Looking at the angles and matches from 1977-1984 click on the blue links for the corresponding picture

See Also: 1978 Wrestlers list

January

After the departure of The Sheik in July 1977, Frank Tunney had aligned himself with the AWA, the promotion run by Verne Gagne out of the mid-west U.S. The cards would be filled out by WWWF regulars as well as our local guys, and would lead to some inter-promotional type match-ups.

The first card of the year would see AWA champion Nick Bockwinkel defending against former WWWF champ Stan Stasiak. Stan ‘the man’, while a hated heel most everywhere else was a fan-favorite in Toronto during this era.

The team of Greg Gagne and Jim Brunzell, known as ‘The High Flyers’ would also make an impact on the Toronto scene during this time, and Greg would find time to team with his father in a tag match versus Blackjack Lanza and Bobby Duncum.

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February

Bockwinkel would return to face the very popular Chief Jay Strongbow. The Chief was enjoying a good run in the area including a couple of previous bouts with WWWF champion Superstar Graham in 1977. Strongbow would also be seen occasionally on the circuit around Ontario.

The High Flyers would beat Bockwinkel and his manager Bobby Heenan in a tag match and set up an AWA title shot for Greg on the next card. Billy Robinson would also appear in defense of his British Empire Title.

Mil Mascaras would also make a rare appearance beating local wrestler and referee Terry Yorkston with a suplex and pin.

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March

Legendary mat-man Billy Robinson would successfully defend his British Empire Title against Angelo Mosca on the March 5th show. This is not the same title that Whipper Watson wore in Toronto but an AWA recognized title. Mosca would also feud with Robinson in Winnipeg and capture the belt for a short time before losing it back to Robinson (again in Winnipeg).

Superstar Graham would return minus his WWWF title belt. Graham, who had lost to former Missouri Champ Bob Backlund in February would face Dusty Rhodes as part of their on-going feud. The first contest would end inconclusively, setting up a re-match with Gorilla Monsoon as special referee. Dusty would get the better of SBG in the return bout and would not be seen again in T.O. until 1981 (as NWA Champ vs John Studd).

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April

May would mark the first appearance of new WWWF Champion Bob Backlund. The fans would get behind ‘The All-American Boy’ right from the start, enjoying his great scientific skills and awesome strength. At the time many fans thought Backlund would be hard pressed to retain his title for a significant length of time, given the size and weight differences between him and his opponents. There were just too many monsters roaming the northeast for him to survive! He didn’t only survive but prospered in the “David” role vs Goliath. His bouts versus Graham ending with the cage match victory in August stand among the most exciting matches of the era.

Both Backlund and Bockwinkel would defend their titles on the same card for the next several months but would not meet until the historic 1979 Title vs Title bout.

Bockwinkel would have a great match with Jim Brunzell, another solid wrestler who the fans really got behind.

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May
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June

Perennial favorite Andre The Giant would team up with Gorilla Monsoon versus Stevens and Patterson. The Giant would accidentally hit Monsoon during the bout and Gorilla would attack his partner. Patterson and Stevens would join in to batter the helpless giant and turned Monsoon to a heel (apparently only in T.O.). Monsoon had previously appeared here back in the 60's under his real name Gino Marella.

On the next card Gorilla would flatten local Nick DeCarlo and a show later would meet up with Dom Denucci. Fan-favorite Denucci would attack Monsoon before the bell but would end up submitting after being caught in a giant bear-hug.

Gorilla would later get his shot at Backlund and would overpower his smaller opponent. As was becoming the norm, the champ would find a way to beat his larger adversary coming off the ropes with a body-block followed by the pin.

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July
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August
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September
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October

The beginning of the association with the Crocketts would also mark the glory years of this era. Ric Flair and Rick Steamboat had been tearing up the Mid-Atlantic region with their feud and were being supported by a mix of veterans and up-and-comers including Wahoo McDaniel, Blackjack Mulligan, Paul Jones, Greg Valentine, and Jimmy Snuka.

The AWA wrestlers would continue to appear on and off but the remainder of the year would see the cards primarily stocked with the M-A stars. We would also see an interesting tag-team of Bob Backlund and longtime Quebec and WWWF star Dino Bravo. They would take on the AWA Tag Champs Patterson & Stevens in a great bout. Bravo would also form a popular team with Steamboat before taking over the top spot at MLG.

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November
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December
Steamboat would finally catch up to the ‘Nature Boy’ and defeat him in December in front of a very appreciative crowd. Toronto had been picked again as the site of an historic title change. At that time the US belt was very highly regarded, and the Flair/Steamboat feud in full swing was taking over the spotlight usually reserved for the world titles.

The absence of a local based title was addressed with a tournament to determine a new Canadian Title for the area. It was implied that there had been qualifying bouts held around Ontario but apparently was just the usual promoting style. Bravo had been a fixture in the M-A region for several years holding both the heavyweight and tag titles and was coming off a successful run with the WWWF Tag Titles (with Dom Denucci).

Bravo would have to beat former NWA World Champ Gene Kiniski to claim the belt on the card which was billed as ‘Whipper Watson Appreciation Night’. The long-time king of Toronto was to be honored for his many years of service in Toronto and his former foe (Kiniski) would try to ‘rain on his parade’ before his match with Bravo. Whipper was on hand to present the new belt to Bravo after his victory on this historic night.

On the same card Ricky Steamboat would regain the U.S. Title (M-A version) from arch-enemy Flair

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Recognized Champions 1978

AWA World : Nick Bockwinkel                      WWWF : Superstar Graham, Bob Backlund

U.S. (Mid Atlantic) : Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat

AWA Tag : Greg Gagne & Jim Brunzell

British Empire (AWA) : Billy Robinson, Angelo Mosca

Canadian Heavyweight : Dino Bravo

*recognized champions based on actual Toronto appearances