Sunday, December 26, 2021

The Iron Sheik's WWF World Title Defenses

On Monday, December 20, 2021 on the horrible Peacock network WWE posted 6 Madison Square Garden shows in their old school section.  All six shows were from 1983, including the historic match where The Iron Sheik captured the WWF World Championship from Bob Backlund.


I don't recall ever watching this match in it's entirety only the finish of the match.  On the episode of All Star Wrestling that aired on Christmas Eve 1983, taped December 7th, the Iron Sheik challenged anyone to perform with his Persian clubs, no one had been successful before.  This is schtick that the Sheik had been doing for years and I saw him do it at an Indie who in Maine in 1998, I tried it, it's VERY hard to do.


On his third attempt Bob Backlund was successful and he was attacked by the Iron Sheik who struck Backlund with in the back of the neck several time injuring him.  Thirty-nine years ago today, On December 26, 1983 Backlund stepped in the ring at Madison Square Garden against The Iron Sheik who dominated the match wearing Backlund down and applying his dreaded Camel Clutch wrenching back on the champion until his Manager Arnold Skaaland threw in the towel ending Backlund's 2,135 day championship reign.

The narrative had always been that Bob Backlund never got his rematch with the Iron Sheik, but as you'll read below he did get a few return matches, including one Boston, which was a big market.  Sheik wrestled all around the then WWF territory as champion wrestling almost everyday of his 28 day reign.  

December 27, 1983 Lancaster, Pennsylvania
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik pinned Chief Jay Strongbow with his feet on the ropes

December 28, 1983 Hazleton, Pennsylvania
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik defeated Bob Bradley

December 29, 1983 Landover, Maryland
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik defeated Salvatore Bellomo

December 30, 1983 Salisbury, Maryland
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik defeated Pat Patterson by disqualification

January 2, 1984 Scranton, Pennsylvania
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik defeated Salvatore Bellomo

January 3, 1984 Allentown, Pennsylvania
Championship Wrestling television 

Aired January 7, 1984
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik submitted John Callahan

Aired January 21, 1984
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik  submitted Mike Dorsett

January 4, 1984 Hamburg, Pennsylvania
All Star Wrestling Television Taping

Aired January 7, 1984
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik submitted Denny Hill

Aired January 14, 1984
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik submitted Ken Jugan

January 5, 1984 Shippensburg, Pennsylvania
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik defeated Israel Matia

January 6, 1984 La Plata, Maryland
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik pinned Chief Jay Strongbow

January 7, 1984 Erie, Pennsylvania
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik defeated Salvatore Bellomo

January 8, 1984 Cincinnati, Ohio
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik defeated Pat Patterson by disqualification

January 9, 1984 Akron, Ohio
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik defeated Pat Patterson by disqualification

January 11, 1984 Jericho, New York
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik pinned Chief Jay Strongbow


January 12, 1984 Marlboro, Massachusetts 
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik defeated Salvatore Bellomo

January 13, 1984 Bangor, Maine
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik pinned Chief Jay Strongbow

January 14, 1984 Boston, Massachusetts
Bob Backlund defeated WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik by disqualification

January 15, 1984 Pittsfield, Massachusetts
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik defeated Ivan Putski

January 16, 1984 Oil City, Pennsylvania
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik defeated Salvatore Bellomo

January 18, 1984 Warren, Ohio 
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik fought Bob Backlund to a no contest

January 19, 1984 Monongahela, Pennsylvania
Bob Backlund defeated WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik by disqualification

January 20, 1984 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik pinned Chief Jay Strongbow

January 21, 1984 Landover, Maryland (matinee show)
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik competed in an 18 man battle royal that was won by Andre the Giant 

January 21, 1984 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik fought Tito Santana to a double disqualification

January 22, 1984 Williamsport, Pennsylvania
WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik pinned Chief Jay Strongbow

Ivan Putski defeated WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik by disqualification

January 23, 1984 Madison Square Garden
Hulk Hogan pinned WWF World Champion: The Iron Sheik to win the championship


Sheik wrestled four matches on the syndicated shows in his 28 day reign as champion, by comparison in a 6 year period Hogan only wrestled 12 matches as champion on the syndicated shows.  You can read about it here:  Hulk Hogan's Rare TV Matches

Thank you for reading, please leave a comment, check out my other posts, and if you want like my blogs Facebook page.  You can also head over to Amazon and pick up a copy of my new book Limitless Wrestling: The First Five Years, or any of my other books as well.  

