JerryvonKramer

Yes and in-game considerations might affect who gets nominated. This is all too much too soon. "Too much too soon"

My suggestion is that we hold off for the first two weeks of booking before making a call on this. We don't know the lay of the land yet. Why not have a bit of patience and see where things are at in a few weeks?

goc have you seen Funks vs. Sheik / Abby '78? That is another occassion where Dory goes psycho.

Need this one isolated as a general reaction. Can't wait to use it in response to a typical Matt D post!

Mid-90s Landel in WWF was destined for nothing but matches on Heat with maybe a 4-minute job on Raw once every six months. Or in WCW, the same, just swap in Saturday Night and Nitro.

Well the thing is, that most territories did have a babyface ace champion who anchored the promotion and the world champ would only turn up a few times a year, as a special attraction. So the heel champ idea only works if he's travelling and you don't see him that often. In the situation where it is champ vs. static roster, over any sustained period it pretty much has to be a babyface. The WWF title was basically just a regional title, only that region was larger than most other territories. Maybe Dylan or Matt D could speak to how Buddy Rose was booked in Portland, but to me the heel champion only has legs if he's travelling. It's one of the issues with JCP towards the end, Flair needed to work babyface or they needed to give the belt to a face because fans get burnt out on disappointment. I think looking at Graham's run here is a good illustration of another issue with the heel champ: there's nowhere to go with it. After he's run through every face on the roster, what is there left for him to do but drop it? These are all things I think HHH never understood.

Obviously I'm aware of this, as the post does make clear. I was more interested in what ideas VJM had for Graham while he had the belt. In some ways, I see him as a lazy and predictable booker who lacks imagination, and I half expected this to be an endless string of Garea and Strongbow matches, which it turned out to be. But sometimes the journey can be more interesting than the payoff. That Houston card for example. I found out about a Graha, vs Ivan Koloff heel vs heel match and those Patera matches. Carlos Rocha. Very snarky Johnny.

He certainly ticks a lot of boxes. The belt is staying on Race for July right?

This is one of the reasons my schedule gives my guys the weekend off.

I'd prefer it if we left Bock out of this for now.

Bockwinkle is too old and too associated with the AWA

Hamlet as a protagonist has a lot of "interiority", he never just does anything he pauses, reflects, second guesses himself and thinks everything through to the point where he spends more time thinking than acting. I should get a quick plug in for my new book here where I discuss Hamlet's propensity for analysis paralysis in some detail, in all good book stores in about four weeks! But anyway, Cena comes closest to being that. Compare Cena to a babyface like Magnum TA, who simply has none of that "thoughtful" inner struggle stuff going on. He's just a man who knows what needs to be done. To make another analogy, Cena is like a Marvel comics hero, all that inner turmoil going on, all that pensiveness and angst. For me, I don't know if that's really what I want from a babyface. You can have a babyface like Dusty or Bruno who is just so charismatic and salt of the earth, you have to root for him. You can have a babyface like Hogan who is so larger than life thwt he's like a super action hero. You can have babyfaces like Magnum TA or Steve Austin who kick ass and take names. You can have good looking babyfaces like Jack Brisco. Ricky Steamboat and Rick Martel who girls scream for but who are also tremendous in-ring workers and can illicit sympathy and support from the men too through their selling and excitement through their fiery comebacks. You can have stoical babyfaces like Misawa. There are lots of different types of faces. But with Cena it feels like the most important issues are all internal. He's remarkably caught up in himself. There's another face who is a bit like that too ... Shawn Michaels, some of whose character work I hate with a passion. But Michaels in some sense can compensate for that with some natural charisma and by working heel when he needs to. Cena, it seems though takes that self-indulgent side of Michaels and pushes it to a new level. I'm not talking about promos here, I'm taking about stuff that goes on within the body of the match. It's not just the pregnant pause, but all the facial expressions and quizzical looks and moments of doubt, and moments of thinking and moments of looking at the crowd and all that shit. I can see someone coming out and saying, "but yeah, all that stuff is great" and fine if you like that. For me, I'm not sure what it's brining to the wrestling match. I feel like it buries the opponent by making them smaller than whatever the internal issue is. Or in simpler terms, it's just not very good psychology. And one thing that has shocked me watching this stuff is that Cena was doing it back in 2006 and 2007, it's not a new thing with him he's ALWAYS done it. I'm assessing workers for GWE. Cena gives me a dilemma. Because as much as I'm not really on board with the interiority stuff, him and his particular dynamic with the crowd is ... Quite unique and interesting in wrestling history. I can't think of another worker who is anything like Cena. He also has some really good matches and despite being persistently irritating to me, I found myself rooting for him at the end of the matches with Brock and Umaga which are both great babyface performances. I dunno, I'm gonna watch more.

Agreed Wade.

Are all you people ranking the Hardys? Just out of interest.

Is it really the style or is it Cena though? He's the closest thing I've seen to wrestler-as-Hamlet.

Try any of these and tell me what you think: Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/83) Ron Garvin vs. Ric Flair (12/28/85) Ric Flair vs. Ricky Morton (07/05/86) Ron Garvin vs. Ric Flair (9/26/87) Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger (2/25/90) Also watch them all and then come back and tell me that Flair has a formula. But don't do it before you've read all posts by Loss, soup, and myself in this thread: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/18970-bret-hart-vs-ric-flair/ and all 8 pages of this: http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/8647-the-flair-formula/ Once you've done that, if you're still not convinced, cool.

