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

See Also: 1980 Wrestlers list

January

Ric Flair and Canadian Champ Dewey Robertson would team up as a result of their mutual hatred for Jimmy Snuka and Ray Stevens and their manager Gene Anderson. On December 9 1979 in a battle of the U.S (Snuka) and Canadian Champ (Robertson), Ray Stevens had interfered on behalf of Snuka giving Robertson the DQ win.

On the last card of '79, Snuka and Stevens got the better of Flair and Robertson setting up a return for the first card of 1980. This time the fan favorites reigned supreme and firmly entrenched Flair as one of the most popular wrestlers ever to appear in Toronto. Gene Anderson, half of the famed Minnesota Wrecking Crew would continue to be a thorn in the side of the faces over the next few months, constantly interfering on behalf of his charges.

The ring would be graced with the appearance of former WWWF Champ Pedro Morales, who was spending some time in the Mid-Atlantic region. Local favorite and Carolina legend Johnny Weaver would team with the former champ for a memorable match in June beating Doug Somers and Steve Muslin (Travis). Muslin would also have a pretty good feud with Robertson throughout the area.

Robertson would also work as a ' tweener ' in the Mid-Atlantic area coming to the ring with the belt and taking on the faces of the area while maintaining his clean image in Toronto. Later in the year after returning to the role of good guy (Mid-Atlantic), Dewey would team up with George Wells and win the Mid-Atlantic Tag Titles.

The "Original Sensational" Destroyer (Dick Beyer) having returned from Japan in 1979 would appear on many cards through the year. Although getting up in years, the one time AWA World Champion (as Dr X) was still a master showman and technician and would earn a shot against Canadian Champ Robertson as well as WWF Champ Bobby Backlund. The masked man would battle Backlund for over 26 minutes before both combatants were counted out of the ring in a memorable bout

On the Ontario Circuit, the big draw was still The Sheik who was at war with popular Chief Jay Strongbow. Also appearing were the young tag team of John Bonello and Randy Scott who were holding the WWS Tag Titles (Detroit). Bonello would continue on with Maple Leaf for many years, appearing as a referee in the later years.

Veteran star Chris Tolos would also return to appear on the circuit shows as well as at the Gardens including a loss to another long time area star - Sweet Daddy Siki.

Ray Stevens was involved in an incident on the ramp which resulted in two over exuberant fans taking a beating from the veteran star. The story in the paper the following day quotes a Metro Police Officer (when asked why there was no acton taken) as saying " What do you want us to do? Get on the radio and say ' Suspect last seen running down Church St in mauve trunks' ."

Local veteran Cowboy Frankie Laine would team with George "The Animal" Steele to take the belts from Bonello and Scott, but the young stars would regain them in a match in Detroit.

February

Blackjack Mulligan and "Big" John Studd began a long running feud with Texas Death Matches and culminating with Studd under a mask as Masked Superstar #2. One of these Death Matches went for six falls before Mulligan defeated Big John. Later in the year Mulligan would unmask Studd as #2 and end the feud. They would start back up in 1982 and would again shock the fans with their violent battles. The Feb 10 card with their wild match drew almost 17,000 fans to MLG.

Ricky Johnson (Rocky's brother) made his only MLG appearance giving veteran Chris Tolos his last MLG win. Ricky would also be seen on the independent circuit through the decade and acquire quite a fan following.

The Masked Blue Demons defeated Klondike Bill & Nick DeCarlo, under the masks the Demons were reportedly Gene Anderson & Billy Red Lyons !

March - April

Steamboat and Youngblood returned to defend their belts against Valentine and Stevens. These teams had met several times through the Mid-Atlantic territory and there was no love lost between them. The villains attacked the champions before the bell but after 30 minutes of action Valentine had Youngblood up in a suplex when Steamboat dropkicked "The Hammer", falling with Youngblood on top with a cradle for the pin.

U.S Champ Jimmy Snuka defended against Angelo Mosca. Big Ange was accompanied to the ring by Canadian Champ Dewey Robertson to offset Snuka's manager Gene Anderson. Still, it took several tries to keep Snuka in the ring as he kept trying to get away from the former CFL star. After some ferocious action, Mosca had Snuka in the backbreaker and was about to force a submission out of the champ when Anderson interfered with his cane and got Snuka disqualified.

Mosca, having played the heel most of his career was now hearing the cheers and beat Snuka and Anderson in a handicap match on the next card. In a sign of things to come Snuka was using his "Fiji Body Drop" (later known as The Superfly) around this time and earned the fans respect if not actual cheers

Former Canadian Champ Dino Bravo was busy working his way up the ladder in the AWA. Bravo would be billed as Canadian Champ in the Winnipeg area and earn bouts with AWA Champ Nick Bockwinkel. The Montreal strongman would also slam Crusher Blackwell several times in his $$ challenge but would always be denied the cash. In one contest Blackwell repeatedly splashed Bravo untill he had to be carried out on a stretcher. It should also be noted that Bravo did not wear a title belt while being billed as Cdn Champ in Winnipeg.

