Pedro Morales © vs Don Muraco
WWF Intercontinental Title Match
01/22/1983
If you have only ever seen PPV-era Don Muraco, you are missing out.
The line in the sand that seemed to be drawn as Hulkamania ran wild, the PPV era kicked into high gear and WWF swarmed all over the US through syndicated national television wasn’t always the kindest. Wrestlers who had served McMahon Sr. well weren’t television material in the eyes of McMahon Jr., so were pushed to the side. Other wrestlers peaked at the wrong time, spending the late 70s and early 80s showing their capabilities as workers from territory to territory, only to begin entering that downward slide at a time when the spotlight shined brightest. Some seemed to be saved to do their best work on the house show circuit, whilst being conspicuously absent from many of the top angles when it came to the big events.
The latter two define Muraco’s career post-85. Barnstorming matches at MSG against Hulk Hogan in 85, yet rarely a big angle seen played out and settled on PPV. Even when on the big shows, appearances saw losses as a heel (Wrestlemania 3) and losses as a babyface that looked as if his muscles were about to burst out of his skin (Wrestlemania 4). Muraco’s career in the limelight seemed to peter out in front of our very eyes.
In the first half of the decade, however, it was hard to find a heel in the WWF who was able to garner more nuclear heat than Muraco. Coupled with a defending Intercontinental Champion that was universally loved in Pedro Morales, the matches between the two had the crowd engaged from bell to bell.
With this a rematch of the contest that saw Morales win the Intercontinental Title in the first place, and following on from a double-DQ match recently, Muraco’s decision to jump Morales before the bell only emphasised the animosity between both men. This doesn’t exactly go to plan, as Morales fights back, tears Muraco’s shirt and begins to hit him with the title belt – all before the match has officially started. Part of the shirt is used to mare Muraco into the corner; another part of it hangs on Muraco’s arm for the first five minutes much to the delight of Gorilla Monsoon.
A ringside posting sees Muraco flop off of the apron, and it is Morales’ fire that almost has the champ jump off of the top rope to crush his opponent at ringside. Here is where we begin to see the crafty ways of Muraco though, as he rolled under the apron to give Morales nothing to aim at and give himself more time to recuperate.
A low blow stops Morales, but he shows he is more than capable of bending the rules himself by breaking a shirt-assisted choke with a low blow of his own. It is here where the turning point comes, and Morales overzealous desire to hurt Muraco ends up costing him the contest in the long run. A charge and a jumping knee into the corner miss, the knee joint hitting the top turnbuckle pad. From here on out, Muraco has a joint to work on and a route to the title.
The video cuts Muraco’s legwork (unfortunately), so we head straight to Morales blocking a figure four leglock by sending Muraco into the ringpost shoulder first with a firm kick to the backside. Both men are now struggling, but Morales makes his second mistake of the match, dropping Muraco into a backbreaker on his already injured knee. An attempt for his submission hold of choice, the Boston crab, cannot be held due to the pain, and an attempted slam off of an Irish whip sees the leg give way. Three seconds later, Muraco is a second time Intercontinental Champion; Morales had made two mistakes too many.
Muraco’s yearlong title reign would encapsulate another bloody feud from this time period, as he would go on to defend the title against Jimmy Snuka before losing it to Tito Santana. This would be Muraco’s last run with a singles title in the WWF; with one last tilt at the WWF World Title, Muraco would cease to be a legitimate contender for the gold.
Look back, dig deep; it is worth it.