Over the past couple of years, I've become increasingly fascinated with Vince Sr's formula booking and with the way he was able to keep such a large area selling out shows consistently for so long while keeping things kinda lukewarm and with a lot of sub-par talent on his roster. There was an old-school mentality that you shouldn't let a territory become too hot or else business might drop off once it cooled down. Vince Sr was a master at controlling the "hotness level" of the promotion at any given time. When things needed something, he might throw in a storyline -- which seem to have been expertly done -- but if things were doing alright, he'd mostly let things remain in his standard formula. Of course, a key part of that formula was the standard babyface champion (typically Bruno, but also Pedro and Backlund) vs. heel challenger of the month: typically this heel would be a big territorial star coming in from outside managed by one of the three wise men, most often The Grand Wizard. A heel would come in, go over on tv once or twice, go over a gatekeeper (Strongbow, Putski, Denucci, Garea, sometimes Monsoon) at MSG and then have three matches with the champ. First two with screwy finishes like a count out or blood stoppage, third a clean loss to the champ. Vince Sr only departed from this formula once in 30-odd years. It was when Superstar Graham became champ in April 1977 and -- basically unheard of for a heel in WWF at that time -- held onto the title till Februray 1978. I was interested to see how Graham was booked as champ. Whether Vince Sr would try to bring in outside babyfaces or rely on his core crew of mid-card "gatekeeper" babyfaces who homesteaded in the territory for years. I've gone through the results. I've taken out TV squash matches and only included angle-stuff from the TV. My comments are in bold. General observations at the end. ------ WWWF @ Baltimore, MD - Civic Center - April 30, 1977 Superstar Billy Graham pinned WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino (w/ Arnold Skaaland) to win the title at 13:43 with a leg pick up and putting both feet on the top rope for leverage St. Louis, MO - Kiel Auditorium - May 6, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham fought Dick the Bruiser to a no contest in a non-title match at 10:00 Works this outside date for St. Louis. This wasn't just a Graham thing, Bruno often worked St. Louis as champ. The WWWF Champion would be brought in for the all-star cards. Larry Matysik argued that they never saw a pop in the gate for the WWWF Champion because St. Louis was a wrestling town and their fans expected wrestling and not BS or "big men". But then he'd say that and put Dick the Bruiser over as a legend in the next breath. WWWF @ New Haven, CT - Coliseum - May 7, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham pinned WWWF Tag Team Champion Billy Whitewolf Smaller show, but his first challenger is a midcarder. WWWF @ Portland, ME - Exposition Building - May 10, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Tony Garea; Tony Altimore was the guest referee for the bout WWWF @ Albany, NY - May 13, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Tony Garea Garea as a placeholder challenger for these next two shows. Seems like a firm policy of using homesteading "gatekeeper" type faces as stop-gap challengers. WWWF @ Springfield, MA - Civic Center - May 14, 1977 WWWF Tag Team Champion Chief Jay Strongbow vs. WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham (Best 2 out of 3 falls) The "biggest name" and arguably most over of those gatekeepers was Chief Shithead Strongbow. The analogy I'd make would be to Jim Duggan during Hogan's time as champ circa 1987-9. We're going to see a lot of Strongbow challenging for the title. WWWF @ Boston, MA - Boston Garden - May 15, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham pinned Tony Garea at 8:43 after Garea missed a charge and hit the corner; one of the challenger's feet was outside the ring during the cover but the referee failed to notice Garea filled in as the opponent at Boston Garden. Probably the third biggest show they ran after MSG and Philly. Graham has been champ for only a couple of weeks here and he's already looking short on credible challengers. Garea was a tag guy and associated with that division. I don't think any fans would have given him much of a hope of winning the title. If I'd make the analogy to late 80s WWF again, Garea was kind of like a Strike-Force-era Tito Santana. WWWF @ New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden - May 16, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham (w/ the Grand Wizard) pinned Gorilla Monsoon with a knee drop off the top after repeatedly ramming the challenger into the steel barrier on the floor (History of the WWF Heavyweight Championship) Interesting that for the first MSG defence they brought in Monsoon as the challenger. Andre was right there, but Vince Sr. never once used him as a Graham opponent, which seems a bit weird. I guess he figured that in the title match he had one draw, and in the Andre match he had a second draw, but why not combine that for a mega-draw? This is what I mean about sometimes "controlling the level of the hotness". No doubt Graham vs. Andre would have been a mega money feud, but Vince Sr. didn't want to blow his load and spunk it up the wall, so to speak. Slow and steady wins the day. WWWF @ Worcester, MA - Memorial Auditorium - May 19, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Larry Zbyzsko Larry Z was Bruno's protege and another homesteading stop-gap contender. He'd tagged with Garea and been a tag champ by this time -- but, honestly, it was hard to name someone on the roster who hadn't been tag champ at some point or other. If I'm going to keep going with the analogies, Larry Z in 77 was kinda of a Brutus Beefcake level. St. Petersburg, FL - Bayfront Center - May 21, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Jos LeDuc These trips to Florida would be a regular hallmark of Graham's run, as we're going to see. WWWF @ Long Island, NY - Nassau Coliseum - May 23, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated WWWF Tag Team Champion Billy Whitewolf St. Louis, MO - Kiel Auditorium - May 27, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Bob Backlund via count-out WWWF @ Baltimore, MD - Civic Center - May 28, 1977 Bruno Sammartino fought WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham to a double disqualification; there was no time limit for the bout and two referees First Bruno rematch. Houston, TX - May 29, 1977 Jimmy Snuka defeated Muhammad Farouk Big John Studd defeated Gino Hernandez The Fabulous Moolah defeated Susan Green Cyclone Negro defeated Chavo Guerrero Jose Lothario fought AWA