Sure why not. It’s not like the celebrities mean much anyway. Plus it got them legit mainstream exposure so that’s a plus.

Superstars of Wrestling
Date: January 8, 1988
Location: Sun Dome, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jesse Ventura, Bruno Sammartino

Now a lot of you may have read some of my Superstars reviews from a few years ago, but in case you haven’t, here’s the basic idea: this is the A show of WWF at the time. Everything happened here and it was all that mattered. I have almost every show from January 88 – June of 88 and I’ll probably get a lot more so we’ll go through the first Rumble (which meant nothing), me being born, Hogan losing the title, Wrestlemania IV, and that’s about it since there were no PPVs between Mania and the debut of a new show called Summerslam. Let’s get to it.

Vince brags about Tampa for some reason and we get the opening sequence.

We’re going to get clips from SNME where Andre interfered in Hogan vs. Bundy.

Islanders vs. Jerry Grey/Lanny Poffo

Heenan has a dog leash with him which has no dog on it, which is a jab at the British Bulldogs. Poffo reads a poem before the match. Tama and Poffo start. The Bulldogs say they still can’t find Matilda. All they care about is if she’s ok. They want Tunney to do something about her missing. We can’t see half of the ring due to the window they’re in. Tama is back in and working on Grey. He dropkicks Grey down and Haku kicks Grey’s head off for the pin. Total squash. Expect to hear that a lot in these reviews.

Tunney says he’s going to take action because no one knows where Matilda is. Heenan warns him to stay calm. Tunney says until we know where Matilda is, the Islanders are suspended.

Willington Wilkins vs. Jake Roberts

Jake should kill him for such a horrible name. Vince and Jesse talk about the Islanders as Jake mauls Willington. Short clothesline and DDT end this quickl.

Time for the house show ads. This is for the MSG Show on January 25. Hogan/Bigelow vs. Virgil/DiBiase is the main event. Duggan comes in and says that he’s ready for Harley Race and the 2×4 will be there with him.

Dino Bravo vs. Scott Casey

Bravo is very strong and that’s about it. He’s also Canadian. Frenchy Martin in an inset says he speaks a lot of languages. Bravo runs over Casey and clotheslines him down. Casey gets a few moves in but Bravo hits his side suplex. Instead of pinning him with that, a belly to back suplex ends it. That was odd.

There’s a Boston Garden show later tonight and the main event is Rude vs. Hogan. Rude doesn’t care about the fans and says it’s about fighting and he’ll beat Hogan up for the title. He’s going to do a striptease around Hulk’s body. Hey if that’s what you’re into man. That match is on one of Hulk’s DVDs and Best of the WWF Volume 20. One of the dates is wrong also because that show was on the 9th and this was labeled as the 8th. It might be a syndication thing though.

Sam Houston vs. Terry Gibbs

Houston is Jake Robert’s real life half brother and likes to dance. Headlock takes Gibbs down. Gibbs was supposed to be a big deal (ok that’s a stretch but a deal of some sort) but he was never anything more than a jobber. Danny Davis says he’s waiting on Sam Houston. This was probably the high point of Davis’ singles career. He had more luck as a tag team guy. Gibbs comes back with a neckbreaker and a hard whip into the corner. A HHH knee takes Sam down but Gibbs gets slammed off the top and the bulldog (Sam’s finisher) ends it. This was more competitive than most Superstars matches but still too short to grade.

We get clips from SNME where Andre came in after a Hogan title defense and choked Hogan down again.

DiBiase and Virgil are in the arena and Ted says this isn’t over yet. He wants the WWF Title and he gets what he wants. DiBiase brings out the man that is going to bring him the WWF Title: Andre the Giant. Heenan is with him and DiBiase buys Andre’s contract for what I believe would be later revealed for $1 million. Now the interesting thing is that later on, Heenan bought Andre back for $100,000. See why he’s called the Brain? Heenan avoids a few years of beatings from Hulk and scores a $900,000 profit.

Sivi Afi vs. Butch Reed

JIVE SOUL BRO BABY!!! The announcers talk about Muraco saving Billy Graham from Reed and the One Man Gang. Out to the floor and Afi goes into the railing. Reed goes up and kills him with the flying tackle for the pin.

Demolition vs. Jim Evans/Mike Richards

This is heel Demolition with Fuji in their corner. Richards gets destroyed to start as Jesse recommends that Evans run. They take turns ramming Richards’ head into boots. A quick neck crank sets up a double Stun Gun and the Decapitator ends this quick. More squashing.

DiBiase talks about Andre and how he’ll get the title soon. As for Jake Roberts tonight, he’s cunning like Ted but DiBiase isn’t worried about him.

Overall Rating: D+. With these shows, you can never really go based on the wrestling because nothing is competitive but that was just the way things were back then. This was fine for the most part and we got a huge moment with Andre and DiBiase hooking up. This was huge because DiBiase was really just a guy talking before this but now he had a guy that can beat Hogan. This was huge.

Remember to like me on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/kbwrestlingreviewscom/117930294974885?sk=wall

WWF Championship Wrestling
Date: March 10, 1984
Location: Allentown Agricultural Hall, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Gene Okerlund

Here’s another old show from the big boys. Championship Wrestling was the flagship show from the late 70s to mid 80s and had some title changes on it. This is a random show but I’ll probably do more of these later on. Anyway, this is from about a month and a half after Hogan won the title so you should have an idea of what this will be like. Let’s get to it.

The announcers run down the card.

Paul Orndorff vs. Rocco Verona

This announcers is straight out of a movie, rolling every word he says and being all over the top. Piper is with Orndorff as his manager. Orndorff is new here I think. We hear the Fink’s voice talking about an upcoming house show which is something you would hear a lot of. The fans are already chanting Paula. Paul sends him to the floor and we’re in pure squash mode here. A slam and knee drop put Verona down and the piledriver ends it. Total dominance.

Tito Santana vs. Israel Matia

Tito is IC Champion but this is non-title. Tito has only been champion for about a month now. He grabs the arm and works on that for awhile. Forearm off the middle rope ends this in another squash.

Jose Luis Rivera vs. Greg Valentine

Rivera is undefeated and Valentine is recently back to the company. When the match starts we get another voiceover talking about a show in a high school gym. It’s a fundraiser but how weird does it sound to hear about a WWF show being in a high school gym? Albano is with Valentine here. Valentine dominates to start but Rivera gets a few dropkicks. One misses though and he hurts his knee. Figure Four and we’re done quick.

Greg won’t let it go for awhile. He legs go of the hold and still works the knee over. Great redebut for Valentine (assuming this was one) as he looks like a killer.

Mr. Fuji plugs a house show match with Sgt. Slaughter in Boston. This must be a recording from the Boston market. He talks about stealing a watch from a dead marine….I think.

Orndorff wants to make sure he looks good before he talks about Tony Garea. Why is his hair blowing?

Andre says he’ll be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, which is the day the show is on. He’s got Masked Superstar at the show. He might go for the mask but it’ll be after the match. It’s a DQ to steal a mask during a match. Did I stumble into a Chikara show?

Masked Superstar comes in (these promos are all in one long shot in front of a ring, allegedly in the Boston Garden) and that’s not the original one. The original is Ax from Demolition and he has a very distinctive voice.

Oh no it’s a midget match.

Tiger Jackson/Haiti Kid vs. Pancho Boy/Dana Carpenter

Carpenter is taller than the top rope, making him a giant midget. Pancho vs. Kid starts us off. Kid runs all over him and I really don’t like these matches. Pancho catapults him and a double tag brings in Jackson and Carpenter. Jackson is more famous as Dink the Clown. He wins with a middle rope cross body in about 100 seconds. NEXT.

Off to THE PIT!

The guest is Tito Santana. Roddy makes fun of Latinos so Tito goes on a rant and says he’ll fight anyone, even Piper. Tito leaves and Piper says he’s a coward. That was quick but MAN there could have been some awesome matches in there.

Steve Lombardi vs. David Schultz

Schultz is managed by Piper and is challenging Hogan at the Boston show so what do you think is happening here? Total dominance here as Schultz works on the back. Two middle rope elbows win this.

Schultz says he’s ready for Hogan.

