Prime Time Wrestling – February 1, 1988: Just A Few Days Away

Prime Time Wrestling
Date: February 1, 1988
Hosts: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Nick Bockwinkel, Bobby Heenan, Jesse Ventura, Vince McMahon, Bruno Sammartino, Lord Alfred Hayes, Pete Doherty

We’ll try a few more of these and this one is from the usual Monday night. The fact that it premiered two days before I did has nothing to do with my pick for watching this one. We’re just after the first Royal Rumble and that means we are four days away from the first ever Main Event. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Vince (not Gorilla Monsoon for some reason) and Heenan get straight to it by talking about Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant’s contract signing at the Royal Rumble for Friday’s Main Event. The first match at Wrestlemania III is brought up and Heenan is clearly not over it.

From Madison Square Garden, October 16, 1987.

Sika vs. Don Muraco

Mr. Fuji is here with Sika and this might be the closest we ever get to Roman Reigns vs. The Rock. Feeling out process to start as commentary goes over the history between Muraco and Fuji. Sika gets shoved around so we take an early breather on the floor, because even island savages need to take a break every now and then. Back in and Muraco gets a sunset flip out of the corner for two before starting in on the leg. Some leg/foot twisting has Sika in some trouble but Muraco just lets go, allowing Sika to come back with an elbow to the jaw.

Commentary keeps talking about various issues involving islanders and Samoans and Polynesians, which would probably get them in quite the trouble today. Muraco gets knocked outside and Sika keeps kicking him off of the apron. Muraco’s comeback consists of moving forward as Sika hits him and then running him over. Some chops in the corner have Sika in trouble and Muraco goes up top to drive a knee into Sika’s face (as in he grabs Sika’s hair, puts the knee on his face, and jumps down) for the pin at 8:23.

Rating: C-. Not a great match, but that was a really unique looking finish. I’m not sure how Muraco’s knee survived crashing into something as hard as a Samoan’s head but at least he didn’t scream in agony on the cover. Muraco’s muscles were out of control here and it’s no surprise that he wasn’t around much longer, as he just looked nuts at this point.

Vince likes Muraco’s win but Heenan hates Muraco’s change in philosophy.

Post break, commentary talks about Wrestlemania IV and how excited they are to meet Donald Trump.

From the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on September 20, 1987.

Harley Race vs. Koko B. Ware

Race is the King at this point so Heenan handles his introduction. If nothing else, we get a good bit of Piledriver so the entrances are great. Heenan is worried about being allergic to Frankie the bird but Gorilla thinks Frankie might be allergic to weasels. Feeling out process to start as Heenan wants to hand Race a hammer. Ware leapfrogs him and Race seems confused about where Ware went, meaning it’s a dropkick to put Race down. The headlock goes on so Race drops to a knee and drives a headbutt into the ribs.

We get the traditional exchange of headbutts and neither goes anywhere, meaning Ware goes with a punch to the nose. Race goes back to the stomach and grabs a belly to belly for two. Some knees to the back keep Ware down and a piledriver gets two, with Monsoon wondering how much effect that would have had. The chinlock goes on and let’s cut to Frankie as Koko tries his comeback.

Koko gets sent to the ramp (near Frankie, whose feathers go up as Koko lands), where Race misses a falling headbutt. Race is fine enough to hit a brainbuster (which Gorilla seems to think was a bad suplex) but they take their time getting back in, allowing Koko to hammer away. A sunset flip gets two on Race and a shot to the face means they both need a breather. They collide for another double knockdown and we take a break. Back in the studio, Heenan seems to be calling in horse racing bets to a bookie, much to Vince’s annoyance.

We take a break and come back with Race missing a headbutt so Koko slams him face first into the mat. Some right hands have Race knocked even sillier and a dropkick gives Ware two. Back up and Race punches him down, setting up some knee drops for two of his own. They head outside with Race sending him face first into the ring bell for a great sound (Heenan is very pleased).

Ware posts him though, sending Heenan into a rant demanding a DQ (because Heenan is awesome). Back in again and Race gets tied in the ropes but manages to avoid a fist drop. Now the vertical suplex is a bit more to Monsoon’s liking and there’s a neck snap across the top. The camel clutch goes on as Race continues going through whatever basic things he can think of.

Koko slips out and sends Race head first into the mat (again). A belly to back gives Race two and Ware’s knee lift gets the same as this is still going for no logical reason. Back up and a clothesline knocks Ware down before Race sends him to the floor. Heenan gets up off commentary so Race can hit Ware in the throat with a microphone. That’s still not enough for the countout so Ware comes back in with a top rope punch to the head….as time expires at 22:29 (I have no idea what kind of time limit they were shooting for there. Twenty five minutes? What kind of a time limit is that?).

