More from my big assortment of leftovers from the WWE Network.
We go to an unspecified TV show from February 22, 1994 with Vince McMahon interviewing Jim Cornette on the platform. Cornette has the WWF Title with him and wants everyone to know that Lex Luger is never going to hold this because he can’t beat Yokozuna. Vince doesn’t know about that and here’s Luger, sending Cornette into terror. Luger takes the belt from him and puts it on, which Vince thinks looks pretty good. Not good enough to make Luger the champion mind you.
Vince wants the ring announcer to announce Luger as champion, with Luger doing a full on entrance with the title and getting in the ring to pose with the title. Luger walks around the ring and then takes the belt back to the platform to throw it at Cornette. This was actually a thing they did to make the fans think that Luger won the belt, as well as filming a special scene in advance in case they went with Luger at Wrestlemania. That obviously didn’t happen, but the fans needed a reason to see them filming this so the “what would happen if” deal was thrown together. Another cool little feature here.
From January 12, 1976 in Championship Wrestling From Florida.
Andre the Giant bends a bar around his neck (and breaks it), lifts 2000lbs and wins a tug of war (as in he’s in the middle with five wrestlers on each side) by pulling everyone into each other. This wasn’t even two minutes long.
Todd Hansen vs. Brian Black
Date: May 2, 2005
Location: Fleet Center, Boston, Massachusetts
Raw dark match with Lilian Garcia welcoming us to the night. Hanen is better known as Ivar (minus the long hair and/or beard) and Black is better known as the guy who is about to lose to Hansen in a dark match. Hansen grabs a headlock to start but gets elbowed in the stomach for his efforts.
A headlock takeover works a bit better for Hansen but Black whips him hard into the corner and puts on a double arm crank. That’s broken up as well and Hansen hits an ugly crossbody for two. Hansen makes the clothesline comeback and gets two off a spinning kick to the face. Black hits a pumphandle faceplant for the same but Hansen small packages him for the pin at 4:40.
Rating: D+. This was just a pair of local guys getting to have a quick match to warm up the crowd. There was nothing to indicate that Hansen would become a star in the future and it took a very long time for his career to take off. You have to start somewhere though and that’s what we were seeing here, in one of probably several similar matches he had during this part of his career.
From August 25, 1973 in the AWA.
Billy Graham loses to the Great Scott (with his 8 inch bicep) in an arm wrestling match. The clip runs 43 seconds and I have no idea what the joke was supposed to be here.
From the AWA on January 15, 1977.
Gene Okerlund brings in the Iron Sheik (who looks TINY compared to what he would become), who refuses to speak English. Sheik rants a lot, drops to his knees and prays and shows off the Persian clubs, as was his tradition. After a break, Sheik lifts a 300lb chain above his head and then rants a lot more. Gene says come and see Sheik when you have a chance. Of note: Sheik was billed from Lebanon here rather than Iran.
Kenny Omega vs. Cru Jones
Date: September 3, 2006
Location: Deep South Arena, McDonough, Georgia
Commentators: Bill DeMott, Nigel Sherrod
This is from Deep South Wrestling, where Omega was in the WWE developmental system for a bit before realizing he wasn’t going to get anywhere in this company. Before the match, Omega mocks Jones for being a former football player who yells a lot and promises to pin him. Yeah Omega wasn’t great with the talking at this point. Jones takes him into the corner to start so Omega tries a waistlock.
Omega picks up the pace and armdrags him into an armbar, with one fan calling it boring. Another armdrag into an armbar keeps Jones down but he throws Omega into the corner. The chinlock goes on until Omega fights up and drop toeholds him into the middle rope. A running dropkick to the side of the head gets two on Jones but Jones is back with a Michinoku Driver for the same. Omega is right back up with Sliced Bread for the pin at 5:06.
Rating: C-. Another historical curiosity more than anything else here as Omega was nowhere near what he would become. He was just a guy in trunks here without any kind of character or gimmick to speak of. I can see why he would want out, as doing something like this isn’t going to give him any kind of a change to shine. Jones never did anything of note in wrestling and retired in 2012.
From Championship Wrestling From Florida on September 8, 1988.
Dusty Rhodes introduces us to his son Dustin, who he says is green behind the ears and needs to fill out a bit. Dusty knows everyone is going to be watching and he wants the people to love his son like they love him. Dustin is ready to get funky like a monkey, but he looks rather stoic here and doesn’t say a word.
Rico Constantino vs. Brock Lesnar
Date: January 3, 2002
Location: MCI Center, Washington DC
Attendance: 13,978
Raw dark match and the arena might be 15% full. Lesnar is in white boots for a really weird look. Rico strikes away out of the corner and runs Lesnar over with a shoulder. The cross armbreaker goes on but Lesnar powerbombs out of it without much trouble. Lesnar stomps away in the corner and hits some shoulders to the back for two. The powerslam into the corner lets Lesnar stomp away some more but Rico comes back with a kick to the head. The spinning kick to the face is countered into a powerslam to finish Rico at 4:20.
Rating: C. Believe it or not, two of the more polished OVW wrestlers can have a completely passable match against each other. Lesnar was showing off the power here and that’s what you want to see from him. Rico continues to look more polished than you would ever imagine and I would have loved to see what he could do if he hadn’t been saddled with such a stupid gimmick.
Jim Duggan vs. Sgt. Slaughter
Date: February 4, 1981
Location: Fieldhouse, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Pat Patterson
This is from All-Star Wrestling and I absolutely would not have recognized Duggan. He has short blonde hair and a mustache here, to the point where I thought it was a typo until he was introduced. Slaughter has the Grand Wizard with him and gets in an argument with a fan in the front row before the match starts. Then he does it again, with Vince calling the fan “rotund”.
Duggan (an unknown here) forearms Slaughter in the chest and hits another in the corner. Slaughter unloads with shots to the chest against the ropes and whips him into the corner to cut off a comeback attempt. Duggan gets in his own whip but walks into a piledriver (Vince: “That’ll hurt.”) and the Cobra Clutch finishes for Slaughter at 6:31.
Rating: C-. Now this was fun, as Duggan showed the fire that would make him a star in Mid-South when he got the chance. He was a total rookie at this point though and it was amazing to see in a way. If you have never seen the old school Slaughter, make some time to do so, as he really was awesome in his slimmer days.
Great Kabuki vs. Bruiser Brody
Date: June 7, 1981
Location: Reunion Arena, Dallas Texas
Commentator: Stan Hart
From World Class inside a cage with escape rules only and if Brody wins, Fritz Von Erich gets to face Gary Hart (evil manager) inside the cage. They circle each other to start with Brody kicking his way out of the corner. Kabuki chokes him down but gets whipped into the corner for a right hand. Brody misses the knee though and Kabuki gets in a top rope forearm to the back.
The armpit claw goes on and a superkick cuts off Brody’s comeback attempt. Another comeback works a bit better as Brody kicks him down into the corner, only to get kicked up against the cage. Brody fights out of another nerve hold but a chop cuts him down again. There’s a top rope stomp to the head (geez) to bust Brody open (makes sense) but he kicks Kabuki down again. Now the big knee connects and Brody ties him in the Tree of Woe to escape at 9:55.
Rating: C-. I was expecting more from this but the big story here was more about setting up the next match. It’s a little weird to have what feels like a big showdown inside a cage for the sake of another match later, but that’s a Von Erich story for you. Brody vs. Kabuki would seem to be a bigger match than this, though there is only so much you can do with one guy knocking the other down, then having them swap roles over and over again for about ten minutes.
Bonus match time. Well after we come back from a break and look at the last thirty seconds of the match first.
Fritz Von Erich vs. Gary Hart
Hart, in his suit, is terrified and Fritz stalks him around for a good while. A charge in the corner goes badly for Hart as he gets pounded down, allowing Fritz to start ripping at the suit. Some people are running around at ringside as the pants go flying. The Claw goes on and Hart is left in his underwear. More stripping and more Clawing ensues to give Fritz the win at 4:47.
