Match #24 Nov. 24, 1983, Starrcade, Brisco Bros. vs. Jay Youngblood & Ricky Steamboat, NWA World Tag Team Championships

Starrcade '83 was a revolutionary event for it's time. It is considered to be the first pay per view event and launched the wrestling business towards pay per views. Three matches from Starrcade on on the list, so this is part one, with the NWA Tag Team titles on the line.

This was a rather good match here for tag team wrestling. A good story was told here and you could feel the drama within the match. In the beginning of the match, it's Steamboat and Youngblood gaining the advantage over the veteran Brisco Brothers. The Brisco's would finally cut them off and take advantage of Steamboat and beat on him. Steamboat would get the hot tag from Youngblood, but the Brisco's cut him off as well. Steamboat and Youngblood would gain the advantage again, and with a Steamboat assisted press slam with Youngblood, they would get the pinfall and win the belts.

My Grade: A-
A very enjoyable match for the tag straps.

Match #23 Oct. 17, 1983, Don Muraco vs. Jimmy Snuka, WWF Intercontinental Championship (Steel Cage)

This is the steel cage match I am sure every wrestling fan has seen a clip of. The Intercontinental title is on the line here as Don Muraco defends against 'Superfly' Jimmy Snuka. This is a very short match compared to past cage matches on the list thus far. Both men get busted open before ten minutes have even elapsed in the match. They both brawl throughout the contest until Snuka starts to gain the upper hand.

Snuka hits a cross body that knocks Muraco backwards into the cage and he manages to fall out of the door to retain the title. That doesn't end things in the ring as Snuka comes out and pulls Muraco back into the ring. Snuka hits a suplex on Muraco and then climbs the cage, all the way to the top, and hits the infamous dive off the cage.

My Grade: C-
A mediocre cage match, but the spot at the end is always going to be something shown for years to come.

Match #22 Oct. 1983, WCCW, Fabulous Freebirds vs. Kerry & Kevin Von Erich (Country Whipping Match)

The Fabulous Freebirds of Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy taking on the Von Erich's here in a 'Country Whipping' match. The premise of the match is basically both teams have straps and are able to use them inside the ring. That is pretty much the whole match as both teams just whip each other and there are pretty much no wrestling moves used in this contest.

A brawl, pretty much here until Kevin Von Erich is thrown over the top rope causing a disqualification. Both teams keep brawling until the Von Erich's are able to get the advantage and fight off the Freebirds as they scramble to the back.

My Grade: C
A good match if you're wanting to see a brawl, but other than that, not really a match.

Match #21 Aug. 31, 1983, Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, Harley Race vs. Ric Flair, NWA World Heavyweight Championship

A year after Ric Flair's controversial title win over Kerry Von Erich, Harley Race has won the title also in controversial fashion, and this is the rematch for the ten pounds of gold. This match is more of angle progression due to the finish of the match, but it's a good match here put on by the two, but nothing real special.

Flair had by this time become a babyface after losing the title in shady circumstances, and had the crowd behind him to win back the NWA title. Race had the bounty on Flair as well so he would not have to defend the title against Flair again. These two go back and forth with both men trying to get that slight advantage to get the victory. Flair would almost have the win, having Race in the figure-four, but Bob Orton Jr. and Dick Slater would come out and break it up and try to break Flair's neck. They give him a spiked piledriver as Race looks on in delight. Roddy Piper and Wahoo McDaniel would come out to chase them off and check on Flair.

My Grade: B
A good match, but more used to advance the Flair/Race rivalry.

Match #20 May 23, 1983, Bob Backland vs. Sgt. Slaughter, WWF Championship

Bob Backland is back with his fourth WWF Championship defense on the list against Sgt. Slaughter. The back story to this match, is that Slaughter viciously beat Backland with his riding stick causing this title match.

Backland starts off the match just laying into Slaughter. He throws him into all four corners of the ring, repeatedly. Backland has control for about seven minutes into the match until Slaughter is able to take over. After that the match slows down tremendously and gets sloppy. The fans seem to lose interest as well after being really hot for the first few minutes. The finish would come when Backland would have the crossface chickenwing applied and Slaughter would finally get to the ropes. His manager, The Grand Wizard, would hand him the riding stick and Slaughter would hit Backland in the head with it causing the disqualification. Slaughter would toss the ref out and look to beat Backland again with the stick, but Backland would outsmart Slaughter and get the stick himself. Slaughter would run for the back as the crowd finally comes back for this as Backland tried to get his revenge for the earlier beating.

