Tag: WWE Peacock chronology

Mat Quest, Chapter 2: 1975, The Garden

Mat Quest, Chapter 2: 1975, The Garden

Mat Quest is a chronological viewing guide to the WWE archive on Peacock. Jump in and follow along with us!

We started our journey with a Madison Square Garden card from 1973 and continue that journey, from the same venue, while jumping ahead to 1975.

So, what happened in the WWWF during the interim? The big news is that the world title has changed hands a couple of times. Pedro Morales. who held the title on that 1973 card, dropped it to Stan Stasiak, who quickly lost the belt to the returning Bruno Sammartino in December of that year.

And title defenses by Sammartino serve as the centerpiece, and the biggest highlight, of these two 1975 events from Madison Square Garden.

Let’s get to it…

MARCH 17, 1975

Very Good

Bruno Sammartino defends the WWWF Heavyweight Title against Spiros Arion in a Texas Death Match

Four matches from this card made the cut for Peacock and three of them range in watch quality from skippable to watching paint dry, although the last match features a bearded, barrel-chested Ivan Putski that is quite the contrast from the chiseled bodybuilder look he sported for this same promotion in the 1980s. And he chugs a beer in the ring after his match, so there’s that.

Ivan Putski chugs a beer after beating The Wolfman at Madison Square Garden.

The highlight of this March 17 card is the battle between Sammartino and Arion for the title. These two met the prior month (sadly not available on Peacock) and most of the match played out as a sportsmanlike affair until Arion started bending the rules late when he could not fairly get the better of Sammartino. Eventually Bruno snaps, unloading on Arion in fury and eventually getting disqualified.

So, they ran it back for this Texas Death Match, often used as a blowoff match for Sammartino and his challenger du jour. No standing 10 count here… the WWWF Texas Death Match just means that anything goes. The crowd is fully invested and lives in dies with each punch and kick thrown by the champion. Sammartino scores the pin, but Arion gets a foot in the ropes and the referee does not see it. That sets the stage for another match between these two next month.

APRIL 14, 1975

Borderline Great

Bruno Sammartino defends the WWWF Heavyweight Title against Spiros Arion in a Greek Death Match

The aforementioned rematch… this time the only way to win is by submission. Where the match between these two in March was more even, this one sees Sammartino dominate. Modern wrestling fans have come to expect, even in the most heated grudge match, for the flow of the match to go back and forth. Sometimes, though, you just want to see the bad guy get clobbered and that is what the Garden crowd got here. Bruno gets 75-80% of the match before submitting Arion after he whiffs on a knee drop off the top rope. The atmosphere and the tremendous fire that Bruno shows are both top notch.

Good

Edouard Carpentier vs. Joe Nova

Carpentier is quite the story — fighting for the Resistance in France during World War II before embarking on a career in the squared circle. He is a spry 48 years old here and uses his gymnast background to use Nova as his own personal pommel horse. His style would fit right in modern wrestling, and serves as a reminder for the current curmudgeons who decry “flippy shit” as ruining their beloved business.

Victor Rivera vs. Bobby Duncum

You might remember Bobby’s son, the late Bobby Duncum, Jr., from the West Texas Rednecks in WCW. These two put on their working shoes for this one and turn in a high-energy battle, especially by the often-plodding standards of mid-1970s WWWF.

Worth Watching

El Olympico vs. Greg Valentine

This is the Madison Square Garden debut for Valentine, who is 23 years old and looks about the same that he does for the next 10 or 15 years.

LINEUP & SUMMARY

March 17, 1975 (Madison Square Garden)

Chief Jay Strongbow vs. Butcher Vachon
WWWF World Title-Texas Death Match: Bruno Sammartino defends vs. Spiros Arion – VERY GOOD
Victor Rivera vs. Killer Kowalski
Ivan Putski vs. The Wolfman

April 14, 1975 (Madison Square Garden)

Mike Paidousis vs. Tony Altimore
El Olympico vs. Greg Valentine – WORTH WATCHING
Non Title, 2/3 Falls: Little Boy Louie & Sonny Boy Hayes vs. Little Tokyo & Lord Littlebrook
WWWF World Title-Greek Death Match: Bruno Sammartino defends vs. Spiros Arion – BORDERLINE GREAT
Edouard Carpentier vs. Joe Nova – GOOD
Victor Rivera vs. Bobby Duncum – GOOD

UP NEXT

We wrap up 1975 and dive into 1976 with a few episodes of All Star Wrestling.

Mat Quest: An Introduction

Mat Quest: An Introduction

If you use any type of streaming service, this has probably happened to you.

You are in the middle of watching a series – or worse, a movie – when it suddenly disappears. 

With the convenience of streaming comes the peril of media rights. Your favorite show may become inaccessible when those rights expire. And, as Raw moves to Netflix, speculation has run rampant about what will happen to the WWE library when the promotion’s current deal with Peacock expires in the spring of 2026.

Internationally, Netflix already has the rights to Raw and the archive. We already have seen the archive of NXT drop into the void, after the CW began broadcasting new episodes, and chose not to upload any of the substantial NXT archive, to which they also have the rights, to their app. 

So what happens in 2026? If the WWE archive rights go to some new entity, I have zero confidence the published library survives in full – in large part because when Peacock bought the rights, not everything from the WWE Network made the migration (Get it? Migrate? Because birds!). 

As someone who follows wrestling and studied history, it’s probably not a surprise I like watching older wrestling – partly to check out stuff I haven’t seen, and partly because it reminds me of when I first started watching as a kid in the 1980s. I also know how WWE likes shaping, or reshaping, what is accepted as wrestling history, using its influence as the biggest promotion on the planet for the past several decades. Given that approach, though, I think that makes it less likely that all the currently available non-WWE content survives any move from Peacock to another platform. I’m talking about WCW, ECW, and especially the older stuff from the territories: Mid-South, World Class, AWA, etc. 