Rocky Johnson/Tony Atlas/SD Jones vs. Goldie Rogers/Ron Butler/Charlie Fulton

Atlas and Johnson are tag champions. Johnson and I think Butler start us off. Atlas comes in and beats Butler up as we’re back in squash world here. Then again, that’s perfectly normal here. Here’s Fulton who is at least a name. Back to Jones who actually gets punched down by Fulton who is rather tall. Jones headbutts him down and here’s Rogers who has a big beard. Jones stretches the hamstrings out via a wishbone and Johnson helps him. Atlas gorilla presses Butler and pins him with a splash.

Rating: D+. I have no idea how to call this one. I mean, it’s a squash that runs about four and a half minutes. How much is there to say there? Fulton is the only one that got in a few shots and that’s it. Nothing to see here but Johnson and Atlas were pretty awesome so it’s always fun to see them.

Time for more promos. Up first: Schultz says Hogan isn’t going to succeed in his title defense. Schultz is from Tennessee so he has the thick accent. He also rants about Hogan being Irish on St. Patrick’s Day or something.

There’s another show in New Jersey with a battle royal. Hogan is defending against Schultz and goes on a big rant about how everything has changed since he won the title. It’s the old belt still too.

Tony Garea/Brian Blair vs. Bill Dixon/Frank Williams

The jobbers here have some very slight name recognition. Dixon lost to Hogan in Hulk’s first match back from the AWA and Williams was destroyed by Piper on the Pit once. Garea and Williams start us off and let the pain begin. Off to Blair who isn’t a killer yet but he is a bee apparently. The good guys work on Dixon’s arm as the show is almost over. To give you an idea of the era, Garea wins it with an abdominal stretch.

Overall Rating: D+. I don’t know what I can really say about this. Everything was a squash and that’s how almost all of these shows are going to be. Occasionally we might get an angle but it’s not that likely. Either way, the early months and the first full year of Hogan’s title reign is a different time as they didn’t have a big challenger for him yet so they plugged in whomever was handy, which is what Schultz was. Nothing much to see here but I have a bunch more of them.

Remember to like me on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/kbwrestlingreviewscom/117930294974885?sk=wall

Best of the WWF Volume 5
Host: Gene Okerlund
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Jesse Ventura, Vince McMahon, Bruno, Sammartino

Just three of these left so let’s knock this one out. I won’t do the other two just after this because these shows can be hard to sit through at times. This one is from very early 1986 so most of the matches are from 1985 and a few of them revolve around the Women’s Title, which was a much bigger deal back then with Wendi Richter, the chick that basically caused the Rock N Wrestling Connection (ok not really but she was part of it) main eventing house shows when Hogan wasn’t there. Think about that for a minute. Let’s get to it.

Don Muraco vs. Ricky Steamboat

MSG from November of 85. They’re slow to start so I’m assuming this is going to go on for awhile. Steamboat speeds things up and a kick sends Don to the floor. Back in and Steamboat claps Muraco’s ears to send him right back to the floor. Back in and Muraco walks into a superkick and chops. Steamboat hooks the rare face chinlock (it’s a neck crank but I call them all chinlocks).

Muraco comes back but walks into more shots from Ricky to send him back outside. Back in again and Muraco STILL can’t get anything going. Backdrop sets up some armdrags and off to something resembling an STF. Now into a camel clutch. Steamboat grabs a nose lock before shifting to a front facelock. Clipped to later in the facelock as we hear about how this is a revenge match for the Dragon.

Muraco finally gets in some offense with an atomic drop and a clothesline. Steamboat goes face first into the post and he’s busted. Muraco goes after the wound like an evil man. Now it’s Steamboat on the floor as Gorilla wants a doctor to take a look at Steamboat. A slingshot puts Ricky into the post. Steamboat staggers around on the floor for a bit before getting slingshotted back in. That’s a popular move in this match.

Ricky chops away in the corner and the people get all exciteable. Muraco comes back again and Fuji throws in the cane. They fight over it but Steamboat kicks him off and into the referee. A cane shot misses Ricky so Steamboat kicks him in the back of the head and grabs the cane. The fans are LOSING IT. A cane shot draws the DQ loss for Steamboat though.

Rating: C+. Not a classic or anything but for what it was, this was fine. They let the guys do their thing and they worked the crowd into a frenzy because of it. What else do you really need to do in a place like New York? Steamboat was great and while Muraco was just a step past his prime, he could still go and do 20 minutes like he did here. Fine match.

Dragon breaks the cane and gouges it into the head of Muraco. He had a mean streak to him. Steamboat beats on Muraco for a bit because he’s Ricky Steamboat and he can. Don is busted too.

Hart Foundation vs. Killer Bees

I told you these teams always hooked up. I think we’re in Philly here. Blair clears house to start and it’s off to Brunzell. Bret is in trouble early and the Bees stay on the arm, which the announcers criticize them for. Bret gets in an elbow and here’s the Anvil. Blair is in trouble but gets in a right hand to a big pop. He doesn’t do anything after that but it shows you how strong the crowds were back in the day.

The Dream Team has the belts at the moment so this is late 85-early 86. Bret misses a charge into the ropes and it’s off to Brunzell. Brunzell hits his dropkick on Hart but Anvil makes the save. Everything breaks down but Bret and Brunzell go to the floor. And there’s the LAME double DQ. This didn’t run long enough to really get going.

Rating: C-. These two were incapable of having a bad match but they needed more time here. The double DQ came in way too fast and that really hurt things. You could easily watch any of these guys’ matches and you would get a good match out of it. Fun stuff here, while it lasted at least.

Hart Foundation/Barry O vs. Killer Bees/Paul Orndorff

This is joined in progress in the same city. Blair is getting beaten on but he goes through Orton’s (that’s what the O stands for) legs and brings in Orndorff who would be a huge star at this point. A spinebuster/dropkick combination pins Barry in like two minutes shown. Not enough to rate of course but I’d certainly hope the full thing was longer.

Tag Titles: British Bulldogs vs. Dream Team

Wrestlemania preview if you want to really stretch things. Dream Team has the belts. Valentine vs. Dynamite to start. Dynamite sends him flying to start and into the corner where he rams into Beefcake. Double tag brings in Smith and Bulldog. The Dogs speed things up and work over the arm. Davey fires off dropkicks for everyone but double teaming takes him down.

Not that it matters as he makes a tag just a few seconds later and Dynamite beats on the champs for a bit. Backbreaker gets two on Valentine. Dynamite goes up for presumably the Swan Dive (not called that yet) but Luscious Johnny V shoves him off the top for ANOTHER lame DQ finish.

Rating: C-. Same explanation as the previous tag match: these teams can have a good match if you give them the time but they cut it short here with the DQ ending. They would have by far and away the best match of the night at Wrestlemania. Beefcake wasn’t much at this point which is why they put him in there with Valentine who could more than carry a match.

Now it’s time for the fun part of this. Ok so back in the 80s there was a show called Tuesday Night Titans, which is basically a WWF variety/talk show. Picture any stupid or funny segment that you remember from the 80s and this is where it came from. There was a running idea on here where Mr. Fuji and Don Muraco were convinced they were too talented to be in the WWF anymore so they made their own series of TV pilots such as Fuji Vice (Hawaiian cops), Fujito Bandito (western) and this one: Fuji General. It’s a comedy skit but the idea is that it’s supposed to be pure drama with the two in perfect character.

Muraco and Fuji are on the set of TNT (the show was set up like a late night talk show) and Muraco says this is an awful script with a bad director but they’re the only ones talented enough to make it work. It’s at a hospital with overly dramatic music. Muraco is a doctor who hits on a nurse who isn’t interested. His name is Norman here. The idea is that they can’t act to save their lives but they think they deserve Oscars. The nurse turns him down and the dramatic music hits again.

He keeps clearly reading off cue cards so the director yells cut about how bad the acting is. Fuji comes in with the had, bowtie, doctor coat and thick accent. We cut to a new scene in a patient’s room and Fuji keeps looking straight at the camera. They hit on the nurse again or something and Fuji fires the nurse. Muraco hits on her again after Fuji leaves so the director yells again. “Stop being a wrestler for a bit and act!” Muraco tries to get the nurse to have an affair with him so he hits on her and looks at the camera/cue cards the whole time. The director yells again so Fuji comes in and it’s a big argument. Fuji and Muraco quit.

