny's head off the buckles. He then kicks him while he's down. Hulk and Backlund will team next week. Fuji slams Denny then backsplashes him to win.

Thoughts: Fuji facially looked old but he had some charisma here and could move. I think my karate is better than his though to be honest.

Next week has Hulk Hogan and Bob Backlund vs Mr. Fuji and Tiger Chung Lee.

Overall thoughts: This had one of the most important moments in wrestling history so this is a must see. Hulk coming out to help Bob was a real passing of the torch moment and set the stage for the next 16 years or so of wrestling. David Schultz also had his second TV match here and we got a rare match with Iron Sheik was champ. I thought it was a good show even if it was mostly squashes.