The Name on the Marquee: The History of the Intercontinental Championship, Episode 1
Posted by Adam Nedeff on 07.12.2009
A $40-a-year investment means new piles of reviews for your pleasure!
-Having received the suggestion from a handful of readers, I went ahead and plunked down the $40 for a one-year subscription to WWEClassics.com and went weeding through page after page of content to see what I now had access to. I found a series called “History of the Intercontinental Championship” and, having just sat through the original Coliseum Video release, I thought that would be a logical jumping-off point for me. Here we go with episode one…
-Your host is Jack Korpela.
-We start off with your standard review of faux-history and Pat Patterson’s tournament win in Rio De Janiero to become the first champion. We even add to the mystique by establishing a date for the tournament, September 1, 1979. In that case, Pat must have had one HELL of an engine on his private jet because he was in Cape Cod later that night wrestling Bob Backlund.
PAT PATTERSON (Champion) vs. DOMINIC DENUCCI
-Oh, coolio, it’s the complete version of the truncated match on the Coliseum release. Crowd reaction for DeNucci isn’t much better here, as the crowd just does not buy into him as a credible title threat. Patterson is a tweener at this point, as the Grand Wizard sold his contract to Captain Lou Albano and Patterson took an immediate disliking to the Captain, but didn’t exactly turn by this point.
-Lock-ups lead to a clean break and the crowd is somewhat appreciative of DeNucci’s sportsmanship. He goes for a hammerlock, but Patterson makes the ropes. Patterson applies a side headlock and DeNucci gets out of it. Patterson is able to get back to the hammerlock and both guys head over to the corner. Patterson takes a cheap shot at DeNucci before backing off. Lock-up goes to the ropes and Patterson takes another cheap shot before retreating to the ropes. Armdrag by DeNucci and he chops Patterson, showing a little bit of fire. Patterson kicks him in the ribs and throws a series of punches in the corner. He brings DeNucci to the middle of the ring for a front facelock. DeNucci teases a low blow, but thinks better of it and breaks the hold by simply planting Patterson on the top rope. Patterson kicks him away and throws more punches. DeNucci headbutts him and staggers Patterson enough that it allows him to take a breather. DeNucci teases going low again, but instead punches Patterson. Irish whip is beautifully sold by Patterson and DeNucci goes to a spinning toehold. Patterson gets out and puts the boots to DeNucci. DeNucci punches back and Patterson backs off.
-Airplane spin by DeNucci gets a two-count. Sunset flip gets another two-count. DeNucci goes off the ropes but gets monkeyflipped and Patterson pins him immediately. 1 for 1. Good match, but the crowd was dead and I think it actually dictated what these two guys did. They were putting on a good show, the crowd wasn’t into it, and they went to the finish out of nowhere. Screw the crowd, I enjoyed myself.
PAT PATTERSON (Champion) vs. KEN PATERA (with The Grand Wizard)
-Patterson is now a full-blown face, is feuding with his ex-manager. Copy-pasted for your pleasure…Wizard taunts Patterson and Patterson takes a swing at him. Wizard dives into Patera’s arms before running away from ringside. Patterson pushes Patera into the corner. Patera overpowers him in the opposite corner. Patterson rallies with a pair of armdrags, Patera retreats. Arm wringer by Patterson, and he swings & snaps the arm back & forth until Patera collapses from the pain, which is a great little touch for such a simple move that nobody does anymore. That’s really a lost art that the younger guys need to explore. In these older matches, sometimes you’d see guys who really tried to DO stuff during a resthold, so the fans wouldn’t catch onto the fact that they were just taking a breather.
-Armdrag by Patterson. Patera tries to outmuscle him, but since Patterson’s been working the arm, he can’t do it anymore and Patterson just armdrags him again. Hammerlock by Patterson and Patera backs him into the corner. Patterson breaks cleanly and of course Patera takes a cheap kick. Elbow misses though, and Patterson goes back to swinging and snapping the arm. Patterson keeps going to work on the arm until Patera throws kicks again. He fires Patterson over the top and onto the concrete. Patera goes out and puts the boots to him, then rams him into the barricade. Patera goes back inside and works Patterson over on the apron. He chokes Patterson with the metal supports that connect the turnbuckles to the post, which is a part of the ring that you never see used as a weapon, and it made perfect sense here.
-Patera works the back with knees and Irish whips Patterson, catching him on the recoil in a bearhug. Patterson punches free and Patera goes for the full nelson immediately. Patterson makes the ropes and Patera goes back to the bearhug. Patterson slides out and kicks Patera away, then backdrops him when Patera tries to charge at him. Patterson throws punches, then gets a hold of Patera’s leg and goes outside to ram it against the ring post. Patterson goes back in and kicks the legs to keep working it over. Patera retreats to the ropes to keep Patterson at bay, which works for a while. He makes it to the corner and Patterson follows him there and keeps working it over. Irish whip is reversed by Patera, but he misses a charge and goes shoulder-first into the post. Patterson gets a two-count when Patera gets a foot on the ropes. Patterson just kicks Patera in the face and punches him over and over. Shoulderblock by Patterson. A second shoulderblock is thwarted and Patera shoves him into the referee to take him out.
-Patera goes to the top rope and connects with a knee to the back of the head. He goes for the pin; Patterson gets a foot on the ropes, but the referee is dazed and doesn’t see it, so Patera gets the pin and the title anyway. MSG is PIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSED about the decision. 2 for 2. Hell of a match!
PEDRO MORALES (Champion) vs. SGT. SLAUGHTER (with Grand Wizard)
-“Gomer” chant erupts in MSG, and Vince explains that his face does look very similar to Gomer Pyle’s. What, REALLY?
-Both men trade fists and eyerakes, and Slaughter gets the upper hand in that battle. Snapmare and a kneedrop get an early two-count for the sarge. Turnbuckle shot is countered by Morales. Morales capitalizes with a series of punches, then rams Slaughter into the opposite corner, and Slaughter hangs himself over the top rope on the sell. Another hard punch by Morales and Slaughter does another dramatic sell before going into his tights for something. Before he can make use of whatever it is, Morales hammers him down. Slaughter goes into his tights again and sticks something into his elbow pad. Morales punches him and goes after the eyes again. Slaughter throws an elbow and Morales collapses to the mat in pain. Referee checks the elbow pad but doesn’t find anything, and Slaughter reaches into his mouth and loads the pad with something again. Morales gets knocked out of the ring and Slaughter actually heads to the top rope. He changes his mind and just brings Morales back into the ring. He goes to the top rope and Morales punches him off. Fistfight erupts and Morales gets the upper hand this time. Another series of punches by Morales. Slaughter gets fed up and puts the referee in a side headlock, then punches him. Obviously, that’s it and we have a DQ. Lame finish, match was all punching. 2 for 3. Post-match, Slaughter applies the cobra clutch on the referee for some reason.
The 411: I can see you being bored by DeNucci-Patterson, which is rather old school stuff, but if you're a fan of this era, this was a pretty enjoyable outing. See you at episode 2!
