September 26, 1977
Madison Square Garden

Play by Play : Vince McMahon Jr.
Written by: OldSchoolNWA (Frank)


Opening Match - 2/3 Falls
Cowboy Lang/Haiti Kid vs. Little John/Little Tokyo
The Haiti Kid appears to be the only one that the fans recognize, but he is the only one who gets any type of response during the introductions.
 The first several minutes actually played out like a regular tag match - no comedy, quick tags and heel tactics by the heels, and Haiti played the
 face in peril. 1st Fall : Haiti Kid pins Little John 7:31

The second fall was more like a typical midget match - full of comedy 2nd Fall : Cowboy Lang pinned Little Tokyo 9:11
This match definitely played out different then most midget matches, which was a good thing because the match was entertaining and a good
way to start off the show.


Second Match
Mr. Fuji vs. Lenny Hurst
Lenny didn't seem overanxious like the last time I saw him wrestle, however this time he looks completely lost during the few minutes that Fuji
actually allows him to take control of the match.
Winner : Mr. Fuji by pinfall

Vince interviews Bob Backlund in the ring, and tells Bob that he believes him to be the only undefeated wrestler in the world. Wonder what
happened to Andre The Giant ???


Third Match
Bob Backlund vs. Larry Sharpe
I actually contacted Larry Sharpe years ago when he still ran The Monster Factory in New Jersey, and inquired about attending his school.
I am very interested in this match. This will be the first time I've seen Backlund wrestle before winning the championship. Vince claims that Backlund
 is one of the few men in the world who can easily bench press over 500lbs. I guess the others would be Graham, Bruno, Patera, Putski and
Louis Cyr. Nothing about Backlund really stood out, except for the fact that Vince kept praising him during the match. If I didn't know better,
 I would never have suspected that this was the man who would take the title from Graham.
Winner : Bob Backlund by pinfall 9:04


MAIN EVENT - WWWF Heavyweight Championship
Superstar Graham (champ) vs. Dusty Rhodes
Graham makes his way to the ring, and the crowd is very vocal about their hatred for him. The crowd actually comes to the feet once Dusty starts
 walking to the ring. The crowd reaction for Dusty is simply amazing. I would never have expected it from a WWWF crowd. Vince actually says
 that Dusty Rhodes has a "roley poley" physique. With the way the crowd reacts, I would be surprised to hear that Vince Sr. didn't do everything
possible to try and sign Dusty to a long term contract. The crowd was simply electric throughout the match. I think all the fans in attendance believed
 they would be seeing a new champion crowned tonight - and if I didn't know better, I would have thought the same thing. Simply a great match.
Winner : Dusty Rhodes by count out 15:38


Fifth Match
George Steele vs. Peter Maivia
George really perfected his gimmick. At one point during the match, the ref spent 2 minutes trying to find Steele's foreign object. While the ref
 was searching, Steele continuously relocated where he was hiding it - his mouth, hands, tights and armpits.
Winner : Peter Maivia by count out 13:19

Really not that bad of a match. Steele punished Maivia throughout the whole match, but ended up getting what he deserved at the end.


Sixth Match - 3/5 Falls
Ken Patera/Stan Stasiak/Lou Albano vs. Tony Garea/Larry Zbyszko/Chief Jay Strongbow
Someone should have informed Albano that the fans saw the foreign object in the tights gimmick executed to perfection in the previous match.
 Of course, then Albano wouldn't have known what to do.

1st Fall : Strongbow pinned Stasiak 10:40
Garea didn't flip-flop around that much in this match, but that doesn't mean I didn't find something about him to complain about. I couldn't believe
 my eyes when Garea actually delivered a dropkick to Patera's belly. I don't believe that was his intent. Looks as if he mis-timed the move and rather
 than abort, he tried to deliver it anyways. Zbyszko actually looks good in this match (unlike last month). It sure is a relief to see that he can move
and actually has energy inside the ring, because later on in his career it seems like he only knows two moves - stall, and grab any hold and hold on
until the crowd falls asleep.

2nd Fall : Patera pinned Zbyszko 5:40
Well, would you look at that. The match got called due to the curfew. I know I'm beating a dead horse here, but why oh why have a 3 out of 5 falls
 match when their is less than 20 minutes until curfew ??? They had plenty of time to have a regular tag match...but nooo. We must send the fans
 home scratching their heads.

By the way, although each team won a fall, they announced that the match was awarded to the team of Strongbow, Garea and Zbyszko.


Overall, a very good card. The only downfall was the final match.