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SUNDAY NIGHT - Jan 17 1982 The East-West Connection heads North
A great card featuring Angelo Mosca trying to regain the Canadian Title in a cage, the debut of Ventura & Adonis, popular Bob Backlund vs Greg Valentine for the WWF Title, and the return of Dino Bravo
 Big John Studd had beaten Mosca for the Canadian Title in September 1981. Since then, Mosca had been foiled in several previous attempts to regain the coveted strap so it was to be settled in a cage. The last time they had met (on the 50th anniv. show), Mosca had won, but since Studd had been counted out was not awarded the title. Studd would enter the arena first and wait for Mosca at the end of the ramp. When Mosca came out on the ramp they would engage in a showdown with referee Terry Yorkston ordering them into the cage. The match would soon turn bloody as they used the cage to batter each other with Studd getting the worst of it. It appeared Studd had pinned Mosca but referee Yorkston would raise Mosca's hand. Mosca would be handed the title when Studd would attack the new champ with the belt. Cage Match Pic Johnny Weaver would come to Mosca's aid and he too would get pummeled by Studd who would leave without the belt amid the boo's of the crowd. Mosca was helped down the ramp by several wrestlers as the crowd cheered for the new champ
 
WWF Champion Bob Backlund would take on number one challenger Greg Valentine in a defense of his title. This would be the second match-up of these two at MLG (previously in 1979) and was not long after the infamous finish at MSG where the belt was held up. These two matched up well, putting on a great contest with Backlund dominating with various arm and leg locks, and atomic drops. Valentine would be denied in his quest for the title at 17:05 of the battle when Backlund scored the pinfall.
The Gardens was abuzz with anticipation of the first appearance of the East-West Connection (Adonis had previously appeared here under "Keith Franks" back in '75-76), as they took on local favorites Dom Denucci and Tony Parisi. A very entertaing bout with the good guys frustrating the heels with a barrage of ring tricks and dominating the bout. Adonis would pull the tights (see pic below) for the pin and ref Terry Yorkston would award the victory to the former AWA Tag champs. The good guys would protest while Adonis and Ventura celebrated on the ramp.
We would also see the return of former champ Dino Bravo, who had not appeared in the area since 1979. He would defeat veteran Cowboy Frankie Laine in a good match. Pat Patterson would also make a rare appearance and beat our own Kurt Von Hess in an exciting battle with a lot of good wrestling from both combatants. Other bouts
Johnny Weaver defeated Lord Alfred Hayes in a cage, and John Bonello defeated Tim Gerrard in a good match between two of our unsung heroes

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