It is February 2019 and WWE is celebrating Black History Month and the Valentine Family. We are getting rookie Ron Simmons, Bobo Brazil, Sputnik Monroe, Bobby Heenan wrestling at Comiskey Park, Johnny Valentine vs. Lou Thesz with no audio whatsoever, a Booker T sparring session, and a bunch of other wacky stuff.
Magnum and The Big Cat – Ernie Ladd vs. Magnum T.A. (Houston Wrestling 11/9/84)
This match is a classic, with Magnum T.A. as a supreme fired up babyface vs. Ernie Ladd who is this tall lanky old asshole of a man. Sometimes it’s just in the chemistry. Magnum was on his way up in the biz-ness and about to head to JCP, but before that he feuded with The Big Cat. The first minute is one of the greatest first minutes I have ever seen in wrestling, as Magnum goes right at Ladd with rapid fire punches and Ladd does this old man “awww noooo” sell as he tries to back up and eventually ends up laying across the ropes like they’re a hammock, as if he saw some ferocious critter on his lawn and he needed to escape to the easiest possible place. Ladd also does his spot where he takes a back bump and flips over so his long legs prop up on the the top rope, which gets me every time. There’s a whole lot of digging for foreign objects and the folks in Houston in 1984 are completely sold, a bunch of old folks DESPERATELY trying to incriminate Ladd. After a whole bunch of that, Ladd gets socked and sent outside and he ends up with a chair around his neck. When he re-enters, he swears to GOD (even does the cross) he won’t cheat and extends his hand to Magnum, who isn’t about to fall for his bullshit. The crowd is all in on their boy T-A and chant his name until he takes Ladd’s foreign object and shoves it into his throat. Awesome, must-see professional wrestling action. ****1/4
Ron’s Bad News – Ron Simmons vs. Bad News Allen (CWF 12/16/86)
This is from the Spartan Sports Center in the last days of the Florida territory, which was about to fold into JCP. Stan Rose is on commentary and Bill Alfonso is the referee. Simmons was the NWA Florida Heavyweight Champion, while Allen was the NWA Florida Bahamian Champion, which was absolutely a title that existed.
There are only a few things of real value here: one, seeing Ron Simmons as a spunky young buck who still has the aura and mustache of a 40-year-old man, complete with commentary talking up his rookie year and football career. Two, this old guy in the crowd who keeps chanting “PHO-NY” at Bad News. Three, seeing Bad News Allen yelling at said guy and also selling the power of this young whippersnapper.
Otherwise, there’s some armbars and shoulder tackles and bodyslams and stalling before Bad News clocks Simmons with a foreign object for 3. Another referee protests the finish, so the match is restarted. Ron rolls up Bad News for 2, then Bad News clocks him with his title belt for the DQ. Bad News would take the Florida Heavyweight Title from Ron a month later. Simmons would soon head to WCW while Bad News would find his way to the WWF soon after. **1/2
Stretching the Competition – Shelton Benjamin & Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Henry & Mr. Black (OVW 12/16/00)
This is from when Mark Henry had infamously been sent to OVW to lose some weight in the 2000’s, or so was the hot rumor on the new and exciting Internet. While he was in OVW he joined up with Kenny Bolin’s Bolin Services, a group whose membership also included Mr. Black, a guy in a black security shirt and black jeans. They teamed up here against young rookie sensations Shelton Benjamin and Brock Lesnar, known as the Minnesota Stretching Crew.
This, as is any match that shows up from Brock’s run in Louisville, is all about seeing Brock freaking Lesnar in this rinky dink shitbox. He spends the majority of this 6-minute clip on the apron as Shelton shows off his hops or takes heat. Brock has a swell enough hot tag where he takes his large opposition to Suplex City, then Rob Conway runs in to prevent Mr. Black from using a nightstick and the Stretching Crew wins. Terrible, but it wasn’t meant to not be. *
A Valentine for Thesz – Johnny Valentine vs. Lou Thesz (CWF 9/1/73)
This was from a CWF show at the Bayfront Center headlined by NWA World Champ Jack Brisco vs. Dory Funk Jr., and much like that match was a match between two guys known for the credibility of everything they do in a wrestling ring – serious faces, working in and out of holds, not running the ropes, selling everything, etc. All of this is important because this clip has no audio!
