When WWWF was unable to persuade Sammartino to reconsider, the promotion decided to go with Pedro Morales as the next long-term champion. New York City’s huge Puerto Rican population was a major consideration.
Koloff was strictly a transition champ. He lost to Morales three weeks later. In some ways, the win over Sammartino gave Koloff a career. But he had previously done well in the Montreal territory. Koloff was quality, a legit talent.
But Koloff’s title win was memorable for the crowd response. It was eerie. MSG went deathly quiet. Some of Sammartino’s fans cried. Then, as Koloff started to leave the ring, things turned surly. A riot was a strong possibility. A riot was also a strong possibility had Morales not beaten Koloff three weeks later. But Morales won, Sammartino presented him with the belt, and the earth was back on its kayfabe axis.
Obviously, none of you care about this because it doesn’t involve The Bullet Club.
But it’s a shame that the current generation of wrestling fans never experienced kayfabe. The closest was when Brock Lesnar ended The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak. Kayfabe allowed fans to get lost in the deception. Even those who knew, didn’t really know. Some legit believed, and that was part of the show.
Trust me, it was a lot more fun.
But, hey: Bullet Club. That’s all that matters.
PS – Sammartino got the WWWF championship back on Dec. 10, 1973 after WWWF agreed to give him a lighter schedule. He held the belt for over three years before dropping it, again on his own volition. Sammartino had few peers as a draw. Many consider him, Domenic DeNucci, Tony Garea and Tor Kamata to be the original Bullet Club.
Follow Mark on Twitter: @MarkMaddenX
