March 15, 20187 yr comment_5835890 Wait until you get to 1980, then your face will melt off I really hope they eventually do 81-83, I'm having too much fun. Yeah the TV show can be boring but I'm engaged because it's freaking Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino calling it, easily 2 of the top 10 most important people in the history of American wrestling. And the way Vince tries to fill time during the boring matches is an interesting look into his mind for me, the man fascinates me, one of the most interesting figures in the history of American entertainment really.
March 15, 20187 yr comment_5835893 And the way Vince tries to fill time during the boring matches is an interesting look into his mind for me, the man fascinates me, one of the most interesting figures in the history of American entertainment really. Same here. I always wondered if Vince's hatred of accents in his announcers stems from this run. It's like Ellis Island in the commentary booth with Sammartino, Rocca, then Patterson... Is this one of those strange Vince-isms? Does he put himself with broken English speakers to make himself sound smarter? Who knows. It's also funny to watch Vince get caught off guard and try to hold back his laugh when Blassie or Albano say something funny. You can tell Vince LOVED those guys.
March 15, 20187 yr comment_5835903 Well he's not making that decision about the other announcers at this point right? His dad is running things so I would assume it's his call.
March 15, 20187 yr comment_5835916 Wait until you get to 1980, then your face will melt offI really hope they eventually do 81-83, I'm having too much fun. Yeah the TV show can be boring but I'm engaged because it's freaking Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino calling it, easily 2 of the top 10 most important people in the history of American wrestling. And the way Vince tries to fill time during the boring matches is an interesting look into his mind for me, the man fascinates me, one of the most interesting figures in the history of American entertainment really.If Vince ever did a shoot interview I wouldnt want to hear about the attitude era. Id want to hear him talk about 60s and 70s wrestling for two hours. Jumping from 1976 to 1977 was a bit of a bummer when you remembered Rocca passed away in the interim.
March 15, 20187 yr comment_5835922 And the way Vince tries to fill time during the boring matches is an interesting look into his mind for me, the man fascinates me, one of the most interesting figures in the history of American entertainment really. It's also funny to watch Vince get caught off guard and try to hold back his laugh when Blassie or Albano say something funny. You can tell Vince LOVED those guys. Greatest heel of all time had to learn his trade somehow right?
March 17, 20187 yr comment_5836145 Stan Hansen with long bleach blond hair is something I will never get used to.
March 17, 20187 yr comment_5836150 Stan Hansen with long bleach blond hair is something I will never get used to. I feel the same with Sarge from the 70s.
March 17, 20187 yr comment_5836154 So according to Wikipedia, Shane would have been around 6 years old when these shows started airing originally. I can only guess he was was the one who designed the patch Vince and Rocca are wearing on their sport coats.
March 18, 20187 yr comment_5836160 I'm saying it a lot but I just can't believe how much fun I'm having with this stuff. I thought it would be the worst stuff ever and that Mid-Atlantic would be my obsession. Having the MSG and Spectrum shows to view the show in context as a viewer of the era is huge. And I can't get enough Vince and Bruno, my second favorite territory announcing with Lance and Dave of course in their own league. Like, I was just watching a July 79 MSG show where Valentine tries to grab a chair to hit Strongbow with, but a fan stops him, so Valentine starts nailing the guy with punches until a dozen cops jump in. And is Backlund/Patterson from MSG considered one of the best matches of the 70s? I thought it was amazing and Vince's call was peak JR big match caliber.
March 18, 20187 yr comment_5836163 I would say the Backlund/Patterson match is pretty highly regarded.
March 18, 20187 yr comment_5836165 I mean Vince is breaking down with Bruno whether it's smart strategy to work over someones fingers while holding them in an armbar. Bruno responding with how he prefers to go after the thumb and get leverage.
March 18, 20187 yr Author comment_5836168 Backlund vs Patterson from 7/30/79 MSG is one of Bob's best and definitely one of the best 70s WWWF matches
March 18, 20187 yr Author comment_5836170 Sean, make sure to watch the Philly strap match between Valentine and Strongbow from August 79 if you can. It's not talked about a lot but I thought it was a great match too
March 18, 20187 yr comment_5836171 Sean, make sure to watch the Philly strap match between Valentine and Strongbow from August 79 if you can. It's not talked about a lot but I thought it was a great match too I'm watching everything so will do.
March 18, 20187 yr comment_5836175 I'm saying it a lot but I just can't believe how much fun I'm having with this stuff. I thought it would be the worst stuff ever and that Mid-Atlantic would be my obsession. Having the MSG and Spectrum shows to view the show in context as a viewer of the era is huge. And I can't get enough Vince and Bruno, my second favorite territory announcing with Lance and Dave of course in their own league. Like, I was just watching a July 79 MSG show where Valentine tries to grab a chair to hit Strongbow with, but a fan stops him, so Valentine starts nailing the guy with punches until a dozen cops jump in. And is Backlund/Patterson from MSG considered one of the best matches of the 70s? I thought it was amazing and Vince's call was peak JR big match caliber. You're really getting me excited at the idea of doing this myself.