There’s two parts to this video – one with a single hard camera zooming in and out, then footage of the match with the crude ringside camerawork that the CWF tape library will offer from time to time. Neither has sound.
The first bit is two old men (Johnny in his mid-40s, Thesz his 50s) grappling to silence, though the crowd seems to be enjoying themselves. If you haven’t seen Johnny before, he’s the archetype for his son Greg. His selling while Thesz tees off with elbows is magical, as he tries to maintain his stance while his blonde hair flops all over the place. They get a lot out of a little, as rasslers used to do – everything is deliberate and sold well and most of the strikes seemed to land. There’s little moments like when Valentine applies an armbar and Thesz cocks a fist, but doesn’t dare throw it. A Thesz backdrop sees both guys lay dormant, then Thesz lays an arm across Valentine, who sells with a thousand-yard stare but doesn’t raise his arm before 3. The crowd rushes the ring, ecstatic.
Then, we cut to a guy’s hand carrying a small production card, with “SOLIE” listed as the cameraman. And the footage remains amazing. The old man grappling is still there, but you’re also getting deep shots of Thesz’ tummy rolls and quadriceps muscles. There’s some incredible close-up shots of these men at work – the first bit is like a Zapruder film, while this is like Planet Earth for 70s wrestling. If you’re a wrestling nerd like I, it is must-watch weirdness.
A Little Elbow Grease – Greg Valentine Showcases the Elbow Drop (CWF 9/15/76)
Here’s a 2-minute clip of a 25-year-old Greg Valentine demonstrating his elbow drop. A guy stacks wooden boards inside a ring for him, and Greg drops his elbow onto them and breaks them. While that is happening, Gordon Solie interviews him over the footage. Greg stresses the need to put all your weight into the tip of the elbow. He also wipes his elbow off before performing the maneuver to make sure the perspiration doesn’t slip off the board or his opponent. It’s a wonderful 2 minutes that puts a move and personality over, and more bullshit like this would be very helpful in wrestling.
On Broadway – WWWF Heavyweight Title: Bob Backlund [c] vs. Greg Valentine (WWF MSG 2/19/79)
So this is an HOUR-LONG WRESTLING MATCH. And that’s a long time. But there was also a time, in history, where this happened with regularity and guys were prepared to keep it interesting by the day’s standards. And these two did that here. It’s not just an impressive use of an hour, it’s just great wrestling in general.
Backlund was in the middle of his big title reign that would go on for almost 5 more years, while Valentine had just come into the WWWF after a successful run in Mid-Atlantic. He’d go back-and-forth between the WWF and Mid-Atlantic before settling in the WWF, and during both his stints he had angles with Backlund over the title.
They set the mood before the bell – Valentine is stoic, turns his back on the referee’s instructions, and stares a hole through Backlund when he offers a handshake. He offers a shitty half-hearted pinky shake then walks away. It’s on.
They crank holds, do a sequence, crank holds, do another sequence. The holds can be long, but guess what – it’s 2019, you can skip them! What’s impressive is how they don’t really lose the crowd at all – it’s drawn out but feels like a big dramatic fight so the drawn out feels worthy. The length of Valentine’s armscissors is brutal but the eventual deadlift out of it by Backlund is the greatest kind of professional wrestling. Backlund’s rally at like 50 minutes in gets SO over. The crowd pops for Valentine’s selling too – early on he and Backlund are trading holds and when he finally gets tired and backs off the reaction is astounding. Backlund eventually manages something as exciting as a piledriver and the referee rings the bell to mark 60 minutes. Backlund says LET’S FINISH THIS TONIGHT… but they don’t. Heck of a match. ****
Masters of the Figure Four – Ric Flair vs. Greg Valentine (Mid-Atlantic 7/17/80)
This is like the Nature Boy vs. Nature Boy match from an earlier Hidden Gems Collection, and is basically 5ish minutes of a home video from a camera at ringside, with jump cuts every 10-15 seconds. It’s impossible to follow but some cool footage from a classic feud. The crowd is HOT for babyface Flair, who sells and bleeds and makes a comeback.
