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 #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 #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.