Rating: D. This was barely a match so there is only so much you’re going to get out of it. I’m sure this would mean a lot more if I know the story (to be fair, Hart vs. Von Erichs went on for years) but this was much more about giving the fans something to cheer. Fritz was a monster in real life but the fans loved him so this worked as well as it could have.
Post match Kabuki gets Hart out of the cage in search of pants.
Minnesota Stretching Crew vs. Mr. Black/Mark Henry
Date: December 16, 2000
Location: Davis Arena, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Kenny Bolin, Dean Hill
That would be a VERY young Brock Lesnar/Shelton Benjamin and Black is a big guy. Black shrugs off Shelton’s dropkick to start and runs him over with a shoulder as commentary actually says this was taped before their big show (which wound up getting knocked out by a blizzard and postponed by a month anyway, so it was WAY before the big show). Shelton crucifixes Black for two and hits a top rope flip dive for the same. Black drives him into the corner and it’s off to Henry to toss Shelton around with ease.
A crossface chickenwing of all things has Benjamin in trouble and there’s a clothesline to drop him again. Henry drops a leg for two and Black blocks a sunset flip with a right hand. A missed charge lets Shelton bring in Brock off the hot tag and even Bolin (the heels’ manager) knows this is trouble. Everything breaks down and Black pulls out a police baton. Cue Rob Conway to take it from him and knock Black silly with it, giving Benjamin the pin at 5:40.
Rating: C. Totally watchable match here as they were just waiting on that hot tag to Lesnar. He was incredibly green at this point but when you can do things like that, does it really matter? I could have gone with the Stretching Crew on the main roster but Charlie Haas was a great choice for Benjamin’s partner and Brock did fine for himself. Black….well he was good for OVW.
Post match Henry and Black beat Conway down.
And now to Championship Wrestling From Florida, June 15, 1972.
We get a training session with Les Thornton, Harley Race, Danny Hodge and more slowly doing moves as commentary talks about what we’re seeing. We’re just seeing individual moves here and there is no crowd or anything. It’s mainly a bunch of suplexes and throws but they’re in slow motion to focus on the athletics and leverage. Believe it or not, Race looks exactly like he always wood as the guy never aged. We wrap it up with some clips of Chavo Guerrero dropkicking a Samoan in a match. This is the kind of thing I can always go for and it was a lot of fun for a short video.
From OVW, May 26, 2001.
Mark Henry is in the ring to talk about how OVW and its fans are on pace to raise $20000 for a children’s charity. Cue Bolin Services (top heel stable) with Kenny Bolin saying he is tired of Henry raising money that could go into his pocket in these towns. They have found something in the contract, with a Randy Savage impersonator (ahuh) saying that the contract states that all money Henry raises goes to Bolin, including the charity money.
Henry says he’ll see Bolin in the hospital and the brawl is on with Henry cleaning house. Cue some guy that commentary doesn’t recognize to beat Henry down with the help of Mr. Black. Jim Cornette wants to know who the guy is hitting a tornado DDT to leave Henry laying. He would know him soon enough: it’s a debuting John Cena.
Fritz Von Erich vs. The Sheik
Date: February 28, 1977
Location: Sportatorium, Dallas, Texas
Commentator: Bill Mercer
Texas Death Match, meaning anything goes. We’re joined in progress with Gary Hart offering a distraction so Sheik can get in a cheap shot. Fritz grabs the stomach claw anyway before switching to the head for a change. Sheik rolls over to the rope for the break (in a death match) but Fritz keeps the hold on. The hold has been on for about two minutes at this point, making it seems like one of the lamest holds in history.
Sheik finally gets in a cheap shot and makes the crazed comeback but Fritz chokes him down again. Some choking gets the bloody Sheik out of trouble and they slug it out as we take a break. Back with Fritz punching his way out of a choke to grab another claw from the mat. A headbutt knocks Sheik out to the floor but they’re both down for the count and the draw at 6:20.
Hang on though as Sheik gets a chance to come back in to answer the ten count (ok then)….and they’re both out again at 7:08. There must be a winner so the first person to his feet wins. Hart and company try to help Sheik up but Fritz is down. Cue Kerry Von Erich to pour water on Fritz and hit Hart with the bucket. Fritz FINALLY gets up for the win at 10:02.
Rating: D-. There was some nice drama with who gets up first but this was a lot of laying around (about 4 minutes out of 10) and the rest was spent on choking and the claw. I know the fans loved Fritz and that’s fair enough, but it would be nice to have them actually do something. Sheik can have his wild brawls, though you would never know it off of this one.
Post match Sheik uses the water on the mat to wash his face because he’s an odd duck.
UPW Heavyweight Title: Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels
Date: March 14, 2001
Location: Galaxy Theater, Santa Ana, California
Attendance: 775
Daniels is defending and this is Loser Leaves UPW (a California independent promotion which trained John Cena). We’re joined in progress with Joe (slim here) missing an enziguri and Daniels (with HAIR) pulling him into an STF. Joe makes the rope and pulls Daniels into a chinlock. That’s broken up as well but the referee gets crushed in the corner. A low blow into Angel’s Wings gets the pin….from a wrestler named Mikey Henderson, meaning it doesn’t seem to count. Joe gets back up and hits an enziguri, setting up the Emerald Driver (Emerald Flosion) for the pin and the title at 2:02 shown.
Daniels gets the Goodbye Song but grabs the mic and thanks the fans for everything over the years.
Samoa Joe, who looks YOUNG, says he’ll face everyone and ran both Daniels and Rob Van Dam out of UPW.
From Florida Championship Wrestling, February 23, 1989.
Oliver Humperdink is sick of Dusty Rhodes so he needs to get rid of Dustin Rhodes. So who should he bring in to take care of Dustin? The only solution is Terry Funk, and we see a video of Funk standing in front of an unpainted white figure with the word DUSTY on the chest. Funk talks about how worthless and fat he is, and how something like this can only be called a “Dusty”. Then he whips out a chainsaw and cuts off the limbs, which represent his words and fat. That leaves you with a Dustin, who is too stupid to speak. I think I’ve done this one before.
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WWE Vault Grab Bag III: Classics, Old Favorites, And The Nasty Sensation
WWE Vault Grab Bag III
Commentators: Trevin Adams, Mister Saint Laurent, Byron Saxton, Gordon Solie, Wade Barrett, Gorilla Monsoon, Gene Okerlund, Billy Graham, Ron Trongard, Lord Alfred Hayes, Joey Styles
We’ll do this again, as there are so many matches released on the Vault and I want to take a look at them. As a result, I get to put together something like a playlist of random matches. This makes for some interesting options and hopefully that is the case again here. There are no connections to these matches and that makes it more fun. Let’s get to it.
From Millennium Final (a German exclusive PPV).
European Cup: Sting vs. Kevin Nash
It’s a tournament final and boxer Axel Schultz is guest referee. Nash powers him into the corner to start and hits the elbows, including the framed one for good measure. Sting goes for the leg to take him down and the referee (in a hat) keeps checking on Nash, who has to tell him that it’s cool. Back up and Nash gets in a shot in the corner before booting a Stinger Splash away. Snake Eyes sets up the running crotch attack on the ropes for two, followed by a side slam for the same. Sting fights out of the chinlock, knocks him down and grabs the Scorpion Deathlock for the fast tap at 5:39.
Rating: C-. It was pretty clear that they didn’t want to do much here and they got out pretty quickly. That’s fair enough as Nash had already worked earlier in the show and the fans were going to go nuts for anything anyway. It was basically a quick “send them home happy” match and the fans are going to cheer for Sting no matter what.
From Evolve 63 (I told you these would be random).
