Copyright 2019 by Michael W. Rickard II

The March 3, 1979 edition of Championship Wrestling (ironically taped on Valentine’s Day) had seen Greg “The Hammer” Valentine break WWWF babyface Jay Strongbow’s leg, putting out the kayfabe Indian with an equally kayfabe injury. In the meantime, Valentine set his sights on WWWF champion Bob Backlund, fighting the champion in two classic encounters at Madison Square Garden where he failed to win the belt. However, Valentine had more matches awaiting him at the Garden, matches against the man he thought he’d put out of action for good. Join me now as I look at the Madison Square Garden's historic first Indian Strap Match!

Originally presented at Canadian Bulldog's World