My Grade: D+
Just not a good match from these two. The drama was there, but they seemed to not capitalize on it.

Match #19 Apr. 12, 1983, Nick Bockwinkel vs. Hulk Hogan, AWA World Heavyweight Championship

'The Incredible' Hulk Hogan takes on AWA Champion, Nick Bockwinkel in another match marred with controversy. A very slow paced match here, as it takes about four minutes just to have a lock up. Hogan pretty much controls the pace of the match, hitting lots of offensive maneuvers that take Bockwinkel down. I would say Hogan is more fluid here in the ring then he would be later on in his career.

Bockwinkel would take back control with a sleeper hold as Hogan has to carry him on his back. Hogan would try to drive Bockwinkel into the corner but the referee would be there as well causing a ref bump. Hogan would dump Bockwinkel over the top rope to get out of the sleeper and wake up the ref. When Bockwinkel would get back into the ring, Hogan would take back control of the match, hitting the leg drop to win the AWA Championship.

Unfortunately, if you look at title histories, you will see that Hulk Hogan did not win the AWA Championship on this date. As a matter of fact, after the match, the AWA President would rule since Hogan dumped Bockwinkel over the top rope, that Hogan would be disqualified, meaning Bockwinkel would retain the title. The fans would be very upset, pelting the ring with garbage. Hogan would then beat up both Bockwinkel and his manager Bobby Heenan and then proclaim that the AWA Championship was the fans title and that he was their champion. A definite precursor to Hulkamania.

My Grade: C+
Not the greatest match, but an interesting finish to say the least.

Match #18 Aug. 24, 1982, World Class Championship Wrestling, Kerry Von Erich vs. Ric Flair, NWA World Heavyweight Championship (2/3 Falls)

As Jim Ross once said, 'you want to talk about controversy', I would say is an appropriate way to describe this encounter. Ric Flair defends the NWA Title against Kerry Von Erich in WCCW. Von Erich is pretty much the 'man' in Texas at this time and these two go to war for the ten pounds of gold.

A pretty back and forth match here as it take about twenty-five minutes to decide the first fall. A ref bump would occur as Von Erich accidentally strikes the referee. A WCCW ref would come down to fill in while the ref was down and Von Erich would get a sleeper hold on Flair. Flair was pretty much out as the ref went to check on him and the bell rings. The original referee had disqualified Von Erich for striking him and crowd goes nuts. They believed that Von Erich should have won the first fall and be up 1-0, but it is Flair who is wins the first fall.


The second fall sees Ric Flair work over Kerry Von Erich's knee. Flair would use every trick he had to try and destroy the knee of Von Erich to snap in the figure-four and try to win this fall. Flair would get the hold, but Von Erich had the where with all to reverse it. Von Erich would gain the advantage by applying the Iron Claw to Flair. Flair would get busted open as a result of the hold and be pinned as well giving fall two to Von Erich.

The third fall would get underway and see both men just laying into each other. Von Erich would get the advantage and just start pummeling Flair. The ref would try to get Von Erich off of Flair but was unable to. As a result, the referee would disqualify both men and making Flair retain the title. Once again the crowd is livid feeling as though Von Erich was screwed out of two falls here. Fritz Von Erich would come down to ringside, Kerry's father, and get into the face of the referee. This would be after Flair and Von Erich would continue brawling after the match was over. Fritz even tried to choke out the ref and fight him as he felt his son had been screwed out of the title as well. A controversial end to a great title match you could definitely say.

My Grade: A+
Great drama and great action here by two of the best.

Match #17 Aug. 18, 1982, Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, Jack Brisco vs. Ric Flair

Ric Flair is in the midst of his first reign as NWA World Champion here as he takes on former champ, Jack Brisco. This was not the intended match, as Flair refused to wrestle his intended opponent, whose name I did not catch, but due to Wahoo McDaniel coming out and forcing Ric to wrestle or else he would fight him there, Flair wrestles Brisco.

Brisco dominates most of the match here, with Flair not being prepared for this match. Flair tries to cheat, but those efforts are thwarted and to no avail. Flair is able to get in the figure-four late in the match, but it is quickly reversed by Brisco. Brisco would try a figure-four of his own, but Flair was able to get out of it quickly. They exchange a series of near falls, but Brisco is able to execute the backslide on Flair for a three count and the victory.