Back to the set of the talk show and everyone is cracking up, which is a regular ending for these segments. Vince says that was the worst acting he’s ever seen. When Vince McMahon is making fun of your film making, YOU SUCK.

Women’s Title: Wendi Richter vs. Lelani Kai

Richter broke the 20 or whatever year reign of Moolah and is defending here. Joined in progress with Kai in control. Moolah has been training Kai apparently. Kai misses a charge and hits the floor. A woman just went crashing onto concrete so of course the MSG fans cheer. Richter suplexes her back in and hooks a bad surfboard. This is in mid-February of 85 in case you’re curious.

Richter takes her down and works on the arm to control. This was back in the day when Moolah basically trained every chick there was so you can expect to see a lot of the same stuff and the same look from most of the girls. Kai comes back with a choke and the announcers blast the referee for being out of position. The match isn’t very good but the fans loved Richter (or maybe her manager, pop star Cyndi Lauper) so it works.

Big boot puts Lelani down as does a slam. Must be watching a lot of Hogan stuff around this time. Moolah goes after Lauper and you would think the President was being attacked. Moolah looks like she’s wearing the same sweater that Liz wore at Mania 7. Either way the distraction and a right hand to Richter are enough for Kai to backslide her for the pin and the title. Richter would get it back at the first Mania in about 6 weeks.

Rating: D-. This was all about the shock of the title change so that they could do another title switch at the first Mania which is fine. Richter’s outfit was probably smaller than what most of the Divas wear today if you can imagine that. Very bad match from an in ring perspective though. For the life of me I don’t get why they brought Kai out of mothballs for Mania 10 and a match with Alundra Blayze.

Women’s Title: Wendi Richter vs. The Spider

Now THIS is a famous match for reasons I’ll get to at the end. Spider is in a mask. Joined in progress again and from November of 85. A flying headscissors gets two for Richter. Richter gets a “clothesline” for two. Small package looks to get two for Spider but when Richter is trying to kick out (and gets her shoulder up) the referee keeps counting three. And that my friends is a shoot.

Post match Wendi keeps going because that wasn’t the planned finish and rips the mask off to reveal Moolah. Here’s what happened: Richter was having contract issues (details of which vary based on who is telling the story. Richter says money, Vince/WWF says her contract was up) and Vince decided to get the title off her. Spider Lady was supposed to be some random chick but instead it was Moolah, a legit tough chick. After this, Richter quit on the spot and left the arena in her gear. She never appeared again and allegedly never spoke to Moolah or Vince again. This is known as the Original Screwjob.

Intercontinental Title: Jesse Ventura vs. Tito Santana

Interesting point to start: we’re told that Jesse and Adonis held the tag titles. They did, but they were the AWA tag titles. They said this regularly but it wasn’t something you expect to hear. I think this is in Toronto. Jesse complains about the closed fist because that’s what heels do before punching their opponents. He calls Santana Chico which is always awesome. Jesse keeps getting caught in holds and heading for the ropes.

Time for a wristlock as the fans are almost all behind Jesse. They pop for Tito’s reversal as well though so I guess the Canadians are confused here. Off to a headlock but Jesse gets a knee to the ribs to take over. Out to the floor now and it’s confirmed that we’re in Toronto. Jesse’s offense is pretty basic but he knows how to work a crowd like a master which is more important.

Tito gets in a few punches but Ventura pokes him in the eye to stop him. Win if you can, lose if you must but always cheat. Backbreaker gets two and an atomic drop does the same. Here’s a bearhug which makes sense given the back work that was done earlier. Tito smacks him in the head to escape. Gorilla: “Look at that firey Mexican!” Tito grabs the Figure Four but Jesse gets the rope. They fight up the ramp and Tito puts the Figure Four on out there but Jesse kicks him into the ring for the countout win.

Rating: C. Not bad here but it worked for the most part. It was actually a double countout if you care. This was fine for a house show title defense, especially with someone like Jesse who was a rarity to see in the ring at this point. He knew how to work a crowd but the people loved him which is the right idea.

Andre the Giant/Jay Strongbow/Ivan Putski/Rocky Johnson vs. Wild Samoans/Samula/Big John Studd

This is the ultra rare three out of five falls match. And in an eight man tag too. Not bad for a gimmick match main event. You should know most of these people. Samula is the third Samoan and more or less just a backup guy. He’s more famous as Samu of the Headshrinkers. We’re in Philly here and Samula starts with Rocky. This is a pretty high profile tag match.

Afa steps in, Andre steps in, Afa steps out. Afa is in again to face Rocky. Rocky was very popular back in the day and I like him more every time I see him. For some reason the teams are on full sides of the apron instead of in one corner each. Off to Studd to take on Rocky but Andre wants in. You don’t tell a giant no so it’s off to Sika. Andre rams John and Sika’s heads together and waits on an opponent.

Sika begs off but Andre destroys him anyway. This is 1983 so Andre can still move. Here’s Strongbow who still looks like a human. He hooks the sleeper and everything breaks down. Johnson grabs Sika so Andre can chop him. Double headbutt takes Strongbow down. The Samoans are tossed around by Andre and there was a bell for some reason. Gary Capetta is the announcer if you care. The first fall is a DQ against the Samoan team so it’s 1-0 heroes.

Jay is one of the people in but we don’t have an opponent. Ok so it’s Samula. Studd choked Jay to give the Samoan the advantage and Andre isn’t pleased. A headbutt puts Strongbow down and a falling version of it ties us up. Strongbow whips Samula into Andre’s boot which is good for the third fall, making it 2-1. It might have lasted 20 seconds. 23 actually.

Round four starts and the fans want the battle of the giants. Putski hasn’t been in yet. It’s Strongbow vs. I believe Afa to get this one going. Now we get some Polish Power. He rams Samoan heads together and pounds on Afa. Sika finally gets a shot in and the Samoans take over on Ivan. A double headbutt sends him flying, but he flies right to Andre. The Giant cleans house and breaks up a triple team. Samula jumps into a boot and Andre sits on him to win three falls to one.

Rating: C. The match wasn’t all that exciting but this was to fire up the crowd with something new and I think you can safely say they did just that. Not a great match or anything but it got a lot of big names in there and the fans got everything but the top request they had, but that was certainly coming. Fun way to end things.

Overall Rating: C. Not a terrible tape here and certainly watchable. One thing I never got: why isn’t Hogan in a lot of these? I mean he’s in most of them but you would expect a series that started in like 1983-84 (he was on volume 1) to have more of him in it. Anyway, this was fine although nothing worth going out of your way to see, except Fuji General but I’d recommend finding the TNT Coliseum Video (remember that’s Tuesday Night Titans) which has I believe all of them in one tape.

Remember to like me on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/kbwrestlingreviewscom/117930294974885?sk=wall

Best of the WWF Volume 8
Host: Gene Okerlund
Commentators: Alfred Hayes, Gorilla Monsoon

This is one of the last ones I have left so for any of you getting annoyed with me doing these over and over again, counting these two I have four to go so it’s almost over. This one is from mid 86 so we’re in a far different era than the last one of these that we took a look at. Let’s get to it.

Same opening video, same comments from me about it.

Hart Foundation vs. Killer Bees

This is from MSG. I remember one of these four (I think Bret) saying these teams wrestled a few thousand times so they know how to work well together. Bret is brand new (to WWF) here. Anvil and Brunzell get us going. Brunzell tries to get in a power contest with him for some reason and it goes as well as you would expect. Jim tries to ram into him and it hurts him more than Neidhart.

Crowd is white hot here and the fans go nuts for a drop toehold. Brunzell works on the leg which is the best thing he could do. Anvil goes after him with the power game and here’s Bret for the first time. The referee has a small afro here. Bret is a little more muscular here than I’m used to seeing him as. Off to a chinlock and Blair is in control. The crowd is amazing here as they get into the tiniest of things like Blair getting up from a chinlock.

There’s the tag to Brunzell but he goes after the wrong guy. Bret knees him in the back and it’s Brunzell in trouble again. Back to the chinlock by Anvil this time. A quick DEVASTATING bearhug leads to Bret coming in but Blair saves a pin. Again the crowd here amazes me. Bret hooks a front facelock and he keeps the tag from being made again. Brunzell gets free but Anvil gets Blair’s attention on the floor.

