The Dawn of the WWF [1983]

Let’s examine the landscape as we enter 1983. Again, America’s wrestling companies are referred to as territories, which operate within their home regions. Territories don’t disrupt other territories unless they’re at war with them. Some territories are grouped into one larger company that runs multiple regions. 

Here’s what we have in America:

• World Class Championship Wrestling (NWA) - Mid South (regional)
  
• Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling (NWA) - Mid Atlantic (regional)
  
• Georgia Championship Wrestling ​(NWA) - South East (regional)
  
• Championship Wrestling from Florida ​(NWA) - South East (regional)
  
• American Wrestling Association ​- Great Lakes (regional)
  
• Mid-South Wrestling - Mid South (regional)
  
• Championship Wrestling Association - South East (regional)
  
• Central States Wrestling (NWA) - Mid West (regional)
  
• Pacific Northwest Wrestling (NWA) - North West (regional)
  
• Southeastern Championship Wrestling (NWA) - South East (regional)
  
• World Wrestling Council (NWA) - Puerto Rico (regional)
  
• Southwest Championship Wrestling - Mid South (small)
  
• World Wrestling Association - Great Lakes (small)
  
  

• New Japan Pro-Wrestling - Kanto (regional)
  
• All Japan Pro-Wrestling - Kanto (regional)
  
• All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling - Kanto (regional)
  

MAIN EVENT FACES

Andre The Giant - 95 over / 100 star quality - As good as it gets for me, but he’s 36 and a special attraction. No need for a belt; he draws wherever he goes.

Bob Backlund - 88 over / 60 star quality - My world champion, but he doesn’t draw. He does work well against just about everyone.

Jimmy Snuka - 85 over / 90 star quality - Turned face in 1982 and really coming into his own. Can work, especially in brawls. That said, he’s 39.

Pedro Morales - 60 over / 75 star quality - Intercontinental champion and first triple crown winner, but past his prime at 40. Best used as a stepping stone for younger workers.

MAIN EVENT HEELS

‘Superstar’ Billy Graham - 85 over / 94 star quality - Just finished an underwhelming program with Backlund at MSG. A draw who can hardly work. At 39 he moves like he’s 79. 

Masked Superstar - 75 over / 55 star quality - Not quite a draw, but at least he can work. Entertaining enough.

Don Muraco - 66 over / 81 star quality - Good brawler with fantastic mic skills and charisma. Challenging Morales as we speak.

George ‘The Animal’ Steele - 58 over / 76 star quality - Not expected to arrive until March or April, but a powerful heel who can put over others at age 45.

My main event is relatively old. Even my hottest name, Snuka, is nearing 40. Muraco and Backlund are 33 and the youngest of my main eventers.

EVERYONE ELSE

Other upper midcard and midcard singles competitors include:

Tito Santana (F) - 55 / 50 - Top worker with little charisma.

SD Jones (F) - 52 / 62 - Decent worker with brawling skills.

Ivan Putski (F) - 65 / 40 - Good brawler and an old-school face.

Tony Garea (F) - 55 / 55 - Jobber to the Stars (JTTS) at age 34.

David Sammartino (F) - 40 / NA - Not a midcarder but ... uh, Dad is watching.

Ivan Koloff (H) - 48 / 75 - Big bad Russian used to put over good faces.

Big John Studd (H) - 55 / 75 - Monster heel who’s young enough to elevate.

Mr. Fuji (H) - 50 / NA - Can work the microphone, elevate faces.

The Iron Sheik (H) - 50 / 50 - Good brawler but nearing 40.

My lower midcarders, openers, and enhancement talent include:

Curt Hennig (F) - 22 / NA - Strong worker, big potential, loyal to AWA.

Mil Mascaras (F) - 22 / 92 - Great worker. Legend. Mega over in Mexico but not here.

Brian Blair (F) - 10 / NA - For the moment, jobber with a chance to get some wins.

Eddie Gilbert (F) - 35 / NA - Potential for sure. Might move to tag for now.

Frankie Williams (F) - 10 / 30 - 38-year-old jobber. Knows the basics.

Bob Bradley (H) - 30 / 30 - Jobber-ish but there’s potential.

Rene Goulet (H) - 35 / 30 - He’s 50. Use sparingly.

Tiger Conway Jr (H) - 15 / 35 - JTTS. Too old to be a project.

Iron Mike Sharpe (H) - 36 / 20 - Definite JTTS.

Mac Rivera (H) - 20 / NA - Age 26 so a little time to develop, but meh.

Alexis Smirnoff (H) - 27 / 50 - Gimmicky jobber heel.

Charlie Fulton (H) - 5 / 40 - Age 36. Obvious jobber heel.

Butcher Vachon (H) - 48 / 69 - Age 43, special draw in Canada.

Tiger Chung Lee (H) - 45 / 68 - Working with Mr. Fuji, could break out.

