10 Things Retro WWE Fans Should Know About These Events

Before pay-per-views like WrestleMania and even WCW’s Starrcade were major fixtures of the pro wrestling world, there were supercards. Not necessarily televised, supercards, as one might expect from the name, were major shows that offered marquee names and big matches. While known for WrestleMania, WWE had a recurring supercard of its own with Showdown at Shea, which dates back to its days as the World Wide Wrestling Federation.

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Held at New York’s Shea Stadium in Flushing, WWE put on Showdown at Shea events in 1972, 1976, and 1980. Because these supercards predate Hulkamania, even die-hard WWE fans likely aren’t even aware of them, so let’s take a look at what fans should know about Showdown at Shea.

10 The First WWE-Produced Supercards

While WWE was no stranger to running big shows in arenas like New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Showdown at Shea are the first WWE supercards, but not the first time the promotion took part in such kinds of shows. The even-more-forgotten multi-promotion Superbowl of Wrestling went down in 1972 and 1978, and the latter edition — held in Miami — offered a huge main event where WWE Champion Billy Graham took on NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race in a 2/3 falls unification match, which ended in a draw after hitting the 60-minute time limit.

9 1972: One Of WWE’s Longest World Title Matches Ever

That unification match may sound like a long one, but doesn’t compare to the main event of Showdown at Shea 1972. This show offered an incredibly huge match at the time, with WWE Champion Pedro Morales defending his title against top star and former champion Bruno Sammartino. This bout ended up running 75 minutes, making it WWE’s longest title match ever, and ended without a clear winner (conveniently) thanks to a local curfew, so Morales retained without Sammartino taking an L.

8 Bruno Sammartino Main Evented All Three Shows (Technically)

The 1972 edition of Showdown at Shea wasn’t the only main event featuring Bruno Sammartino. The 1970s were the decade of Bruno Sammartino, who during his career on top held the WWE Championship twice for a combined 11 years (give or take). Even at the last Showdown in 1980, Sammartino main evented against Larry Zbyszko in a steel cage match.

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Between those two events is the 1976 show, which had Bruno Sammartino defending the WWE Championship against Stan Hansen. However, its main event status is an odd technicality, because it was the final match to happen live in front of the crowd.

7 1976: Included A Broadcast Of Ali vs. Inoki

After that Sammartino vs. Hansen's match came to an end, the crowd was treated to a main event match via closed circuit broadcast. That may sound odd, but it was a major bout: the boxer vs. wrestler match between Muhammad Ali and Japanese wrestling icon/New Japan Pro-Wrestling founder Antonio Inoki, which was held in Toyko. While it was a huge marquee attraction — one coordinated by Vince McMahon Sr. — the bout was considered a massive disappointment, mostly consisting of Inoki laying on the ground and kicking Ali.

6 1980: Bob Backlund & Pedro Morales Won The Tag Team Title & Had To Immediately Vacate Them

Pedro Morales wasn’t able to defeat Bruno Sammartino in 1972, but eight years later he scored a major title win. Teaming up with Bob Backlund, Morales took on Tag Team Champions the Wild Samoans for the belts in a 2/3 falls match — and actually won. Morales and Backlund became the new Tag Team Champions, but the reign was short lived — because Backlund was also the WWE Champion, the rules at the time stated that the World Champion couldn’t hold two belts, so the title was immediately vacated.

5 1976: Sammartino Had Grudge Match Over An Injury

The aforementioned WWE Title match between Bruno Sammartino and Stan Hansen had quite a story behind it — one based in reality. Sammartino and Hansen had previously had a match in April 1976 that ended in a severe injury when a still-green Hansen messed up a bodyslam, breaking Sammartino’s neck by spiking him headfirst into the canvas. In kayfabe, the broken neck was attributed to Hansen’s signature lariat, so when Sammartino “recovered” (see below), the two had a great basis for a grudge match.

4 1980: Hulk Hogan Body Slammed Andre The Giant

One of the major moments in WWE lore is the main event of WrestleMania 3, in which WWE Champion Hulk Hogan not only vanquished the undefeatable Andre the Giant, but also picked up the 520-pound monster heel for a huge body slam. However, it wasn’t the first time the two clashed at a major WWE show — or even the first time that Hogan body slammed Andre.

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It was a very different bout from their WrestleMania 3 effort, considering that Hogan was a heel at the time, but Hogan also managed to body slam Andre in this forgotten bout.

3 1976: Sammartino Wrestled While Still Recovering From His Broken Neck

As established, the Bruno Sammartino vs. Stan Hansen encounter at Showdown at Shea capitalized on an injury to make for a worthy grudge match, but the timeline between injury and the bout is astounding. Fearing that fan disinterest with the Ali vs. Inoki closed circuit broadcast would kill the show, Vince McMahon Sr. reached out to Sammartino, who at the time was still recovering from his broken neck. It was a huge ask, but Sammartino was loyal to McMahon, and returned to the ring two months after such a major injury.

2 1976: Andre The Giant Fought The Inspiration For The Rocky Films

Showdown at Shea 1976 actually had two boxer vs. wrestler matches. In addition to the closed-circuit broadcast of Ali vs. Inoki, fans were treated to a similar match live in the arena, with Andre the Giant taking on boxer Chuck Wepner in a bout that ended by countout in the third round. By all accounts, it was nothing special, but Wepner himself is of huge interest: nicknamed the “Bayonne Bleeder,” Wepner famously went 15 rounds with Muhummad Ali the previous year in a fight that reportedly inspired Sylvester Stallone’s script for his classic film Rocky.

1 Sammartino’s 1980 Main Event Was A Teacher vs. Student Grudge Match

As fans might guess from Backlund having a tag team match on the card, the 1980 edition of Showdown at Shea featured no contest for the WWE Championship, but still boasted a huge main event. As stated, the bout was Larry Zbyszko vs. Bruno Sammartino in a steel cage, and while nothing tangible on the line, but the match itself was still a big one. Zbyszko was Sammartino’s protege in both reality and kayfabe, and turned heel on his mentor in order to prove himself as a main eventer.