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

See Also: 1981 Wrestlers list

January

Angelo Mosca, having regained the Canadian Title on the last card of 1980 would kick off the year with a defense versus former WWWF champ Ivan Koloff. The champ would take the loss via dq but come back on the next card to defeat the Russian in a no dq match.

Mosca would also appear in the WWF (as his usual heel persona) managing a $10,000 Battle Royale win and a rare match against Andre The Giant before beginning a program with Bob Backlund.

Mosca would get a dq win over the WWF champ in May at the famous Madison Square Garden, as well as shots at Pedro Morales and the I-C Title. Note that Mosca would not defend (or wear ) the Canadian belt during these appearances. Other notable opponents included Bruno Sammartino, Dusty Rhodes, and Rick Martel.

Blackjack Mulligan would end his feud with Bobby Duncum by beating his fellow Texan in what else? A Texas Death Match. Duncum would enter into a feud with Sweet Ebony Diamond (Rocky Johnson) while Mulligan would depart the area until December.

Filling out the under-cards would be familiar names Parisi, Von Hess, Lyons, The Markus Brothers, and Charlie (aka Gary) Fulton.

February

Flair would face Valentine again in their long battle around the US Title. Valentine would find success in the WWF as well, facing all the top stars in the Northeast.

Mosca would continue his winning ways successfully defending against Hossein and Duncum on the circuit shows and would also team with Tony Parisi for a Niagara Falls match versus Snuka and Hossein.

March

Veteran Tony Parisi would team with Bruno Sammartino's son David (billed as Bruno Jr.) and the popular team was quite a hit with the fans. Somewhat of a wrestling 'family' connection , Parisi had once been billed as the senior Bruno's ' cousin ' in the 60's.

The feud between Andre and Hulk Hogan would make it into Toronto with Andre beating the then hated Hogan. They took this match up and down the east coast and it made for one of Andre's best feuds ever. An opponent that was more his size, plus Hogan as a heel was a different entity than his 'Hulkamania' era.

Jimmy Snuka challenged for Mosca's Canadian Title but came up short.

April

Former Canadian Champ Dino Bravo would be seen on George Cannon's 'Superstars of Wrestling' broadcast out of Windsor, Ontario. Familiar names appearing included Luis Martinez, Mad Dog Lefebvre, Gino Brito, Kasavubu, Big Mac, Don Kent and Hartford Love.

Bravo would also be seen up the road in Montreal, sometimes teaming with the legendary Edouard Carpentier.

Parisi was also a regular visitor to Quebec over the years (and a long time partner of Gino Brito aka Louis Cerdan) and a February card saw him team with Jacques Rougeau versus The Hangman Neil Guay and Mad Dog Lefebvre. Parisi, the eternal fan favorite actually had a short heel run in the Quebec area back in 1977. Later in 1985, Parisi would count a tag victory (with King Tonga) over the usually unbeatable Road Warriors on a Verdun card.

Mosca would earn a shot at Harley Race and the NWA Championship. The match would end in a no-contest after an all out brawl with Mosca getting the better of the champ. Mosca would have a good couple of years facing all three 'major' title holders and many of the regional champs.

It was a bit enlightening for the fans here to see Mosca on WWF TV cracking Pat Patterson's skull open with a water pitcher- while being cheered here. Seems that other than Toronto (80's) the only other city/area he would work as a fan-favorite was the AWA. When his son Angelo Jr. came into the game, Sr. would finish his career as a good guy.

Flair would feud with Piper over the U.S Title and in May Piper would challenge Mosca for the Canadian Title. Mr Fuji would interfere and lead-in to the Fuji-Mosca bouts

May

Former Canadian Champ Dewey Robertson was teaming with former CFL'er George Wells. Both would also team with Sweet Ebony Diamond in the area.  Robertson and Wells had previously held the the Mid-Atlantic Tag Titles back in 1980. As well, Robertson would find time to team up with veteran Johnny Weaver and regain the M-A Tag Titles for another run in 1981

June

Mosca begins his feud with Fuji with a dq win over the former WWWF Tag champ. On a previous TV taping they had Fuji beating two opponents in a handicap match to make him seem more of a dangerous opponent for Mosca.

Fuji would be denied in his quest for the title but would become a thorn in the side of the Champ with his under-handed tricks.

Flair would beat Koloff to earn another shot against U.S. Champ Roddy Piper on the following card. Parisi would be the special referee but Flair would be denied after Piper was disqualified.

