Classic All-Star Wrestling – October 16, 2022: Call It A Theme?

Classic All Star Wrestling
Date: October 16, 2022
Host: Adam Parsons

So it’s back to this show, which should be a lot of fun if they do things like they did last week. Granted that seems to be the format of the show and that should make for a lot of fun every week. Last week’s preview mentioned a battle royal featuring Andre the Giant, which could be anything. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Adam Parsons runs down the card.

We’re going to Big Time Wrestling to start. The promotion is based out of Detroit but I believe this is from Toronto in 1975. Or at least something close to that.

North American Title: Stan Stasiak vs. Ron Doner

Stasiak is defending and the name is Doner, not Donner as the graphic says. Doner takes him down by the arm but Stasiak is back up with a thumb to the throat to cut that off in a hurry. Stasiak takes him into the corner but misses a charge, which is enough to send him outside and give the fans a BIG reaction for Doner. Back in and Stasiak takes hi into the corner again, only to get forearmed into the ropes for his efforts. Doner is back on the arm that got hurt in the missed charge and then leapfrogs the referee (that was cool) to stay on Stasiak. With the arms freed, Stasiak is done with this and finishes with the heart punch at 4:18.

Rating: C. Stasiak is a guy who could have been quite the monster for someone to slay at the right point and Doner seems to be the latest person to go after him here. Stasiak was a former WWWF Champion at this point so he was already a big deal in the sport and being a champion here wasn’t a surprise. It wasn’t exactly a good match, but the fans were into Doner so it was fine for a one off match.

From ICW in Lexington, Kentucky (likely at Henry Clay High School). Based on who is holding a title coming in, we’re looking at late 1981 or late 1982.

TV Title: Great Tio vs. Ron Strunk

Tio is defending and he is managed by Ox Baker. Strunk elbows him down to start and Tio needs a breather in the corner. Some chops put Strunk in trouble but he blocks a ram into the buckle to send Tio outside. Back in and Tio sends him outside as the video goes black for some reason, but commentary suggests that Baker got in a cheap shot. Back in again and Strunk slams him down, only to be sent into the corner. A suplex retains Tio’s title at 3:46.

Rating: C-. Strunk didn’t exactly do much here but at least he put up a short term fight until Tio beat him. Tio is fine for a monster and you could see him being the kind of monster for a classic good guy to take down (there’s a theme with this show). Nice, short match here and Tio wasn’t half bad.

Post match Baker brags about his champion winning and promises to get even better because of some changes coming with Tio’s training regimen.

Parsons talks about the dangers of the battle royal.

From Polynesian Pro Wrestling in Hawaii, I believe on December 19, 1984.

Battle Royal

There are twenty people in this and we’re joined in progress so I’m not even going to hope to figure out everyone involved. Some notable names would include Andre the Giant, Jimmy Snuka, Don Muraco and Masa Sasito. Andre cleans house and everyone brawls on the ropes as we hear about Dusty Rhodes and Magnum TA coming to Hawaii. Commentary keeps going on about an upcoming show as the camera just goes around the ring with various brawls. We’re nearly four minutes in and we’ve heard all of ten seconds of discussion about the match.

Back to back wrestlers are tossed out and Snuka pairs off with Muraco for a double elimination. We’re down to six with Andre, four other people not important enough to mention. One of them is tossed and Andre dumps two more….which is enough for Andre to be declared the winner at 6:17 shown. The other two just don’t count because….I don’t know why.

Rating: D. I’m not sure if this was normal for Polynesian Pro Wrestling but it felt like a bit of a waste of time. I get the idea of talking about an upcoming show (and the show they were talking about was the biggest show the promotion ever had, but my goodness the match they were airing was nothing but background noise. Andre winning a battle royal is no surprise and is always fun to see. I just could have gone with it getting some kind of attention.

The preview for next week wraps us up.

Overall Rating: C. The not so great main event aside, I could still go for a lot more of this show and I will be sticking around for a long time. Just seeing the random stuff that pops up is cool as it isn’t a bunch of famous or classic matches, but rather a sample of the run of the mill stuff that you would see, plus a bigger main event. It’s a very fun half hour and I will take that every week.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

PDFPrint