Ethan Page vs. Drew Galloway
Anything goes and Galloway is of course better known as McIntyre. Page takes him down by the legs to start and the fight is on fast. They go outside with Page throwing a trashcan at him but Galloway avoids a ram into the wall. Instead Page kicks him in the face and they go up some steps, with Galloway getting in a low blow but Page knocks him back down.
A chair to the back keeps Galloway in trouble and Page suplexes him on the floor to make it worse. They fight towards the entrance with Page hitting a superkick but getting dropped hard onto the floor. Galloway sends him back into the ring and it’s time for a piece of the barricade to be thrown inside. Some chairs are tossed in as well but Page uses the delay to fight up and grabs a small ladder.
The ladder is thrown inside but page takes too long and gets chaired down again. The ladder is set up and Page gets powerbombed off for two in a big crash. Galloway can’t piledrive him onto a pair of open chairs, as Page backdrops him onto the chairs for two instead. An RKO is shoved into the chairs though and the Futureshock onto the chair gives McIntyre the pin at 14:53.
Rating: B. They did a nice job of beating each other up, though they never quite got to that next level where it felt like two people who hated each other trying to take the other out. If nothing else, it’s weird seeing Page in a big time serious singles match but he did well enough. Galloway is of course awesome at pretty much anything he does and it makes sense that WWE would want this version of him back.
We go to Florida in 1978 for a press conference, showing NWA President Eddie Graham announcing an NWA World Champion Harley Race vs. WWWF World Champion Billy Graham title vs. title match at the Orange Bowl in Miami on January 25, 1978. They both have to put up $25,000 and the purse goes 70/30. They’re both ready to win (and I know it’s them because the “hello, my name is” tags) and prove that they’re the best, with Gordon Solie having some wine. Apparently the referee is still up for debate.
At a later date, we get a face to face exchange of promos, with both of them saying pretty much exactly what you would expect. Race says he has heard this kind of thing time after time from someone who wants to be where he already is. Graham better be ready for the toughest fight he has ever had. That’s fine with Graham, who takes his shirt off to show his muscles. Race says he doesn’t need any of that because he’s already the best.
We go to the match, with special referees Gorilla Monsoon and Don Curtis. It’s pouring rain and we only see clips of the match, including the two of them fighting over a top wristlock. Graham wins the power battle and hits a running shoulder and we’re clipped to Page hitting a piledriver before tying up the leg. We’re clipped again to Graham getting the first fall with a bearhug, which is apparently 40+ minutes into the match.
Another clip shows them crashing out to the floor and Race suplexes him back in to tie the score. Graham is busted open and Race grabs a sleeper, which is broken up with a rake to the eyes. We’re clipped again to Race dropping a headbutt for two but Graham’s back elbow gets the same. Race gets the sleeper again and time expires with Graham basically out cold. I won’t rate it as it was only about seven minutes of sixty, but it was an old school slow paced fight which probably wasn’t overly great.
From Florida Championship Wrestling, January 31, 2010.
Rotundo Brothers vs. Usos
That would be Bo (Bo Dallas) and Duke (Bray Wyatt) vs. Jules (Jey) and Jimmy (Jimmy). Bo and Jimmy start things off with Bo grabbing some early rollups for two each. The front facelock has Jimmy slowed down and a middle rope clothesline sends him outside. The chase on the floor allows Jules to get in a cheap shot and hammer Bo down into the corner. A running Umaga Attack connects for two and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up and a double elbow from the Usos sets up…uh, well actually a double elbow from the Usos.
Something like a Demolition Decapitator gets two and the double headbutt sets up a sliding chinlock (ok then). Bo fights up with a quick powerslam and it’s off to Duke to clean house. A headbutt that looked a bit low gets two with Jimmy making the save as everything breaks down. Bo is knocked outside and a double Samoan Spike (looked more like a double chop) finishes Duke at 5:20.
Rating: C. This is a perfect example of “oh that match happened?” and then you realize why it isn’t that well known. All four of them were still new at this whole thing so there was only going to be so much to be seen anyway. The Usos were basically getting what they would become, while the other two were miles away from their more famous versions. That’s the point of developmental though and develop they all did.
Dark match from before Monday Night Raw, July 28, 1998.
Minoru Tanaka vs. The Fallen Angel
Yes it’s Christopher Daniels, yes he has hair, and yes it’s a weird look. Tanaka kicks at the leg to start but Angel go up the corner to yell at the fans. Back down and Tanaka kicks away some more before a cross armbreaker sends Angel over to the ropes. A headscissors does the same but this time Angel is back with a spinebuster. Angel slowly pounds him down and yells at the fans some more but Tanaka is back with some more kicks.
The spinning kick misses though and Angel grabs a spinning belly to belly for two. What would become the Angel’s Wings connects and the fans certainly like that one. The cover gets two, plus a bell, with the referee having to call it off. Tanaka hits a dropkick and a backdrop driver for two each, followed by a German suplex for the pin at 5:03.
Rating: C+. This is one of those matches where you could see that both guys had something to them and they would get there with some more time and experience. At the same time, it’s kind of interesting that Daniels never got a run in WWE. You would think it would have happened at some point but he just never got there (while doing fine elsewhere). On the other hand you have Tanaka and….yeah I’d say he did pretty well.
From Madison Square Garden, June 16, 1984.
Sgt. Slaughter vs. Iron Sheik
Boot Camp match, meaning anything goes and falls count anywhere. Slaughter gets a big pop while Sheik (with Ayatollah Blassie) is booed out of the building. Slaughter runs in and beats on Sheik with the helmet as they’re certainly starting fast. Sheik gets whipped with the riding crop and the fans are going absolutely nuts. Some stick shots to the throat have Sheik in more trouble and a headbutt with the helmet makes it even worse.
The slingshot sends Sheik into the corner but he reverses a whip, allowing Slaughter to do his signature crash over the corner. That’s good for two on the floor and it’s so weird to see this kind of thing in the WWF. Back in and Sheik whips him with a belt before going with some simple choking. Slaughter manages to fight back up and sends him outside, followed by a hard shot to the back inside. Sheik’s boot to the head doesn’t get him very far and Slaughter punches him down for a double breather.
Slaughter sends him crashing out to the floor, where a backbreaker gets two. They’re quickly back inside where Sheik loads up the boot (uh oh), with Slaughter blocking the ram into said boot. Instead Sheik sends him into the post and it’s time to start the spitting. Slaughter is busted open so Sheik bites at the head and kicks him with the loaded boot. Slaughter fights out of the corner and hits a middle rope…uh, flying kick to the head (almost a Stomp), with Sheik being busted open as well.
The big right hands, including the wind up version, drop Sheik for two (with the referee getting back inside to count, as it’s a fight otherwise) but the Slaughter Cannon is cut off. Sheik hits the gutwrench suplex for two more, followed by a regular suplex for another two. With nothing else working, Sheik takes his boot off but walks into the Slaughter Cannon. Slaughter grabs the loaded boot, loads it even more, and knocks Sheik silly for the pin to blow the roof off the place at 15:58.
Rating: A-. I wasn’t expecting much from this but they beat the fire out of each other and the fans were totally hooked. Slaughter was on fire at this point and it was great to see him getting this kind of a reception. At the same time, the Sheik was more than holding up his end. I know he gets all of the attention for being insane, but he can absolutely hang in there with anyone. This was great and absolutely worth seeing.
Dark match from before the November 23, 2007 Smackdown.
Drew McIntyre introduces this one, saying it’s a dark match that everyone wanted to see, though it should probably have stayed in the Vault.
Nasty Boys vs. Drew McIntyre/Dave Taylor
This is an infamous one. The Boys certainly take their time getting to the ring and Sags makes sure to pose a lot on the floor as Knobbs drives Taylor into the corner to start. Taylor does it right back to him as the fans certainly like the Boys. Knobbs hammers away with right hands and grabs a hiptoss. The Boys send McIntyre and Taylor into each other and it’s off to McIntyre, who wants Sags.