My Grade: B
A solid match here from two hall of famers.

Match #16 Jan. 16, 1982, Bob Backland vs. Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine, WWF Championship (Steel Cage)

World Wrestling Federation Champion, Bob Backland is back with another title defense inside the steel cage. The hard hitting, Greg Valentine is his opponent tonight, but in unfortunately, another clipped match. I would've like to see this match, as Backland has been really good in his title defenses thus far, proving why he held the title for five years. Backland would end up beating a bloodied Valentine after a piledriver to walk out of the cage and retain the WWF Championship.

My Grade: N/A
Not enough footage.

Match #15 Apr. 6, 1981, Bob Backland vs. Stan Hansen, WWF Championship (Steel Cage)

WWF Champion Bob Backland is back with another cage match for the WWF Title, but this time against a legend in Japan, Stan 'The Man' Hansen. Not as good, in my opinion, as the Backland and Patterson steel cage match, but this one is more of a brawl then that one was. Hansen gets bloodied early on and they continue to duke it out. No lariat from Hansen which was kind of disappointing, but still a good match from these two which sees Backland retain the title.

My Grade: B
A good match, but not as good as Backland/Patterson.

Match #14 Sep. 13, 1980, WWF, Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant

This is a really unique match up here. The main event of WrestleMania 3, seven years before. The interesting thing is that Hulk Hogan, known as 'The Incredible' Hulk Hogan, is a heel here, managed also by Freddie Blassie. You also get to see how well Andre could go inside the ring, as this is well before his health problems started to come into play.

The match plays out with Andre using his size to his advantage and Hogan playing more of a cowardly heel by going out of the ring and getting advice from Blassie. Not a long match, with Hogan clotheslining Andre with a loaded elbow pad to end the match.

My Grade: C+
Not the best match by any means, but a real interesting look at these two before they get big. Check it out if you get the chance.

Match #13 Sep. 24, 1979, Bob Backland vs. Pat Patterson, WWF Championship (Steel Cage)

This match is joined in progress, but it doesn't hinder the quality of this match. The first Intercontinental Champion, Pat Patterson is taking on reigning WWF Champion, Bob Backland. These two guys just slug it out inside the confides of the steel cage. I will say, thus far, this has been my favorite match on the list, because these guys put it all out there in this match and it really shows. I believe this is one of the first cage matches where there is fighting a top of the cage.

Lots of drama here with near escapes and both men being bloodied. Patterson tries to use brass knuckles to gain an advantage at the end of the match to win, but Backland is able to outsmart him and escape outside the door to retain the World Wrestling Federation Championship.

My Grade: A-
A really fun match, and a good brawl to top it off.

Match #12 Aug. 21, 1979 Championship Wrestling from Florida, Harley Race vs. Dusty Rhodes, NWA World Heavyweight Title

We go back to the NWA for the world heavyweight championship on the line as Harley Race defends against 'The American Dream' Dusty Rhodes. Another clipped match unfortunately, as it is highlights with Dusty talking about how this match went and what it meant to him. From the looks of things, it looked to be a hard hitting, back and forth match, with both men bloodied after the match was over. Rhodes would hit and elbow drop on Race to win, what I do believe was his first NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Afterward, the fans and other wrestlers got into the ring to celebrate with Rhodes.

My Grade: N/A
Clipped match.

Match #11 July 1979, Stampede Wrestling, Jake Roberts vs. Big Daddy Ritter, North American Heavyweight Title (Ladder Match)

This is one of the first ladder matches featuring two wrestlers before they would get huge in the WWF. Jake Roberts and Big Daddy Ritter, who would later become the Junkyard Dog, battle for the North American Heavyweight Championship and $1000. One thing about this match that is different than most is the ladder is a leaning ladder unlike the fold up ladders you see in matches today.

The match is joined in progress, and it is a very slow type of match up. Both wrestlers are just trying to incapacitate their opponent long enough to climb up the ladder and the get the belt and money. Ritter loses a boot at one point and that becomes a weapon for him to use in the match. Roberts would try to do all he could to win here, but it would not be enough. He would get dumped to the outside allowing Ritter enough time to climb the ladder and win the North American Heavyweight Championship and the $1000.

My Grade: C+
Not what you would expect these days from a ladder match, but for its time, it is innovative.