Time for some back work as Brunzell is in trouble. I thought it was usually Blair that took the beating for the most part. Hart hits a dropkick for a very delayed two. This is your standard old school tag formula which means that the main criteria is how talented the guys are in at selling the stuff they’re doing. These four are great, so that should mean a good match.

There’s your tag to Blair who clears house. Small package gets two. Heel miscommunication would seem to be the ending but Bret kicks out. There’s an abdominal stretch to Bret and everything breaks down again. The Bret corner chest bump gets two. O’Connor Roll gets a VERY close two. A blind tag brings Brunzell back in and he kicks Bret’s head off with a dropkick but the time runs out at probably 20:00.

Rating: B-. These t

wo having a good match in the mid 80s is like saying the sun came up this morning. These guys were practically memorizing each other at this point and like I said, they wrestled each other a few hundred times at least. This was no shock and would have been great with a clean finish or a finish that gave us a winner. Still though, that’s a reason to come back for more.

Terry Gibbs vs. Dan Spivey

Gibbs is a name you hear popping up every now and then. Spivey was brought in for the simple reason of he looked exactly like Barry Windham who had flipped out and went home. Seriously, that’s why Spivey has a job. This is joined in progress with Spivey being knocked out to the floor. The next few matches are about newcomers and in this case it’s Spivey. Elbow drop gets two for Terry. Time for a bearhug which goes on WAY too long.

Spivey comes back but misses an elbow. Gibbs takes over again but jumps into a bearhug of his own. Gibbs thinks of the smart idea of raking the eyes. Spivey comes back again and this time the elbow hits. A legdrop gets the same. Did I mention he has blonde hair and yellow tights? Bulldog ends this for Bar…I mean Spivey.

Rating: D. What we saw of this was bad. Gibbs is nothing of note and Spivey is there because he was tall and blonde and I guess they were hoping no one would notice the difference. Bad match here, mainly because neither guy is worth anything in the ring, which is what it all breaks down to.

Billy Jack Haynes vs. Moondog Rex

Haynes is the newcomer here and we’re in Boston. A pretty loud boring chant begins while Rex is on offense. Haynes starts his comeback and the fans really aren’t all that interested. Rex is busted a bit as he comes back in and hammers away. Full nelson by Haynes ends this quick. Not enough to rate but it was nothing to see at all.

Junkyard Dog vs. King Kong Bundy

Back to MSG. This isn’t about newcomers in case you were confused. Hayes thinks Bundy will be the man that takes the title off Hogan. I’ll have what he’s having please. This is going to be a lot of kicking and punching I think. Bundy knocks him down but the missed elbow lets JYD use the all fours headbutts. Dog comes back with clubbing shots but Bundy takes him down with a clothesline.

Knee drop gets two for the white dude. Dog punches away as that’s about all he knows how to do. A bunch of those get two. A falling headbutt misses but that shouldn’t hurt him should it? They slug it out and a double clothesline puts both guys down. Things slow down and it’s a chinlock by Bundy. The referee checks Dog’s arm and even though it drops three times, they check it again and the fourth time it stays up so that’s good enough I guess. Dog makes his comeback but Bobby trips him and that’s a DQ.

Rating: D-. And yet I didn’t hate it. The problem with this was that it was all punching and kicking. I mean that was probably 95% of the match. The fans kind of reacted to it but then again people watch Jersey Shore so there you go. Nothing to see here but what were you really expecting here?

Jimmy Jack Funk vs. Tony Garea

Funk is the newcomer here. Joined in progress again with Funk holding a chinlock. Off to a chinlock…again. Jimmy has Jimmy in the corner. Garea counters a suplex and Hart desperately tries to convince Gorilla that his man will win. They slug it out from their knees and here’s Tony’s comeback. Tony tries a cross body but Jack catches it and after about 4 hours, turns it over into a powerslam for the pin.

Rating: D-. Funk is another guy that I never got the appeal of. I think they tried to put him into the Funk family to try to give him credibility but it didn’t work at all. Garea was a good hand to have but his time had passed for the most part. Basically imagine a face version of William Regal.

Harley Race vs. Lanny Poffo

Race is the “newcomer” here, although they openly say he’s wrestled for twenty years. Clipped to Poffo taking something like a brainbuster on the floor. The fans are quiet but this is the old Race, as in the old school style of him. Top rope headbutt (which Race is credited with inventing) puts Poffo down and a regular one puts him on the floor. Poffo starts his comeback and hits a flying headscissors to bring Race over the top and back in. Race gets him in a fireman’s carry and drops him throat first across the top rope to break up the comeback though. Fisherman’s suplex ends this. Not enough to grade but Race was his usual great self, even though the match was dull.

Time for a bodyslam challenge. Studd offered a $15,000 reward to anyone who could slam him. Oh wait it’s a match with that as a stipulation. Got it.

Big John Studd vs. Ricky Hunter/Jim Powers

I just can’t escape this Powers guy. Before the match starts though King Tonga (Meng/Haku) comes out and says he can slam him. Studd says wait your turn. Both guys try to slam him which doesn’t work at all. Bruno is on commentary and he’s about one step shy of saying “dudes, fail.” They finally figure out that you have to beat on him and then slam him when he’s stunned. The idea is fine but it doesn’t work at all. Studd destroys them and pins Hunter with a slam.

King Tonga runs in and slams him with ease. You know what that means.

Big John Studd vs. King Tonga

Studd immediately slams him during the opening bell to take over. Tonga goes for a slam but it gets countered. That’s the whole point of the match: Tonga wants to slam Studd. Off to a chinlock but Tonga comes back with some martial arts. Another slam attempt sends them tumbling to the floor and it’s a double countout. No rating again but this was a one move match.

They brawl on the floor post match with Tonga getting the better of it. The brawl and teasing going back in goes on longer than the match. Now they get back in and brawl as there’s a referee in there for some reason. Tonga headbutts him to the floor and that’s enough for John.

Ted Arcidi vs. Terry Gibbs

Arcidi is a strongman and the newcomer here. Yeah they’re still on that. Arcidi overpowers him and there’s an oil complaint. He no sells everything to start and gets a full nelson but Gibbs makes the ropes. After some quick offense (as in punching/pounding, which Gorilla calls unconventional), Ted gets a quick bearhug to end it. Just a squash.

Cousin Junior vs. Hercules Hernandez

Herc is the newcomer and Junior is a hillbilly. Joined in progress again and Herc (with wild hair) is holding a chinlock. There’s no commentary for this so far for some reason. Oh ok there is but it’s very quiet. Herc works him over and gets two off an elbow. Back to the chinlock. Junior makes his comeback but gets slingshotted (slungshot?) to the floor. Herc punches him back down and Junior isn’t wearing any shoes. Junior comes back with a sunset flip but Hernandez counters that as well.

After more punches, there’s another chinlock. Junior makes his comeback but gets caught by a kind of superkick and a jumping knee. Herc isn’t exactly Lou Thesz out there but he slams Junior to expand the repertoire. He goes up but a jumping punch misses. Herc reverses a sloppy O’Connor Roll for the pin and I think he had some tights. Well, overalls.

Rating: F. These newcomers have a lot to learn. Junior was part of the Hillbilly Family which was around to give Hillbilly Jim something to keep him on screen while he recovered from a broken leg. I think they were around before that too but not in as prominent of a role. This was really bad.

Intercontinental Title: Pedro Morales vs. Adrian Adonis

Since Adrian never held this title, Pedro is defending. Joined in progress (again) as this is an Archives match. They slug it out and the fans are of course way into Pedro. He knocks Adonis to the floor and is slow even here in what I think is about 1980. They ram each other into various things and Pedro misses a shoulder back inside. That ring sounds very metallic. The American hits a German on the Puerto Rican and they do the suplex but one guy gets his shoulder up in time spot to keep the title on Pedro. Too short to rate but bad as always on this tape.

Adrian beats Pedro up and hits him with the belt post match, only to get knocked to the floor himself.

