The Dawn of the WWF [1983]

January 22, 1983

I arrive at Madison Square Garden early in the day. It’s dangerously cold out there, but I’m feeling excited and nervous.

“We’re going to do a small show. Worcester I think,” says Vince Jr. about the New England show that follows up our Boston Garden event. "What are you thinking for a card?”

Truthfully I hadn’t thought that far ahead, but I know I want the beginnings of a New England Title tournament. I want a fun tag match. Maybe a good interview. Probably a squash. That’s an hour right there. Just looking at the schedule, here’s what we would be laying out:

If we have seven shows ahead of the second Garden show, we could do a 16-man tournament that starts right away and ends with a title match back in Boston. So I tell Vince we’ll book a clear squash, a good and longer match, plus a tag bout, maybe another character squash, and an interview segment. 

He likes that but wants to make sure that names that are recognizable in New England are involved. Right now, here are our recognizable names:

- Afa

- Andre the Giant

- Bob Backlund

- Chief Jay Strongbow

- Don Muraco

- Ivan Putski

- Jimmy Snuka

- Jules Strongbow

- Masked Superstar

- Pedro Morales

- Ray Stevens

- Sika

- Superstar Billy Graham

That’s 13. If we can nab Dino Bravo, that’s 14. We could look into Blackjack Mulligan, Sgt. Slaughter, and Rick Martel, among others, if we need more. 

Meanwhile, I check in about Terry Funk. Vince Jr. says he wasn’t convinced yet, but now he thinks he’ll offer him a deal. He doesn’t want Funk for this coming show, though; instead, he wants to build that up and have Backlund take on Funk in April. That’s when George Steele should return, and he can challenge the new New England champion at that show. 

But what about a main event for Boston Garden?

“Well, Andre is working Boston.”

Yeah. I’m not sure who Andre will face in Boston. Maybe it’s a tag match. I need to workshop this.

We move onto the card for MSG. It’s already in place:

We rearrange the order, and we feel pretty good about it all … let’s do it.

Madison Square Garden

New York, NY

Capacity 20,000

Attendance: 20,000 [SELL OUT!]

WWF at MSG - January 1983

Tito Santana d. Invader #3 in 5:41

Rating: C+ / 67. Santana 64, Invader #3 48.

Tito is a good choice for an opener, as he wins a fairly brisk match against the better Invader. 

Jimmy Snuka d. Iron Mike Sharpe in 5:30

Rating: B- / 75. Snuka 89, Sharpe 45.

Just outstanding work from Snuka, even when he knows he’s working later in the evening. Sharpe is no slouch, either, and I’m glad to have him around to take a few bouts here and there.

In-Ring: Tony Atlas announces his open challenge, which is answered by Rocky Johnson.

Rating: C- / 56.

Nothing much here. Just starting off their tag team.

Tony Atlas and Rocky Johnson fought to a 10:00 draw

Rating: C / 59. Atlas 56, Johnson 52.

Just fine. Not bad. Not good. Just fine. The result is they’re going to be in a tag team, now, so that’s what matters.

Interview: Superstar Billy Graham is ready to kick Swede Hanson’s butt.

Rating: C / 62.

Kind of hoping for more here. Oh well.

Superstar Billy Graham d. Swede Hanson in 6:10

Rating: C+ / 69. Graham 80, Hanson 33.

Apparently Graham wasn’t quite on his game, but he still handed in a decent performance. Hanson wasn’t good at all, so maybe that’s why it felt uneven.

Afa, Sika d. Tony Garea, Eddie Gilbert in 11:51

Rating: B- / 73. Afa 78, Sika 58, Garea 62, Gilbert 43.

Fun match. More proof that the Wild Samoans need the tag straps. Garea and Gilbert are very much a work in progress, but I’m confident about that team.

Vignette: Buddy Rogers looks at the feud between Pedro Morales and Don Muraco.

Rating: C+ / 69.

Here we go …

Rating: B- / 74. Muraco 71, Morales 60.

I wanted a wild brawl here, and while I got it, Morales was tiring toward the end. And Muraco was a little off. Well, at the end of the day, the better worker got the strap. Congratulations to Muraco on his second IC belt reign. As for the bout, give it ***¼.

Post-Match: Muraco gloats about giving Morales his first MSG loss.

Rating: C+ / 70

Decent interview, and toward the end Muraco said this: “Now it’s my belt. This is my house. And Pedro, like all the others, is my victim. I make victims.” That final bit is likely to stick as a new catchphrase, per our road agent.