Until next time!

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Stan Stasiak's WWWF Championship Matches

Stan “The Man” Stasiak was a journeymen wrestler competing for 26 years from 1958 to 1984.  He held numerous regional championships in the United States and his native Canada, however he only held a recognized world championship a single time for nine days in 1973.  A transition champion he defeated the great Pedro Morales in and lost the title to the legendary Bruno Sammartino.  

To my knowledge he only held defended the championship one time before dropping the strap to Bruno.  The only footage I’m aware of Stasiak as champion is his title loss to Bruno which you can find on YouTube.

December 1, 1973 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Stan Stasiak pinned WWWF World Champion: Pedro Morales to win the title at 17:42 when all four men's shoulders were down following a back suplex from the champion; after the bout, Stasiak was not announced as the new champion for fear of a riot - rather the ring announcer simply said "Let's hear it for a great champion, Pedro Morales"; the title change was announced the following Saturday on television; Barney Solomon was the referee for the bout

December 4, 1973 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Championship Wrestling television taping
Aired December 8, 1973
Stan Stasiak was announced as champion for the first hour of tapings

December 5, 1973 Hamburg, Pennsylvania
All Star Wrestling television taping
Aired December 8, 1973
Stan Stasiak was announced as champion for the first hour of tapings

Photo from Shawn Stasiak's Twitter

December 6, 1973 Worcester, Massachusetts

Pedro Morales & Chief Jay Strongbow defeated WWWF World Champion: Stan Stasiak & Blackjack Lanza

December 7, 1973 North Attleboro, Massachusetts
WWWF World Champion: Stan Stasiak fought Chief Jay Strongbow to a no contest

December 10, 1973 Madison Square Garden
Bruno Sammartino with Arnold Skaaland pinned WWWF World Champion: Stan Stasiak with The Grand Wizard at 12:35 to win the title after three consecutive bodyslams

Although his title run is little more than a footnote between Morales and Sammartino, he was champion at a time when all fans knew it meant something to be champion.  It gave him immediate credibility for all of this matches in the future.  He was the fifth man to hold the title, and was trusted by Vince McMahon Sr. to be that transition champion.

A special thank you to The History of WWE for the results in this post.

Thank you for reading, please leave a comment, check out my other posts, and if you want like my blogs Facebook page.  You can also head over to Amazon and pick up a copy of my new book Limitless Wrestling: The First Five Years, or any of my other books as well.  

Until next time!


Saturday, December 11, 2021

No Way!? They Wrestled (Sting vs. The Undertaker)

I love obscure wrestling history and lately I've been invested in learning about matches that people tend to be surprised that happened (for example: Ultimo Dragon vs. The Macho Man). I thought it would be fun to highlight some of these matches and share them with the masses.

I think all wrestling fans of a certain age had an intense desire to see Sting and The Undertaker face-off against one another. It was certainly a dream match of mine. Of course, Sting was loyal to WCW and then eventually TNA. It wasn't until 2014 that it seemed like the match that so many of us wrestling fans from the 90's wanted was going to happen. Well... it didn't. Stings run in the WWE was a joke and two of the darkest superstars never faced off in an epic battle... or did they?

On September 1st, 1990 at the Greensboro Coliseum, The Undertaker, then known was Mean Marc Callous, challenged the NWA Heavyweight Champion Sting. Sting successfully defended his title and 2.5 months later, Mean Marc would debut as The Undertaker in the WWF.

Sadly no footage exists of this match and only a single picture has made it's way onto the internet. The two legends share the ring two days prior in a tag match where Sting and Lex Luger defeated Mean Marc and Moondog Rex.



Friday, December 3, 2021

It's Sting! A WrestleCade 2021 Moment

The main reason I attended WrestleCade this year was to meet Sting. Sting is my favorite wrestler and is in the list of five celebrities I've always wanted to meet. Due to some financial restraints I was forced to skip meeting him several years ago at WrestleCade but I refused to be denied this year. It was a birthday gift to myself.