McIntyre gets sent hard into the corner for some chops, followed by a hard running clothesline for two. Knobbs comes back in for an elbow drop and the Pit Stop makes things even worse for McIntyre. A hard pumphandle slam gives Sags two and it’s back to Taylor for some uppercuts. Sags avoids a charge and McIntyre runs into Taylor, allowing Sags to come back in for a fireman’s carry/facebuster combination. Ignoring that Sags completely misses McIntyre’s head and Knobbs just drops him, it’s enough for the pin at 5:20.
Rating: D+. There’s a reason this match is more infamous than famous and a lot of it is due to the Boys apparently being very rough with McIntyre. They were also out of shape and then spent a LONG time celebrating after the match, to the point where the start of Smackdown was rushed. If you watch it on its own, it’s just a not very good tag match, but this was all about the behind the scenes stuff and details.
From Madison Square Garden, June 25, 1988 (this is on a bunch of home video releases but let’s see it again).
WWF Title: Randy Savage vs. Ted DiBiase
Savage, with Elizabeth (to counter DiBiase’s Virgil), is defending in a cage. DiBiase jumps him to start fast and Savage is sent into the corner, which just fires him up (like it takes a lot). The comeback is cut off with an elbow to the face though and DiBiase stomps away again. It’s way too early for an escape attempt though and Savage sends him into the corner over and over.
Savage ducks his head though and gets hit in the face as Elizabeth is doing her usual worried face. There’s the fist drop from DiBiase (which always looked great and does here again) but it’s still way too early to climb out. Savage is sent hard into the cage and then dropped with a clothesline but he’s able to cut off DiBiase’s climb again. Virgil earns his pay by going up to stop Savage’s escape attempt though and they’re both back down.
This time Savage reverses a whip into the cage and gets a needed breather. Another climb is cut off by Virgil and DiBiase is there to hammer away. Savage’s clothesline puts both of them down again and he goes for the door, with DiBiase making his own save this time. This results in Graham suggesting that Elizabeth gain about 80lbs of muscle so she can be more valuable in these situations.
With that disturbing image out of the way, it’s a double clothesline to leave both of them down again. They both go up a different corner and of course Virgil is there for the save. A suplex puts DiBiase down and an atomic drop sends him into the cage again. Savage goes for the door and Virgil slams the door onto his head.
DiBiase tries to get out and gets pulled back inside so they can slug it out from their knees. Another ram into the cage puts DiBiase down again and Savage climbs, with Virgil cutting him off AGAIN. This time a fan even climbs the cage and is quickly pulled down, leaving Savage to get in a double noggin knocker and drop down to retain at 12:21.
Rating: B+. This was one of those matches where it felt like a fight between two guys in a structure designed to make it more violent. There weren’t very many matches like this one from this era and this is one of the best, as you had two incredible talents who worked very well together. They feuded for a long time and this was probably their best match, which is quite the accomplishment.
From ECW Wrestlepalooza 1998.
TV Title: Sabu vs. Rob Van Dam
Van Dam is defending and Bill Alfonso is officially managing both of them. As a bonus, crooked referee Judge Jeff Jones is in refereeing the match. Sabu dives for the legs to start but can’t get anywhere, leaving Van Dam smirking a bit. The fourth or so attempt works but Van Dam is right back up to miss a kick to the head. Van Dam takes him down with a quickly broken headscissors and they bounce off the ropes a bit for the standoff.
Alfonso approves and Van Dam does the Sabu pose before offering a pat on the back. Actually hang on as Van Dam gets the mic to say they’re not going to fight because they have a plan. We get a tease of double teaming Jones but Sabu kicks Van Dam in the face to take over, with the plan apparently being dropped. A slingshot flipping legdrop gets two on Van Dam and Sabu sends him to the floor for the flip dive.
Back in and the single arm camel clutch goes on, with Van Dam looking…well about the same really. With that broken up, Sabu flips over him, followed by Van Dam doing the same (albeit to Sabu rather than himself). Van Dam kicks him down and hits the corkscrew legdrop for his own near fall. Naturally Alfonso is suddenly a huge Van Dam fan, which is a perfectly logical move for him.
The surfboard has Sabu in more trouble and the slingshot legdrop on the apron connects, with Van Dam crashing out to the floor. Back in and Van Dam grabs a half crab, with Alfonso’s whistling getting all the more annoying. The rope actually gets Sabu out of trouble so Van Dam kicks him in the face. That lets Van Dam bridge a table between the apron and the barricade but Sabu is right there with a dive. The triple jump dive is loaded up but Van Dam gets off the table, only for Sabu to hit a big dive into the crowd anyway.
Back in and Sabu pelts a chair at Van Dam’s head so they’re already back on the floor. Van Dam fights back but Alfonso won’t hold a chair for him, with Alfonso saying he’ll call it down the line and be a winner no matter what. Smart move really, in a Bobby Heenan at the 1989 Royal Rumble way. Sabu is back up with a crotching onto the barricade into an Asai moonsault. The triple jump moonsault misses back inside though and Alfonso is pro Van Dam again.
Van Dam knocks him outside for a crash and there’s the big no hands flip dive for the cool visual. A suplex from the apron through a table is blocked and Sabu’s not great looking springboard moonsault hits Van Dam in the ropes. Van Dam is sent back onto the table as Joey Styles is having a hard time believing that these two are friends. Sabu uses the chair as a stepping stone to the ropes, setting up a DDT onto the table.
Back in and Sabu throws the chair at Van Dam’s head again, setting up a hurricanrana through the table. This means a lot more waiting around as they get to whatever they have in mind next, which is the main theme of the match. Van Dam fights back and catapults him throat first into the bottom rope, setting up a top rope legdrop onto the chair onto Sabu’s face. They go outside (again) where Sabu gets in a hurricanrana off the barricade. Back in and a quick Van Daminator gives Van Dam two and the Five Star connects for the same in a rare kickout.
The monkey flip out of the corner sends Sabu crashing onto the chair for an arrogant two. That’s not good for Sabu, who hits an Arabian Facebuster onto the back of the head for two of his own. Another table is loaded up but it’s already broken so Van Dam kicks him through the rest of the thing.
Van Dam brings in another table and kicks him onto it, followed by a heck of a chair shot to the head. The Five Star through the table only gets two (good grief) and a lifting Pedigree gives Van Dam the same. Sabu is back up with some kicks into a slingshot legdrop for two of his own as they’re somehow getting even slower. A split legged moonsault gets two, as does Sabu’s Arabian press…and time expires at 30:02 (close enough).
Rating: C-. There were some great spots in there, but it was ridiculous to see the two of them kicking out time after time. It was cool to see them doing their stuff, even with Sabu’s usual sloppiness, but they were really dragging near the end and spent far too much of the match selling. I liked the idea of Alfonso calling it right down the line and wanting to leave with the champion, but that wasn’t enough to overcome the annoying aspects here.
Post match they seem to be ok.
Overall Rating: B. As usual it’s hard to give this an overall rating as it’s not meant to be a regular show, but with some actual rarities and two classics, I’ll definitely take this one as an entertaining set. Granted it helped that I picked the matches included, but it was mostly good stuff. As usual, the WWE Vault is one of the best things going in wrestling today and hopefully that continues for a long time to come.
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World Championship Wrestling – November 9, 1985: It Sounds So Familiar
World Championship Wrestling
Date: November 9, 1985
Location: WTBS Studios, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: David Crockett, Tony Schiavone
This is the legendary WCW TV show (airing at 6:05 on Saturday night) and we have a few to pick from so here’s the first that I saw. It’s not something I’ve seen a ton of over the years but this is more or less the gold standard for weekly studio TV wrestling. We’re coming up on Starrcade 1985 and that’s what we’ll be hearing about here. Let’s get to it.