Pat Patterson vs. Lou Albano

This is from 1982. Patterson is loved, Albano is hated. Albano immediately goes for the foreign object but Patterson knocks it out of his hands before the opening bell. He clocks Lou with it to bust him open so Albano Does The Mario for a bit. Albano gets knocked around for maybe two minutes and walks out. Patterson was just crazy over in New York.

Jake Roberts vs. Ricky Steamboat

This is also joined in progress. The idea here is that Jake DDTed him on the concrete on SNME, igniting a huge feud. This is just one of those stops along the way. Steamboat fires off martial arts to send Jake outside and the referee goes all nuts on Steamboat and shoves him away. Back in and Steamboat speeds things up but Jake catches him with a right hand to take over.

Dragon almost gets sent to the floor but he hangs on and hits a sunset flip for no count as Jake pops him in the face. Steamboat comes back with some neckbreakers but a splash attempt gets knees. Out to the floor and Jake wants to DDT him out there again but Ricky rams him into the barricade to escape. Back in and there’s a top rope chop. Jake is busted open. The referee pulls Steamboat off AGAIN and Ricky is getting ticked off. There’s a THIRD time and Jake gets in a shot as a result. Steamboat finally says screw it and shoves the referee for a DQ.

Rating: C-. What a breath of air this was. It wasn’t a great match or anything due to the annoying referee but when you’ve sat through an hour of Ted Arcidi and Jimmy Jack Funk, a Steamboat match sounds like water in the desert. This was ok but they would have far better brawls with far less annoying referees.

Overall Rating: F. Oh this was bad. The whole “newcomers” angle didn’t mean anything because the matches sucked. If I knew these were the next generation, I’d be getting some shoes on and going to the library instead of looking to see when WWF was on TV next. Just awful although the opening tag was good. Imagine: giving talented people a good deal of time and you get a good match.

Remember to like me on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/kbwrestlingreviewscom/117930294974885?sk=wall

I love these things! Here are the numbers:

31 Hall of Famers in Rumbles
21 Wrestlemania main events for those Hall of Famers
695 participants in total
39 eliminations for Shawn Michaels, the most everything
35 eliminations for Kane, the second most all time
194,107 pounds total, or 430 Big Shows
421,883 fans have seen the Rumbles
62:12 is the record amount of time in the Rumble, set by Mysterio
3 wins for Austin, the record
2 seconds, as in the record held by Warlord for over 20 years
1 second, Santino’s record breaking mark
2 women in the Rumble
#1 is the entrant that has produced the same amount of entrants as #30
27 is the lucky number, with four winners
55% have gone on to win their Mania match, dating back to 1993

WWF St. Louis
Date: January 1, 1984
Location: The Chase, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Gene Okerlund

Now as some of you may know, WWF would have a lot more house shows back in the day. What they would do is film these shows in their major cities and have commentary for them, then air them on local television. They did this in New York and MSG for years. They would also split these up and air them on syndicated shows. This is one from St. Louis. This is about three weeks before Hogan won the world title so it’s an era we don’t really see. Let’s get to it.

The Chase is a legendary wrestling venue in St. Louis but is actually a hotel. The NWA ran shows there for years and WWF came in at the very end to do a few months worth of shows.

Vince and Gene run down the card.

Dennis Stamp/Jerry Valiant vs. Rocky Johnson/Tony Atlas

Johnson/Atlas are tag champions but this is non-title. Stamp vs. Rocky starts us off. Rocky is called The Rock and it’s off to Atlas. Atlas hits some bad dropkicks and we’re in squash city here. Off to Valiant who is more of a brawler. Not that it does him any good as he gets knocked backwards quickly by right hands. A flying headscissors by Johnson takes Valiant down and it’s back to Tony.

Off to a test of strength because Valiant is stupid enough to try that with him. Now Atlas uses a headscissors. Symmetry people! Valiant takes him down into a chinlock as this match is getting more time than I expected it to. Back to Johnson who gets double teamed in the corner as well. And never mind as Atlas comes in, gorilla presses Stamp and splashes him for the pin.

Rating: C-. Just a long squash here but that’s what a lot of TV back then was supposed to be. Johnson and Atlas are a team that the more I see of them the more I like of them. Atlas especially as he’d be a great guy to have around today with his look and power. Decent match here and a good way to showcase the champs.

Ken Jugan vs. David Schultz

Schultz is most famous for attacking a journalist who asked if wrestling was fake. He’s known as Dr. D. Schultz grabs a headlock to begin and rides him on the mat. Jugan hasn’t gotten in a single shot yet. Schultz pulls him up after an elbow drop and keeps beating on him. Out to the floor as the beating continues. A backbreaker gets two. This is getting boring now as it’s been going on way too long. Back to the floor again as there’s nothing to talk about in this. Schultz hits various offense and Jugan gets nothing in at all. Jugan gets in some very weak punches and then gets tombstoned (called a southern piledriver) for the pin.

Rating: D-. Like I said, there’s only so much you can get out of a guy getting destroyed for this long. One thing that’s kind of different: the announcer reads the time and even says what the finishing move was. Ok he didn’t here but he did in the first place. This ran over seven minutes so you can see how it gets a bit uninteresting.

Bill Dixon vs. Hulk Hogan

Oh my goodness! Now THIS is an historic moment. This right here is Hulk Hogan’s first match back in the WWF after being gone for about four years and becoming a superstar in Rocky III. He comes out to Eye of the Tiger and is way over. Hulk would jump into the world title scene in about two weeks, winning the title in about three weeks and holding if for four years.

Actually, this is being reviewed on the anniversary of his title win so that’s appropriate. Hogan takes him to the mat with a Fujiwara Armbar ala Del Rio. Dixon hammers away but Hulk comes back with a big boot, slam and the big leg (I’m assuming making its WWF debut) ends this. Total squash but the crowd reaction tells you everything you need to know here. This is history people.

The local network president welcomes WWF to St. Louis. It lasted about two months.

Hulk says he loves St. Louis and that he’s focused on an upcoming battle royal. He wants a world title shot. Bear in mind he’s 1-0 (by his own admission) and he’s just declared himself #1 contender.

Murdoch and Adonis say they want the tag titles. They would get them in about 4 months.

Johnson and Atlas come in and say St. Louis is their home away from home.

Big John Studd says he’s awesome. He has a new manager named Magaw Maginaw. No idea who that is but he looks like Luscious Johnny V.

Jimmy Jackson vs. Big John Studd

In the words of Rocky III, “my prediction? PAIN.” Jackson tries to slam him and that goes nowhere. Studd offers him a top wristlock which goes just as well. Over the shoulder backbreaker ends this quick. Another squash.

Bill Berger vs. Ivan Putski

Putski is a Polish dude that is short but incredibly muscular. See, he’s really strong. That’s about it. And he’s Polish. This is just Putski using his strength to break almost everything and throw Berger around. Eventually the Polish Hammer (double axe to the chest) ends this.

Rating: D-. No idea what there is to say here. Putski is a pretty boring guy and this was no exception. His shoulders are huge but he has little chicken legs. Nothing really to see here and these squashes are certainly a generational thing. You couldn’t get away with this if your life depended on it.

Terry Daniels/Kevin Collins vs. Adrian Adonis/Dick Murdoch

This is probably the main event. Adonis vs. Daniels gets us going. Really I don’t know what to say here. After like 6 squashes there’s only so much you can say. Daniels is sent to the floor and thoroughly pummeled. Back in and he gets beaten up even more. Collins comes in and gets beaten up as this is really boring. Adonis puts Collins to sleep to end this.

Rating: D. See any other match already tonight to get the idea here.

Overall Rating: D+. This is a hard one to grade. There were certainly a lot of big names on here and for a TV show that aired locally, there isn’t really a lot to complain about. For the masses, this wouldn’t have been much. Most of 1984 was pretty generic stuff, but once 85 got here things took off like a rocket. Not much here, but you have to keep some specifics in mind.

Remember to like me on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/kbwrestlingreviewscom/117930294974885?sk=wall

Best of the WWF Volume 11
Host: Gene Okerlund
Commentators: Gene Okerlund, Gorilla Monsoon

This is the latest one of the volumes I have left. After this one there are only four to go so we’re almost done at least. This is from mid 87 and most of the stuff on it is from November of 1986, which is at the end of Orndorff vs. Hogan and right before the build to Mania 3 begins. Let’s get to it.