World Champion Nick Bockwinkel to a draw WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Mike York Fritz Von Erich fought Bruiser Brody to a draw Terry Funk fought AWA World Champion Nick Bockwinkel (sub. for NWA World Champion Harley Race) to a draw Look at this fucking stacked Houston card. If Bruce Tharpe has this on tape, it would be cool to see. Interesting to see Graham work this outside date. WWWF @ Portland, ME - Exposition Building - May 31, 1977 (1,900) WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham fought Ken Patera to a double disqualification after hitting each other over the head with a chair Uber-duber RARE heel vs heel match in WWWF at this time. I'd need Kelly or Zellner or someone to look, but I can't think of a single other example of a heel vs. heel match in this promotion during this time frame. Maybe Dylan might know the context for this match, considering it's Patera. They might have been testing the waters for a Graham babyface run, since he was apparently getting some cheers at live shows. WWWF @ Bangor, ME - Municipal Auditorium - June 1, 1977 WWWF Tag Team Champion Chief Jay Strongbow defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via disqualification after the champion punched guest referee Haystacks Calhoun WWWF @ North Attleboro, MA - Witschi's Sports Arena - June 3, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated WWWF Tag Team Champion Chief Jay Strongbow in a non-title match When it doubt, stick Strongbow in there. Tampa, FL - June 3, 1977 Jack & Jerry Brisco defeated Florida Tag Team Champions - WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham & Ox Baker to win the titles WWWF @ Philadelphia, PA - Spectrum - June 4, 1977 (13,797) WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham pinned WWWF Tag Team Champion Chief Jay Strongbow at 10:07 WWWF @ New Haven, CT - June 5, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Tony Garea WWWF @ Poughkeepsie, NY - Mid-Hudson Civic Center - June 6, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Haystacks Calhoun via count-out WWWF @ Scranton, PA - CYC - June 7, 1977 (986) WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Tony Garea at 15:36 WWWF @ Pittsburgh, PA - Civic Arena - June 10, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Dominic DeNucci Getting a bit desparate here. Haystacks Calhoun is a special attraction outside guy coming in as a stop-gap challanger, but clearly they can't book him against Haystacks around the horn, so back to Garea and Strongbow. Pittsburgh was Bruno country and always a good town for Denucci, so perhaps that's why Dominic comes in as the challenger there. Still, Dominic in 77 is quite mid-card-y to be facing the champion. Apparently that match only went 9 seconds. Kansas City, MO - Memorial Hall - June 16, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham pinned Bob Slaughter (Sgt. Slaughter) with an elbowsmash (Graham's local debut) St. Louis, MO - Kiel Auditorium - June 17, 1977 Randy Tyler defeated Wolf Wiskoski at 11:12 Bob Sweetan defeated Ron Starr at 15:13 Pat O'Conner defeated Bobby Jaggers at 9:57 Bulldog Brown & Ivan Koloff fought Rufus R. Jones & Billy Robinson to a 30-minute time-limit draw WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Bob Slaughter at 11:23 AWA Tag Team Champions Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell defeated Blackjack Lanza & Bobby Duncum (w/ Bobby Heenan) NWA World Champion Harley Race defeated Missouri Champion Jack Brisco Another stacked card. You'll note Graham dropping into Kansas to do the date for Central States as well as St. Louis. WWWF @ Providence, RI - Civic Center - June 18, 1977 (7,500) WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Carlos Rocha in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match at 11:06, 2-1; fall #1: Rocha won via a sleeper; fall #2: Graham won; fall #3: Graham won Well this is an interesting one. Rocha was in his 50s at this point, but presumably was being used as an ethnic draw. Apparently there was a large Portugese population in Providence at this time, which is why Rocha was brought in and billed as "The Champion of Portugal". Some more info here WWWF @ Long Island, NY - Nassau Coliseum - June 20, 1977 Haystacks Calhoun vs. WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham WWWF @ Bangor, ME - Municipal Auditorium - June 22, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Haystacks Calhoun Some more dates for Calhoun WWWF @ Foxcroft, ME - Dover Foxcroft, ME - Academy - June 23, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham vs. Tony Garea WWWF @ Albany, NY - Washington Ave. Armory - June 24, 1977 Ivan Putski vs. WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham Putski, there's a new challenger. So if Strongbow was like your Jim Duggan, Garea like your Tito Santana, and Larry Z like your Brutus Beefcake, Putski was like your post-86 JYD. He was very over too. WWWF @ Springfield, MA - Civic Center - June 25, 1977 (4,000) WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Larry Zbyszko WWWF @ New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden - June 27, 1977 (22,090; 4,000 in Felt Forum) Televised on the MSG Network - included Vince McMahon on commentary: WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham fought Bruno Sammartino to a double disqualification at 18:39; prior to the bout, Graham was escorted to the ring by the Grand Wizard while Sammartino was escorted by Arnold Skaaland Another Bruno rematch, naturally a sellout. Tampa, FL - Ft. Hesterly Armory - June 28, 1977 Dusty Rhodes & Steve Keirn defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham & Ernie Ladd CWF @ Miami Beach, FL - Convention Hall South - June 29, 1977 Dusty Rhodes & Steve Keirn defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham & Ernie Ladd CWF @ Sarasota, FL - Robarts Arena - July 2, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Ivan Koloff via count-out Graham starts his big feud with Dusty Rhodes down in Florida. I don't know for sure, but I want to say that this was part of the deal Vince Sr made with Eddie Graham when he took Backlund as his new champ-to-be. There's a lot of cooperation with the Florida office around this time and of course Vince Sr and Eddie Graham were great buddies. What is interesting to me though, is that Graham seemed to have a lot stuff for Graham to do than Vince Sr. did. In WWF, Graham is just stuck in a holding pattern, in CWF he's feuding with Dusty. WWWF @ Albany, NY - Washington Avenue Armory - July 8, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Ivan Putski after the 23-minute mark WWWF @ Philadelphia, PA - Spectrum - July 9, 1977 (15,602) WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham pinned Tony Garea at 