Brutus Beefcake vs. David Sammartino

"First, I must mention Bruno's reaction before the match. He is a true legend of the business and is rightly given his props from the crowd. The majority of the match plays out at a really sluggish pace. There are a few moments where it seems like it's about to pick up pace, and then someone shifts to a headlock, armlock, or leglock to kill any momentum that's about to bring the match to life. I've rarely ever enjoyed a DQ finish, let alone a double DQ finish. But this one really kicks the crowd into gear, and Bruno once again takes in a big pop from the MSG crowd. The double DQ ends up being a great little chaotic brawl and the highlight of the match. On par for match quality with the rest of the card, up to this point. 3/10."

[5.0] "The match itself is underrated if I'm honest, it's not that bad, from the entrance of the legend Bruno Sammartino accompanying his son David, that reaction from the Madison Square Garden, shows the legend Bruno is, then the match was good and not that, but the final of it was very weird, because It ended up with that brawl between everyone, and It was more like a No Contest for me, anyway It was a 5/10 [***1/4]"

[6.0] "i dont know why i really like this match, i just do, sure its a bit slow but theres just...somethign special about it? it is imo one of the best matches on this pretty meh mania card, bruno getting involved was great, i didnt like the double dq ending however"

[4.0] ""I just wonder one thing Gino, do you think Lucious Johnny, do you think Brutus is his son"~ Jesse Ventura David Sammartino looks like he should be wearing a moo moo cooking Sunday gravy in a kitchen somewhere. Shaped liked a 70 year old women. His look is from the 60s, his style is from the 60s, its strange to watch. But the crowd loved it. David chants ring out as do Bruno chants. Bruno is still insanely over and gets one of the biggest pops of the night when he clears the ring. Spot of the Match: David reversing a body slam into an arm bar."

[3.0] "Incredibly slow, lots of plodding around and rest holds plus a double DQ. Crowd LOVED Bruno getting involved though"

[4.0] "As bogus as a DQ finish usually is, it was actually the most entertaining thing that happened in the match and the crowd really popped when Bruno got involved in defence of his son David when he gets slammed by Johnny Valient. There was some solid heel work from Beefcake during the match where he was doing a lot of illegal eye pokes to get an advantage, but the action isn't very exciting with a lot of stalling as it was clearly building to the interference that was inevitably going to happen."

[6.0] "Good match for what we got. I feel like it could have been better. The finish was stupid. Bruno Sammartino was good and so was his son. Brutus Beefcake needed some work. Johnny Valient was Really Bad. Rating: ***"

[1.0] ": Johnny Valiant gets _very_ good heat on announcement, as does Beefcake who is from Parts Unknown apparently? David gets an actual entrance when he's announced instead of already being in the ring! There's initially a boo before he's announced but once him and Bruno appear the crowd does cheer, probably for Bruno though. Oh yeah, once Bruno himself is announced by the Fink the crowd goes nuclear. Jesse says you can definitely tell David is Bruno's son which... yeah I guess, but Gorilla says the wrestling characteristics are there too which is not what I've heard! But we'll see as I make my own decision here. Stalling occurs but Jesse and Gorilla joke about whether Brutus is Johnny's son, but Brutus takes awhile to take off his bowtie and jacket while David clearly wants to get going. Jesse says that Bruno is "ruggedly handsome" like he "tells the women that chase [him] around", Jesse is so good. Then Gorilla says he wouldn't know where to get tights like "Bruti" as the bell finally rings and Brutus and David finally start circling each other. Brutus's tights are full length, black with thick purple stripes. Jesse says he likes them. They finally lock up and Brutus pushes David into the corner, then Brutus taunts and gets heat, then Brutus avoids another lockup and strutus. Good heeling but not good match-ing. Luckup, Brutus pushed into the ropes, Brutus charges, David leg trips him. Stalling, circling, basic grappling, and a PIP of Bruno! Johnny starts yelling that David is greased up. David applies a front facelock to Brutus and Gorilla calls it one of Bruno's favorite holds. Jesse jokes that, since Brutus's ass is up in the air, that the "fans are getting a good view of the beefcake". Commentary is the only thing getting me through this. Brutus lifts David up and holds him there for a bit, then slams him, but David holds onto the arm and... armbar? It never locks in really so I can't call it that. Bruno struggles like it is locked in though. Silly looking. Brutus takes David down and side headlocks him for awhile. Some... weird looking rope running. Can't tell if its Brutus' fault or if its, as some reviews mentioned, the ropes being too loose. Just an overall weird looking sequence that I can barely describe commences. David might have pleasantly surprised me with his talking but not with his wrestling! I do wonder how much it was green-ness, how much it was style mismatch (since Vince had switched it up from Bruno's style that David would have learned), how much it's the wrong opponent, and how much is he was never going to be any good, but regardless, he isn't here. Looong legwork segment with David working the left leg of Brutus. Brutus finally breaks out with an eyerake. Gorilla thinks Brutus's arm warmer looking things are illegal, but Jesse thinks he should take any advantage! After a couple hammering blows from Brutus to David, David counters with a left that Jesse calls "feeble" and it makes me wonder if it was _meant_ to look feeble. Gorilla complains about the ref not doing anything about Brutus working David in the corner. Brutus again gets good heat off a taunt, then continues his control segment with strikes. Crowd... actually chants David's name so respect there. David reverses a corner whip into a back body drop. Blow trading with David on his knees and Brutus standing, David's strikes look bad until he gets up and hits a neat looking uppercut, but his regular punches after continue to look bad. David manages a Suplex on Brutus that looks fine, the "can he do it" on commentary helped. Two count. David sent to the outside, Johnny picks him up for a bodyslam, Bruno runs in to get Johnny for that and crowd goes nuts, throws Johnny into the ring and hits him a few times but Brutus comes from behind with clubbing blows, David arrives to stop _that_ and we devolve into brawling and a Double DQ. Crowd of course goes nuts for Bruno hitting Johnny and that's the best part of the match! Sammartinos clear the ring, crowd chants Bruno's name as he leans out over the ropes beckoning Johnny and Brutus back into the ring. Double DQ is confirmed, crowd boos. So that was terrible! Things sometimes happened (not much though! And that's the main problem) and there were no botches that I noticed or anything so I can't go full DUD but it was like... a quarter star (1.0 for Cagematch purposes). Rough watching and worse I think than even my least favorite matches from the JCP shows."