Can-Am Connection vs. Dream Team

Can-Am is Tom Zenk/Rick Martel while the Dream Team is Valentine/Beefcake. Martel takes over quickly on Valentine, working the arm. Off to Zenk who works on the arm as well. We’re in MSG if you’re curious. Luscious John jumps on commentary for a second to brag. The team with the Canadian on it keeps up its advantage. Valentine manages to snake eyes him onto the top rope to take over.

Off to Beefcake and the former champs take over. Off to a chinlock and things speed up a bit. Brutus gets caught in a rollup for two. Martel starts fighting back and punches Valentine down. When all else fails, HIT HIM IN THE FACE! And never mind as the American hits an Irish on the Canadian into the corner. Suplex gets two. Figure Four is countered into a small package but Martel still can’t escape.

Back to Beefcake who manages to give up the tag. Listen to that pop for a hot tag! When’s the last time you heard something like that? Zenk cleans house and dropkicks Valentine down. Brutus takes him down again though and it’s back to the Dream Team in control. There’s an abdominal stretch by the Hammer. Gutbuster brings in Beefcake as they work on Zenk’s ribs and abdomen.

Zenk keeps bridging out of pin attempts. This match is getting some serious time. Double clothesline puts Zenk and Greg down. Valentine puts on a front facelock and Brutus distracts the referee so the tag doesn’t count. Elbow drop misses for Valentine and they do the blind tag thing again. That’s a rarity. Everything breaks down and the Dream Team hits a double belly to back suplex. There’s the Figure Four but Martel hits a slingshot splash for the totally illegal pin.

Rating: B. Long match here and it worked pretty well I thought. This is something you can’t see on TV due to the time but it worked well here. It also plays forward the whole Beefcake is the weak link idea of the team which led to their split. The crowd was way into this too. Good stuff.

George Steele vs. Kamala

Oh….oh…..oh my. This is from November 24, 1986. There are seven matches on this tape and four of them are from that show, plus a Piper’s Pit. Total comedy match with nothing really going on in the first minute or so. They exchange chops and therefore control with the fans being more into it than they should be. The Wizard (Kamala’s manager) gets hit and drops whatever he’s holding, allowing Kamala to clock Steele with it. That and a pair of splashes, one from the top rope, ends this. This was just a comedy match and then the ending.

Time for Piper’s Pit. This one is live in MSG and the guests are Orndorff and I believe his new manager Bobby Heenan. Piper says he’s not used to being cheered and that he’s not running for President and he’s the same person he’s always been. Heenan and Orndorff come out and Piper tells Orndorff to find a tag partner. Heenan gets the mic and says Orndorff’s partner is Harley Race. Heenan tells Piper to get a partner. Piper has a chat with his manager in the corner (no one there) but a planted fan pops up on the apron and suggests Hogan. Orndorff freaks and that’s that. Ok then.

Paul Orndorff/Harley Race vs. Hulk Hogan/Roddy Piper

These two teaming up together always feels wrong. Big brawl to start until Hogan and Piper clear the ring. The heels come back in so Hogan picks up Piper and uses his feet as a battering ram. Piper vs. Race officially gets us started. Off to Hulk and the place goes manic. They work on Race’s arm and it’s back to Piper for another big pop. Ok make it Hogan again. You know they work well together for mortal enemies.

They do look at each other with a bit of disdain and a lack of trust but if they didn’t it would be awful. Race headbutts his way out of trouble but still can’t bring Paul in. Back to Hulk and the arm work continues. The place is about to come unglued. Race finally gets in a belly to belly and knee drop to take over. Here’s Orndorff off the top and Piper is in trouble now.

The heels take turns on Piper and it’s off to a chinlock. This place is going to explode when Hogan gets the tag. Suplex keeps Roddy down and it’s off to Paul again. Race hammers away on Piper some more and headbutts him. Roddy stands still and looks like he’s about to fall down when he dives forward for the tag. That looked great. Race looks scared to death and Hogan pounds away. House is cleaned and he drops the leg but Orndorff saves. Heenan gets drilled and heel miscommunication lets Piper pin Race which counts for some reason.

Rating: C+. This is one of those matches where it’s about the atmosphere instead of the match itself. Piper and Hogan teaming together is still a weird sight and I’m not sure how well I like it. Still though, fun little match that blew the roof off MSG (that thing has to be in disrepair given how often it happens) which is the entire idea.

Piper, still mostly a jerk, bails and lets Hogan fight them all off on his own which he does easily.

Randy Savage/Harley Race/Adrian Adonis vs. Roddy Piper/Junkyard Dog/Ricky Steamboat

This is elimination rules and it was a brand new idea at the time. They were popular enough that a PPV version was made later in the year. For some reason, Slick is on commentary. These are all matches at Wrestlemania and the last appearance in MSG for Piper so gee, I wonder who will win here. Savage runs and hides from Steamboat but they wind up starting.

Savage tries to roll away and it’s Race in now with no tag. Off to JYD and it’s rolling headbutts time. They look at each other for awhile as Steamboat plays cheerleader. Belly to belly puts JYD down and it’s off to Savage again. He loads up the elbow but stops to yell at Steamboat. Piper shoves Randy into the now legal Steamboat. My goodness I’d love to see Savage and Piper have a feud. Not the kind they had in WCW either.

Off to Adonis and he runs from Piper. Everything breaks down and all six are in there. A double suplex puts Roddy down and Adrian hooks the sleeper on him. That doesn’t last and Piper hooks a sleeper which is broken up just as quickly. JYD is waiting on an opponent now. I know it sounds like I’m skipping a lot but they’re moving in and out of there so fast that it’s almost impossible to keep up with.

Adonis works on the Dog but hits him in the head because heels are stupid. Everyone goes to the floor and Roddy hits Adrian with a chair. Back to some form of sanity as Piper hits a belly to back suplex on Race but Savage breaks up the cover. This has been incredibly fast paced. And there’s a bell. Uh……why? Adonis and JYD were both counted out because they were legal. Ok then.

Piper vs. Race now and make that Piper vs. Savage. Piper blocks a suplex as Gorilla and Slick argue. Savage misses a shot into the ropes but Race prevents the tag. And never mind as he makes it just a second later. Steamboat speeds things up on Race as Slick yells about karate. Everyone gets in again and my goodness is there some talent in there. There isn’t a bad combination at all out there.

Steamboat rolls up Race but Savage reverses it and somehow it gets the pin, after about 15 seconds of Steamboat being down. I don’t think so but whatever. Ok so it’s Piper vs. Race/Savage. Piper of course is all cool with going straight for Race and they go to the floor. Savage tries to hit him with a chair but they get back in and somehow Savage is now legal. Top rope double axe gets two. Powerslam gets two for Race. Piper grabs a gutwrench suplex but Savage makes the save.

Savage goes up but the double axe hits Race, allowing Piper to steal a pin and it’s 1-1. Now THIS should be awesome. And this is how Piper goes out of MSG? This works I’d think. Race won’t leave so Piper throws Savage into him and then bulldogs Randy down. Savage tries to bail but suckers Piper in and gets the first punch in. That weird clothesline Savage does takes Roddy down for two.

They start choking away at each other and this is so awesome. Piper actually shows off his strength and holds Savage up in a choke. They collide and Savage is knocked to the floor. Piper gets up but then lays down and plays possum. Savage goes up for the elbow but Piper moves and a small package ends the Macho Man. TOTALLY AWESOME and vintage Piper.

Rating: A. I had a blast with this. The talent levels out there were completely insane and they gave us twenty minutes of a great match. These matches could work so well if they were done right and this one was, especially when they have the time to put it together. The eliminations were a bit off, but this was probably the first one ever. Great match though and an absolute blast.

From SNME, here’s Piper’s My Way video set to Frank Sinatra’s song. It’s basically a highlight video of his career which is pretty awesome stuff. It’s set to the closing theme from Coliseum Video here though, probably due to copyright issues. This goes on for about three minutes.

And now let’s go from an hour of totally awesome stuff to….this.