Match #10 Feb. 20, 1978, 'Superstar' Billy Graham vs. Bob Backland, WWWF Title

This is a very clipped match, with I would say only about two minutes of actual wrestling footage. The match shown consists of Backland having a bear hug on Graham and then Backland hitting an atomic drop to get the three count. Controversy would ensue however, as Graham would have his foot on the rope during the pinfall. The decision would stand and Backland would hold on to the WWWF Championship.

My Grade: N/A
Not enough footage once again.

Match #9 Apr. 30, 1977, Bruno Sammartino vs. 'Superstar' Billy Graham, WWWF Title

WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino making his third appearance here as he takes on the very arrogant, 'Superstar' Billy Graham. These two go back and forth with each other with various tests of strength to see who can gain the advantage. The match doesn't get a clear advantage for someone until Graham gets busted open and Sammartino tries to capitalize on it. Unfortunately for him, he would not walk away the victor, as Graham rolls up Sammartino and uses the ropes to gain leverage to win the WWWF Championship. This would end the last title reign for Sammartino.

My Grade: C+
An okay match, but kind of short.

Match #8 Mar. 1, 1976, WWWF, Ric Flair vs. Pete Sanchez

Ric Flair's debut for the WWWF is our next match here. Not one of Flair's best matches here, as it was more of a showcase for him specifically. He does give Sanchez a lot of shine here by having him be in advantage for more of the match. A slow match through out, so nothing to write home about. Flair ends up winning with a simple vertical suplex. Odd thing about this match, or it may be just my DVD, is Vince McMahon's commentary just pops in five minutes into the match. Just a weird production thing to me at least.

My Grade: C
A less than stellar match from Flair, but nothing awful.

Match #7 Dec. 15, 1975, Bruno Sammartino vs. Ivan Koloff, WWWF Title, (Steel Cage)

We have our first Steel Cage match here on the list, coming courtesy of the WWWF. I always thought it weird that WWE and the then NWA always had differing rules on Steel Cage matches. WWE has always used the 'escape the cage or go through the door' aspect while the NWA used just pinfalls and submissions.

Anyways, back to the match, the WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino is taking on former champ, Ivan Koloff. This match is just pure domination by Sammartino as he beats Koloff from pillar to post and into the steel cage as well. Koloff gets bloodied after repeatedly hitting the cage. Sammartino beats him down enough that Koloff is pretty much out on his feet to escape by going out the door of the cage. One noticeable thing here about this cage was how small it looked compared to today's cages. Also, how flimsy it was, but that probably helped with the give so the wrestlers weren't knocked out upon hitting it.

My Grade: B-
A real solid brawl here, though somewhat one sided.

Match #6 Dec. 10, 1975, Championship Wrestling from Florida, Jack Brisco vs. Terry Funk, NWA World Heavyweight Title

We have another very clipped match here, as this one only has about 3:25 of wrestling. This was a match I was actually looking forward to seeing, so I am very disappointed that the match was cut short. The big thing about this match is Funk's win making him and Dory Funk Jr. the only brother tandem to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Funk wins after reversing the figure-four leg lock into a school boy roll up.

My Grade: N/A
Unfortunately another clipped match.

Match #5 April 29, 1974, Bruno Sammartino vs. Killer Kowalski, WWWF Title

We go back to the WWWF to see that Bruno Sammartino is now holding the belt and in his way is Killer Kowalski. This match is joined in progress, though it's not as bad as the Kininski/Funk Jr. match. The pace of this match is awfully slow. It made it really hard to get into this match at all for me. Both men, for the most part, seemed to be going at half speed.

These two mostly brawl, with Kowalski having the advantage throughout most of the match that is shown. Sammartino does get cut open after repeated biting and punches from Kowalski. This does fire up Sammartino as he finally brings the fight back to the challenger, but for some reason the match is thrown out and declared a draw. No reason given as to why it was a draw, the time of the match was something like 24:35, so I am certain it wasn't a time limit draw. More than likely it was thrown out due to the referee not being able to gain control of the bout after Sammartino made his come back. Bruno does hang onto the WWWF Championship though.

My Grade: C
Slow pacing and weird ending.

Match #4 Dec. 1972, AWA All Star Wrestling, Nick Bockwinkle and Ray Stevens vs. Red Bastien and Billy Robinson, 2/3 Falls, AWA World Tag Team Championship

Our fourth match on the list brings us the AWA for a tag team contest. The angle going into this bout is that Bockwinkel and Stevens do not want to face Bastien and Robinson, but are forced to due to signing a contract to wrestle on television.