[2.0] "This was bad, no other way to put it. Rest holds galore with nothing to get the crowd involved. Boring beyond belief. The crowd do wake up when Bruno finally gets involved, which must the only reason for this match to happen. They should have just made it a tag match so Bruno could actually wrestle. As it was, god awful match."

[4.0] "This match started off fast which I liked, but then it went slow, then went fast again, and then went slow again, I don't really like that at all it made it really boring to watch, and I do not like that it ended in a double DQ."

[5.0] "Whoaa the low rating is crazy. I thought this was solid stuff and I loved the face work Brutus was doing punching and arm raking the nepo baby. Finish kinda sucks because the selfishness of Bruno taking his sons moment is played off more as just plain shenanigans so it feels like nothing is advanced nor satisfying. Still fine though tbh. **3/4"

[7.0] "Other than the result, this match is fine. Both of them put on a good display of tradition wrestling. The slower parts maybe go on too long but there's enough good in them that I didn't mind them. Side note, it was really fun hearing the pop Bruno got. He was so over it's crazy."

[4.0] "As a kid, Brutus Beefcake had everything to stand out -- flashy gear, big charisma, and a gimmick that captured the imagination. But watching him back now, it's hard to ignore how limited his in-ring work really was. This match is long, basic, and largely uneventful -- with the exception of one major spark: Bruno Sammartino at ringside. David Sammartino, trying to emerge from his father's towering legacy, opens with competent fundamentals -- waist-lock takedowns, side headlocks -- but struggles to create any real momentum or emotional engagement. Beefcake doesn't help matters, relying heavily on stalling, punches, fist drops, and frequent resets. The structure drags, with long pauses and teases of interference from Luscious Johnny V, who clearly exists to provoke Bruno and give the match a little edge. There's a rare double toe hold midway through -- a curiosity more than a highlight. Things finally pick up when Johnny V interferes, slamming David on the outside. This draws Bruno into the ring, and it's the moment the crowd has been waiting for. Bruno moves with intensity, delivering a short burst of offense (worked punches and body language) that blows everything else in the match away in terms of energy. The pop is massive. The match ends in a double DQ, cutting off what could've been a much more efficient and effective segment. They could've told the same story in half the time and delivered a far tighter result."

[2.0] "An 11 minute Brutus Beefcake match with a DQ finish. Fuck off with that nonsense. No way I'm watching this. Without even watching I know this shit sucks."

[3.0] "This is a pretty bad match. Extremely average and boring in terms of actual wrestling but it gets a slight boost in rating for actually having some character work. Both men and their managers fight in the ring causing the double DQ."

[3.0] "First review of character work on Wrestlemania, however the whole picture didn't look well. Just boring."

[3.0] "Considerable match. It was so huge thing to had living legend Bruno Sammartino in the show. He did put his input in this match, but it was afterall a negative side of the match, as the contest ended in a double dq. Overall there was nothing else to mention. (*1/2)"

[3.0] "The definition of average. The action itself is okay, but far from interesting or good. It's a rather slow, rest hold heavy match, that loses its (4/10) average rating due to the very unsatisfying finish, dropping it down to (3/10). The first of MANY bad screwy finishes in early Wrestlemania history. This match basically only exists to get Bruno Sammartino on the card in some capacity, and would have been better off being five minutes shorter."