Little Tokyo/Lord Littlebrook vs. Pepe Gomez/Karate Kid

Thank goodness this is joined in progress because the full thing is 13 minutes long. Gomez beats up Tokyo with kicks. Wouldn’t it be Karate Kid using the kicks? The heels get thrown together and it’s the stupid row boat thing. Wait that is Karate Kid? Ok so I was confused earlier. Actually I wasn’t paying attention because I don’t care about this match. There’s a “comedy” spot where Littlebrook is choking with his feet but the good guys make a switch and Littlebrook accidentally choked his partner.

Ok so Gomez is in the body suit. The referee is holding Tokyo for some reason then launches him away. Is there a point to this? I mean…..any of this? Littlebrook, looking about 80 years old, staggers around and the match just kind of stops. Karate Kid uses a full nelson and Tokyo accidentally kicks Littlebrook in the face. I’m not really paying attention as I’m rapidly losing all of my intelligence as my brain dies. Littlebrook beats up both guys and it’s off to Gomez for some dropkicks. It’s a pile up and Tokyo gets pinned.

Rating: N. Just no. No point, no logic, no reason, no need. Give us more Piper greatness please. This tape was reaching classic levels and now it had to get dragged down like this. I get the idea of comedy matches and having fun, but don’t do it for like seven minutes in a row when you have awesome stuff going like that.

Don Muraco vs. Hillbilly Jim

Muraco is dressed like Piper and Fuji is with him in a tux. Remember that. Muraco is wrestling in the kilt. Jim rips it off quickly and the beating begins. Muraco is sent to the floor and Fuji’s hat got crushed. Muraco hides in the corner and Jim works on the arm. A headbutt puts Don on the floor. Muraco takes him down and it’s off to a nerve hold. Jim comes back and hits a big boot. Bear hug (called a full nelson by Monsoon for some reason) draws in Fuji for the DQ.

Rating: D. Jim was a fun character and this was designed to set up the next match and that’s all. Muraco was definitely on the downside of his career at this point but he still had a few more years on the top level to go. Fuji interfering directly sets up the next match on the tape which is always cool to see.

Fuji tears Jim’s overalls and hits him in the ribs with the cane a bunch of times. Jim challenges Fuji to a tuxedo match next month.

Hillbilly Jim vs. Mr. Fuji

This is a tuxedo match. It’s an evening gown match but for men. Jim rips the hat off immediately. I wouldn’t bet on this lasting long. They fight over tearing jackets off and Jim gets his shirt ripped. Jim tears out the pocket of Fuji’s jacket as does Fuji to Jim’s. Fuji steals the jacket and Jim is mad. Fuji’s jacket gets ripped so he kicks Jim low. Jim is topless now and as I type that Fuji is as well. And there go Fuji’s pants to end it. I’m not rating it because it’s not really much of a match but it was all in good fun.

Overall Rating: B-. This was on the way to being incredible and then it just came falling apart. The six man should have ended this tape but instead we get the comedy matches to end it, which isn’t a horrible idea but it really hurt the flow this had going. The opener is good too and I can easily see why this is my favorite time in wrestling. Good tape, could have been great.

Remember to like me on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/kbwrestlingreviewscom/117930294974885?sk=wall

Best of the WWF Volume 2
Host: Gorilla Monsoon
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Gene Okerlund, Gorilla Monsoon, Jesse Ventura

This is a weird time for the WWF as it’s pre-Hogan dominance (although he was champion) and Sammartino is out of the picture. Backlund had just lost the title as the people have turned on him harder than they have on Cena today. There are some historical moments on this tape though which is a big rarity in this series. Let’s get to it.

Coliseum Video opening and all that jazz.

Gorilla looks WEIRD with some hair on his head.

Tag Titles: Tony Atlas/Rocky Johnson vs. Adrian Adonis/Dick Murdoch

We have, in order, Abraham Washington’s sidekick, Rock’s dad, a not yet gay man and a guy formerly known as Captain Redneck who was a real life member of the KKK. Atlas and Johnson are champions. This is from a TV taping in Hamburg, Pennsylvania from April of 1984. Adonis vs. Johnson gets us going. The champ armdrags everyone in sight and takes over with an armbar on Adonis.

And there’s no commentary for awhile. Kind of a nice change of pace actually. Adonis cartwheels away from a monkey flip but walks into a slam and armbar. Off to Murdoch and he’s earned an armdrag as well. Atlas comes in and I like getting to see some of their stuff. I don’t get to see much from the pre-Hogan era so this is pretty cool. The challengers get Atlas in the corner and pound away on him.

This is before the tag team formula was perfected so things are a bit different than what you’d likely be used to. Headbutt by Atlas puts Murdoch down but Adonis cheats to keep control. Off to Rocky who dances about and beats up everyone. Well not his partner. Or the referee. The fans either for that matter. Gee maybe he isn’t beating everyone up. Atlas and Murdoch fight to the floor as everything breaks down. In the melee, Adonis rolls him up with an O’Connor Roll (while standing on his head. Take that Ziggler) for the pin and the titles.

Rating: C. The match was fine but what surprised me the most was how short it was. Unless there was some clipping that I missed (and I don’t think there was), this was six minutes long at most. It’s very rare to see quick title matches like this back in the day but it was pretty entertaining while it lasted.

Intercontinental Title: Pedro Morales vs. Don Muraco

This is from MSG in January of 83. Morales had taken the title from Muraco over a year ago. See, back then title reigns were VERY different. The title was introduced in 1979 and Ricky Steamboat was the 11th reign in 1987. In 8 years, the title changed hands 10 times. Think about that. Of the first ten reigns, the shortest was five months. Today, that would be a long reign. Back then it was by far the shortest. Three of the first ten lasted over a year. Think about that for a minute and now compare it to today.

As for this match, Muraco jumps the champ in the corner but Morales fights back quickly. Morales rips half of the shirt off Muraco and the challenger is in trouble. Corner sunset flip gets two for Morales. Muraco has a sleeve of his shirt still hanging off his arm. Pedro knocks him to the floor and this is all Morales so far. Muraco does a Flair Flop off the apron to the floor.

Pedro goes up top but doesn’t dive onto him as Don hides under the floor. That was pretty smart. Muraco tries to hide as Morales stalks him. Boot to the back of the head and it’s all Pedro. Gorilla criticizes him for not going for the kill, which is pretty good analysis. And there’s a low blow by Muraco and both guys are down. Still using the t-shirt, Muraco chokes Pedro with it in the corner, only to get low blowed as well.

Ok NOW the t-shirt is finally gone. A running knee in the corner misses for Morales though and he might have blown it out. There’s a lot of blowing in this match. Muraco moves in on it with a leg snap out of the corner. Clipped to a spinning toe hold being countered by Pedro. Morales, ever the genius, tries a backbreaker (despite sending Muraco’s shoulder into the post on the counter) and reinjures his knee. Boston Crab (Pedro’s finisher) is quickly broken by the ropes. Pedro tries a slam but the knee buckles and Muraco falls on top for the pin and the second title change in two matches on this tape.

Rating: C-. Not great or anything but again it’s really cool to see these rarities as you always hear about how these legends held titles but you never see how they won them. Pedro was far better in the 70s than 80s as he was washed up at this point, but he could still put people over, which is what he did here. Decent stuff, although a lot of stalling hurt it.

Killer Kowalski vs. Pedro Morales

Talk about legends. Now Kowalski was the big time brawler of his day. He also trained HHH so there’s his biggest contribution to wrestling more than likely. This would be about 8 months after Pedro lost the world title, putting it in late July of 74. We’re in MSG here of course. Jesse Ventura is alone on commentary here. That’s a new one on me. Kowalski used the Claw on various body parts so he uses it on the leg here. Pedro’s leg problems seem to be a theme on this tape.

Clipped to more leg work. Jesse doing play by play is a very odd thing. He doesn’t shut up but keeps things fresh somehow. It’s more like a radio broadcast. The Claw is something that needs a good announcer to put it over because just from a visual perspective, it looks really stupid. Pedro comes back with some left hands and grabs Killer by the ears. Back to the knee and Pedro is in trouble again. How did this guy win the first triple crown?

