WWWF All Star Wrestling 1/28/1978

WWWF All Star Wrestling 1/28/1978

Vince McMahon is our sole host.

They do an ad for juvenile diabetes. 

Ken Patera vs Special Delivery Jones

Ken has Lou Albano with him. Lou swings at SD before it starts. Ken stalls between the ropes. SD side headlock takeovers him then side headlocks him. They run into each other. Ken flying knees him then does a north-south headlock.

Ken clubs on him and bends over. SD kicks him then side headlock takeovers him. Ken headscissors him and SD side headlock takeovers him. Ken pulls the hair and hits knees to the gut. Ken chinlocks him.

SD hits elbows to the ribs then hits punches. SD hits a big shot to the gut and boots him in the corner. SD headbutts him then shoulders him over twice. He tries it again and Ken throws him out. SD is then counted out.

Thoughts: It wasn't too much of note here. SD controlled most of this and had a nice comeback spot. They were not playing around without countout ten counts here. SD was only out for about 10 seconds and he was counted out at 5:46. 

Lou gets in the ring after. SD headbutts him and Ken. SD goes for a punch then Ken nails him. Ken stomps on him and leaves. The crowd chants, "We want Backlund".

Bob Backlund vs Baron Mikel Scicluna

Bob is pretty thin here. Baron armlocks him and Bob armdrags him. Baron takes him down by the arm and Bob stomps Baron's arm. Baron side headlocks him and hits him in the chest. Baron clubs him down then Bob wristlocks him. 

Baron clubs on him and Bob works the arm. Baron knees him in the gut in the corner. Bob blocks a boot then kicks him in the leg. Bob armlocks him. Baron armdrags him and Bob headscissors him. 

Bob armlocks him. Baron eye rakes him and sends Bob into the buckles. Bob's head is banged off the buckles. Bob twists his neck with his feet. Bob top wristlocks him then armlocks him.  Baron rakes the eyes and hits shots to the chest. Baron knee lifts him in the gut and slams him. Baron stomps him and Bob cradles him for the win.

Thoughts: It wasn't good. Baron was supposed to hit him in the throat but only was hitting the chest. Bob sent into the buckles shoulder first multiple times as well, not even getting his head banged off of them. 

Vince interviews Tony Garea and Larry Zbyzsko. Tony says they won't take their opponents lightly tonight. He says they have must put a lot of time in their training and their teamwork is good. He says if they break the rules, they will too. 

Vince says their opponents didn't do anything great on their own but are doing okay as a team. Larry says a partner can compensate for their partner's weaknesses. He says they can compliment each other and make a strong team. He says he thinks that happened with Sharpe and Evans. He says they have formed a successful tag team.

Larry says being a tag wrestler is a little different. Larry says it took him and Tony a while to work together as team. He says Tony likes to take to the air more than he does and he likes to stay at the ground. He says they form an all-around team and they can hit their opponents with any kind of attack. 

Vince asks if it's difficult when they wrestle singles. Larry says no as it's like riding a bike and you never foget it. Tony says it's harder as you are in there by yourself and if you get tired, you have to come out of it by yourself. He says they build up their stamina if they have a singles match coming up. 

Vince says tonight's match means a great deal. Larry says if him and Tony can't beat their opponents, they will have a hard time facing Fuji and Tanaka. He says if they get beat, their opponents may get a shot at the tag titles. Vince then wishes them good luck.

Mil Mascaras vs Jose Estrada

They lock up. Mil side headlocks him. Jose hits him on the ropes and is swatted away. Mil bearhugs him and is side headlocked. Mil top wristlock takedowns him and Jose rope breaks.

Jose hammerlocks him and Mil slides through the legs to break it. Jose side headlocks him. Mil top wristlock takedowns him. Mil lifts him and takes him down with a nasty looking double wristlock.