18:52 That crowd might look huge for Graham vs. Garea, but the gate was surely helped out by this: Bruno Sammartino defeated Ken Patera when guest referee Gorilla Monsoon stopped the bout at 15:27 due to loss of blood Toronto, Ontario - Exhibition Stadium - July 10, 1977 Farmer Pete defeated Little Bruiser The Wildman defeated Pat Kelly Tony Parisi defeated the Mongol Haystacks Calhoun defeated Bulldog Kent via disqualification Stan Stasiak defeated Al Costello International Tag Team Champions Billy Red Lyons & Dewey Robertson defeated Reginald Love & Chris Tolos Andre the Giant fought Ken Patera to a double disqualification WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham pinned Chief Jay Strongbow NWA World Champion Harley Race defeated the Sheik via disqualification at 8:56 Another outside date. This was part of the ongoing deal whereby WWF sent talent up to Toronto once in a whle. Not nearly as stacked as the St. Louis or Houston cards, but still three pretty big matches on top. Sheik was a big star in Toronto. WWWF @ Boston, MA - Boston Garden - July 11, 1977 (6,205) WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Larry Zbyzsko WWWF @ Portland, ME - Civic Center - July 12, 1977 (1,984) WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Ken Patera via disqualification; Gorilla Monsoon was guest referee for the bout Another heel vs. heel match with Patera! WWWF @ Bangor, ME - Municipal Auditorium - July 13, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Larry Zbyzsko WWWF @ Rockland, ME - July 14, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Larry Zbyzsko WWWF @ Pittsburgh, PA - Civic Arena - July 15, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham fought Ivan Putski to a double disqualification WWWF @ New Haven, CT - Coliseum - July 17, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Chief Jay Strongbow via count-out WWWF @ Long Island, NY - Nassau Coliseum - July 18, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham fought Chief Jay Strongbow to a double disqualification The summer of holding pattern CWF @ Tampa, FL - Ft. Hesterly Armory - July 19, 1977 Don Serrano defeated the Great Mephisto Charlie Cook defeated Dutch Mantel Mike York fought Scott Casey to a draw Jerry Brisco defeated Tony Marino Buddy Roberts defeated Tony Rocco Ernie Ladd defeated Steve Keirn Rocky Johnson defeated Ivan Koloff Jack Brisco defeated Pat Patterson via disqualification Dusty Rhodes defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham Look at this card from Tampa. Ladd vs. Keirn, Jonhson vs. Koloff, Brisco vs. Patterson, Rhodes vs. Graham ... pretty stellar!! Dusty vs. Graham feud rocking now. CWF @ Miami, FL - Convention Hall - July 20, 1977 (4,372) Dusty Rhodes defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham in a non-title match CWF @ Jacksonville, FL - Coliseum - July 21, 1977 Dusty Rhodes defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham Orlando, FL - Sports Stadium - July 24, 1977 Rocky Johnson defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham WWWF @ New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden - August 1, 1977 Bruno Sammartino (w/ Arnold Skaaland) fought WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham (w/ the Grand Wizard) to a draw at 13:05 when both men were too bloody to continue; Gorilla Monsoon was the special referee for the bout; after the match, Bruno continued to attack the champion, despite Monsoon trying to hold him back Another Bruno rematch. WWWF @ New Bedford, MA - Hetland Skating Arena - August 2, 1977 Peter Maivia defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via count-out in a non-title match WWWF @ Bangor, ME - Bass Park Race Track - August 3, 1977 Held as part of the state fair WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Tony Garea WWWF @ Rockland, ME - District High School August 4, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Billy White Wolf WWWF @ Springfield, MA - Civic Center - August 6, 1977 Tony Garea vs. WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham WWWF @ Long Island, NY - Nassau Coliseum - August 8, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Larry Zbyzsko Tampa, FL - August 9, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Steve Keirn Dusty Rhodes & Rocky Johnson defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham & Ernie Ladd Miami, FL - Convention Hall - August 10, 1977 (4,354) WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham pinned Jack Brisco Kansas City, MO - Memorial Hall - August 11, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham vs. Black Angus St. Louis, MO - Kiel Auditorium - August 12, 1977 Black Angus & Ron Starr defeated Bob Sweetan & Randy Tyler in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match Dick Slater defeated Missouri State Champion Jack Brisco to win the title WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Jimmy Valiant NWA World Champion Harley Race fought Dory Funk Jr. to a draw in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match; after trading one fall apiece, the time limit expired expired Rufus R. Jones & Dick the Bruiser defeated Ivan Koloff & Bobby Jaggers A run of outside dates here for Florida and St. Louis / Central States. St. Louis card with Slater vs. Brisco and Race vs. Dory Jr looks pretty good. Note how they stuck Graham with Jimmy Valiant. WWWF @ Pittsburgh, PA - Civic Arena - August 13, 1977 Ivan Putski defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via referee's decision when the bout was stopped due to blood WWWF @ Wildwood, NJ - Convention Hall - August 15, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Chief Jay Strongbow via count-out in a non-title match WWWF @ North Attleboro, MA - Witschi's Sports Arena - August 19, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham vs. Peter Maivia Here's another opponent. Peter Maivia, who kind of came and went. He'd show up for a few months here and there, but he'd also work LA and Hawaii of course. Still, it's a breakt from the gatekeeper-holding-pattern-city of endless Garea / Strongbow / Putksi / Larry Z defences. WWWF @ Philadelphia, PA - Spectrum - August 20, 1977 (16,600) WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham pinned Larry Zbyzsko at 11:33 WWWF @ New Haven, CT - Coliseum - August 21, 1977 Peter Maivia defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham WWWF @ Boston, MA - Boston Garden - August 22, 1977 Chief Jay Strongbow defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham when the bout was stopped due to blood; after the bout, Strongbow continued to attack the champion Tampa, FL - Ft. Hesterly Armory - August 23, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Rocky Johnson Miami, FL - Convention