Buddy Rose d. Curt Hennig in 5:32

Rating: C / 65. Rose 59, Hennig 53.

Just a change of pace to get people ready for the world title match.

Interview: Bob Backlund talks about his latest challenge.

Rating: C / 60.

Meh. Could be better. Maybe less Arnold Skaaland.

Bob Backlund [c] d. Big John Studd in 12:08 to retain the WWF World Heavyweight Championship

Rating: B / 79. Backlund 97, Studd 62.

Apparently these two have great chemistry. Good to know and will file away for later. With that, just a real good match here. Both men put on a nice show. I call it about ***½.

Interview: Andre The Giant is happy to be back at MSG.

Rating: B+ / 87

Pat Patterson doesn’t work in these segments. Andre obviously looks great.

Andre The Giant, Jimmy Snuka d. Ray Stevens, The Iron Sheik in 18:12

Rating: B / 80. Giant 96, Snuka 81, Stevens 63, Sheik 60.

A formulaic main event with the boys hitting all the right beats. Finishing with a strong main event that registers about ***¾.

Post-Match: Jimmy Snuka and Andre The Giant celebrate together.

Rating: B- / 74.

Eh. Could be better, but that’s OK …

Overall: B / 79

Yes! A good first MSG event that at minimum secures us some new fans in other regions. Also, once again we sold out the damn place! Considering our main event was a tag match that included two midcarders and a late-arriving main eventer … I’ll take this for sure.

After the show I called out Big John Studd, Don Muraco, and Tony Atlas for great performances.

Event Post-Mortem

Muraco will hang with the IC strap for a little while. Not a few years, but at least long enough to establish him as a true main event presence while sending him all over the place. Which faces should he go over in the short term? I can see arena matches against the likes of S.D. Jones, Ivan Putski, and Jay Strongbow to establish himself. A nice feud with Tito Santana makes sense at some point. Certainly, a program with Jimmy Snuka is down the line. 

We’ll move on from Snuka and Stevens, and from Backlund and Studd. The next MSG show should see the beginning of Backlund vs Masked Superstar, while I’m not sure what Snuka will do. I might have him tag up with Andre again, or maybe it’s a four-on-four. 

In fact, maybe this is when we get Lou Albano some clients. He currently manages Afa and Sika, plus Stevens half of the time. Maybe I have Albano court Buddy Rose. Here are other heels without managers:

- Iron Mike Sharpe

- Ivan Koloff

- Mac Rivera

- Mr. Fuji

- Superstar Billy Graham

- Tiger Chung Lee

Yeah. I like the idea of Afa, Sika, Rose, and Graham teaming up to face Andre, Snuka, and the Strongbows at MSG. That’s my main event. We can have Backlund take on Masked Superstar in the semi-main, to see how they gel. Elsewhere I’ll give Studd a squash and continue his Body Slam Challenge angle, I’ll have Morales go over someone to get his heat back, and I’ll give Muraco a nice win over a decent challenger … maybe Jones.

So, February at MSG is looking like this:

Andre The Giant, Jimmy Snuka, Chief Jay Strongbow, Jules Strongbow vs Superstar Billy Graham, Buddy Rose, Afa, Sika

Bob Backlund [c] vs The Masked Superstar | WWF World Heavyweight Championship

Don Muraco [c] vs S.D. Jones | WWF Intercontinental Championship

Pedro Morales vs [lower midcard / midcard heel]

Big John Studd vs [lower midcard / midcard face]

At the Spectrum, we have:

Bob Backlund [c] vs [???] | WWF World Heavyweight Championship

Pedro Morales vs Superstar Billy Graham

Jimmy Snuka vs Big John Studd

So who faces Backlund? In 1982 he faced Rose twice, and late in the year. So he’s out. Graham and Studd are out. We could do Muraco, but is that too soon for champion vs champion? Other internal options include Ivan Koloff, Mr. Fuji and The Iron Sheik. Not exactly inspiring. Externally, if we bring in Bravo he’d be a fine opponent. Call me uncertain.

As for Boston, here’s what we have currently:

Andre The Giant [???]

Bob Backlund [c] vs [???] | WWF World Heavyweight Championship

We need to build this card. I like Andre in tag action. In fact, I like Andre with the Strongbows against Graham and the Samoans. It’s a good way to workshop the MSG show but with smaller numbers, and we can have Graham team up with Albano (who gives him a slightly new gimmick) before Boston. And I think Backlund vs Studd makes sense here. They had a good first bout at MSG, so why not bring it to Beantown?

We’ll also need a Snuka match and a Muraco match. Those should be fairly easy to book.