Mosca would also spend time in the Winnipeg area including teaming with Quebec legend Mad Dog Vachon to defeat AWA Tag Champs Jesse Ventura and Adrian Adonis in a non-title affair.

On April 30 the AWA presented a card in Ottawa, ON draing over 5,000 fans to see Nick Bockwinkel defend his belt sucessfully against Greg Gagne. Other matches included TTC Verne Gagne & Mad Dog Vachon defeat Adrian Adonis & Jesse Ventura and Quebec area favorites Johnny War Eagle & Gino Brito. Dino Bravo was scheduled to be on the card but was reprted as being unable to wrestle due to his being suspended from wrestling in Ontario (as a result of being stripped of the Cdn Title previously) - not sure if this is fact or wrestling fiction.

On the Indy circuit, the war between The Sheik and Mighty Igor came north. Cage matches and bloody battles would rage throughout the region with an especially bloody match in Scarborough around the end of March. The Sheik would also be seen teaming with "Bulldog" Don Kent in a violent feud with the big Davidson Brothers who had lost a loser leaves town (Detroit) match against Bonello and Scott. Igor would gain the coveted U.S belt in May from the legendary Sheik.

Robertson would be rewarded with an NWA title shot against Champ Harley Race and would match holds with the wily veteran before settling for a draw. Dewey matched up well with the tough Race, and would have more battles with him while in the Central States region in 1982. A week after this match, Dewey would team up with famed villain Ox Baker and Toronto bad guy Brute Bernard in Greensboro, NC. They would participate in a six-man tag against the popular Jim Brunzell, Tony Garea and S.D Jones.

May - June - July

Robertson loses the belt to Hussein The Arab-The Iron Sheik on the last card of the month. The former amateur standout also holds the prestigious Mid-Atlantic belt at this time to become a double titleholder. Both victories were achieved with his ' loaded boot ' trick.

One of the greatest feuds in history came to Toronto when U.S Champ Ric Flair met his former partner and now arch enemy Greg Valentine. It was an exciting match that saw Flair retain his belt. Valentine had tried to suplex him in from the apron but Flair shifted his weight to get the pin. Valentine spent a lot of his time repeatedly beating on Flair's broken nose covering the "Nature Boy" in a crimson mask. After the match, both competitors bloody and exhausted continued to fight down the ramp while other wrestlers tried to break them up.

This same card saw Mosca win the Canadian belt from Hussein The Arab- The Iron Sheik and begin a successful run as the main face in the area. His first title reign would be short however, with Hussein winning the belt back on the next card. Mosca would win the belt by using the ropes for leverage and Arab's manager Gene Anderson would dispute Mosca's claim to the belt and promise to regain the title.

The Masked Superstars I & II would make their Toronto tag debut in a wild match versus Blackjack Mulligan & Dewey Robertson. The good guys would earn the win after a bloodied Mulligan pinned Superstar I.

On June 11 the AWA would return to Ottawa drawing just under 4,000 fans to witness the father-son team of Verne & Greg Gagne defeat Nick Bockwinkel & manager Bobby Heenan after Greg put Bockwinkel to sleep with the famous Gagne sleeper hold. Other matches would include Dino Bravo (who did appear as scheduled this time) counted out with his opponent Crusher Blackwell after Bravo chased Blackwell into the dressing room.

Longtime area veteran Rocky Johnson returned to the area under a mask as Sweet Ebony Diamond. Rocky was feuding with Valentine at the time and earned a DQ victory over "The Hammer". Johnson was as exciting a performer as they come, always getting a huge pop from the (somewhat hometown) crowd.

We would also see the International Tag Team Champs "Jumbo' Tommy Tsuruta and "Giant" Baba take on the rough and tough team of Bruiser Brody and Scott Irwin. Frank Tunney had booked The Champs from the Far East as part of their North American tour.

Over 11,000 fans saw the Champs get the first fall on a DQ after they tied Tsuruta up in the ropes and refused to stop beating on their victim. The Champs took the second fall and the match when Tsuruta executed a perfect flying body press off the top turnbuckle to pin Irwin.

Also on this card was a (by then) rare appearance by Dory Funk Jr. and Abdullah the Butcher in an exciting match that saw the former NWA champ lift the massive Abdullah up in a vertical suplex and slam him hard to the canvas. As with most of The Butcher's ring foray's it would end with both men brawling outside the ring to a bloody finish. Abdullah was accompanied to the ring by Ernie Ladd. The following day in Niagara Falls Angelo Mosca would take on Jimmy Snuka along with Youngblood vs Cdn champ Hossein and a Stevens vs Steamboat bout.