The singles ranks need work. The top of the card is either too old or underwhelming in generating heat. As draws who can work, I can only rely on Andre and, to a lesser extent, Snuka and maybe Backlund. Otherwise I’m dealing with a lot of question marks in the midcard. Tito Santana and Big John Studd are the most promising talents outside of the still green lower midcarders, while there are two or three tag wrestlers who might do well with a singles push, but it’s still not enough. We can probably tread water for six months or so, but as 1983 gets closer to ‘84, we need to have a plan for the future.

TAG TEAMS

The Strongbows (champions)

Chief Jay Strongbow (F) - 65 / 75 - He’s 54. Not much left in the tank.

Jules Strongbow (F) - 60 / NA - Mostly bad days. Not much beyond this.

The Soul Patrol

Tony Atlas (F) - 55 / 70 - Could break out with solo push. Powerful tag worker.

Rocky Johnson (F) - 50 / 70 - Past his peak but still works just fine.

The Wild Samoans

Afa (H) - 75 / 74 - Tough 40-year-old. Just fine to have in the division.

Sika (H) - 55 / NA - Brawler, closing in on 40. Makes sense here.

The Invaders

Jose Gonzalez (H) - 25 / 61 - Decent but he’s 35; tag or JTTS.

Johnny Rivera (H) - 40 / NA - 27, so there’s room to grow. Brawler.

A few pseudo-teams include Mr. Fuji and Tiger Chung Lee, Tony Garea and Eddie Gilbert, and Tito Santana and Ivan Putski. I actually like all of these. The former two give Lee and Gilbert the chance to work with more established and solid workers. Santana and Putski make for a more “if necessary” team.

The tag division, like our singles roster, is fine for now but will need some big changes. The Strongbows are over but flawed, while the Invaders are green and need work. Both the Soul Patrol and Wild Samoans can have runs with the belt in 1983, and I’ll probably focus on letting those two teams lead the division for now. I do hope for good things from both Fuji and Lee and Garea and Gilbert. We’ll develop those teams into formidable squads that might become challengers by summer or fall. On a somewhat related note, I'm rolling my eyes at the fact that all of my teams are defined by perceived ethnicity.

NON-WRESTLERS

Bruno Sammartino (face personality) - Legend who should be used sparingly

Dave Hebner (face personality) - Not sure what he does

Ray Stevens (heel personality) - Can still work in limited role, 47 years old and a heel

Buddy Rogers (face manager) - Snuka’s manager, legendary face

Arnold Skaaland (face manager) - Backlund’s manager, very old school

The Grand Wizard (heel manager) - Has good charisma, manages a few folks

Lou Albano (heel manager) - Massively over, only manages Samoans; needs more

Freddie Blassie (heel manager) - Half-manages Ray Stevens; also a personality

Lord Alfred Hayes (announcer) - Should be a heel manager

Gorilla Monsoon (announcer) - Respected but not necessarily worth his exorbitant pay
Pat Patterson (announcer) - He'd rather be working in the ring as a heel, but he does colour on TV shows.

Vince McMahon (announcer) - Actually pretty over and still young as a personality

Dick Woehrle (referee) - Just a ref

Dick Kroll (referee) - Also a ref

Swede Hanson (road agent) - Can work in a pinch as a last-minute face

Johnny Rodz (road agent) - Age 40, but can still work in any kind of match

Baron Mikel Scicluna (road agent) - Probably best as agent, but also Bruno’s rival. He’s 53.

Not much to say about these folks, though I feel as if Albano needs far more shine. He has lots of charisma and heel heat and would be a great ongoing foil for our top babyfaces. Monsoon and McMahon are fine at the booth for now, but I might explore more options as I develop a real plan for the future.

January 2, 1983

I was adamant upon joining Titan Sports and the World Wrestling Federation that we couldn’t be providing painkillers, steroids, and other drugs to workers. Vince Jr. negotiated it with himself and ultimately decided that if I could prove his guys didn’t need juice to sell tickets, then fine. Otherwise, I was done. Sounded good to me. And instead of a dirty doctor, I asked for a masseuse to be at every show. Look, if we couldn’t pay for the doc, at least do that for the boys.

I didn’t want to immediately start asking for talent to join us, but I did ask Vince Jr. to bring back Buddy Rose. He’s a 30-year-old based in Portland but who has a good history with us. He put on some good matches in ‘82 against the likes of Backlund and other faces. He’s a heck of a dirty heel and a real solid worker overall. We’re negotiating with him now.

But that’s it for the moment. At least in January I want to book some shows, get a feel for the locker room, and understand the capabilities of the roster at hand.

I arrive at Hynes Athletic Center in New Rochelle, New York, for today's TV tapings and Vince Jr. brings me to an empty room. He wants to discuss his goals. 

I’m a little miffed about having to keep Billy Graham around and marketable, and not hiring one guy over 40 might be tough when trying to bring in money, but we’ll go for it.

I find out that both SECW and SWCW are offering pay-per-appearance deals to Lou Albano. He’s considering SWCW’s deal most. While they run a Monday show like me, they’re smaller in size, so I shouldn’t be too worried about scheduling conflicts there.