We open with what appears to be a recap of Billy Graham yelling at Paul Jones that there is no contract and all Jones does is lie.
Crockett and Schiavone preview the show and tell us that the TV Title has been held up. Arn Anderson has the title belt, which had belonged to Dusty Rhodes, but a tournament has been announced to crown a new champion. Anderson comes in and compares this to a fox hunt with twenty people coming after one fox. He is the fox because everyone is after him when he already took the title from Rhodes. Cue Ole Anderson to say the belt belongs to Arn so if Rhodes wants it back, he’ll have to come take it. Good stuff from Arn here, as always.
Manny Fernandez vs. Vernon Deaton
Fernandez knocks him down to start and grabs a snapmare, followed by a hard chop to the chest. Back up and Fernandez works on the arm with some cranking, followed by the Flying Burrito (flying forearm). A middle rope knee finishes for Fernandez at 2:46. I’ve always liked Fernandez.
National heavyweight Champion Terry Taylor, sounding very nervous, is ready to defend at Starrcade and an opponent has been named. Not announced, but named.
Ole Anderson/Arn Anderson vs. Keith Freeze/Jim Blackland
The Anderson’ National Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Ole works on Blackland’s arm to start and Arn comes in to stomp away. Arn sends him head first into the mat and Ole comes in for some knees to the back. Freeze comes in and gets stomped down as well, with Arn adding a hard forearm. The hammerlock slam lets Arn work on the arm some more and the gordbuster finished at 3:05.
Rating: C. Nothing much to see here other than the arm work, which is as much of an Anderson signature as you can have. They really are a heck of a tag team and have been a bit forgotten over the years. Also of note, there is a good chance that Blackland is a typo, as that would be Jimmy Backlund, who you might remember as Jimmy Del Ray of the Heavenly Bodies in the mid 90s.
US Champion Tully Blanchard, with Baby Doll, is not happy with Magnum TA. We see a clip from a recent TV taping, where Doll gave Magnum her card. She went to left, but Magnum stopped and kissed her. Doll seems to approve but then slaps him anyway. Magnum rips part of her dress off and Blanchard runs in for the brawl. Back in the studio, Blanchard talks about Magnum forcing himself on Doll (yep) and now it’s time for the I Quit cage match at Starrcade. You might have heard of that one before. Anyway, Blanchard says Magnum better be ready.
Ivan Koloff/Nikita Koloff/Krusher Khrushchev vs. Jimmy Langston/Kent Glover/Larry Clark
The Six Man Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Clark goes after Krusher’s arm to start and gets slammed down for his efforts. Ivan comes in to rip away at the face and it’s off to Nikita, who looks awesome and makes you wonder what he and Hogan could have done together. Some heavy shots put Clark down and it’s Glover coming in for a running knee to Ivan in the corner. The Russians start taking turns stomping away on Glover with some rather quick tags. A double back elbow drops Glover and it’s off to Langston, who gets choked down. The Russian Sickle finishes Langston at 4:24.
Rating: C. The Russians are the definition of a simple gimmick that works very well. They look like monsters (especially Nikita) and work as a well oiled machine. It’s fun to see them smash people and they were getting to do it here, with that Sickle at the end looking especially devastating.
Rock N Roll Express vs. Jim Jeffers/Mac Jeffers
Jim headlocks Morton to start and gets monkey flipped into an armbar for his efforts. It’s off to Gibson for one off a sunset flip and Mac comes in. Morton takes him down without much trouble and it’s back to Gibson for a headlock takeover. Gibson rolls Mac up for two and it’s time for Morton to work on the arm. Gibson works on the arm, Morton works on the arm, Gibson works on the arm, this is so rock and roll. Morton sends him into the corner and yeah it’s back to Gibson for more arm cranking. Jim fights up and brings Mac in, where a double elbow knocks him down. The double dropkick finishes at 6:33.
Rating: C-. For a Rock N Roll TV match, this went on for the better part of ever. The arm cranking was more than a bit much and that’s not something you particularly want to see. That being said, the Express were so over that they could sit out there and have a sandwich and get more cheers than almost anyone on the show. Not a great match to see, but you could tell the Express could do something with better opponents.
Tony Schiavone runs down the Starrcade card. Jim Crockett comes in to announce some new matches (and we get some clips setting up each match):
• Terry Taylor defends the National Title against Buddy Landell
• Jim Cornette/Midnight Express vs. Jimmy Valiant/Miss Atlanta Lively in an Atlanta Street Fight
• Superstar Billy Graham vs. the Barbarian, both in regular wrestling and arm wrestling
• Ric Flair defends the NWA World Title against Dusty Rhodes
Billy Jack Haynes vs. Thunderfoot
This is part of the Championship Challenge Series, which isn’t for a championship, and JJ Dillon is here with Thunderfoot. Haynes wastes no time in gorilla pressing him down, meaning Thunderfoot needs a meeting on the floor. A test of strength goes to the rather muscular Haynes and he dropkicks Thunderfoot out to the floor. Back in and Haynes works on the arm with various forms of cranking, including an armbar.
We take a break and come back with Haynes armdragging him into an armbar as Manny Fernandez comes in to join commentary. Dillon trips Haynes down and gets in some choking from the apron, which Fernandez doesn’t like. Thunderfoot grabs a front facelock and Dillon seems to cheat, earning some yelling from the referee.
A belly to back suplex drops Haynes for two and we hit the front facelock again. Haynes fights up and kicks away, setting up a middle rope elbow. Dillon offers a distraction so Thunderfoot loads up his boot (that’s his thing) but Fernandez comes down to cut that off (the distraction, not the foot). Haynes gets a rollup for the pin at 10:04.
Rating: C. It’s easy to see why so many promotions saw something in Haynes. He was built like a monster and had a great look, which was enough to get you noticed. If he could talk well enough and, you know, not be insane, it could have worked out. He definitely had something there and it even made Thunderfoot of all people work.
Post match Fernandez says he and Haynes could be a good team and that he’ll be in the TV Title tournament. Haynes talks to the people in Oregon and he wants revenge on the Andersons for hurting Dusty Rhodes.
Jim Crockett announces Ric Flair and the Andersons against Pez Whatley/Terry Taylor/Ron Garvin.
We get a special interview with the returning Dusty Rhodes, who is freshly back from his injury. Rhodes does something similar to his legendary Hard Times promo (that was last week, albeit on Mid-Atlantic Wrestling). By similar I mean he repeats a bunch of the lines and does the reach out to the camera bit. This is so similar that I had to look up the original to make sure that I wasn’t just remembering it wrong. This was almost a direct to video sequel rehash of the famous one and that’s a bizarre thing to see. It makes sense as it was two different shows, but dang that’s weird.
Ron Garvin vs. Paul Garner
Garvin takes him down to start and grabs a neck crank, followed by a suplex. Commentary ignores the match to talk about Rhodes being back, as he’s just that much more important. Garvin grabs an abdominal stretch in the corner and then ties him up on the mat. Some knee drops let commentary tell us to not try this at home but rather go through the amateur ranks, like these two did. Garvin ties up the arm and cranks on the neck (Fans: “BREAK IT! BREAK IT!”) for a nasty looking hold. Back up and the Fist Of Stone (a hard right hand) finishes for Garvin, who sits down on the chest for the pin at 6:28.
Rating: C-. There is something nice about the idea of Garvin’s finisher just being him punching him in the face. It’s so simple and it works well with everything else he was doing. I’ve never been a fan of Garvin’s, but there are things about him which do work, with that finisher being up near the top of the list.
The Russians are tired of carrying the Six Man Tag Team Trophy because they’re the Tag Team Champions too. Krusher Khrushchev is ready to win the Mid-Atlantic Title and Ivan Koloff doesn’t care about Dusty Rhodes’ broken leg.