Hall - August 24, 1977 Dusty Rhodes defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via disqualification Jacksonville, FL - Coliseum - August 25, 1977 Dusty Rhodes defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via disqualification Tallahassee, FL - Convention Hall - August 26, 1977 Rocky Johnson vs. WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham He'd work Rocky Johnson as well as Dusty, which made sense since Rocky would tag with Dusty WWWF @ Baltimore, MD - Civic Center - August 27, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Chief Jay Strongbow via count-out at 11:42 WWWF @ New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden - August 29, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Ivan Putski via count-out at 18:01 after the challenger was backdropped to the floor; prior to the bout, McMahon interviewed the champion inside the ring; the Grand Wizard escorted the champion to the ring before the match MSG main event for Putski. WWWF @ Scranton, PA - CYC - August 30, 1977 (939) WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Chief Jay Strongbow via count-out at 17:12 WWWF @ Worcester, MA - Memorial Auditorium - September 1, 1977 Ivan Putski defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via disqualification Included 3 other bouts WWWF @ Albany, NY - Washington Avenue Armory - September 2, 1977 Chief Jay Strongbow defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham in a non-title match WWWF @ Bangor, ME - September 3, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Tony Garea Orlando, FL - September 4, 1977 Dusty Rhodes defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via disqualification WWWF @ Wildwood, NJ - September 5, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Peter Maivia via count-out WWWF @ Pittsburgh, PA - Civic Arena - September 9, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Larry Zbyzsko St. Petersburg, FL - Bayfront Center - September 10, 1977 (sell out) WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Rocky Johnson Orlando, FL - Sports Stadium - September 11, 1977 Dusty Rhodes & Don Muraco defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham & Ivan Koloff WWWF @ Long Island, NY - Nassau Coliseum - September 12, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Tony Garea WWWF @ Portland, ME - Exposition Building - September 13, 1977 Peter Maivia pinned WWWF World Champion Superstar Superstar Billy Graham in a non-title match WWWF @ Bangor, ME - Municipal Auditorium - September 14, 1977 Ivan Putski defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Superstar Billy Graham via count-out WWWF @ Albany, NY - Washington Avenue Armory - September 16, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Chief Jay Strongbow after the 23-minute mark WWWF @ Phildephia, PA - Spectrum - September 17, 1977 (19,000; sell out) Bruno Sammartino defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via referee's decision when the match was stopped due to blood at 13:55 Bruno rematch in Philly. You get the impression that 99% of Graham's other matches were just treading water for another Bruno rematch. WWWF @ Boston, MA - Boston Garden - September 19, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Chief Jay Strongbow in a steel cage match after Strongbow threw the champion against the fence near the door and turned away just long enough for Graham to slide out the door I've always wanted to see a heel pull off this finish. Miami, FL - Jai Alai Fronton - September 21, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham vs. Pedro Morales CWF @ Jacksonville, FL - Coliseum - September 22, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham vs. Rocky Johnson Pedro was working down in Florida at this time and made sense as a Graham opponent WWWF @ Providence, RI - Civic Center - September 24, 1977 WWWF @ New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden - September 26, 1977 (22,102, which included 3,000 in Felt Forum) Dusty Rhodes defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via count-out at 15:55 after Graham was backdropped over the top to the floor; prior to the bout, Graham was escorted to the ring by the Grand Wizard; after the match, Rhodes celebrated with the title belt and put it around his waist until it was taken away by the referee; after the decision was announced, the crowd chanted "Bullshit" until Rhodes grabbed the mic and said "Superstar, I came a long way to whip your ass. Now come out here, baby!"WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Peter Maivia via count-out This sounds cool and I love the idea of Dusty "following" Graham up to New York. And look at that gate. Huge drawing match in NYC. I wonder if the New Yorkers had all been down to Florida and caught the feud down there during the summer, or heard about it from their grandparents? Or if they'd got Florida TV somehow. Either way, this is the closest thing that Graham in WWWF has had to a non-Bruno feud and them bringing in a outside star to face him. WWWF @ Asbury Park, NJ - Convention Hall - September 29, 1977 Chief Jay Strongbow vs. WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham WWWF @ Philadelphia, PA - Arena - October 18, 1977 Championship Wrestling taping: 10/22/77 - hosted by Vince McMahon; featured a repeat of the Ken Patera vs. Juan Lopez and aftermath from the 10/1/77 Championship Wrestling; following the footage, Vince McMahon conducted a live interview with WWWF President Willie Gilzenberg & Capt. Lou Albano, where Gilzenberg announced that Ken Patera would now be reinstated after he and Albano each pay a $5,000 fine, which Albano said would be paid tomorrow: Mil Mascaras pinned Jose Estrada at 4:13 with a flying tackle Peter Maivia fought Baron Mikel Scicluna to a no contest when WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham attacked Maivia before the bout began, bloodied him, and broke his ukelele; Graham had been introuced to the crowd by ring announcer Gary Michael Cappetta prior to the bout beginning, and while he claimed he was the greatest champion of all time on the overheard microphone, Maiva ignored him and played his ukelele; Chief Jay Strongbow came out and helped Maivia after Graham had left ringside as Maivia tried to pick up the pieces of his ukelele I HAVE to see this. First of all footage of Willie Gilzenberg!!! Second, Peter Maivia has a ... ukelele?!!! This sound so bizarre that I must watch it. Or I could wait 14 years until we get there will Titans. WWWF @ Worcester, MA - October 20, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Larry Zbyzsko WWWF @ Long Island, NY - Nassau Coliseum - October 21, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Ivan Putski via disqualification WWWF @ Binghamton, NY - Broome County Arena - October 22, 1977 Chief Jay Strongbow defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via count-out WWWF @ New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden - October 24, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham pinned Dusty Rhodes in a Texas Death Match at 9:12 by placing one hand on the challenger’s chest after both men collided; prior to the bout, Vince McMahon interviewed Rhodes inside the ring; the Grand Wizard escorted the champion to the ring before the match; after the contest, Rhodes hit three Bionic Elbows on Graham and threw him to the floor, not realizing the match had ended Natrual return match. WWWF @ Portland, ME - Expo Building - October 25, 1977 Chief Jay Strongbow vs. WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham WWWF @ Bangor, ME - October 26, 1977 Peter Maivia defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via disqualification WWWF @ Baltimore, MD - Civic Center - October 29, 1977 Ivan Putski defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via referee's decision at 12:18 when the match was stopped due to blood; Larry Zbyszko was the guest referee for the match; after the bout, Graham attacked Zbyszko WWWF @ Scranton, PA - CYC - November 1, 1977 (822) WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Larry Zbyzsko via disqualification at 7:22 WWWF @ Poughkeepsie, NY - Mid Hudson Civic Center - November 3, 1977 Chief Jay Strongbow vs. WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham WWWF @ North Attleboro, MA - Witschi's Sports Arena - November 4, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Chief Jay Strongbow WWWF @ Lowell, MA - November 5, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Tony Garea (sub. for Ivan Putski) WWWF @ New Haven, CT - November 6, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Ivan Putski via count-out WWWF @ Boston, MA - Boston Garden - November 7, 1977 Ivan Putski (sub. for Bruno Sammartino) defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via count-out after applying a lengthy bearhug and using the Polish Hammer to send the champion to the floor WWWF @ Worcester, MA - November 10, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Chief Jay Strongbow WWWF @ North Attleboro, MA - Witschi's Sports Arena - November 11, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Chief Jay Strongbow WWWF @ Albany, NY - Washington Avenue Armory - November 11, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham pinned Larry Zbyszko after the 17-minute mark WWWF @ Springfield, MA - Civic Center - November 12, 1977 (7,000) WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Ivan Putski via disqualification WWWF @ Long Island, NY - Nassau Coliseum - November 14, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Ivan Putski via count-out WWWF @ Portland, ME - November 15, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Chief Jay Strongbow WWWF @ Rockland, ME - November 17, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Chief Jay Strongbow WWWF @ Pittsburgh, PA - Civic Arena - November 18, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Peter Maivia via count-out WWWF @ Greensburg, PA - Hempfield Senior High School Gym - November 19, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Larry Zbyzsko via count-out Holy holding pattern. 7,000 for Graham vs. Putski in Springfield, MA is pretty good though. Toronto, Ontario - Maple Leaf Gardens - November 20, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superster Billy Graham defeated Stan Stasiak at 10:24 WWWF @ New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden - November 21, 1977 (17,914) WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Peter Maivia via count-out Pretty good crowd for Graham vs. Maivia. Mid-range sort of opponent. No Bruno on the card. Tampa, FL - Ft. Hesterly Armory - November 22, 1977 Pedro Morales defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via disqualification Miami, FL - Jai Alai Fronton - November 23, 1977 Dusty Rhodes vs. WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham Jacksonville, FL - November 24, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham vs. Dusty Rhodes Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Dillard High School - November 25, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham vs. Don Muraco WWWF @ Baltimore, MD - Civic Center - November 26, 1977 (8,800) WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Larry Zbyzsko (w/ Tony Garea) via disqualification at 19:10 when Garea interfered Detroit, MI - Cobo Arena - November 27, 1977 Don Ross fought Luis Martinez to a draw Prince Maivia defeated the Medic Don Ken & Ox Baker defeated the Butcher & Tony Parisi Jimmy Valiant & Duke George defeated Luis Martinez & Jim Oliver Ed George defeated Nelson Royal via forfeit WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Tony Garea The Sheik defeated Crusher Verdu A shot in Detroit here. If I had to guess this was the NWA or just Vince Sr helping out The Sheik vs. outside competition. It's still a lousy looking card as Garea got his 67th shot at Graham's title. Crusher Verdu was ancient and fat-as-fuck in 1977, odds on that Sheik match going less than 5 minutes? 100%. Miami, FL - December 1, 1977 Jos LeDuc defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via disqualification WWWF @ New Haven, CT - Coliseum - December 4, 1977 Ivan Putski defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via disqualification; Larry Zbyzsko was the guest referee for the bout WWWF @ Landover, MD - Capital Centre - December 5, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Chief Jay Strongbow at 13:47 WWWF @ Portland, ME - Expo Building - December 6, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham fought Bob Backlund to a double count-out First Backlund match. WWWF @ Bangor, ME - Municipal Auditorium - December 7, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Peter Maivia WWWF @ Worcester, MA - December 8, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Tony Garea via count-out WWWF @ Albany, NY - Washington Avenue Armory - December 9, 1977 Bob Backlund defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via disqualification WWWF @ Phildelphia, PA - Spectrum - December 10, 1977 (19,500; sell out) Bruno Sammartino defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via count-out at 18:31 when Graham left ringside Toronto, Ontario - Maple Leaf Gardens - December 11, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Chief Jay Strongbow WWWF @ Boston, MA - Boston Garden - December 12, 1977 (7,716) WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Ivan Putski in a steel cage match by escaping out the door after the challenger hit the cage while