In this episode of The Wrestling Odyssey Podcast, we travel to the Philadelphia Spectrum on January 21st, 1984 — a night that feels ordinary on the surface, but sits right on the edge of something much bigger.

The Iron Sheik defends the WWF Championship against Tito Santana in front of a hostile, USA-chanting crowd. Don Muraco brings attitude — and very little respect — to his Intercontinental Title defence against Salvatore Bellomo. Bob Backlund battles the Masked Superstar in a slow, grinding contest that tests the patience of everyone involved.

The Wild Samoans & Sgt. Slaughter collide with Andre the Giant, Jimmy Snuka, Tony Atlas and Rocky Johnson in a chaotic 2-out-of-3 falls main event packed with star power.

This episode also marks two important Wrestling Odyssey milestones:

• The debut of the Invaders Drink-Along Game
• The official birth of #FuckTheClaw

The crowd were loud. The holds were long. The moustaches were glorious.

I’ve been your host, LTD.

Bend the Knee.

On December 26, 1983 at Madison Square Garden, the WWF Championship changed hands in one of the most important main events of the early 1980s.

In this episode of the Wrestling Odyssey, LTD reviews Bob Backlund vs The Iron Sheik from MSG - the historic title match that ended Backlund`s long reign and set the stage for the next era of WWF.

After attempting to cover the December 4th Omni show from Georgia Championship Wrestling, we pivot to New York to break down the atmosphere, commentary from Gorilla Monsoon and Pat Patterson, Freddie Blassie at ringside, and the crowd reaction to one of wrestling`s most shocking moments.

How does the match hold up today ?

Did the storytelling outweigh the heavy use of holds ?

And what did the result mean for 1984?

Plus, with 1983 wrapped up, the first Wrestling Odyssey Awards are handed out - Including Match of the year, Face and Heel of the year, Show of the year and more.

The journey through wrestling history continues.

Bend The Knee.

The Wrestling Odyssey takes a look at WWFs house show at the Spectrum in Philadelphia which ran the same night as Starrcade.