They break and Mil takes him down again. Mil headstand spinning headscissors him on the mat. Jose goes out to stall. Jose hits punches then armlocks him. Mil armdrags him out. Both get sent into the buckles and Jose goes down. Mil back body drops him then hits triple dropkicks. Mil armlocks him and Jose submits.

Thoughts: Mil had some nice wrestling here and Jose mostly stuck to punches. This only went 4:40 and was a short bout with a slow pace to it.  

Handicap Match - Spiros Arion vs Ted Adams and Frankie Williams

Spir has Freddie Blassie with him. Spir is backed up in the corner and takes some shots to the gut. Spir pulls at thier heads and takes shots from Frank. Spir is held for gut punches from Frank. Frank eye rakes him. Spir punches his way out and sends Ted out. Frank's head is banged off the buckles then he is sent into Ted as Ted gets back in.

Spirs euros Ted then is held for shots to the gut. Ted hits some head punches. Spir then goes out to stall and get advice from Fred. Spir fights off a double team in the corner. He hits boots to the gut and slams Ted. Spir euros Frank down.

Ted is sent out. Frank is put in tree of woe. Ted hits Spir from behind as he does this. Spir then ties up Ted in the ropes and boots him while he's stuck. Spir bangs Frank's head off of Ted's while he's tied up. 

Frank's head is banged off the buckle then the exposed buckle. Ted's head is banged off the exposed buckle too. Spir slams Ted then slams Frank onto Ted. Spir then pins both at 3:46. Vince calls it a humiliating defeat.

Thoughts: There wasn't much but slams, punches and kicks here. The jobbers did a decent job as a team though as they held Spir in the corner and hit various shots but just couldn't put him away. I wouldn't say it was great but it was a better worked handicap match than most are and I was alright with it. 

Tony Garea and Larry Zbyzsko vs "Pretty Boy" Larry Sharpe and "Dynamite" Jack Evans

LS and Jack have matching blue jumpsuits on and matching blonde hair.

Tony and Jack go at it. They lock up twice and trade waistlocks. Tony throws him over. Jack chest clubs him in the corner and Tony hits him in the gut. Tony elbows him in the back of the neck then side headlock takeovers him. Tony side headlocks him. 

TOny is held for double axe handles and elbows from LS. LS snapmares him into a chinlock. Tony back elbows him in the gut and shoulders him over. LS knees him in the gut and armlocks him.

LS boots him in the ribs. Jack top rope double axe handles Tony and throws him into the buckles shoulder dirst. Jack wristlocks Tony. Tony rolls out, kips up and is thrown over by the wrist. Tony armdrags him but LS comes in and breaks things up.

LS coconut crushes him. LS works the arm then Jack top rope double axe handles Tony's arm again. Tony is held in the corner and takes shots from Jack. LS hits elbows on Tony and wristlocks him. Tony starts to fire up and armdrags him. 

LS clubs Tony. Tony fires up more and hits shots to the gut. LZ is tagged in. LZ hits a bunch of shots to the gut and throws LS. LS hiptosses LZ then elbows him in the back. LZ's head is banged off of Jack's knee.

Jack hits elbows on LZ's head and hits big punches. LZ is sent into the buckles. LZ reverses an irish whip and back body drops him. Tony boots Jack then dropkicks him. LZ back body drops Jack then crucifixes him for the pin.

Thoughts: It was simple with the heels working Tony's arm. Tony fired up, made his come back and tagged out. Larry Z then picked up the pin at 8:25. It wasn't great or anything but it got a little exciting by the end and it was fine. The heels and the faces both did what they were supposed to do here.

Overall thoughts: It's 1978 TV so the expectations shouldn't be too high. We didn't see any bumps greater than a back body drop here and the work was very simple. It's not the most exciting stuff but it looks a lot more realistic than modern day wrestling does and it makes sense. We didn't really get any build towards anything here and we only had one interview. I was alright with this show but this is not for most people and I wouldn't recommend this one.