The Mighty Monroe – Sputnik Monroe vs. Jack Pesek (CWF 3/3/66)
Sputnik Monroe, in addition to having one of the all-time great wrestling names, is famous as a legendary Memphis wrestler who in the 60s was one of the first wrestlers to market to black fans, and eventually refused to perform on shows where seats were segregated, which was a real swell thing to do in the 60s.
Monroe’s opponent is Jack Pesek, who helpfully has “PESEK” written in large letters on his jacket. Jack is the son of John Pesek, who tangled with names like Jim Londos and Ed “Strangler” Lewis and for a time held the National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title, which eventually merged with Lou Thesz’ National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Title.
This match took place at a CWF event in Jacksonville, FL. The commentator, getting used to this new world, comments: “You might wonder why we have another mic … in addition to televising, we’re actually, uh, filming today’s Championship Wrestling from Florida.”
The coolest thing about this black-and-white footage, beyond it being the only appearance of Monroe on the Network, is that commentary mentions future wrestlers Bob Orton Jr. and Mike Graham as a high school wrestling champions: “We are very proud of young Bobby Orton.” The match itself is solid and as with many of the Hidden Gems, more a cool curiosity than anything Meltzer would rate. The crowd is hollering, whether they are working out of a hold or in a hold. Monroe is a heel and the crowd loses their shit any time he begs off. He was big with all his mannerisms – I liked how he would stiff up when he took a back bump, a subtle thing that adds to the match. The finish is neat too: Monroe shoots Pesek off the ropes but gets tackled, then they do it again, and on the third Monroe basically Flair Flops down and Pesek goes into the turnbuckle and falls down, which Monroe follows up by dropping a stomp off the top rope. OK enough match, very cool footage. **3/4
Bobo, Bobby and The Bruiser – Bobo Brazil & Dick the Bruiser vs. Bobby Heenan & The Sheik (AWA 9/7/74)
This match was the semi-main event of a big AWA show at Comiskey Park in Chicago headlined by Verne Gagne defending the AWA World Heavyweight Title against Billy Robinson. Everybody but Bobby was a dirty part-timer. It is also another Hidden Gem with zero audio, a type of presentation I am gaining an odd fondness for. It’s a short clip with cuts in random places but all about the experience. Young Bobby Heenan enters in a track jacket and tights, led to the ring by a security guard and manager Eddie Creatchman, who has a cigar in his mouth and wears a Star of David around his neck, all while the dangerous Sheik trails behind them. Dick the Bruiser fires up the crowd, while Bobo Brazil is simply HUGE, a giant of a human male. Bobby bumping around for these two is magic – this is premium Heenan working with some legendary names. The camera eventually clips to Bobo going down to what I believe is a fireball, though it comes in right as it fizzles out.
I say watch this because at the end there is this incredible close-up footage of Heenan recovering in the back with his face covered in blood, only for The Sheik to wipe his hand over his face and lick said hand. Incredible wrestling.
NWA Florida Tag Team Title: Ivan Koloff & Mr. Saito [c] vs. Pedro Morales & Rocky Johnson (CWF 2/14/78)
In a wonderful slice of life from the late-70s, The Rock’s dad and the recently-passed Pedro Morales try to regain their NWA Florida Tag Team Championships from the Russian Bear Ivan Koloff and Masa Saito, a contest that sees Andre the Giant and Ivan Putski run in at the end. The timeline here is weird, as the date seems to be accurate but Koloff and Saito had lost their titles to The Brisco Brothers a few weeks prior.
The clip opens with Pedro clapping for Rocky’s intro, which is so god damn classy. The rest is hard to follow as it’s a pretty chopped up 5-minute clip but there are also a lot of good close-up shots of Pedro being all intense, while Young Ivan is an awesome old school heel who can move. You can also see what appear to be some STRONG hot tags. Ivan lifts Pedro for a bodyslam, Rocky dropkicks them, and Pedro covers for 3 as the crowd goes NUTS. Saito and Ivan talk shit and I assume keep their titles, and then Andre runs in and he is so fast and big and scary. Another short clip but cool stuff.