[1.0] "I have seen this a few times as I've rewatched WrestleMania 1 and my god, this is just one of the worst matches of those early Manias. Beefcake has never been my guy but it's hard to put the fault of this on him, Sammartino Jr is just not up for it. Totally devoid of charisma and ability. They wrestle an exhausting affair that doesn't even have the luxury of a real finish. At least Bruno shows up to give the crowd some pop."

[1.0] "This match is ugly like a punch in the balls! boring, slow, they only do rest holds. They think they are two masters of technique but they are two imbeciles, I want my 10 minutes back. Really fuckin bad match and boomer says "but wrestling back in the days". My god and the final is AWFUL AWFUL REALLY AWFUL"

[6.0] "The match starts off with a lot of nothing, but when the pace picks up it's marvelous. David Sammartino proved himself to be a really good wrestler and, if the match was a little better paced, it'd be on par with Steamboat vs. Savage two years later. That's just my opinion though. The double DQ finish is annoying, especially for a supercard, but it was done in a convincing manner. All of that aside, I hope there's some other match that they had together because Beefcake & Sammartino have great in-ring chemistry. This pair had the potential for a top-tier bout in my opinion, at least by 1980s WWF standards. [5.5/10 {rounded up}]"

[3.0] "A bad match with limited action and nothing to remember. Out of respect for Bruno I didn;t give it a total zero."

[4.0] "A long match with little action. All to end on a double DQ... In-ring quality: 0.25/4. Stakes: 0.5/2. Justification: ? /1. Place on the map: ? /1. Suspense: ? /1. Bonus/Malus: Double DQ for such a boring match -0.5 . Total: 4.25/10. Match seen on WWE Network."

[5.0] "The match itself is underrated if I'm honest, it's not that bad, from the entrance of the legend Bruno Sammartino accompanying his son David, that reaction from the Madison Square Garden, shows the legend Bruno is, then the match was good and not that, but the final of it was very weird, because It ended up with that brawl between everyone, and It was more like a No Contest for me, anyway It was a 5/10 [***1/4]"

[5.0] "Was fine match. Sure after the Steamboat/Bourne match was a cool down, but gotta admit that beefcake gets too much undeserved heat. Sure I have to watch other matches but in this one I have to say he was quit good, while David was bad. And nor I'm not Beefcake fan boy, just really didn't see that he would be that bad"

[3.0] "Nepotism product David Sammartino meets Brutus - Hogan's friend - Beefcake. Time stalling meets a lot of rest holds and Sumbission maneuvers in a match whose only purpose was to put the legendary Bruno Sammartino on the card. Rightfully so, because he got a huge pop from the crowd."

"boring and slow for the most part. Never builds momentum. Gets somewhere by the very end but then it's a DQ. Fun stuff with Bruno afterwards."

[0.0] "Beefcake and Sammartino were too untalented at that point in their careers to have a proper 10+ minutes match. Crappy finish, too."

[3.0] "It's way too long of a match. I would get it especially if they had higher stakes in this match, or if it was a good match. It has neither other than Bruno Sammartino managing his son. Still this is such a slog of a match."

[3.0] "This match was very bad and I thought it was extremely boring, however it was smart a decision to have the living legend in Bruno Sammartino apart of the first Mania. Still a pretty bad match and David is nowhere near his fathers level of in-ring and entertaining, Beefcake was a big crowd favorite around this time though."

[3.0] "My main complaint is the pacing of this match. This match is 50/50 between Beefcake and Sammartino, but the fans felt cold towards both competitors throughout the match. Having this match end on a Double DQ feels like it cheapens the spectacle that WrestleMania is supposed to be at this point in time."

[7.0] "It was a good match The momentum of the match was changing a lot, but both Beefcake and Sammartino used it well. It had an interesting result and the intervention of Bruno and Johnny made the match more interesting. It had a good start, and the two wrestlers were able to create a beautiful sequence during the match"

[2.0] "Bruno Sammartino was one of the most physically charismatic wrestlers of his time, able to set MSG ablaze with his fiery Italian comebacks. His son David was a plank. The company knew it too. When Beefcake came out, Howard Finkel announced his manager Valiant first before giving Beefcake the big announcement. When the Sammartinos came out, Finkel announced David first before giving Bruno the rousing announcement to a huge pop. We got picture-in-picture video of Bruno watching the match. The match ended with Bruno firing off on an interfering Valiant, leading to both Sammartinos running off Beefcake and Valiant. This was technically fine and exceedingly boring. *"

[2.0] "One of the worst matches I have ever sat the entirety through. I have begun a rewatch of every WWE PPV, and usually watch them at the gym while on the treadmill. This match is the only one that made me speed the treadmill up in order to stop focusing on the match."

