Just S'pose 2.18.07
Posted by Ron Gamble on 02.18.2007
"It should be noted that counterfactual history is most emphatically not revisionist history, nor should it be confused with the genre of alternate history fiction. In general, the main distinguishing feature of counterfactual history from fictional alternate histories is that counterfactual history attempts to provide reasoned arguments for each change, and the changes are usually outlined only in broad terms, whereas a fiction writer is free to invent very specific events and characters in the imagined history." - Wikipedia, "Counterfactual history"
Beware the Penguins.
The Pens are now the hottest team in the NHL, gaining points in the last 14 games (as of Friday morning, when I'm writing this), and have gone from 13th in the Eastern Conference to fourth. Last season, they finished one point ahead of St. Louis to avoid being the worst team in the league. Sidney Crosby leads the league in scoring and assists, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal are setting the nets on fire, and Marc-Andre Fleury is standing on his head to stop pucks on the other end. Ahhh, it's a great time to be a fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins. They can't move to Kansas City, Portland, Houston, or anywhere else. It's just not the same, you know?
Meanwhile, I am doing well. I have an important history coming up, and lucky for you, it will happen on a Sunday, so you get to share with me. Also, I'm making plans to go to Detroit on March 30 for Ring of Honor, and the main reason I'm going can be summed up in four words: Special Guest Bruno Sammartino.
I recently found a program in my basement from a wrestling show in Pittsburgh on June 13, 1980, with Bruno on the cover. The main event that night was Brune and Larry Zbyszko in a cage. Do you think he might sign it for me? I hope so. Anyway, if you're in central Ohio, and you want to go to this show, let me know, and we'll make a carpool out of it.
By the way, that little weather foofaraw that went through the Midwest and Northeast this week? We got about ten inches of snow. In central Ohio. In one day. I've seen that much before from one snow, but when I lived about ten miles from Lake Erie, where lake effect snowstorms rule the winter.
And for those of you who are walking around shrugging your shoulders and asking strangers, "What happened to global warming?" I have some information. Y'see, global warming does not just mean "everything gets warmer." It leads to climate change, which leads to more extreme weather events. Sure, glaciers may be melting in Antarctica, and Europe may be warmer than ever, but at the same time, other regions will experience less rainfall than ever before. There was a scene in Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" that showed two neighboring provinces in China, one experiencing massive flooding, the other with the ground breaking from drought.
Oh, heck. Let's jump on the trolley to the Land of Make Believe.
IMAGINE THERE'S NO GRAPEFRUITS / IT'S EASY IF YOU TRY
On June 30, 1961, Buddy Rogers beat Pat O'Connor, two falls to one, in Chicago to win the NWA World title in the "Match of the Century." Shortly after this, Vince McMahon and Toots Mondt (owners of Capitol Wrestling Corporation) talked about leaving the NWA. Because they held the promotional rights to Rogers, they would also control the NWA World title. The NWA Board of Directors decided it would be best to take the belt from Rogers, and on January 24, 1963, Lou Thesz defeated Rogers in Toronto, ON to become World Champion for a sixth and final time.
When this happened, the threats of McMahon and Mondt were diminished. Without Rogers as champion, there was no real weight behind the secession movement, and McMahon and Mondt were sufficiently humbled. Capitol Wrestling continued to book shows throughout the northeast under the authority of the National Wrestling Alliance.
In the reality we know, Vincent J. McMahon (aka Vince McMahon, Sr.) and Toots Mondt took their wrestling promotion, Capitol Wrestling from Washington, DC, and seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance in 1963. McMahon's territory, which included the entire northeastern section of the United States, soon changed its name to the World Wide Wrestling Federation, and Buddy Rogers, former NWA World champion, "won" a tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to win the World title of the new group. Forty-four years later, that organization is now known as World Wrestling Entertainment, and it is not only the largest and most well-known wrestling organization in the United States (and the world), it is also home to three distinct brands, as well as motion pictures and recording studios, with failed attempts at bodybuilding and football leagues. The current owner of the group, Vincent K. McMahon (aka Vince McMahon, Jr.), is, without a doubt, the most powerful man in the wrestling world today. But, Just S'pose Capitol Wrestling Never Left the NWA. What might have happened?
