As the wrecking ball aims at the Spectrum, a few WWF memories
Chances are even if you only attended WWF events in Boston during the 1980s, you were still familiar with matches held at the Philadelphia Spectrum.
Pro wrestling fans in Philadelphia right now may be feeling the same thing many of us here in the Hub felt when the old Boston Garden started coming down.
The Wrestling Observer noted that in preparation for its demolition, in Philadelphia over the weekend fans paid $25 to enter the Spectrum and walk out with anything they could carry in one load.
The Spectrum was on the monthly rotation of major Northeast arenas that the WWWF and WWF ran. The building occasionally saw title changes at WWF house shows. The ones I remember from the ‘80s include:
- Magnificent Muraco defeating Pedro Morales in Philadelphia to start his first Intercontinental Title reign in June 1981
- Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake beating Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo for the WWF Tag Team Titles in August 1985 (during which Beefcake rubbed manager Johnny V’s cigar into Windham’s eyes)
Here’s an interesting fact I didn’t know: According to The History of WWE website, the Spectrum hosted what may have been the first Hulk Hogan vs. Randy “Macho Man” Savage match in September 1985.
3 comments