attempting a second Polish Hammer WWWF @ Midland, PA - high School Gym - December 15, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Gorilla Monsoon WWWF @ Pittsburgh, PA - Civic Arena - December 16, 1977 Ivan Putski defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via count-out WWWF @ Binghamton, NY - Broome County Arena - December 17, 1977 Chief Jay Strongbow defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via count-out Detroit, MI - Cobo Arena - December 18, 1977 (4,897) Capt. Ed George fought Abdullah the Butcher to a draw Bobo Brazil defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via disqualification The Sheik defeated Peter Maivia via count-out Slightly better looking Detroit card. But Bobo Brazil was a spring chicken at 53 here same age as The Sheik incidentally. Just under 5,000 is pretty dismal for Cobo Arena. WWWF @ New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden - December 19, 1977 (22,085) Televised on the MSG Network - featured Vince McMahon on commentary; Debra Harry of Blondie and Andy Kauffman were in attendance for the card Mil Mascaras (w/ Bob Backlund) defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via referee's decision at 16:24 when referee John Stanley stopped the match due to a cut on the champion's forehead Have always thought Debbie Harry is cool as hell. Great eyebrows. Has that distant coked-out look. Sexy as fuck. I wonder if she sat next to Andy Kaufman and what they talked about. I picture Kaufman in the neck brace, lol. I've always put Debbie Harry and Michelle Pfeiffer together for some reason as having a similar look. Here, Vince Sr. brings in another travelling star to take on Graham, Mil Mascaras. And the gate is impressive. No Bruno on this card either. Miami, FL - Convention Hall - December 21, 1977 Dusty Rhodes defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via disqualification; Don Curtis was the referee for the bout WWWF @ Long Island, NY - Nassau Coliseum - December 26, 1977 WWWF World Champion Supertar Billy Graham defeated Gorilla Monsoon via count-out WWWF @ Augusta, ME - December 27, 1977 Bob Backlund defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via count-out WWWF @ Pittsfield, MA - Boys Club Gym - December 28, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham vs. Bob Backlund WWWF @ Asbury Park, NJ - Convention Hall - December 29, 1977 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Ivan Putski via count-out WWWF @ West Orange, NJ - South Mountain Arena - January 5, 1978 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Chief Jay Strongbow via count-out at 20:45 WWWF @ Albany, NY - January 6, 1978 Peter Maivia & Chief Jay Strongbow vs. WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham & Ken Patera Graham and Patera tagging now after their matches in 77. WWWF @ Baltimore, MD - Civic Center - January 7, 1978 (9,600) WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Tony Garea at 17:42 WWWF @ New Haven, CT - Coliseum - January 8, 1978 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Larry Zbyszko WWWF @ Philadelphia, PA - Arena - January 10, 1978 Championship Wrestling taping: 1/14/78: Bob Backlund defeated the Golden Terror via count-out at 7:41 after hitting the atomic drop, which knocked Terror out to the floor; prior to the bout, Gary Michael Cappetta introduced WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham to the crowd, who came to the ring and shooks hands with Terror, Cappetta, and the referee, and then took his hand back when offering to shake Backlund's hand before leaving ringside Little angle here to set up the title match. CWF @ Miami, FL - Marine Stadium - January 11, 1978 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Don Muraco via submission with a backbreaker CWF @ Jacksonville, FL - January 12, 1978 Don Muraco vs. WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham Atlanta, GA - City Auditorium - January 13, 1978 Tommy Rich defeated the Invader Bob Armstrong & Tony Atlas defeated Randy Savage & Jacques Goulet WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Raymond Rougeau in a non-title match Pak Song defeated Abdullah the Butcher via disqualification Dick Slater defeated Ole Anderson Tony Atlas defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham in a physique contest Dusty Rhodes defeated Georgia Heavyweight Champion Stan Hansen via disqualification in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match Graham drops in for a date in Atlanta. Look at THAT card. Stacked! Although many of the better known names were quite young at this point. I didn't know Randy Savage worked GCW as a youngster. WWWF @ Landover, MD - Capital Centre - January 14, 1978 (matinee) Dusty Rhodes defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham when the match was stopped due to blood WWWF @ Harrisburg, PA - Zembo Mosque - January 14, 1978 Bob Backlund defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via count-out when the champion left ringside at 18:42 WWWF @ Boston, MA - Boston Garden - January 16, 1978 (10,400) Dusty Rhodes defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham at 14:45 when the match was stopped due to blood Milking the last drops of the Dusty feud at this point WWWF @ Staten Island, NY - Wagner College - January 17, 1978 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Chief Jay Strongbow WWWF @ Fort Dix, NJ - January 18, 1978 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Peter Maivia via count-out WWWF @ Wheeling, WV - January 22, 1978 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham vs. Dominic DeNucci WWWF @ New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden - January 23, 1978 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham (w/ the Grand Wizard) defeated Mil Mascaras (w/ Bob Backlund) via disqualification at 13:19 when Backlund and the champion began brawling after Backlund twice prevented Graham from getting the pin with his feet on the ropes Return match for Mil and it's used to advance the Backlund feud. WWWF @ Worcester, MA - Memorial Auditorium - January 26, 1978 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham vs. Peter Maivia WWWF @ Long Island, NY - Nassau Coliseum - January 27, 1978 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Peter Maivia WWWF @ Binghamton, NY - Arena - January 28, 1978 Bob Backlund defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via count-out Morioka, Japan – February 6, 1978 Satoshi Sayama fought Shoji Kai to a draw Daigoro Oshiro pinned Kuniaki Kobayashi Bad News Allen pinned Yoshiaki Fujiwara Kengo Kimura defeated Makoto Arakawa via submission Billy & Benny McGuire defeated Haruka Eigen & Masanobu Kurisu when Billy pinned Kurisu Osamu Kido defeated Buddy Roberts via