Rating: C. This was a weird one as the match was VERY long and slow, but it wasn’t exactly bad. Instead, it was two guys doing entertaining enough stuff as they kept hanging in there, but nothing ever got that interesting. It wasn’t much to see on TV and I’m almost scared to imagine how dull this might have been to watch live. Then again, that’s the point of matches like this and it makes this show more interesting to see oddities like this one.

Post match Race looks at Frankie and reaches for him before Koko scares him off. Was he going to grab it? Maybe eat it? We have 22:29 for the match but not another fifteen seconds to see Harley Race stealing and perhaps devouring a bird?

Back to the studio, where Vince asks Heenan if he really knows Donald Trump. Apparently Heenan and Trump are like THIS, but Heenan is on the top because he’s the Brain. With that out of the way, it’s time to talk about the upcoming Main Event this coming Friday.

Back from a break, Heenan promises that Andre the Giant is taking the WWF Title at the Main Event. Well kind of.

It’s time for UPDATE with Craig DeGeorge, with Craig running down the Main Event card. We see a clip of Honky Tonk Man shoving down Elizabeth, becoming the most evil human in the history of ever. Honky Tonk Man has to defend the Intercontinental Title against Randy Savage, but there is something even bigger.

We see a clip of Andre the Giant choking Hulk Hogan out (Andre’s face is one of the all time terrifying sights in wrestling). Ted DiBiase, who has purchased Andre’s contract, says Andre is his ticket to the WWF Title. Andre promises to win the title and hand it over to DiBiase.

Back in the studio, Heenan says Honky Tonk Man is the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time and knows he will show Randy Savage his place. Vince thinks Savage is going to win the title again, which isn’t quite fair when he is booking the show.

Now it’s on to the Tag Team Title match with Strike Force defending against the Hart Foundation, who they took the titles from a few months ago. Heenan says Jim Neidhart never gave up, because the referee asked if the Boston crab hurt and rang the bell when Neidhart said it did in fact hurt. Vince finds this rather stupid.

Some fans give their Main Event picks.

Vince doesn’t like Ron Bass’ bullwhip, but Heenan is more worried about Billy Jack Haynes’ hat. You never know what’s in it!

From the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on June 28, 1987.

Billy Jack Haynes vs. Ron Bass

Joined in progress with Haynes working on a headlock and then getting two off a sunset flip. The fans chant BASSHOLE, which is downright clever and something I haven’t heard before. Back up and Haynes starts in on the arm as Monsoon calls Bass fat. The armbar keeps Bass down as Monsoon and Heenan debate Oregon vs. Beverly Hills (the classic argument). Bass fights up and grabs the bullwhip, which is taken away without much drama.

Hayes gets sent chest/throat first into the ropes as Heenan keeps ranting about the bad officiating at Wrestlemania. Monsoon tries to sell this as a huge match for both of them and I’m not sure he’s getting that one over. Bass sends him outside and the arm is rammed into the barricade, though Heenan wanted more of a running start.

There’s a posting to make Heenan a bit happier and the arm is bent around the ropes back inside. The comeback starts as Hayes walks around the ring and shrugs off a bunch of forearms. We get a rare bit as Heenan badmouths the other evil managers as Hayes hits an elbow to the face but can’t get the full nelson. Bass hits him in the throat, grabs the bullwhip, and shoves the referee down for the DQ at 8:41.

Rating: D. While the Race vs. Ware match was at least competent, this was two bigger guys walking around with a pretty sluggish match that never got started and then had a lame finish. The good thing is that commentary was helping carry the thing, but you’re only going to get so much out of these two. Neither exactly looked thrilled to be out there either and it was showing badly.

Bobby and Vince talk about the newly debuted Bad News Brown, who Heenan thinks could use a manager.

From January 5, 1988 in Huntsville, Alabama.

Bad News Brown vs. Brady Boone

This is Brown’s debut, assuming you don’t count his nearly year long run in 1979. Brown slugs away as Vince talks about the beauty of Harlem, where his dad was born. Boone doesn’t seem interested in being whipped across the ring so Brown hits him in the ribs. We get an inset interview from Brown, who says he takes no prisoners and gives no mercy, as we are now in a 90s0 B movie. Bruno Sammartino says his first words over a minute into the match, as I was actually surprised he was there. A hard clothesline finishes for Brown at 1:37.