March 18, 20187 yr comment_5836188 I'm saying it a lot but I just can't believe how much fun I'm having with this stuff. I thought it would be the worst stuff ever and that Mid-Atlantic would be my obsession. Having the MSG and Spectrum shows to view the show in context as a viewer of the era is huge. And I can't get enough Vince and Bruno, my second favorite territory announcing with Lance and Dave of course in their own league. Like, I was just watching a July 79 MSG show where Valentine tries to grab a chair to hit Strongbow with, but a fan stops him, so Valentine starts nailing the guy with punches until a dozen cops jump in. And is Backlund/Patterson from MSG considered one of the best matches of the 70s? I thought it was amazing and Vince's call was peak JR big match caliber. You're really getting me excited at the idea of doing this myself. Is there a comprehensive listing of what's available chronologically on the network from this era?
March 18, 20187 yr comment_5836191 I'm saying it a lot but I just can't believe how much fun I'm having with this stuff. I thought it would be the worst stuff ever and that Mid-Atlantic would be my obsession. Having the MSG and Spectrum shows to view the show in context as a viewer of the era is huge. And I can't get enough Vince and Bruno, my second favorite territory announcing with Lance and Dave of course in their own league. Like, I was just watching a July 79 MSG show where Valentine tries to grab a chair to hit Strongbow with, but a fan stops him, so Valentine starts nailing the guy with punches until a dozen cops jump in. And is Backlund/Patterson from MSG considered one of the best matches of the 70s? I thought it was amazing and Vince's call was peak JR big match caliber. You're really getting me excited at the idea of doing this myself. I mean, it's not Memphis TV for sure, you have to love Vince and Bruno for some of this stuff. But to my knowledge, this is the first time we've had the chance to really understand the experience of a territory fan, with complete weekly TV and then seeing what was happening at the big arena shows.
March 18, 20187 yr Author comment_5836300 Backlund vs Strong Kobayashi from 6/3/78 is pretty good, almost house show quality good. Piper's match with Estrada from 8/11/79 is fascinating. First, he's a face, which surprised me because I assumed he worked heel during his brief cameo in 79. Second, within minutes he's an over like crazy face to the Hamburg faithful after he makes a fired up comeback on Estrada, who had jumped him before the bell. Third, Albano comes down to ringside and briefly jaws with Piper, which is not only a tantalizing tease at what could've been, but also a peak into the future. Seeing how over he was here I'm still not exactly sure why he wasn't given a real run in NYC at the time
March 18, 20187 yr comment_5836315 Backlund vs Strong Kobayashi from 6/3/78 is pretty good, almost house show quality good. Piper's match with Estrada from 8/11/79 is fascinating. First, he's a face, which surprised me because I assumed he worked heel during his brief cameo in 79. Second, within minutes he's an over like crazy face to the Hamburg faithful after he makes a fired up comeback on Estrada, who had jumped him before the bell. Third, Albano comes down to ringside and briefly jaws with Piper, which is not only a tantalizing tease at what could've been, but also a peak into the future. Seeing how over he was here I'm still not exactly sure why he wasn't given a real run in NYC at the time I just watched that Piper/Estrada match and thought it was a bunch of fun! Just below Sd Jones/Patterson and Dibiase/Travis-Scicluna/Coage in my 79 TV viewing so far.
March 18, 20187 yr Author comment_5836327 Oooh...those 79 matches sound interesting, especially the Baron and Bad News team (that sounds like the title of a 70s TV show actually)
March 18, 20187 yr comment_5836336 Here's a random question if anyone knows, as I watch this Backlund-Patterson series from 79. Was Patterson brought in with the idea being his one last run and then transitioning to a backstage role or how did that all work out with him eventually becoming Vince's #2.
March 18, 20187 yr comment_5836347 Anyone that has read Pattersons' book seeing this might be able to provide some insight. I think the backstage transition was probably less thought out than that...his wrestling slowed down when the national jump started, really, so I would probably tie that sort of transition just kinda happened like it did with Strongbow, and just went in a different direction than that of a regular agent at the time.
March 19, 20187 yr comment_5836367 So what was the deal with Piper's brief 79 run? Was it just a case of the locker room not liking an upstart punk kid? I vaguely remember Piper said something about pissing off one of the managers...
March 19, 20187 yr comment_5836373 Rivera/Sanchez from 03/06/76 had some pretty cool takedowns from both guys that I don't think I've seen before. It's not a must see match or anything but it was totally different stylstically from everything else so far. A sort of technical exhibition that hinted at what both guys might have been capable of in a different setting with different expectations.
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