They trade punches to the ribs and Morales takes over. Jesse is surprisingly good at play by play. Morales is left handed if that gives you a better mental picture of this. Morales grabs the Claw on the ribs. Clipped to a double stomp by Kowalski. This commentary has been recorded far later as Jesse talks about Kowalski like he’s retired, which he would have been. Kowalski bites the face and Pedro bites back. Killer takes him down but misses a double stomp. Off to the Claw on the stomach again and Pedro is in trouble. They brawl to the floor and it’s thrown out. WEAK.

Rating: D. I love old school stuff and I’ve always liked Pedro, but this was boring. The Claw is one of those moves that works as a quick finisher but having it in there all the time like this got really boring after awhile. At least it wasn’t very long. Kowalski is a guy that seems like he’d be better in quick spurts. This match felt like it would have been better for a live crowd, which is fine, but it does bring into question why it’s on a tape.

Jamaica Kid/Billy the Kid vs. Sky Low Low/Little Brutus

MIDGET TIME!!! This is from I’d assume the 70s and it’s joined in progress. Clipped almost immediately and I have no idea who is who out there. The fans seem to be laughing more than watching. Low Low gets out of a crucifix hold from Billy and it’s a decent power display all things considered. Clipped again to a chase scene. Where’s my Benny Hill music? Apparently this is from 1970. Oh dear. Sky goes up and gets caught in the ropes, falling down to the apron. He looked like a baby. There’s some miscommunication between the kids and we’re clipped again. Sky pins Billy off a shoulder from Brutus. No rating, obviously.

Jamaica Kid taunts the winners post match and has to jump into the arms of the referee. WAIT THIS IS TWO OUT OF THREE FALLS??? WHY??? And we’re clipped….to another match? Cool with me man.

Sky Low Low/Little Brutus vs. Joey Russell/Sunny Boy Hayes

It’s a chase scene and a “comedy” match. These guys can’t even hit each other with punches. Clipped and Sky won’t come in against let’s say Hayes. The only date I can find on this is “the 70s”. Sky cheats so I’d presume they’re heels. That’s good for the pin, thank goodness.

Great. Another 2/3 falls match. Brutus beats Russell up a lot and it’s a dog pile on the referee. Sky kicks him and it’s COMEDY! And again they just stop showing the match and again I smile.

Chief Jay Strongbow vs. Professor Toru Tanaka

The ring is very small here. They start with a crisscross as Gorilla talks about a different style, which means more rest holds. Alfred Hayes is the commentator here. This is joined in progress as we’re told it’s five minutes in after about 90 seconds. Tanaka hits the ropes, Strongbow says stop, Tanaka stops, Strongbow hits him. It’s a different time. Tanaka works on the arm but Strongbow hits a pair of headscissors to send Tanaka down.

Tanaka hooks a top wristlock which goes on for awhile. Strongbow chops him down but Tanaka goes back to the arm. This is as exciting as it sounds. Jay hooks a headscissors on the mat and this is just going nowhere. Clipped to Tanaka choking as Jay tries to get up. Oh it’s a nerve hold. My mistake. Strongbow comes back with his war dance and it finally wakes up a bit with a brawl. Tanaka tries the salt but it gets caught and that’s a DQ. Oh joy.

Rating: D. Yeah I get that this is a different era and all that, but that doesn’t mean it’s an interesting one. This was a lot of laying around in a hold while we waited on anything to happen. Also, could they really not just have it end with a big chop (Jay’s finisher) or something? Did it have to be ANOTHER match thrown out?

And now for a musical interlude. No really.

Mean Gene sings Tutti Fruti with Captain Lou on piano, Hogan on bass and a bunch of other musicians playing other stuff. Gene is playing piano also. Hulk gets to solo on bass. This is out of nowhere and goes as quickly as it came.

Intercontinental Title: Tito Santana vs. Paul Orndorff

This is from September 1, 1984 in St. Louis. I know because there’s a graphic that says September 1, 1984 in St. Louis. Orndorff is a top heel here but not quite Piper’s levels. Tito is a house of fire to start. Must have had the extra hot sauce on his taco today. The fans chant Paula and there are even signs. Technical stuff to start as they fight for control. Top wristlock by Tito and he finally gets him down.

Back to the mat and Tito cranks on the arm. Orndorff tries to fight out but we need to work on that arm some more. Clipped to the armbar still on but the two guys on their feet now. Orndorff grabs an atomic drop and Tito is in trouble. Knee lift puts Santana on the floor. Outside now and there’s another atomic drop. Tito’s shoulder is bleeding a bit. Orndorff actually does the RVD thumb point.

Tito comes back in with a sunset flip but Paul punches him in the head to stop him. Off to a chinlock which doesn’t last long. Tito hits him with some shots but a suplex puts him right back down. Cross body gets two for Tito. The fans are way into this. Santana starts hitting him in the kidneys and a knee lift puts Paul down. Orndorff tries a middle rope splash but it eats knees.

Tito gets all fired up and pounds Paul down with what Jesse would call that firey Latin temper of his. Boston Crab is countered but Paul goes into the buckle anyway. That gets two but Tito gets his head taken off by a clothesline. That gets two and this is a VERY slow referee. Orndorff stomps away in the same style that Lance Storm used. Paul gets in another shot but time runs out at about 14:30 shown so a lot must have been cut.

Rating: B-. Fun match but I’d have liked to see the full version. It’s not quite the classic that it’s hyped up as here but this was still pretty fun. Orndorff was better than he was given credit for but he was caught between two legendary feuds so his stuff with Hogan is often forgotten, which is a shame.

We look at some surprising finishes. First up: Rocky Johnson vs. Magnificent (Don) Muraco. Muraco is busted open but Muraco throws the referee in the way so Johnson hits him for a DQ. I’m assuming that saved the title for him.

Freddie Blassie vs. Bobo Brazil in what has to be from the early 60s. They fight with Blassie on the apron and Bobo headbutts him down. Blassie’s foot is tied in the rope and it’s a countout. Bobo headbutts him again during a post match handshake. What a jerk! Blassie hits the referee because he didn’t want to do the Twazzle.

Andre beat a jobber but the masked jobber jumped him post match. Andre ripped the mask off and it’s….a jobber.

Moondogs vs. Tony Garea/Rick Martel with Monsoon as referee. This is for the tag titles and it’s a Texas Deathmatch, which we would call a street fight. Abdominal stretch to Moondog King and then Rex jumps off the top onto Monsoon. The champs retain off a double backdrop.

Tag Titles: Tony Garea/Rick Martel vs. Mr. Fuji/Mr. Saito

This is from 81 and Garea/Martel are still champions. In Philly here and Albano is managing the challengers. Fuji vs. Martel to start and Fuji gets tossed around a lot. Off to Saito after Fuji can’t do anything with either champion. Martel hits a body press for two. Back to the armbar and Fuji is back in trouble already. Off to Garea who stays on the arm. The challengers finally get in some shots to take over.

Fuji does his usual cheating and down goes Garea to a chop. Back to Saito who chokes away. It’s weird hearing Pat Patterson with that thick accent on commentary. Garea gets in a knee but can’t make the tag due to Fuji. There’s a nerve hold and the challengers do the switch without the tag. Garea gets in a few shots but a dropkick misses, meaning no tag.

Back to Saito who gets two off a slam. Middle rope knee gets the same. Saito cranks on a front facelock and Martel finally slaps and runs in for some help. It actually works and Garea makes the hot tag. House is cleaned and everything breaks down. Albano slips Fuji the salt as Martel goes up. Fuji throws it at Martel in mid air and Martel’s cross body is rolled through for the titles to Japan.

Rating: B-. Solid old school style tag match which worked quite well. The ending spot looked great with that dive being timed perfectly. It makes sense that Martel is in trouble so he couldn’t hold Saito down as well. Vince morphed into Mr. McMahon as he ranted on the end of that too.

Overall Rating: C+. This is just barely better good than bad. The historical stuff with an unheard of three title changes for one of these tapes is very cool and some of the matches were quite good too. The midget stuff though and some of those matches though were just dreadful but overall, it’s more good than bad which is more than you can ask for most of the time in these things. Good stuff.

Remember to like me on Facebook at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/kbwrestlingreviewscom/117930294974885?sk=wall

According to the WWE’s Corporate Site.

Methinks he’s gone. I don’t see any reason to keep him around, especially after losing the titles already. Just cut him now.

Thoughts?