[Before anyone writes to me, I am aware that Vince J. had a seat on the NWA Board of Directors for many years, and even voted to allow Ric Flair to win the NWA World championship in 1981. However, the WWWF was recognized as a complete and separate entity from the NWA after May 1963.]
In 1966, Thesz was ready to retire. He was now 50 years old, and since his first title win on December 29, 1937, he had held the belt for a cumulative total of more than twelve-and-a-half years, including a stretch from July 20, 1948 to March 15, 1956. The time had come to find someone to whom he could "pass the torch."
Vince McMahon had an idea. He had another young wrestler who would be good for the role. He was strong, and even though he preferred power to wrestling skill, he had a good knowledge of different holds. Not only that, but he had the ethnic background that McMahon and the northeast fans preferred. For his final argument, he told the NWA Board of Directors that even though New York is the largest city in the country, the last NWA World title change to take place there was when Ali Baba beat Dick Shikat in 1936. After he convinced them he saw the error of his ways in 1963, they voted for a successor to Thesz. The choices were Dory Funk, Jr., the choice of the Texas promoters and son of Amarillo promoter Dory Sr.; Gene Kiniski, former CFL player and Canadian native; and McMahon and Mondt's choice, Bruno Sammartino, from Pittsburgh, PA, by way of Abruzzi, Italy.
On May 17, 1966, in Madison Square Garden, Bruno Sammartino defeated Lou Thesz, two falls to one, to become the 28th person to hold the NWA World title since 1905. News of the title change made its way through the entire NWA organization, which literally spanned the globe, over the next couple weeks. The next night, Bruno defeated Killer Kowalski in Boston, followed by title defenses the next week in Toronto, ON; Montreal, PQ; Albany, NY; Buffalo, NY; Cleveland, OH; and finally, a victory party in his adopted home town of Pittsburgh.
Bruno was given two days off before traveling south to Texas. Here, instead of being cheered as the local hero, the crowds were indifferent to his entrance. Texas crowds had little exposure to Sammartino, and had no idea what to think of him. In San Antonio, where he defended the title against Mexican star Gory Guerrero, the Latinos and Latinas outnumbered the Italians by a ratio of 1000 to, well, Bruno. Sammartino won the match in 35 minutes, but the crowd was not happy.
He faced the same thing when he went to California, where crowd in Los Angeles were not happy to see him beat Goliath. When he defeated El Santo in San Diego, the Mexicans in the crowd were ready to riot. The only thing that calmed them down was when Santo shook his hand and raised Bruno's arm.
In August 1966, after he was established as the champion, it was time for longer title defenses, including typical sixty-minute draws against Ray Stevens, Killer Kowalski, Fred Blassie, Black Gordman, Fritz Von Erich, Bobo Brazil, Pat O'Connor, Gorilla Monsoon, Eddie Graham, Gene Kiniski, and Dory Funk, Jr., among others.
The only places outside the northeast where Bruno was cheered as the babyface were in cities with large Italian populations, like Chicago. Throughout the south, the crowds were split almost evenly on supporting the champion or his opponent. Still, no matter how the fans felt about him, they were still coming to the arena to see him. The NWA Board of Directors was happy with Bruno as champion, and voted almost unanimously to keep him as champion. The main opposition to him was centered in Texas.
Throughout 1967, Sammartino continued touring the United States, defending against the best wrestlers in each territory. After a double disqualification against The Sheik in Detroit, their rematch not only sold out in two hours, there were also two thousand people camped outside the arena, looking for tickets. In San Francisco in July, he was counted out against Ray Stevens when Stevens hit his "bombs away" knee drop from the top rope. The crowd thought they had witnessed a title change, but when it was announced the title could not change on a countout, many of the fans demanded their money back.
Following the tour of California in July, Sammartino made his first tour of Japan as champion, wrestling to draws with Giant Baba, Toyonobori, and Antonio Inoki. While he was booed at the beginning of every match, the gaijin had gained their respect by the end of the hour.
In 1968, things had changed slightly. Dory Funk, Sr., went to the NWA Board of Directors, claiming his son, Dory Jr., was ready to be world champion. Again, arguments went back and forth about the pros and cons of both Funk and Sammartino as champion. The vote was much closer, but it was decided to keep Bruno as champion.