[2.0] "1* - Big pop before and after the match but that is Bruno Sammartino not David. The bell rings and there two minutes of nothing... literally nothing... they don't touch each other, then Beefcake shoves Sammartino into the corner and then another minute of nothing. Drop two hold by Sammartino followed by another minute of nothing. Sammartino works some of the body parts during the match. Beefcake seems like he has a limited move set as he hits a powerslam twice and little else. We get some half decent heel heat but then Sammartino's comeback is marred by a double DQ - maybe would be a 1.5* if there was a decent finish"

[4.0] "Okay match, but definitely goes too long. Twelve minutes of David Sammartino? Beefcake had not developed much of a character yet, so the crowd is not into the match that much. Would be terrible if not for the end, which was great with Bruno getting involved. That was one of the biggest pops of the night. Should've been a tag match with Bruno in it, he was way more popular than David. 2 stars out of 5."

[3.0] "In some places it was even good... if you allow for time. But it all came down to disqualification. The match was added to the card, by and large, only to showcase The Living Legend Bruno Samartino at the first ever WrestleMania. *1/2"

[3.0] "The match was absolutely boring for the first 80% before it actually picked up the pace in the final moments, turning into an actually quite enjoyable finish phase. Unfortunately, that was kind of ruined with that Double DQ finish. Another fact hindering the match from having any impact ist the fact that Bruno, announced last as the manager, got by far the biggest reactions in the match. Not really worth the time it got and the extra minutes should have been added to the previous match including Ricky Steamboat."

[2.0] "Sometimes the match has entertaining moments, but is just obvious technical wrestling was just not as developed on the entertaining side of things as it would become, so this was pretty much boring, with a lot of same-ish moments that just feel like it will never pick fuel."

[4.0] "The incredibly sluggish start to this match, means it is hard to get invested in the action. There is a lot of holds in this match and unnecessary stalling, that being said there are some good little moments of action here and there, the double DQ finish isn't great. The biggest pop of this match is for manager Bruno Sammartino."

[3.0] "The pacing of this match was very off. If you watch this match, I hope you're in the mood to watch a lot of long holds. The first half to 2/3rds of this match are just extended holds, and it's odd to have so much of your match go this way. Especially the early portion where you want to hook the crowd. Also, I feel like this match should have been used to get Sammartino over, but he was on the receiving end for the vast majority of the match. The match was pretty dull, and the storytelling was pretty much non-existent. It picked up a little bit for the last minute or so when Sammartino made a brief come back, but it wasn't even close to enough to save such a boring match. I might have rated this match slightly higher if the finish wasn't also so poor. Overall, the action in the ring was poor, the pacing was even worse, and the match didn't get anyone over at all. It seems like the only purpose was to get Bruno at the event."

[3.0] "A downright weird match. Nothing makes sense. Why are they trying to avoid fighting? Why do they keep talking to their managers? Why was it a double dq if David was attacked first? Besides that, David Sammartino actually had a good showing, its a shame he was overshadowed by his dad in the brawl afterwards. 3/10"

[5.0] "A pretty good match, especially if you like at the names involved. Heel Beefcake really knew how to handle himself and as for David he looked like he could actually work. Some nice amateur wrestling from him and it's a shame that the finish was what it was."

[6.0] "Purely a Bruno moment, but I cant say that its a bad thing. WM1 was extremely influential for the business, so scheduling significant and high profile matches and feuds made this event so special for so many people. The undercard is kind of nothing, but this was all in service ti the celebrity and high profile angles, and I think those pay off very well. Overall, a good event, and a necessary one for the industry!"

[2.0] "A nothing match. No heat other then for brouno smartiono on the outside. The mat work was fine but aide from the finish this match had no spots. It was just some ok mat work an bit of punch kick and a messy finish that helped no one, it did pop the crowd tho so i guess it was worth somthing"

[2.0] "This was not good. Idk why you'd put these two together but it didn't pay off. David Sammartino wasn't great or anything but putting him with Brutus didn't help. Best part of this was Bruno at ringside for support and the after-match stuff."

[2.0] "Very slow and boring, even for the time. The only good part was when Bruno came into the ring and started fighting at the end of the match."

[1.0] "A guy only here because he's friends with the top guy vs. a guy only here because he's the son of one of the past top guys. An embarrassing, painfully overlong match that can't even end correctly."

[2.0] "Lethargic, focused way too much on Bruno's return rather than building a new interesting character. There is no character to David, it's a very weak performance overall. Beefcake is fine, but unimpressive in the ring."

[4.0] "This match was more about getting Bruno Sammartino on the Mania card than anything else. Nothing offensive in this match but very basic and a finish that popped the crowd but was not good."