Post match Brown throws him through the ropes.

Here’s Hulk Hogan for a platform chat in some unspecified arena. Hogan is ready for the rematch with Andre and it shouldn’t be a surprise. He was never going to sell out but everyone knew Andre had his price. Hogan slammed Andre at Wrestlemania III and beat him, but maybe he had an unfair advantage with Bobby Heenan being in Andre’s corner.

Since then, he has heard so many people talking about the controversial count that he wants the rematch. You have people like Ted DiBiase, who puts all his money in one place, unlike the good people like Donald Trump who spreads the money around. Hogan answers to the big bank teller in the sky and he thinks that the bottom is falling out on Andre and DiBiase.

Back in the studio, Vince talks about the 93,173 fans in Hogan’s corner at Wrestlemania but Bobby still insists that Andre had Hogan pinned. Heenan insists that Andre is getting the title because Hulkamania is dead and over.

After a break, Vince promises a report on Matilda (the British Bulldogs’ mascot) but Heenan has no idea what happened to her in the first place.

The British Bulldogs say Matilda is doing ok but she isn’t responding to the treatment. They read all of the cards and letters to her and it makes her tail wag.

Vince shows us where you can send such cards and letters for Matilda, which was in no way, shape or form a way to rebuild WWE’s mailing list.

Heenan goes on a hilarious rant about how stupid you have to be to own an animal, because you would have to be stupid/crazy to write letters to an animal. As for he and the Islanders dognapping Matilda a few weeks ago, it was because she was scared and vicious.

We go back to the Royal Rumble for the contract signing between Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. They both sign and then Andre beats Hogan up by turning the table onto him.

From Madison Square Garden on August 22, 1987.

Intercontinental Title: Honky Tonk Man vs. Ricky Steamboat

Honky Tonk Man, with Jimmy Hart, is defending in a lumberjack match. Steamboat rubs George Steele’s head for luck and Honky Tonk Man hits the required stall button. Honky Tonk Man starts striking away about a minute in but Steamboat skins the cat and dropkicks him over the top. Back in and Honky Tonk Man is tossed outside again, where Steele throws him back inside.

They head outside again with Steamboat beating him up some more before the lumberjacks throw them back inside. We take a break and come back with Steamboat stomping him on the apron as Hart gives a frantic rant about his gang attack on Honky Tonk Man. Steamboat rams him into the buckle ten straight times and then does it ten more times just to make a point. Honky Tonk Man comes back with a snapmare and elbow drop to show off his variety of offense.

The Islanders trip Steamboat down so someone trips Honky Tonk Man right back down to set up the comeback. A belly to back suplex drops Honky Tonk Man but he breaks up a monkey flip, heaving Steamboat landing on his face. We take another break, with Heenan describing it as “eh” before coming back with Steamboat getting whipped over the top to the floor.

This time Honky Tonk Man follows him out, only to have the lumberjacks throw them back in (nice to see people doing their job for a chance). The neck crank goes on for a bit but Steamboat is right back with some chops. There’s the top rope chop to the head but Hart has the referee. Therefore Steele comes in and counts the pin, which Steamboat seems to think counts. Why to faces have to be so dumb? The melee allows Honky Tonk Man to hit Steamboat with the megaphone to retain at 12:28.

Rating: B-. This was a fun match and the kind of thing that the two of them could work together so well. That’s what you need for a show like this and it felt like something special. The fans were behind it too and the lumberjacks made it that much better. Good stuff here and the best match on the show by far.

Post match the big brawl is on with the good lumberjacks clearing the ring. The fans are LIVID at this one, as an MSG crowd will be.

Vince and Bobby talk about the Main Event Intercontinental Title match, with Heenan thinking Honky Tonk Man is going to retain the title. Oh and he’ll leave with Elizabeth too.

Post break, Bobby wants a dinner bet on Hogan vs. Andre but Vince says he would lose by having to go anywhere with Heenan. That’s a harsh one.

Ted DiBiase and Andre the Giant recap everything with Hogan and promise to get the title. The amazing thing is that after so many people promised to do this, they actually pulled it off.

Vince and Bobby talk about the title match one more time, with Vince getting in some jabs at Heenan’s tie to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This is a good example of a show where the overall presentation worked a lot better than the pieces. The show was built to set up the Main Event card and I would think that thirty three million viewers would suggest that they did fairly well. The wrestling itself wasn’t all that great, though the main event was good house show fare. Nice enough show here and it set up one of the most famous matches in the history of the company.

 

 

 

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