July

Mr. Fuji would finally beat Mosca and gain the coveted Canadian Title. It would not be a long reign however, with only one known title defense (Buffalo) before losing it back to Mosca (at MLG) at the end of the month.

On the Indy circuit, The Sheik would carry on a feud with the Whipper Watson Jr., the son of longtime nemesis Whipper Watson. Other regulars would include The Wolfman, The Kelly Brothers, Danny Johnson and Chris Tolos.

Mosca would regain the Canadian Title from Fuji in a Texas Death Match on the MLG Sunday show. The following day in Oshawa, Mosca would have a brawl with veteran Ray Stevens setting up a re-match on the next Gardens card.

A dream team of sorts evolved when Flair teamed up with Andre in his on-going feud with Piper. Roddy would enlist the aid of Crippler Stevens as his partner in what would be a losing effort. Piper would survive to face Andre in a singles match in August.

'The American Dream' Dusty Rhodes would defeat Harley Race for the NWA World Title in Atlanta and despite his short reign, managed to make a T.O appearance in August

August

Dusty Rhodes would come in to take on John Studd in an NWA Title defense.

Mosca would make his last two Canadian Title defenses (this reign) against Ray Stevens and Greg Valentine before losing the belt to John Studd in September

Koloff vs Steamboat

Andersons vs Flair/YB

September

Studd wins the Cdn title from Mosca

Flair beats Dusty Rhodes to win the NWA World Title in Kansas City, beginning his first of many runs with the title. The Toronto favorite would make a triumphant return for the 50th Anniversary show in November.

Sgt. Slaughter would make his debut on TV leading into his MLG debut in October. The Sarge would mow down Youngblood and Sweet Ebony Diamond before disappearing from the area until 1982. In October in Charlotte, Slaughter would beat Steamboat in a tournament final to claim the U.S Title

October

Killer Kahn, coming off a successful program with Backlund in the WWF would trounce Johnny Weaver, Jay Youngblood and Paul Jones in the build-up to his feud with Andre. The Kahn-Andre feud had been tearing up the east coast when Kahn had 'broken' the Giant's leg leading to a series of grudge matches. Andre was still very mobile at this time and made for some good bouts with the 'Mongolian' giant sometimes under the stipulations of a Mongolian Stretcher Match.

In NYC, Valentine appeared to win the WWF title from Backlund when the ref mistakenly raised his arm after a double cradle. Backlund would continue to defend the belt until the rematch a month later. This angle would be used in 1982 when Tunney would 'settle the controversy' once and for all awarding a re-match at MLG.

Former Canadian Champ Mr. Fuji would team up with Mr Saito and win the WWF Tag belts in Allentown, PA. Fuji had previously held a share of the tag belts with Toru Tanaka throughout the 70's.

Another former Canadian Champ- Dewey Robertson, would begin a sucessful run in the St Louis area and capture the main titles of the region. Again Robertson would mostly work as a heel and would earn more shots against World Champs Race and Flair.

An interesting tag match took place in October '82 in St Louis teaming Robertson and his partner -former Cdn Champ Greg Valentine versus Hulk Hogan and Dick The Bruiser. Dewey would spend the majority of the next two years in the Missouri area facing world class talent including Rick Martel, Bob Orton Jr., Dory Funk Jr., and the aformentioned World Title holders.

Rhodes/McDaniel vs Piper/Abdullah

November

The 50th Anniversary show was a great success with a near sell-out to witness a great NWA Title match between champion Flair and challenger Race.

Other's on the card had also wrestled the night before in Philadelphia. Andre had splashed Kahn for the victory and Mosca had beaten Dom Denucci. Andre would continue his winning ways in Toronto while Mosca would be foiled in his bid to regain the Cdn Title from Studd.

Johnny Weaver and Lord Alfred Hayes would begin a feud. Both men had a hand in booking the area over the years, Weaver during the Mid Atlantic years and Hayes during the AWA affiliation (77-78). The two veterans would seal the feud in a cage match in Jan 1982.

December

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 1981

NWA World
Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair

Canadian Heavyweight
Hossein The Arab, Angelo Mosca, Mr Fuji, John Studd

U.S.
Ric Flair, Roddy Piper

NWA Tag
Ole + Gene Anderson

Mid Atlantic
Ray Stevens, Ivan Koloff

Mid Atlantic Tag
Chris Markoff + Nikolai Volkoff

Mid Atlantic TV
Greg Valentine, Ron Bass

*recognized champions based on actual Toronto appearances