Tagged: Nikolai Volkoff
The final bell for the Boston Garden Balcony blog
Dear friends —
Anyone who’s followed this blog may have noticed my infrequent posts compared to past years. I realize there is a combination of reasons for that problem, including:
- I’ve got kids and life is busy
- I get home from work and am exhausted
- So many of the 1980s stars continue to die
The last item is a hard one for me. I look back at my recent posts, and the last three are about guys dying: Jim Neidhart, Nikolai Volkoff and Bruno Sammartino. It gets depressing.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe exterior of the old Boston Garden
I originally started this blog to remember the good times of watching ’80s wrestling in Boston. I have so many vivid, fond memories of matches I saw at the old Boston Garden and Continue reading
The late Nikolai Volkoff headlined King of the Ring in Foxboro
I wanted to write a brief post on the death of Nikolai Volkof, who died on July 29 at age 70. Volkoff was a well-known heel in the 1970s WWWF, battling Bruno Sammartino among many others, before returning in to the WWF in 1984 to start the run he was most well remembered for.
Volkoff teamed with the Iron Sheik as a cartoonish bad guy duo managed by Freddie Blassie, and just before each of their matches began, Volkoff would sing Continue reading
Tag team upheaval for Demolition at Survivor Series 1988
With the 2017 WWE Survivor Series coming up, I decided to watch a match I had not seen in a long time: The epic, 10-team Survivor Series elimination contest from 1988.
The bout culminated in a rare double turn, as Mr. Fuji — “the devious one,” said Gorilla Monsoon during commentary — betrayed Tag Team Champions Demolition and instead sided with opponents The Powers of Pain.
Ax and Smash of Demolition had been heels since their arrival, but Fuji’s actions made them babyfaces, and the opposite happened when the Powers of Pain — Warlord and Barbarian — lifted Fuji on their shoulders after winning the match.
The other notable thing that many long-time WWF fans remember about the match is Continue reading
30 years ago: The big matches and main event at the first WrestleMania
Let’s continue my look back 30 years ago to the original WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden by running down the big matches on March 31, 1985. Please check my prior posts in this series about the build-up for WrestleMania and a review of the preliminary matches on the supercard.
- Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Sheik defeat Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo to win the WWF Tag Team Title – The match was short, but all action and was probably the best in-ring performance of this Mania. Captain Lou Albano accompanied the babyfaces to the ring, while Classy Freddie Blassie managed Sheik and Volkoff. Jesse “The Body” Ventura, on color commentary with Gorilla Monsoon, actually claimed Volkoff was a former Olympian. There were some great, simple spots in the match, including Sheik accidentally dropkicking Volkoff (I’m not sure I ever saw Sheik do another dropkick since then) and a high backdrop by Rotundo. Fans at the time buzzed about the ending, when Sheik broke Blassie’s cane over Windham’s back, leading to the title change. Interesting to note that Rotundo performed in the original WrestleMania, and this year his son, Bray Wyatt, faces the Undertaker at WrestleMania 31.
- Andre the Giant defeats Big John Studd in the $15,000 bodyslam challenge – The rules were simple: If Andre slammed Studd, he would win $15,000 in cash in a duffel bag; if Studd wasn’t slammed, Andre had to retire. As you might imagine, this was the typical slow match these two often did, with the prerequisite
rest holdbearhug from Andre. The slam came out of nowhere, and then Andre attempted to throw the cash to the crowd, but Studd’s manager, Bobby Heenan, ran up and stole the bag from Andre. The crowd went nuts at the end of the match after getting the slam they wanted.
Van Halen’s David Lee Roth talks about Nikolai Volkoff in a hilarious video
This week, I had the chance to watch a video blog by Van Halen singer David Lee Roth titled, “A Personal History of Professional Wrestling, Part 1,” which was highlighted for me by his commentary about Nikolai Volkoff.
The 30-minute clip has plenty of zany moments as only Roth can deliver them.
In the beginning, he talks of Continue reading
Transcript of my interview with John Cena, Sr. about the first WrestleMania and Bruno Sammartino
I recently posted a podcast with John Cena, Sr. — the father of WWE superstar John Cena, who headlines WrestleMania 29 against the Rock — who talked to me about the first WrestleMania in 1985, Bruno Sammartino going into the WWE Hall of Fame, and his memories of the wrestling cards at the old Boston Garden. For those of you who were unable to hear the podcast or didn’t have time, below is the complete transcript of the interview. Continue reading
The WWE had low-brow angles and gimmicks long before CM Punk mocked Lawler’s heart attack
A certain segment of the pro wrestling community was up in arms after Monday Night Raw featured an angle that played off the real-life heart attack and near death of Jerry “The King” Lawler.
Some said the angle was in poor taste, particularly when Paul Heyman feigned his own heart attack and WWE Heavyweight Champion CM Punk pretended to administer CPR.
But such garish actions on wrestling aren’t exclusive to 2012. Unfortunately for all of us, the McMahon family has set a low bar at least since the early 1980s about what types of angles and heat are appropriate.
Here are some less-than-stellar moments that I can recall growing up Continue reading
Bundy’s five count, Rude’s gyrations, and other heel traits from the ’80s
Man, I don’t know if it’s just nostalgia blinding me or if things really were different way back when, but it seems like heel mannerisms — the little actions or details that set one wrestler apart from another — are a lost art these days in the WWE.
Sure, Daniel Bryan has his “Yes! Yes! Yes!” chant, and sometimes Dolph Ziggler does a handstand during his matches. But I can remember the trademark mannerisms of so many more bad guys from the 1980s WWF scene. For example:
- “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff flicking the sweat off his brow onto a vanquished opponent. Continue reading
“What a maneuver” and other great lines from McMahon’s commentary days
I guess every wrestling TV commentator has his sayings that take on a life of their own. Certainly, Jim Ross’ “slobber knocker” phrase is well-known to WWE fans, as is Jerry “The King” Lawler’s penchant for racy suggestions during diva matches.
But no one had more well-remembered one-liners than the chairman himself, Vince McMahon, back when he was the lead commentator on WWF Championship Wrestling in the 1970s and ’80s. Here is a collection of McMahon-isms that I bet many of you can still hear in your mind: Continue reading
Saturday Night’s Main Event often featured two-of-three-fall contests
This week on Monday Night Raw, we saw Dolph Ziggler retain the U.S. Title against Kofi Kingston in a two-out-of-three falls bout, which is a match not often seen these days in the WWE. Wasn’t that a surprise to see fans vote for that option?
In the 1980s, it was more common to see two-out-of-three falls, particularly when the WWF would displace Saturday Night Live on NBC with Saturday Night’s Main Event.
All of the three-fall contests on Saturday Night’s Main Event occurred in Continue reading
Boston Garden Balcony 