My buddy Jimmy and I found ourselves near the front of the line to meet Sting last Saturday morning. He walked in at 9:40 PM dressed in his ring gear and t-shirt and the crowd went nuts. He hyped everyone up and someone yelled, "What time is it?" and he responded, "Showtime, of course."

The lined move quickly as Sting power signed and posed with pictures. There was a concern that Sting may not make it through the massive line that had formed to meet him, but that wasn't an issue for us since we were so close to the front.

I'll be honest, it happened so fast I didn't even have a chance to speak. I wanted to tell Sting thanks for coming to AEW and tell him how much his feud with the nWo meant to me as a teenager, but by the time I walked up and shook his hand, I smiled and was on my way. My wife was kind enough to video tape the entire encounter which you can see here.


The photos were taken by the AML staff photographer and uploaded to Flickr five days after they were taken. I received simultaneous texts from Jimmy and Michael right as they were released and I'm quite thankful for that, because I still am not sure where they saw the announcement that they were ready!

I did some minor cropping, but I'm very happy with the photo. It wasn't the most interesting conversation or moment I had over the weekend, but I can say I've met Sting, the legend... The Icon and I'm so happy for it.

Monday, November 29, 2021

WrestleCade 2021 - A Brief Recap

Last weekend, I attended my fourth Wrestlecade and this time it was better than ever. The event featured more guests and thankfully more space, which made for an incredible experience. I’m not exaggerating when I say it was one of the best days of my life.


In the past, I’ve done a complete in-depth review of the event, but this year I want to try something a little different. Over the next several days/weeks, I’m going to post Wrestlecade moments. Brief recaps of some of my favorite moments from this past Saturday.

But to be fair, I use blog entries like this to gauge whether or not I attend certain events, so I feel that I need to at least say a few things about how everything went.

The Good:
-The guests were broken into two rooms which allowed for more space and a better overall atmosphere. The guests were also featured in much larger rooms than the past which allowed for reasonable movement throughout the convention floor.


-Everyone was so nice. The wrestlers seem to be in even better spirits than the past and I had some many wonderful moments with almost everyone I encountered. I definitely left the event loving some of my favorite wrestlers even more which is always a good thing.


-I was able to meet everyone on my list but Malakai Black, and I probably could have met him but I just couldn’t commit to his incredibly long line. I heard lots of folks were upset who collected autographs because he only signed things “A B” or “M B.”

-I had front row seats for the SuperShow and this year they put your name on the seats for the first three rows! This was an incredible upgrade from the wild west chair roulette everyone played in the past.

The Bad:
-My main reason for coming to Wrestlecade was to meet Sting and sadly that encounter ended up being the worst moment of the day, no fault of Sting’s. Wrestlecade told folks to arrive at 8 AM due to the high demand for Sting, although he would not arrive till 10 AM. I got there at 7:50 AM and folks were already in line as early as 7:00 AM. Around 9:00 AM, the guy running the table announced for all preorders to line up which was ridiculous because a line of several hundred folks had already wrapped around the wall of the convention center. Folks flooded to the table leaving their space in line only to be rudely told that they “meant” Ultimate Icon pre-orders. Everyone scurried back to their original positions, irritated.

A few minutes later, he called for all remaining pre-orders and again, everyone broke from the line to get their paper tickets. After I got mine, I was told to line up against another wall, which would essentially be cutting everyone in line. I morally disagreed with this, so I returned to my original spot in line. Unfortunately, the other folks in line didn’t have the same values as I did and sudden a new line emerged that continued to grow and grow and I was pushed further and further to the back. At my wife’s behest, I went to get in the new line and ended up jumping in line with my buddy Jimmy.

More chaos ensued as people were turned away and despite saying all pre-orders it was only the Icon packages, somehow he missed that I didn’t have that. My wife got stuck outside the room and it got incredibly rowdy as the very rude guy in charge continued to fuck up a simple line so bad that it almost caused fist fights. I had to walk out of the room and grab my wife by the hand and drag her into the room past the guy in charge who rudely asked where we were going. Needless to say, it was an absolute clusterfuck and did not set a good first impression of the con. Thankfully, I was near the front and the line went fast. Do I feel like I got my $75 worth? No. We were ushered in and out very quickly, I had a moment to shake Sting’s hand and smile and I was sent off. We didn’t even get our pictures that day. Apparently they will be ready in 7-10 days and I’m guessing mass dumped onto Facebook.