disqualification Riki Choshu defeated Jerry Brown via submission with the Scorpion Death Lock WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Strong Kobayashi in a non-title match via submission with the backbreaker Antonio Inoki & Seiji Sakaguchi defeated Tiger Jeet Singh & Umanosuke Ueda in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match; fall #1 - both teams fought to a double count-out; fall #2 - Inoki & Sakaguchi won via disqualification Otawara, Japan – February 7, 1978 Daigoro Oshiro pinned Satoshi Sayama Kengo Kimura defeated Kuniaki Kobayashi via submission Makoto Arakawa pinned Masanobu Kurisu Bad News Allen defeated Haruka Eigen via submission with an arm bar Billy & Benny McGuire defeated Kantaro Hoshino & Yoshiaki Fujiwara when Billy pinned Fujiwara Strong Kobayashi defeated Jerry Brown via submission with a Boston Crab WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Riki Choshu in a non-title match via submission with the backbreaker Seiji Sakaguchi defeated Umanosuke Ueda via disqualification Tiger Jeet Singh & Buddy Roberts defeated Antonio Inoki & Osamu Kido in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match; fall #1 - Singh defeated Kido via submission with a cobra claw; fall #2 - Kido pinned Roberts; fall #3 - Singh & Roberts won via disqualification Tokyo, Japan - Budokan Hall - February 8, 1978 Kuniaki Kobayashi fought Satoshi Sayama to a draw Yoshiaki Fujiwara fought Kengo Kimura to a draw Bad News Allen pinned Makoto Arakawa Kotetsu Yamamoto, & Kantaro Hoshino, & Haruka Eigen defeated Billy & Benny McGuire in a handicap match when Yamamoto pinned Billy Riki Choshu & Osamu Kido defeated Jerry Brown & Buddy Roberts when Choshu pinned Roberts Tiger Jeet Singh pinned Strong Kobayashi WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Seiji Sakaguchi via count-out at 19:33 Antonio Inoki defeated Umanosuke Ueda via KO at 11:02 in a Nail Death Match Grahm works these dates for New Japan. I wonder what a "Nail Death Match" is. Note that Graham made Riki Choshu tap on one of these shows. Los Angeles, CA - Olympic Auditorium - February 10, 1978 Chavo Guerrero defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham when the match was stopped due to blood Dropping in on the way back from Japan. Graham was reputedly over in LA. WWWF @ Baltimore, MD - Civic Center - February 11, 1978 Bob Backlund defeated WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham via count-out WWWF @ Highland Park, NJ - February 13, 1978 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Peter Maivia via count-out WWWF @ Scranton, PA - CYC - February 14, 1978 (1,199) WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Peter Maivia at 16:42 WWWF @ Poughkeepsie, NY - Mid-Hudson Civic Center - February 16, 1978 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Tony Garea WWWF @ Pittsburgh, PA - Civic Arena - February 17, 1978 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Ivan Putski in a steel cage match WWWF @ Philadelphia, PA - Spectrum - February 18, 1978 (19,500; sell out) WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Bruno Sammartino (w/ Arnold Skaaland) in a steel cage match at 7:43 after the challenger gave Superstar a running kick, which sent the champion falling between the ropes and out the door Can't say that Bruno didn't put Graham over to set up Backlund's run, even if this is a banana peel sort of win for the champ. Toronto, Ontario - Maple Leaf Gardens - February 19, 1978 WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham defeated Eduard Carpentier WWWF @ New York City, NY - Madison Square Garden - February 20, 1978 (22,092; sell out) Televised on the MSG Network - featured Vince McMahon on commentary; the first MSG show to allow children under 14 to attend; children ages 8 to 14 were admitted with an adult Bob Backlund pinned WWWF World Champion Superstar Billy Graham to win the title at 14:51 with the atomic drop, even though the champion's foot was on the bottom rope during the pinfall; voted Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Match of the Year Clear evidence of what I've been saying for a long time .... Backlund had paid off the refs!! Never in history has there been a guy who had more refereeing decisions go his way than Backlund. --------- So I guess there isn't much left to say other than that Graham was booked in such a way that he was only ever keeping the belt warm for Bob. Even though Vince Sr. mostly didn't put his gatekeeper crew (Strongbow, Putski, Garea, Larry Z, later Maivia) in the top spots at MSG or even in Philly, the vast majority of his defences at the smaller house shows were against those guys. After Bruno, his only hot feud was with Dusty, which was great for Florida, and in New York resulted in two huge gates at MSG. But when he's taking DQ or CO results against Putski and Strongbow around the horn, I wonder how strongly he was ever booked. It all smacks of a lack of conviction. Vince Sr was patient and biding his time until the annointed date where he'd said that Bob would be champ, but in all of that time Graham only really faced Bruno, Dusty and Mil Mascaras as top challengers. You might include Monsoon and Calhoun as solid second-tier names, and Strongbow and Putski were at least over, but I think what it all goes to show is that the promotions wasn't geared up for a heel champion. You can bring in villains week per week, but you can't do the same with heros. Heroes by nature have to homestead. And so you're essentially stuck with Graham vs. Strongbow / Putski / Garea etc. night after night. That couldn't be sustained and draw over a long period. I am now going to see about watching the 1977-8 Timeline with Billy Graham to see his memory of the run and if he complains about a lack of credible challengers.

Can you elaborate on that a bit now? Flair's work is built a lot on letting his opponent shine and making them look good. What aspect of that doesn't translate well to 2015?

The word "obselete" has built into it some theory of progress and of things becoming better. You seem to be suggesting that something about Flair's way of working is now out-moded and has been surpassed by subsequent generations of workers. I don't think anyone would have to think too hard about how I'd react to an idea like that, let alone with Flair being the example.

Some of this is starting to read like "you can only be into Cena if you're into modern WWE".

First one went downhill after the bell rung ...the best bit was Cena making out with the belt.

In terms of being very hairy, there is no second. Wasn't that impressed with anything from the Memphis stuff so far, but there's more to see. General impression is that he probably won't make it.

I remember his trousers more than his matches.