We get an interview from a few weeks ago, with Jimmy Valiant, with Big Mama, the latter of whom is ready to slap Jim Cornette at Starrcade. Valiant says anything goes, and that includes Cornette’s clothes. Anything goes so put anything you want in your pockets. He’ll strip the Express’ clothes too. Valiant brings in Miss Atlanta Lively….who is clearly Ron Garvin in drag. Are we not supposed to get that?
Barbarian vs. Gerald Finley
Barbarian has a broken hand so he boots Finley to the apron instead. The slow beating continues and Finley is knocked outside again, followed by a broken arm shot to the throat. The top rope headbutt finishes for Barbarian at 3:45.
Rating: C. Over the years, Barbarian has become someone I have grown to like way more. No one is suggesting that he was going to be the top star anywhere or the World Champion or anything, but he is someone who does his thing well and looks good doing so. His powerhouse offense works and he’s fine as a midcard dragon for a star to slay.
The Andersons aren’t worried about Billy Jack Haynes and Manny Fernandez. Instead, they’re more interested in Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes, because they’ll be getting involved in the title match. They might even bring some extra friends to help. Oh and Tully Blanchard will win too.
Tully Blanchard vs. Joe Malcolm
Non-title. Blanchard knocks him down to start (Baby Doll approves) and grabs an early chinlock. Back up and the slingshot suplex finishes for Blanchard at 1:32.
Paul Jones says Billy Graham is still under contract to him but Graham has insisted that is not true. Graham attacked Jones and broke Barbarian’s hand and that was going too far. We get a clip from a previous interview (which is the clip from the begging, and the hype package earlier), where Graham called him “every book in the name”, which led to a brawl with Barbarian making the save with the cast.
Back in the studio, Jones screams about how horrible it is that they have to do this arm wrestling at Starrcade. Jones insists that Graham “would break his own mother’s arm for $5! And he would do anything for an earring! Superstar, YOU’RE GONNA MEET YOUR WATERLOO!!!” What a bizarre final bit from a horribly uninteresting manager.
Terry Taylor vs. Amos Moses
Non-title and Taylor takes him down by the arm to start. The armbar stays on for a good while but Taylor can’t get a pin off a knuckle lock. Commentary is so bored that they wish a couple in New York a happy 69th wedding anniversary. Taylor finally puts him away with the superplex at 3:20.
Rating: C. Taylor is good enough at what he does as the young, handsome good guy and there is always going to be a spot for someone like that. His in-ring work was never my style but what matters here is getting the fans to cheer for him. It was as interesting as you could be with even more arm work, but that’s kind of the norm for these TV shows.
The Rock N Roll Express is ready for the Russians and the Tag Team Titles at Starrcade. Rock and roll is here to stay and rock and roll is forever. Well, they’ve been going for about forty years so they’re not wrong so far.
Overall Rating: C+. So the thing to remember about these shows is that you shouldn’t be watching for the matches. These shows aren’t about the wrestling but rather building people up for the bigger shows. That’s what they were doing for Starrcade at the end of the month, and this actually had me wanting to see some of the show. Do that again and you should have a success on your hands, which is why this era is so fondly remembered. It’s a formula that worked, as it did again here.
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WWF Wrestling Challenge – October 11, 1986: Hulk’s Mic Drop
Wrestling Challenge
Date: October 11, 1986
Location: Wicomico Youth & Civic Center, Salisbury, Maryland
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan
We’ll do one more of these for now as the big feature from last week saw Roddy Piper vs. Adrian Adonis kicked into high gear. Other than that, there isn’t much going on as far as a major feud, with Hulk Hogan being nowhere to be seen (save for endorsing Honky Tonk Man) and Bobby Heenan wanting competition. Let’s get to it.
Non-title and we’re starting with the big match for a change. Savage hides behind Elizabeth when Hayes comes at him to start, prompting Gorilla to call Savage a mouse. We get an inset interview from Elizabeth about how nice Savage is but Savage interrupts and runs her off. Haynes starts fast and knocks him to the floor where Savage needs a breather.
Back in and Savage grabs the rope to avoid a dropkick, setting up the top rope ax handle. They trade big clotheslines (Heenan liked Savage’s better) and Haynes drops a middle rope fist. The full nelson goes on but the referee gets bumped (that’s rare in 1986). Cue referee Danny Davis to DQ Haynes at 4:22.
Rating: C. This was a better match than you usually get on here, but what else were you expecting with Savage involved? Haynes is someone who had a great look but wasn’t really able to back it up with anything else. He looked solid enough in defeat here, but this was about the evil and nothing more, which isn’t the worst idea given how random of a match they had.
Say it with me: Monsoon is livid.
Ricky Steamboat is always asks what makes him mad and the answer is wrestlers who claim to need managers. He has been doing this for eleven years and hasn’t needed any help keeping track of his career. The reality is wrestlers needing help at ringside. Steamboat goes on about how he doesn’t like Jake Roberts and the DDT….and gets cut off by the music mid-sentence.
Bob Orton Jr. and Don Muraco (in something resembling a Roddy Piper costume) show us a clip from last week with the two of them and Adrian Adonis beating the daylights out of Roddy Piper.
In some new footage, we see Piper, with his knee in a huge brace and limping on a baseball bat, promising to take care of those sons of b****** (and yes it’s uncensored) and destroy the Flower Shop. Piper does just that, falling down multiple times, and promises that the war has just begun.
Orton and Muraco are happy that Piper will be limping for the rest of his life and are ready to ruin the rest of him. Then he will know that Orton carried him and that Muraco demands an apology. Piper had that fire in him and there isn’t much more intimidating than that in wrestling.
The Machines speak some Japanese (they all happen to be car manufacturers) and list off some teams they would like to face. Ichiban.
Killer Bees vs. Butch Cooper/Barry O
Blair takes Cooper to the mat to start and, in their insert interview, promise confusion through the powers of the masks. Barry O (the O is for Orton and he has a nephew named Randy) comes in and gets his arm cranked a bit but Brunzell gets pulled out of the air so Cooper can get in a single shot. It’s already back to Blair who cleans house before Brunzell finishes Cooper with a dropkick at 2:35.
Harley Race talks about how he has been the King since before he won the crown. Hawk (yes Hawk) Hogan comes up short to him and that’s why everyone was there when he was crowned. Just keep feeding him people, because he wants to hurt people. Sweet goodness that voice is awesome.
Hart Foundation vs. Mario Mancini/Nick Kiniski
Bret takes Nick (son of Gene) up against the ropes to start and a sunset flip gets two. We get an insert promo from the Harts, as they don’t seem to agree about how much they get alone. Nick armdrags Neidhart down and it’s off to Mancino, who gets taken into the corner. Heenan thinks that, save for Studd and Bundy, the Harts will be the next Tag Team Champions (yep). The Hart Attack finishes Mancini at 1:58.
Post match Danny Davis leaves before the losers leave, which has Gorilla, say it with me, livid.
We go to the Snake Pit and Jake Roberts brings out…..Hulk Hogan. Well that escalated quickly. Hogan doesn’t think much of a single python when he has two 24 inch Pythons. Roberts isn’t impressed but Hogan talks about being on the positive side of things instead of the negative like Jake. Roberts asks if he would ever turn his back on a man that he’s afraid of. Hogan says no and walks off in a pretty awesome moment.
Tito Santana/Pedro Morales vs. Ken Glover/Steve Lombardi
Santana armbars Lombardi (who is quite the brawler….from Brooklyn) and we get a quick insert promo from Pedro, who puts over Santana in Spanish. Pedro comes in and backdrops Lombardi before it’s off to Glover, who gets backdropped as well. The beating continues as Gorilla asks about all the money Heenan owes people for slamming Big John Studd. Before Heenan can answer, the atomic drop finishes Glover at 2:21.