On the Ontario circuit, the Bearman's summer tour was in full swing with the regular cast of characters including Danny Johnson, Vic Rossetani and The General. The Orchard park Tavern on Queen st would host a show with MIghty Igor taking on Don Kent on May 26th. The following day the crew would work in Georgetown in a homecoming of sorts for local Randy Scott and his partner John Bonello.

August

August Saw the reformation of The Crusaders tag team, at least for one night. Former Champs Robertson and Billy Red Lyons teamed (without the masks) to beat Swede Hansen and David Patterson. On the same card newcomer Ron Ritchie received plenty of support in an exciting match with local favorite Tony Parisi. The veteran Parisi got the better of the young star and the fans appreciated the scientific display between the two fan favorites by cheering at the end.

The Flair/Valentine feud that was still heating up the airwaves and arenas neared an end as Flair trounced his former partner in a Texas Death Match. They would go once more in a tag match in September before Flair would start his ascent to the coveted NWA World Championship.

There would be a huge build-up to the Aug 25 card that had Steamboat and Youngblood getting another crack at Snuka and Stevens, this time in a steel cage. At this time, the cage was the sides only- no top. This always led to the excitement of one competitor climbing the cage only to be brought thunderously down at the last moment. The champs would retain the titles in the cage. The next night in Guelph however, the fan favorites would get revenge teaming with Mosca to beat the champs and their manager Gene Anderson.

At the Aug 9 show at Shea Stadium (New York), local favorite Domenic Denucci would score a win over longtime rival Baron Mikel Scicluna (appeared in Toronto as Mike Valentino in the 60's) on the under card of the Bruno/Zybszko cage match.

September

Tunney would bring the Mid-Atlantic stars into Buffalo and the first two shows were fairly successful with over 8000 fans. Buffalo would become an integral part of the circuit at this time and see it's share of title matches and big feuds.

In a Tunney-like promotional coup Backlund defended title vs. title against Race at MSG, ending in a DQ win for the very popular in Toronto, WWF Champ.

Masked Superstar vs Sweet Ebony Diamond

October

The battle between former gridiron stars Mosca and "Big Bad" Bobby Duncum came to an end with Blackjack Mulligan as a special referee. Some of the more violent battles over the years would be any of Big Ange's feuds. Exuded toughness and somewhat underrated for the time. Filling out the under cards would be soon-to-be familiar names to the local fans. The Marcus Brothers, Tim Gerrard, "Silent" Brian Macnee, Nick DeCarlo, and an up-and-coming Ron Ritchie would all take their bumps at the expense of the stars when at MLG.

November-December

Flair received a shot at Hussein's belt on Nov 2 and won via count out setting up a shot at Harley Race and the NWA World Title on the following card. The buildup to the Hussein-Flair match promised that the former U.S Champ would "try his best to dethrone the Iron Sheik and send him back to Iran where he belongs."

Anyone who saw the Flair/Race wars through the years can attest to the drama and emotion these two ring warriors could deliver. The ramp played an important role in these match-ups with both competitors delivering their famed suplex's to a roaring crowd. Race dropping his famous flying/falling head butt on a bloody Flair. The Nature Boy would be denied on his first attempt but the fans knew they were watching a future World Champ cheering his every move in the squared circle.

November would mark the first appearance of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper defending his newly won Mid Atlantic TV Title against Frankie Laine. The fans began a long love/hate relationship with Piper that would include a later incident where he attacked everyone's favorite, Billy "Red" Lyons.

Former Canadian Champ Robertson would team up with George Wells and capture the Mid-Atlantic Tag Titles. They would reign until Feb 81 losing to Mr Fuji and Tenryu.

The year would end with Mosca defeating the hated Iranian in a steel cage match to regain the Canadian belt. Mosca would defend the belt until July 1981, first losing then regaining the title from the devious Mr. Fuji.

This will be on-going, I will keep adding until the main angles and matches are covered, If you would like to contribute to the almanac for this or other years, please contact me

Recognized Champions 1980

NWA World
Harley Race

AWA World
Nick Bockwinkel

WWF
Bob Backlund

Canadian Heavyweight
Dewey Robertson, Hossein The Arab, Angelo Mosca

U.S.
Jimmy Snuka, Ric Flair, Greg Valentine

NWA Tag
Ricky Steamboat + Jay Youngblood ,  Ray Stevens + Greg Valentine
Ray Stevens + Jimmy Snuka , Paul Jones + Masked Superstar

Mid Atlantic TV
Masked Superstar, Roddy Piper

International Tag
Giant Baba + Jumbo Tsuruta

*recognized champions based on actual Toronto appearances