Wrestlemania Flashback: The Forgotten Jobbers

When you watch the first couple of Wrestlemanias, it becomes clear Vince McMahon and the WWF were really trying to figure out this whole “big event” thing. As a result, not every match feels like a huge deal. You watch matches like David Sammartino vs. Brutus Beefcake from the first Wrestlemania and Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs. George Wells from the second, and it makes you scratch your head and say, “How did this make the cut?” While it’s true that the Wells match served a storyline purpose, the WWF would learn soon enough to save that kind of stuff for an episode of Superstars.

And the David Sammartino vs. Brutus Beefcake match should never be mentioned again. So let’s spend a few paragraphs discussing it.

Sammartino, the son of WWE legend Bruno Sammartino, started wrestling in various territories in 1980. It was pretty inevitable he would end up in the WWF, if only because his father was still beloved by the fans. And so the WWF hired him in 1984, but basically used
him to entice Bruno into coming back into the ring, mostly as David’s tag team partner, while also making appearances by his son’s side. David Sammartino didn’t do well during his WWF run, but it’s not a huge loss. He was a fine in-ring performer, but his
personality was quite generic and boring. He certainly didn’t fit in with the very colorful WWF at the time, which was edging toward complete cartoonishness.

Though David had a bit of success in the AWA after he left the WWF in 1986, he’s pretty much forgotten today. He did make a strange appearance on a 1996 episode of Nitro, in a one-shot match against cruiserweight champion Dean Malenko, before disappearing again. He also had a notorious incident during the end of his WWF run where he lost to an enhancement wrestler named Ron Shaw. Sammartino got tossed around by Shaw for a few minutes before being put into a bear hug. After being in the hold for a second or two, he indicated to the ref that he wanted to submit. This clearly wasn’t the planned ending and Gorilla Monsoon, who was doing commentary for the match, almost broke character
because he was so shocked at what he saw. But he tried to save the thing by blaming everything on the ref, saying that although Sammartino might have been moving his arm in pain, he definitely didn’t say that he quit.

There are two theories as to why Sammartino went so wildly off script. The first is that Shaw had legitimately injured Sammartino and he needed to end the match quickly. But he lingers in the ring for a while after the match is over, so this is pretty unlikely. The second explanation is that Sammartino was frustrated with his lack of a real push in the WWF, so he intentionally sabotaged his match in protest. This has more of a ring of truth about it.

His WrestleMania match against Brutus Beefcake is short and boring. After Brutus gets to the ring, David Sammartino is announced as his opponent and the crowd actually starts to boo a little. But they cheer like hell when Bruno is actually the first Sammartino through the curtain. He’s seconding his son, and although he doesn’t do much but watch the match, he’s the most interesting part of the thing.

Beefcake is stiff and gives his usual half-assed effort. Sammartino can actually wrestle, in a technical sense, but he spends most of his time putting Beefcake in rest holds. And the whole generic lily-white babyface thing really isn’t getting over with the crowd. The holds certainly have a verisimilitude about them, but Beefcake barely sells and the holds seem to go on forever. Finally, mercifully, Bruno and Luscious Johnny Valiant, Beefcake’s manager, get into a scuffle on the outside and both men are disqualified. This would be David Sammartino’s last Wrestlemania. Unfortunately, Brutus Beefcake would stink up wrestling rings for another fifteen years or so. In an interesting twist, Bruno would be back the next year to wrestle in the 20-man over-the-top rope battle royal.

Although David Sammartino wasn’t very fun to watch, he was nowhere near a true jobber. George Wells came pretty close, though. Although he scored wins over enhancement talent, he almost always lost to established stars. Which is kind of a pity, because Wells was an exciting guy to watch. Saddling him with an ex-football player gimmick probably didn’t help him very much, nor did the fact that he was a black man who wasn’t named Junkyard Dog.

As for Jake Roberts, well, we all know his story. Although he had an extensive career up to this point, mostly in Southern territories, his Wrestlemania match against George Wells was his first big introduction to the fans. He’d only just made his debut as a heel a month or so prior. Roberts spends his match against Wells getting his ass kicked until the last few seconds, when Roberts hits the DDT and gets the pin.

This was a brilliant move for several reasons, not the least of which was that it showed how devastating the DDT was. It sent the message that, sure, Roberts might get thrown from pillar to post, but as soon as he hits the DDT the thing is over. Also, this match was the first real introduction to Damien, Roberts’ pet python. With Wells basically unconscious from the effects of the DDT, Roberts takes Damien out of a sack and drapes him over Wells. Damien curls himself around Wells’ neck.

I know Damien is supposed to look vicious, but he’s actually quite adorable as he gently hugs Wells’ neck. Wells, however, sells the choke like a goddamn champ, foaming at the freaking mouth as he’s being “strangled.”

Yes, it’s true that technically neither Sammartino no Wells were enhancement talent in the strictest sense, though Wells did come close. After Wrestlemania 2, though, the WWF would try to make every match on the card seem at least kind of a big deal. The winning of a title, the culmination of a feud, and so on. A match like Jake Roberts vs. George Wells would almost certainly be saved for one of their television shows, and then later repackaged into a highlight reel for a big Wrestlemania match. As it stands, though, it’s nice that these two guys, especially Wells, got a little Wrestlemania moment.