Available on the Network, Collections, Sammartino the Legend Lives "Brawling with the Russian Bear" 12/15/75

Complete Match is shown

Also available on WWE Bloodbath Wrestling's Most Incredible Steel Cage Matches DVD

WWWF Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino vs Ivan Koloff - WWF MSG 12/15/75 Steel Cage

I am up at my future in-laws house in Quebec, coincidentally the homeland of the Russian Bear, and they have a treadmill! So the odds are good for more walk & reviews!

Not much to say about this one. The first steel cage match in MSG history and a big money feud for the WWF for obvious reasons as Bruno vanquishes the man who beat him for the Championship in 1971. These type of brawls do very little for me. It is repetitive and gratuitous. Koloff tries to attack as Bruno enters the ring but is stymied. Bruno whips him into the cage 8 bajillion times. Look I love a babyface shine and I love a babyface kicking some serious ass but I like a sense of escalation, progression, cause & effect. This was just very flat. I would have liked to seen more fists of fury. Koloff bleeds of course. Besides an Uncle Ivan atomic stomp, he got no offense. I am not exaggerating he got the move to set up the atomic stomp and the atomic stomp. Bruno prevent him from leaving. He starts slamming him into the post and that’s it. He exits and exacts his revenge on the Russian Bear. It was not bad but it didn’t do much for me. Your mileage may vary, I’ll give it *** because I’m a sucker for Bruno kicking ass but it was a letdown.