This was a rather good, fast paced match. Very innovative for it's time. From what I've seen so far, wrestling was a lot slower than it is these days, but this match could have been seen in the past two decades. Lots of back and forth action, with the champions, Bockwinkel and Stevens using various heel tactics to try and gain the upper hand. Unfortunately, that would not be enough as they would drop two straight falls, the last one to a belly to back back breaker, to supposedly lose the AWA World Tag Team Championship. I say supposedly due to the fact the referee says that the bout was non-title, but Bastien and Robinson walk out with the belts. We'd have to tune in next week to see how this played out, but unfortunately, I don't have that footage.

My Grade: B+
Good action inside the ring and a very innovative match for its time.

Match #3 Feb. 8, 1971, Ivan Koloff vs. Pedro Morales, WWWF Title

Ivan Koloff is the reigning WWWF Champion heading up against the WWWF United States Champion, Pedro Morales. Jim Ross in on commentary for this match which helps provide interesting tid bits about the time period. For instance, most the of the New York State Athletic Commission is in attendance, MSG had a curfew for wrestling of 11 p.m., and the ring itself had four ring ropes, as apposed to the normal three.

The match itself has a slow pace to it. Koloff is the type of wrestler who tries to grind his opponent into submission, while Morales is the flashier of the two. The pace of the match just did not do it for me. I am pretty sure that if I was alive back in this period, I'd be more of a fan of the NWA title matches as they seemed to employ more of an exciting style of wrestling, but this could just have been a bad mesh of styles.

Match ends with almost like a german suplex out of the corner by Koloff, ending in a double pin but Morales gets his shoulder up in time to win the title. The crowd was really into this match so it could be the time difference clashing with my tastes here.

My Grade: C
The foundations of the match are solid, I just could not get into it that much.

Match #2 Feb. 11, 1969 Championship Wrestling from Florida, Gene Kininski vs Dory Funk Jr., NWA World Heavyweight Championship

This was disappointing. Not the match, but the fact that the match was clipped very badly, which I was unaware of. The total match time is 3:57. And feature about three moves, body slam, sunset flip, and the Funk spinning toe hold. Kininski would submit to the Funk spinning toe hold to lose the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. On the documentary of the dvd, Kininski blamed a mental lapse, thinking that the match was two out of three falls. I really wish this was a whole match, but I guess they could only do with the footage they had.

My Grade: N/A
Not enough footage to give an effective grade here.

Match #1 June 1961, Pat O'Connor vs. 'Nature Boy' Buddy Rogers, NWA World Heavyweight Title (2/3 Falls)

The first match on this list takes us back nearly fifty years! Reigning champion, Pat O'Connor takes on the brash, NWA US Heavyweight Champion Buddy Rogers. Lets take a side step and think back to 1961.

No current WWE champion was even born yet. Vince McMahon was only 15, Hulk Hogan was only 7, and Ric Flair was only 11. So three of the biggest names in wrestling had yet to even scratch the surface of the business yet.

Other things in '61, JFK had just started his presidency, Roger Marris hit his 61st home run setting the home run record at the time. West Side Story was released, as well as Fantastic Four #1 and Catch-22. The Vietnam War also begins.

Getting back to some pro wrestling, two out of three falls here for the NWA title. There is definitely a different style used here than you would see now. The wrestling is more slow and methodical, and body slams are big moves. Though one move, done by O'Connor was one I do not believe i have seen used since. A spinning grounded arm bar. For it's time it seemed rather dangerous, but Rogers didn't submit to it.

Very back and forth match with Rogers winning the first fall with a knee to the head. The second fall begins with Rogers maintaining the advantage before getting caught with a victory roll to give O'Connor the second fall. In the third fall you see Rogers start being more of the "Nature Boy" by strutting around the ring and acting more heelish. The finish was something you probably would not see in this day and age, unless it was an actual injury. O'Connor looked to finish off Rogers after he'd tried to pin him three times before. O'Connor goes for a big running dropkick but gets tangled up in the ropes, which Rogers capitalizes on and gets the pin fall. Rogers receives the belt and gives a small promo afterward.

If you own the 'History of the World Heavyweight Championship' DVD, definitely check this out to see how wrestling has evolved. If you don't own this, find a way to watch this match though.

My Grade: B
Different pacing and the slowness may make this match hard to get into, but it's actually a fun match and a good one for nostalgia.