But if you’re looking at the older wrestling on Peacock, maybe you don’t know where to start. 

That’s where, hopefully, this series of articles serves a purpose. Mat Quest aims to provide a viewing guide to the wrestling on Peacock, starting from the oldest footage on the platform. 

How will it work?

Basically, I am going through every event and show currently on Peacock, starting from the beginning – or, in this case, 1973. I will let you know what I consider to be worth watching. If I think it’s skippable, it probably won’t be mentioned. Or maybe I will mention something in passing if you are looking to take a deep dive into a particular wrestler or style or title. I want to focus on the non-McMahon promotions, but I am folding in older content from WWE (or, as it was known in the 70s, WWWF) as well. For the record, we are defining older for now as essentially anything that aired prior to the debut of Raw.

A daunting task? Absolutely. Luckily I have a little over a year to get through it. 

A couple of things to remember… 

First, these recommendations are based solely off of my opinion. One of the great things about wrestling is that, I believe, there is something out there for everyone.

Second, these articles are meant to be informational. I definitely will go on a rant or a tangent from time to time, but this series will not be the place for in-depth match reviews or lengthy think pieces on how a certain match or segment contributed to the greater wrestling zeitgeist. You probably will find pieces like that on this site at some point, just not here.

Maybe you are a newer wrestling fan who is interested in the older stuff but was unsure where to start. Maybe you want to make sure you check out the good stuff from the archive before it possibly disappears, moves or evolves into its own paid service. Or maybe you are just burnt out on the current wrestling product and are looking for something different to watch. 

No matter the reason, I hope you check out this guide, and find it informative and helpful. 

For what is available on Peacock, the uploads really do not get going until the mid 1970s – 1976, to be precise. There are a handful of shows from 1975 and one from 1973: a complete card from Madison Square Garden that aired on HBO. And so that is where the journey begins.

Mat Quest: 1973

Mat Quest: 1973

Mat Quest is a chronological viewing guide to the WWE archive on Peacock. Jump in and follow along with us!

Welcome! We begin this journey with a historic event. None of the matches or results from this Madison Square Garden card were earth-shattering, but this event stands out because it was the first time the WWWF had one of its events broadcast live on national television. In this instance, HBO aired the broadcast.

As we begin the viewing guide, it is important to note that I am trying to break down the matches into certain tiers, everything ranging from all-time great to matches that are flawed but fun, or worth watching for some historic value or as a plot point. I may also point to certain matches and interviews where I think current wrestlers might want to take a look, to see what they could learn and use today.

Here we go…

JUNE 30, 1973 (Madison Square Garden)

Very Good

Pedro Morales defends the WWWF Heavyweight Title against George “The Animal” Steele

The best match on the card also has the biggest stakes. For someone who grew up on the Hulkamania Era like me, this is a fascinating look at George Steele, who is incredibly spry and far afield from the beloved turnbuckle-chewing fan favorite. Steele does some sleight of hand with a foreign object and the match becomes a fun brawl, fueled by a crowd that is going wild.

Good

El Olympico vs. Toru Tanaka (w/ The Grand Wizard)

I think that what people — and by people, I guess I mean wrestling fans who are online — define as a good match, or even a great match, has changed. The first thing I ask myself about every match is, did it hold my interest? And this one does. This is a few minutes of harmless fun with an abrupt ending thanks to one extremely effective strike from The Professor.

Worth Watching

Chief Jay Strongbow vs. Mr. Fuji

If Seinfeld was a show about nothing, this is a match about nothing. Fuji and Strongbow go about 15 minutes, and I estimate a good 80-90% of what happens bell to bell is schtick. Fuji spends what feels like a good five minutes applying a Double Pectoral Claw to Strongbow. And that crowd I mentioned earlier? They are watching Fuji grab the tits of this faux-Native-American-but-actually-an-Italian and loving every second of it. Be sure to catch the culturally insensitive war whoops from the crowd each time Strongbow teases powering out of the hold. I remain torn on whether this match is terrible because of the giant dollop of nothingness that it is, or brilliant because it captivates the crowd despite its nothingness. If nothing else, it is an excellent example of how easy it was to entertain wrestling crowds in the Northeast in the mid-1970s. Watch and judge for yourself…

Haystacks Calhoun vs. Moondog Mayne

This is pretty passable if not for the performance of Mayne, who hurls himself around the ring with reckless abandon to make Haystacks look like a powerhouse. Mayne, who died far too young in a car crash in 1978, would have fit right in in ECW. He never met a bloody brawl he did not like and even chewed glass during promo interviews. There are some great matches of his with Buddy Rose in the Portland territory that you can find on YouTube.

Take it or leave it

Gorilla Monsoon vs. Captain Lou Albano

In the Hulkamania days, these two saw plenty of screen time as a commentator and manager, respectively. This is a rare look at both in the ring, and that rarity is really the only thing that makes it watchable.

LINEUP & SUMMARY

June 30, 1973, Madison Square Garden

Lee Wong vs. Blackjack Lanza
El Olympico vs. Toru Tanaka (w/ The Grand Wizard) – GOOD
Gorilla Monsoon vs. Lou Albano – TAKE OR LEAVE
Victor Rivera vs. Black Gordman
2/3 Falls: Jan Sheridan & Joyce Grable vs. Dotti Downs & Peggy Patterson
WWWF World Title-Pedro Morales defends vs. George Steele – VERY GOOD
Chief Jay Strongbow vs. Mr. Fuji – WORTH WATCHING
Haystacks Calhoun vs. Moondog Mayne – WORTH WATCHING

UP NEXT

We jump ahead to 1975, and another card from Madison Square Garden.