Did I mention the guy running the Sting signing tried selling a $300 Sting jacket to all of us pissed off folks in line? Ugh


-As usual, a lack of staff was concerning. There were plenty of police officers, but not enough people to help guide folks into the proper lines. There were no signs, no barriers, and you were forced to fend for yourself. It was very easy to get into the wrong line due to the lack of assistance.

-The convention center has one ATM and it was out of cash by noon on Saturday. I expected more wrestlers to take cards than actually did, so I was forced to run a block over to find an ATM and grab some more cash. Not a major problem, just be sure to bring more than enough cash if you attend Wrestlecade and don’t rely on ATMs on site.


There are way too many photographers during the SuperShow and this may sound mean, but way too large of photographers. My view was constantly blocked as somewhere between three and five camera men and photographers jockeyed for a position. Not only did it give away all the cool spots, it also made it hard to actually see what was happening if it occurred on the mat. Look, I’m a big guy, and I’m all for everyone pursuing their passion, but if you want to be a ring photographer you need to be blend in with the ring some.

The text for The Bad is bigger than The Good, just because the Sting story needed context. Let me assure you, once I got past that one isolated incident the rest of the day went off without a hitch. I had an absolute blast and cannot wait to attend next year. I will be a bit more cautious with the special photo ops and I honestly don’t know if there is anyone outside of Sting that could bring me to ever deal with what I dealt with for his photo. Next year, I’ll just do the table side photos which is a lot more fun and gives you time to interact with the wrestlers.

Thursday, November 25, 2021

Vacationland Pro Wrestling 11/20/2021 featuring Ricky Morton!


Vacationland Pro Wrestling returned on November 20th in Brewer for their one year anniversary show.  Jonathan Gresham was originally slated to appear, however pulled off the card, he was replaced by Mike Bennett.

Canaan and I headed up early meeting Randy and Roy and Mad Kats for some grub before the show.  We had little bit of time to kill and checked out Bull Moose where I get a few VHS tapes.

Doors opened at 5:30 for non-VIP and the show was slated for a 6pm bell time, however the show didn't start until 6:20pm mostly due to a severe car crash near by that shut the road down.  We followed Roy over the backway and unknowingly avoided the crash.


This was a very big crowd tonight, I'd say double from the last time I was here for the barbed-wire death match. I credit it all to Ricky Morton!  Before the show we chatted with Ricky Morton for close to half an hour and he couldn't have been nicer!  I got some cards signed and photo with both Morton's, Ricky put his WWE Hall of Fame ring on me. 

For A Spot in the Main Event Ladder Match
Bobby Ocean defeated Rhett Titus

The was a great opening match and was an old school wrestling match.  The crowd was behind Bobby wanting to see him get the win, and he did, however his feet were tangled in the ropes.  I don't think it was intentional, but the referee didn't see it and record book with show he got the pin with his feet on the ropes. Rhett's got a legit complaint for a rematch.



Post Match:
Abraham Kahn ran in attacking Ocean leading to Titus making the save.

Number One Contender for the Intercontinental Championship
Johnny Primer with Doc Ozone vs. Dylan Nix with Willie Miles III


Crowd was pumped for Primer, I didn't expect the reaction that he got.  Doc Ozone tattled on Willie Miles who was trying to cheat and referee Eric Greenleaf ejected Miles from ringside.  Primer hit a cutter to get the pin and become the number one contender for the VPW Intercontinental Championship

Cousin Larry & Jason Maverick vs. Jacob Hess & Jacob Drifter with Beavis & NBK

Fun tag team match, Larry was super over and chopped the hell out of Hess and Drifter.  Hess was the bad guy but he seemed so damn happy to be in the ring you couldn't erase the smile off his face.  Finish came when Larry checked Hess's oil into Maverick's Boss Man Slam, and a whoopie cushion from Larry on Hess.  Drifter looked good in the match, if he keeps his training up he'll keep getting better.