Moondog Spot vs. Toma
Toma jumps over him to start and fires off a chop but misses an elbow. We get an insert promo from Billy Graham in the desert as Spot comes back with a suplex. Toma makes another comeback but Moondog Rex comes in for the DQ at 1:23.
Post match Haku comes in for the big beatdown as I try to get my head around the idea of the Islanders as faces. Toma is named as the winner, and for some reason his name was spelled as “Toma” before and “Tama” (the more common way it was spelled) after.
The Wizard, with Sika, shouts about wanting to hurt people. He has also found Kamala, who is ready to reach the thirty third level of communication. Anyway, Sika is a complete throwback to the old Polynesian warriors and threatens Hulk Hogan.
Overall Rating: C+. Maybe it was the people who appeared or maybe it was the lack of Junkyard Dog but this was one of the more enjoyable Wrestling Challenges I’ve seen so far. The show flew by and had some entertaining stuff throughout. Throw in Piper losing his mind as he wants revenge and this was quite the entertaining 45 or so minutes.
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Wrestling Challenge – September 20, 1986: The Distant Future
Wrestling Challenge
Date: September 20, 1986
Location: Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Ernie Ladd, Johnny V
I’m not sure what to expect from this show and that is what makes the show so much fun. Instead of one big story, it’s more like they’re picking random wrestlers who have a little something going on at the moment and throw them into some squash matches. That’s how things worked in the Golden Era so let’s get to it.
This is when the Islanders were still good guys and Jimmy hart is in the Harts’ corner. Of note: the graphics say this include “Hako” and “Brett” Hart. The Harts jump them to start and clear the ring until it’s Neidhart kneeing Tama in the ribs. There’s a bite to the face as Johnny V makes south Pacific jokes.
Something like a Demolition Decapitator drops Tama again as we get an insert promo from Jimmy Hart about how much better his team is than the Islanders. The referee doesn’t see the tag to Haku so everything breaks down, with the barricade being knocked down at ringside. Toma busts out a crazy dive over the top (In 1986!) and the referee throws it out at 2:39, which is a bit of a surprise.
Post match the Islanders clean house without much trouble.
This week’s Wrestler’s Rebuttal is from Adrian Adonis, who is ready for his debate with Roddy Piper in the coming weeks. The topic: who has the better talk show segment. So they’re talking about talking? This isn’t so much a rebuttal as much as a clip from Superstars.
Randy Savage vs. Tony Garea
Non-title and AGAIN Danny Davis messes up by distracting Garea. Not that it matters as Garea is right back with a crossbody for two and a sunset flip for the same. Back up and Savage knees him out to the floor, setting up the top rope ax handle. We get an insert promo from Billy Graham in the desert, where he says he’s coming back to hurt someone. Like Savage for example. Savage takes him back inside, hits the slam and drops the elbow for the pin at 2:26. Garea got in a bit there but then it was the Savage Show, meaning it was awesome.
Jake Roberts thinks Ricky Steamboat is stupid for coming after him after getting burned once before. And no, he didn’t get the Snake Pit by brown nosing, but because he has talent.
Machines vs. Tiger Chung Lee/Al Navarro/JJ Jackson
Oddly enough, Hayes doesn’t know Jackson’s name and has to ask him. Lou Albano is here with the Machines: Big Machine (Blackjack Mulligan), Super Machine (Ax from Demolition) and Giant Machine (I’ll let you figure it out). Lee and Big start things off as we get an insert promo from Bobby Heenan talking about how much smarter he is than Albano, who must have a machine for these machines. Jackson comes in and gets clotheslined by Super, who sends him into a right hand from Giant for the pin at 1:30. This team is hilarious in a way that would only work in wrestling.
Koko B. Ware, with music box blaring, gets Ken Resnick to dance with him. He is no stepping stone.
BUY WWF MAGAZINE!
BUY LJN ACTION FIGURES! No really, as those things are valuable today.
BUY WWF THUMB WRESTLERS! I think I had most of those.
Dream Team vs. Lanny Poffo/Dick Slater
That’s a heck of a random jobber team and oddly enough they get a full entrance while Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine are already in the ring. Poffo’s poem is about how Slater is a rebel from Dixie who will do his thing. Valentine slams Poffo to start as we get an insert promo from Mr. Fuji, who does NOT like Dixie. Slater comes in and elbows Valentine in the head for two.
That’s enough for Johnny V, the Dream Team’s manager, to bail on commentary and go take care of his team. A suplex gets two on Slater and a sunset flip gives him two on Valentine. Everything breaks down and Valentine snaps Poffo’s throat across the top rope so Beefcake can get the pin at 2:35. The V stuff made it a bit more interesting.
And now, the Snake Pit with Bobby Heenan and Paul Orndorff. Jake talks about fakers and Orndorff says Hulk Hogan wants to be him. The robe comes off so Orndorff can pose, with Heenan saying Orndorff’s thirst will only be quenched when he wins the WWF Title.
Sika vs. Rick Hunter
The Wizard is here with Sika. Hunter slugs away to start and gets choked down with no effect. Sika slaps him down and we get an insert interview from Honky Tonk Man, who is still on his way. Hunter tries to forearm his way out of trouble and gets choked into the corner. More choking ensues as the Wizard shouts at Sika, who finishes with the Samoan drop (with Sika more laying him down than dropping) for the pin at 3: 23.
Rating: D. When the Samoan drop isn’t looking great, there is only so much that you’re going to get out of a match. Sika was never much on his own but was quite great when he was part of the Wild Samoans. That being said, this was another weak match which got some time, partially due to Honky Tonk Man sucking any life out of the thing with his out of date good guy act.
Video on the Rougeau Brothers riding motorcycles and in a boat. Riveting.
Killer Bees vs. Terry Gibbs/Jack Foley
Ladd thinks the Bees have ants in their pants and Monsoon thinks the Dream Team is scared to put their “John Henry” on a contract with the Killer Bees. Brunzell and Gibbs trade wristlocks to start before it’s off to Blair. Gibbs misses a running elbow so Jack comes in, only to get fireman’s carried.
This lets Johnny get in another “Iwo Jima, out of ammo” line, which must have some other meaning. An atomic drop and jumping knee drop Jack and a double elbow does the same. The arm work continues as Ladd refers to the Dream Team as the “Dream Machine”. Johnny keeps talking about how ugly Foley is and a flying hip attack gives Blair the pin at 3:31.
Rating: D+. Another slow and nothing match, with commentary sounding WAY off being the main focus. There were all kinds of tag teams around this time and the Bees, while good, weren’t exactly going to stand out when the British Bulldogs and the Harts etc. were around. They were a big enough deal here and felt like something of stars. That being said, the Jack guy would get a bit better when he started going by something closer to his real name: Mick. Yeah I know it’s not much of a secret, but I need something to get me through these matches.
Bobby Heenan says Mr. Wonderfulmania is running wild and Paul Orndorff comes in to talk about how jealous Hogan is. Hogan can’t lift like him so he stole Real American and the t-shirt ripping. Heenan chants WONDERFUL to wrap things up.
Here’s who’s coming next week.
Cue that musical review!
Overall Rating: D+. Randy Savage can only give you so much on a show with almost nothing else. The Harts vs. the Islanders felt like it could have had potential but then nothing came of it due to time. The Machines are always good for a chuckle, but I need a little more than the rapid fire short matches with almost nothing worth seeing. Still though, this is about as straight up my alley as I can get so we’ll definitely be back.
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Wrestling Challenge – September 13, 1986: These Are Some Confused People
Wrestling Challenge
Date: September 13, 1986
Location: Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Ernie Ladd, Johnny V
It’s the second episode and there is one simple question: how many times can Ernie Ladd use the terms “without a doubt” or “without a shadow of a doubt”? Last time was roughly 47 each in a show that didn’t even last an hour so he could get in his two statements dozens more time if he puts his mind to trying. Let’s get to it.
