WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JANUARY 2, 2020 21
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
revival and its link to WWE history
and work on the restoration of the Ridgewood Grove
began. The current seating capacity is 2,500, and
will eventually be enlarged to the original 5,000
seats.
The first card at the new Ridgewood Grove took
place on Nov. 6, 1982, followed six days later by a
Nov. 12 professional wrestling card that was advertised
in the Ridgewood Times’ Nov. 4 issue.
The wrestling card, promoted by Sciacca Boxing
Promotions, features some names recognizable
to long-time fans.
The main event featured Bruno Sammartino Jr.,
the son of the legendary, longest-reigning World
Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) Champion,
taking on Larry Zbyszko (name misspelled in ad),
who went on to become one of the top wrestling
stars in the American Wrestling Association and
World Championship Wrestling.
The next month, the World Wrestling Federation
(the original name of what we know today as
WWE, or World Wrestling Entertainment) held
the first in a string of regular wrestling cards at
Ridgewood Grove.
The WWF ran 16 house shows at Ridgewood
Grove between Dec. 12, 1982 and Aug. 15, 1984,
according to wrestlingdata.com. Going through
the results of each shows, you’ll come across a
who’s-who of professional wrestling legends who
entertained fans in Ridgewood.
The main event, for instance, of the April 29,
1983 card at Ridgewood Grove featured none
other than Andre the Giant, “The Eighth Wonder
of the World,” teaming up with “Superfly”
Jimmy Snuka and Tony Garea to defeat The Wild
Samoans (Afa and Samula) and Don Muraco via
disqualification.
Before Hulk Hogan came on the scene, Andre
the Giant was biggest star in pro wrestling at the
time — literally and figuratively. Hailing from
“Grenoble in the French Alps,” Andre stood well
over 7 feet tall and more than 450 pounds at his
peak. A few years later, Andre gained worldwide
fame for his role as Fezzik in “The Princess
Bride.”
Andre the Giant returned to Ridgewood on
July 15, 1983 for another six-man tag team match,
teaming up with Rocky Johnson and Salvatore
Bellomo to defeat three of the WWF’s top villains
at the time: Sgt. Slaughter, Big John Studd and
Mr. Fuji. Andre’s team swept the two-out-of-three
falls contest.
Andre and Studd would face each other two
years later in March 1985 at the first Wrestlemania,
held at Madison Square Garden.
A few weeks later, on June 3, 1983, WWF Champion
Bob Backlund successfully defended his
World Heavyweight Championship at the Ridgewood
Grove, besting Ivan Koloff. Backlund would
lose the belt the following December to The Iron
Sheik, ending his five-year run as champion.
Backlund would return to Ridgewood in January
1985 as a member of the AWA. He defeated
the Masked Superstar in an undercard match via
disqualification.
For all its history and the Sciaccas’ attempt to
recapture the arena’s past glory, the Ridgewood
Grove struggled for much of the 1980s and would
eventually close. It became a warehouse that
would be ravaged by a fire in 1997.
Today, multiple businesses occupy the former
Andre the Giant, shown in this undated photo, towered over the crowds at Ridgewood Grove Arena
for WWF cards held there in 1983. Photo via Wikimedia Commons/John McKeon
Ridgewood Grove site, including Arena Billiards
and Cafe, whose name references its past
history.
What are your memories of the Ridgewood
Grove Arena?
Send us an email or a letter, and we’d be happy
to share them with our readers.
Sources: The Sept. 30, 1982 and Oct. 23, 2008
Ridgewood Times, and wrestlingdata.com.
* * *
If you have any remembrances or old photographs
of “Our Neighborhood: The Way It Was” that you
would like to share with our readers, please write
to the Old Timer, c/o Ridgewood Times, 38-15 Bell
Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361, or send an email to editorial@
ridgewoodtimes.com. Any print photographs
mailed to us will be carefully returned to you upon
request.
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