During a June defense against Bob Orton in Tampa, FL, Bruno was thrown out of the ring through the ropes. Unfortunately for him, he was thrown too close to the ringside table, and ended up landing eye-first on a corner of the table. While squirming around on the floor, he was counted out of the ring. The ringside doctor looked at his eye, and Bruno was sent to the hospital for further observation. Two days later, wearing an eye patch, he was released from the hospital. Doctors told him to take at least a week off, and the NWA agreed.
In September 1968, Johnny Valentine went to punch Sammartino in the jaw. Just before the punch landed, however, Bruno slipped for some reason, and the punch landed right in his bad eye. Not only was his eye damaged again, but the punch also opened up a cut above the eye. The match continued for another minute or so before Valentine was disqualified, and while he argued with the referee, doctors rushed into the ring to look at his injury. Again, he was told to take some time off to allow the eye to heal. Both he and the Board of Directors decided the best thing would be to let him take as much time as he needed, but he needed to drop the title first. On October 3, 1968, Dory Funk, Jr., became the 29th NWA World champion in Dallas, TX.
Funk held the title until April 16, 1972, when he lost the belt to Harley Race in Kansas City, KS. Three months later, on July 5, Bruno Sammartino regained the title from Race in Pittsburgh, PA, setting off a loud celebration. He held the title for another year before losing it to Terry Funk in San Antonio, TX, making Terry and Dory the first brothers to hold the NWA World title. Following Terry, the NWA Board tried to move away from showmanship and more toward wrestling skill. NWA champions included Harley Race, Bob Backlund, Antonio Inoki, Race, Ric Flair, Race, then back to Flair.
Before his death in 1984, Vincent J. McMahon, had transferred ownership of his company, Capitol Wrestling, to his son, Vincent K., with the understanding that the group would remain a part of the National Wrestling Alliance. Vince Jr., as he is known, honors this commitment, remembering the lessons of his father's aborted breakaway in 1962.
Meanwhile, the American Wrestling Association, owned and promoted by Verne Gagne, continued to run shows throughout the Midwest and Western states, as well as the west coast of Canada. Gagne, who won the NWA World Junior Heavyweight championship in 1950, left the Alliance in 1960, when he felt he would never get a fair shot at the heavyweight title. In forming the AWA, he decided he would feature wrestling over show business. That lasted until December 3, 1973, when Mil Mascaras defeated Gagne in Denver, CO to win the AWA World title. Mascaras, who became a lucha libre legend with the win, performed more moves off the top rope in one match than Gagne did in five years as champion. Mil's title reign allowed the AWA to hold shows in Mexico and throughout Central America. He held the title for almost three years before losing on October 16, 1976, in Phoenix, AZ, to local hero "Superstar" Billy Graham. Graham moved the AWA even more into a style-over-substance wrestling group than Mascaras, with his tie-dye trunks, feathered boas, and speaking style matching a similarly named evangelist. He traded the AWA World title several times with Dusty Rhodes, who could match Graham word-for-word. Then, in 1980, a thunderbolt hit the AWA. Or rather, a pair of Thunderlips.
Hulk Hogan beat Rhodes to win the AWA title in Minneapolis, MN, on April 5, 1981. The title change was aired on AWA programming the next week, and Hogan quickly became the most hated man in professional wrestling. He and manager Fred Blassie tore a path of blood and mayhem throughout the AWA, and his legend was sealed when he beat Verne Gagne so badly that Gagne announced his retirement from a hospital bed on May 16, 1981. When his son, Greg, swore revenge, he, too, was beaten badly and sent to the hospital.
The AWA and NWA continued to rule over the American wrestling scene, teaming behind the scenes very briefly to crush any competition, like the World Wrestling Association in 1975 and the International Wrestling Association in 1979. However, another challenge was coming soon, and like the threatened uprising in 1962, this was coming from inside the NWA from a long-time family promotion.
The time had come for Jim Crockett Promotions to change its name to World Championship Wrestling.
BUT WHAT ABOUT...?
I'll get to it, next time. If any story calls for a part two, this is it. After all, timeline-wise, we're only up to 1985, possibly 1986. I still have twenty years to cover.