Every Dog Has Its Day – Junkyard Dog vs. Buzz Sawyer (Houston Wrestling 9/9/83)
This is from the Sam Houston Coliseum on a show headlined by Andre the Giant & Jim Duggan vs. Missing Link & Kamala, which sounds incredible. Houston was killing it at this time, with access to both Mid-South and JCP talent. In addition to the main event and this match this show has Dusty Rhodes, King Kong Bundy, Magnum TA, and Butch Reed. As happened to be the case in this territory, the crowd heat is PALPABLE as these two square up. Sawyer fucking LUNGES at JYD and bites him, so JYD throws him off, then Buzz does it again, JYD throws him off again, and gets down on all fours ready to tear this dude apart. They work holds and bite each other and roll all over the mat all bloody and it’s just craziness, absolute madness. JYD eventually throws down the referee, which sparks a pull-apart brawl as a whole bunch of officials try to contain these two animals as the bell rings and rings. A lot of good men go down until it seems kind of calm, only for Buzz to LUNGE at JYD like he was catching prey. A fine 5-minute match but an excellent bit of chaos. ***1/4
12. The Cat and The Sailor – 2/3 Falls – Ernie Ladd & Sailor Art Thomas vs. Dusty Rhodes & Dick Murdoch (AWA 12/16/72)
This is 2/3 Falls… I think. It’s another silent match, which are usually heavily clipped but also pretty fascinating, as you’re seeing these larger than life legends up close from a ringside camera, which lets you be a fly on the wall to wrestling footage from half a century ago. Seeing Murdoch’s shtick up close is awesome, including his saliva going flying as Ladd works a bearhug. Watching Dusty do his thing is an experience, he’s a man on another planet, just bursting with charisma and timing everything perfectly. Dusty grabs Sailor’s pecs after he flexes them, so Sailor grabs Dusty’s tits back and I bet the crowd went insane. I have no idea who the good guy or bad guy was here but it doesn’t matter because it’s all shtick and exaggerated movements. A double elbow drop from Rhodes and Murdoch puts Sailor down for 3, then Ladd ATTACKS Sailor, leading to another 3-count and the win.
13. Thunder in the Omni – NWA World Tag Team Title: Thunderbolt Patterson & Cowboy Bill Watts vs. The Minnesota Wrecking Crew (Ole Anderson & Gene Anderson) [c] (GCW 6/24/77)
This is clipped and barely audible, but it’s a fun match with The Andersons selling for the good guys and being THERE for it, Ole especially. The Andersons had regained the NWA World Tag Titles from Ric Flair & Greg Valentine a month prior to this. Thunderbolt should probably be more famous for attempting to start a wrestlers’ union in the early 70s, which was part of the reason he was essentially blacklisted for years until he came to the Florida/Georgia area. A few years later he’d form a team with Ole, only to be the partner Ole turned on to join up with his nephew Arn.
Thunderbolt guy can move and has great mannerisms, where comes off like a perfectly developed wrestling machine. Watts takes heat and pops the crowd with his punches, as he will do. A highlight of the low audio is you can hear a guy screaming a count to 10 when Thunderbolt covers after a ref bump. During a melee Thunderbolt throws the referee out of the ring, then makes the cover as Watts counts to 3. The good guys celebrate, only for Ole to knee smash them from behind, clock Watts with the title, and cover him as Gene forces the referee to count. NICE. ***1/2
14. From Calgary to New York – Big Daddy Ritter (Junkyard Dog) vs. Jim Neidhart (Stampede Wrestling 5/11/79)
This match sees the Junkyard Dog as a heel doing foreign object in the pants shtick vs. a young lion Jim Neidhart complete with basic black tights. If anything, it’s a heck of a dynamic. JYD wins with a pair of powerslams, and seems to be en route towards Jake Roberts’ North American Heavyweight Title. *3/4
15. The Spirit of Competition – Booker T vs. Craig “Pitbull” Pittman (WCW Power Plant Exhibition 8/1/98)
This is legitimately 4 and a half minutes of Booker T and Craig “Pitbull” Pittman sparring at the WCW Power Plant. Pittman’s a former Marine who was one of the early Power Plant trainees, debuting in 1995. He is one of those midcard guys WCW had that gained a little notoriety by being a goofy background character in the middle of all the big stuff going on. He left in 1997, but apparently showed up to the Power Plant in 1998 to spar with Booker. Either way, Booker looks real jacked while he walks to the ring. They legitimately just do some light grappling for a few minutes. That’s the clip. That is literally what it is.