That through, I meet with Gorilla Monsoon, who’s running talent and helping with the booking assignments. He’s, at best, skeptical of me.

I book the shows while he chimes in with critiques. Essentially Championship Wrestling (airing Wednesday evenings) will feature more storyline fare and, for the moment, Buddy Rogers’ Corner, in which the all-time great “interviews” one of my stars. All-Star Wrestling ... I plan on trying things out for that show. Maybe another interview segment … I’m not sure yet. I decide to book that on the fly.

Once I wrap that I visit with the locker room. They didn’t seem overjoyed to meet me; on the other hand, they weren’t too angry or anything. Mostly bemused and quizzical. But there were a few reactions that interested me:

Bob Backlund shook my hand. Real hard. He told me to “do what’s best for my business, sounds good?” Don Muraco, who is slated to face - and beat - Pedro Morales for the Intercontinental Title at MSG in a couple weeks, told me to stay out of his way. Young gun Eddie Gilbert was talking smack behind my back, but Afa told him off pretty quickly. Bruno Sammartino, the living legend and most decorated WWF world champion, smirked when meeting me. He seems to have some problem with Vince Jr. and, by extension, me.

But the best thing that happened? Ivan Putski started complaining that he deserved the main event push, that a “schoolboy pissant” like me would only drag him. Big John Studd told him to stop yapping, and Putski sucker punched him! The locker room started to bubble, and then - WHAP - Studd absolutely hammered Putski. It cooled pretty quickly after that - Studd seems to have some authority in the room. I told Putski to watch his mouth and his right eye, but that was it. No more discipline; he got what he deserved.

Hynes Athletic Center

New Rochelle, NY

Capacity 2,611

Attendance: 2,234

Championship Wrestling - Airing Jan. 3, 1983

Jimmy Snuka d. Mac Rivera in 4:06
Rating: C- / 54. Snuka 89, Rivera 31.

Masked Superstar d. Frankie Lancaster in 2:24
Rating: C- / 54. Superstar 79, Lancaster 26.

Post-match, Masked Superstar says he’s gunning for the WWF Title
Rating: B- / 76

Tito Santana d. Bob Bradley in 3:47
Rating: C- / 53. Santana 62, Bradley 33.

Chief Jay Strongbow, Jules Strongbow d. Iron Mike Sharpe, Rip Morgan in 4:04
Rating: D+ / 51. Jay 59, Jules 58, Sharpe 46, Morgan 21.

Buddy Rogers’ Corner: Don Muraco, The Grand Wizard of Wrestling talk about Pedro Morales
Rating: B- / 71

Invader #3 d. Frankie Williams in 3:11
Rating: D / 44. Invader #3 47, Williams 16.

Rocky Johnson d. Tiger Conway Jr in 3:44
Rating: D+ / 48. Johnson 54, Conway 27.

Another failure in the Big John Studd Body Slam Challenge (pot now $150).
Rating: B- / 72

Big John Studd, The Iron Sheik d. Curt Hennig, Eddie Gilbert in 5:07
Rating: C- / 57. Studd 60, Sheik 63, Hennig 41, Gilbert 40.

Studd attempts to slam Gilbert out of the ring, but Bob Backlund appears and Studd backs off.
Rating: C+ / 69

Overall: C / 60

All-Star Wrestling - Airing Jan. 7, 1983

Afa, Sika d. Tony Garea, Brian Blair in 4:37
Rating: C+ / 67. Afa 79, Sika 58, Garea 62, Blair 22.

Tony Atlas d. Rip Morgan in 2:49
Rating: D / 47. Atlas 57, Morgan 25.

Tony Atlas says he’s looking for support as he makes his way up the ladder.
Rating: C- / 56

Don Muraco d. David Sammartino in 3:12
Rating: C- / 54. Muraco 73, Sammartino 36.

Ivan Putski d. Mac Rivera in 5:20
Rating: C- / 55. Putski 61, Rivera 35.

Lord Alfred Hayes catches up with Andre The Giant in Japan.
Rating: B+ / 85

Gorilla Monsoon announces Andre The Giant will return in a tag team match at MSG.
Rating: B / 78

Pedro Morales d. Tiger Chung Lee in 4:53
Rating: C- / 55. Morales 71, Lee 40.

S.D. Jones d. Charlie Fulton in 3:01
Rating: D / 41. Jones 52, Fulton 17.

Ray Stevens, Lou Albano, Freddie Blassie talk about the Snuka feud and Andre’s return
Rating: B / 81

Superstar Billy Graham d. Chris Carter in 3:11
Rating: C- / 54. Graham 83, Carter 26.

Overall: C / 64

Tapings Post-Mortem

I was not expecting that strong of a performance from Billy Graham, but I suppose the guy still draws. Snuka looks like a real winner out there. Anything involving Andre is going to do well, it seems. Finally, the Wild Samoans are probably the best bet for the tag straps, but that’s a small sample for me.