In Ring:
Ricky Williams came out, cut a much too long promo about his complete knee replacement surgery and being told he'd never wrestle again.  He called out JP O'Reilly.  Honestly I couldn't understand most of what was said, it seems like Williams wanted to bury the hatchet and support his friend in the main event.  

Abraham Kahn ran down and attacking JP O'Reilly before their ladder match. 

Pimp Daddy Apple Cinnamon vs. Dajae Simone


Decent match, my first time seeing Simone and she looked good.  Cinnamon got the pin with an inside cradle.  Post match Jesse Nolan came out confronting Simone.

The Mortons: Ricky & Kerry vs. The Competition: Champ Mathews & Mark Moment with Conner Murphy & Willie Miles III

Moment substituted for Murphy who was out of commission with a knee injury.  I loved every moment of this match.  Ricky Morton was old school, Kerry showed he is going to be a big star in wrestling.  Moment was Moment and Mathews was the champ.









Before the show I told Ricky that we were discussing before the show if he was going to do a Canadian Destroyer, he did, but all I wanted to see was a Ricky Morton do a dropkick.  He hit Moment with a dropkick and I marked out BIG TIME!  Morton then pointed me out in the crowd and said that, that was for me.  So Ricky Morton personally dedicated a dropkick to me, so that's awesome!







The finish came when Moment pinned Ricky with his feet on the ropes.  Ricky teased them coming back, I'd be down for that. 



In Ring: Teddy,the owner of VPW, came out to cut a promo, I have no idea what he said the sound system was terrible.  He got jumped by a bunch of guys, Lee Miller attempted to make the save and was beat up.  John Bryar, who was watching the show, made the save.  I guess Teddy & Bryar were buddies, then feuded and made up after this brawl.

Intercontinental Champion: Nuke The Great vs. Blade Bandit

This was a decent match, Nuka was the babyface but that was odd because a couple months ago he turned heel when he misted his tag team partner Malik Logan coasting them the match. 
Blade hit a blue thunder bomb for the pin and won the championship.
  

Post match Primer came out stating his claim as the number one contender, then Jessie Nolan turned on Blade attacking him and stating that she wanted the championship.  The ring announcer then stated at the next show it would be a triple threat match for the IC Championship.

Mike Bennett vs. Vinny Pacifico




This was a very good match!  Bennett looks great, he came out with the ROH World Tag Team Championship.  Bennett got the pin with a piledriver.

Dr. Reginald Heresy vs. Lee Miller

It's great seeing Heresy back in the ring in person, I haven't seen him in over 10 years since March 2011 at and IWE show.  Heresy was a regular in the EWA back in the late 1990's here in Maine holding their Heavyweight and Tag Team Championships on two occasions. 


Lee Miller got the win tonight on the veteran Heresy.  I think this is Miller's best match that I've seen to date.  The only thing that bugs me about him is that he brings that kendo stick to the ring and I've never seen him use it in a match.  

Ladder Match for the VPW Heavyweight Championship
Ace Romero vs. Abraham Kahn vs. Mike Montero vs. Bobby Ocean vs. JP' O'Reilly with Chad Epik

Only one of the ladders looked safe enough to climb in this match.  Ace was a surprise entrant and Ricky Williams was watching the match from the entrance way.

The crowd was solidly behind Bobby Ocean and wanted him to win the match, which he did.  Montero took the biggest bumps and evidently suffered and eye injury, which last I heard was healing but there is potential for permanent damage.  There were a few moments that looked dangerous, but overall it was good match.  Everyone worked real hard. 
 













When Ocean pulled down the title the crowd popped for him, but he was granted zero celebration time so instead they could run an angle where Williams turned on O'Reilly.  I was told they were supposed to do the spot in the match but someone forgot, the crowd was pissed and didn't care about the angle, they wanted to be there for Bobby.  

I had an awesome night because of Ricky Morton.  I guy I grew up watching and still love the Rock n' Roll Express, one of the greatest tag teams of all time.  Kerry is a genuine nice guy as well and it was cool to meet him and see him wrestle in person.  

Vacationland returns on January 15, 2022 in Brewer.  

Thank you for reading, please leave a comment, check out my other posts, and if you want like my blogs Facebook page.  You can also head over to Amazon and pick up a copy of my new book Limitless Wrestling: The First Five Years, or any of my other books as well.  

Until next time!!