Unfortunately it’s Jimmy Jack instead of Terry (with Jimmy Hart). Slightly more fortunately, Steele and Dog have Lou Albano with them. After Steele stops to eat a turnbuckle, Dog fires off some headbutts to clear out the Funks again. We actually start with Hoss (Dory) being rammed into the corner as Albano gives us an inset interview to talk about Steele and Dog working together well because they’re so different. He goes on so long that the inset window goes away mid sentence, which might be the best idea.
Steele gets taken into the corner as commentary bickers incessantly. It’s off to Dog for an awkward collision with Jimmy Jack in the corner and let’s try some hogtying! Steele makes the save with a chair and it’s a belly to back suplex to finish Jimmy Jack at 2:19. Somehow this was bad even in such a short amount of time.
Post match Jimmy Jack gets hogtied for fun. Then the winners, including Albano, dance as we get a referee (ignore the one count coming before Dog had the cover).
This week’s Wrestler’s Rebuttal is from the Hart Foundation, who don’t like being called nasty boys. They’ve been called Beer Belly and Greaseball but Bret says they’re the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. Dang he got that one in earlier than I thought.
Kamala vs. Mario Mancini
Kamala (or Kamalee according to Lord Alfred Hayes) has Wizard and Kim Chee with him. After taking a good bit of time to get rid of his stuff, Kamala chops away on Mancini, even after he’s already down. The inset promo from the Wizard (identified as Curtis Iaukea by Monsoon) talks about getting a monster in Singapore as the squash continues. A kick to the ribs sets up more chops and the splash finishes Mancini at 1:59.
Captain Lou Albano talks about his psychologists/gynecologists (right) working with George Steele. Intelligence aside, he has the heart of a lion and knows every move. He may not use them, but he knows them you see. Steele grew up with a lisp but had a steel plate put over his tongue in a failed attempt to cure his speech impediment. Now he’s fighting….multiple sclerosis? Well that got serious quickly. Steele says he was told to be vicious, so he’ll do be vicious to Randy Savage.
Hillbilly Jim/Cousin Luke vs. Jack Kruger/Joe Mirto
The Hillbillies get jumped from behind to start but get cleared out without much trouble. Jim beats on Mirto as we hear from Jimmy Hart, who is sending his boys after the Hillbillies because he doesn’t like country music. Luke slams Mirto but misses an elbow, allowing Kruger to come in. Ladd says Luke’s tennis shoes are called “burglar boots” where he’s from as Luke fights up and brings Jim back in. A double slam sets up a bearhug to finish Kruger at 2:37. Hillbilly Jim was fun but adding in his relatives dragged the act down fast.
Interviewer Ken Resnick talks about how many great teams there are here and brings in the undefeated Rougeaus. They want to face every team to get their hands on the British Bulldogs for the Tag Team Titles. They inspire each other and while they respect the Bulldogs, they like the titles more. Both of them are a bit chatty but they were a fine team.
Honky Tonk Man is coming soon and talks about going out dancing last night with the 57 Chevy top down. He wants Paul Orndorff too. This gimmick as a face is an all time WHAT WERE THEY THINKING moment.
Ricky Steamboat vs. Roger Kirby
Steamboat leapfrogs him a few times to start but gets hiptossed for his efforts. The armdrags into an armbar put Kirby down and that works so well that Steamboat does it again. An atomic drop gets Kirby out of trouble and he kind of awkwardly kicks at Steamboat in what might have been a bit of miscommunication. Steamboat can’t chop out of the corner but he can ram Kirby into the buckle. Kirby is fine enough to knock him into the ropes though and Steamboat’s leg gets tied up. Back in and Steamboat slides between the legs, hits a slam, and finishes with the high crossbody at 4:23.
Rating: C-. This was a bit of a weird one as Steamboat was beaten up more than you would have expected him to be. That being said, I could watch Steamboat all day as there are very few people who can make wrestling look so smooth. That slide through the legs and high crossbody looked great and Steamboat is one of the only few who can pull that off.
We go to the Snake Pit with Hillbilly Jim as this week’s guest. Jake talks about putting together one of his mom’s recipes but Jim isn’t impressed. Instead, Jake tells him to stomp twice if he doesn’t understand him. Jim says he’ll stay quiet and let the fools talk. They trade witty expressions (Jake’s is about a bird and Jim says sometimes the lights are on but no one is home). This was a weird one even by Jake standards.
King Kong Bundy/Big John Studd vs. Billy Jack Hayes/Paul Roma
Hayes can’t get anywhere with Studd so we’ll go with an insert promo from Harley Race, who brags about being a king. Studd has to block some slam attempts and hands it off to Bundy for an elbow to the face. The splash misses in the corner though and Roma comes in to clean house. That must last for a full seven seconds before Bundy hits the Avalanche in the corner for the pin at 2:34.
Corporal Kirchner/Jim Powers/Salvatore Bellomo vs. Hercules/Iron Sheik/Nikolai Volkoff
Slick and Freddie Blassie are here with the villains. It’s a big brawl to start as the Americans break up the Russian national anthem (which earned some trash in the ring). We settle down to Sheik suplexing Bellomo and Hercules coming in to knee Powers in the ribs. As commentary suggests that Slick has an army of ladies of the evening in his employment, Sheik hits a running crotch attack to the back of the neck. We get an insert promo from Billy Graham, talking about his chimney being made of human skulls. With that out of the way, Hercules torture racks Powers for the win at 2:54.
Jimmy Hart and the Hart Foundation don’t like being called nasty boys. They’ve been accused of cheating and insist it is their skill/muscle that make them great. They’re coming for the British Bulldogs.
Here’s who’s coming next week.
Here is your musical review to wrap it up.
Overall Rating: C. They keep this show moving and that is a lot of fun every time. It is great to see the show have so much packed into about 45 minutes as opposed to one thing dominating the show. This was another easy to watch show and we’re inching closer to some of the biggest stuff the WWF will ever do, so it’s just getting started.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:
Prime Time Wrestling – June 17, 1987: Why Did I Wait So Long?
Prime Time Wrestling
Date: June 17, 1987
Hosts: Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan
Commentators: Dick Graham, Lord Alfred Hayes, Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan, Vince McMahon, Gorilla Monsoon, Bruno Sammartino
Oh boy it’s Prime Time. This was one of the big shows from the WWF, as it featured various matches from major house shows. That might not sound like much, but at the time, this was a pretty awesome deal. What makes it better is Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan as the hosts, giving us the legendary banter that made them one of the best duos of all time. This is from my favorite era in wrestling so hopefully I can have some fun with some of these. Let’s get to it.
This is a special Wednesday edition (as opposed to Monday) and dig that old desk with the old WWF toys!
Gorilla and Heenan (in a neck brace) welcome us to the show and run down the card, with Gorilla saying Brutus Beefcake could give Heenan a trim. Heenan says there is no way he’ll get back in the ring, even after his neck heals. To the ring!
From May 9, 1987 in at the Philadelphia Spectrum.
Corporal Kirschner vs. Nikolai Volkoff
Man these guys were fighting more than a year ago at Wrestlemania II. Kirschner charges the ring to prevent the Russian National Anthem and gets hit with the flag pole for his efforts. Kirschner comes back in and hammers away as Graham is already a bit rough to sit through. It’s like his voice is in slow motion. Volkoff gets in a cheap shot and ties him into the Tree of Woe (In 1987?) for a running knee to the ribs.
That’s enough for Kirschner to need a breather on the floor, with Volkoff following for a slam. A running knee keeps Kirschner outside and it works so well that Volkoff does it again. The third attempt earns Volkoff a crotching against the post and we take a break (with Monsoon and Heenan chiming in for a few seconds).
Back with no time having passed and Kirschner dropping a leg between the legs, plus a middle rope elbow for two. Volkoff is back up with a spinning kick to the ribs and a drop across the top like an evil Russian would. Some whips into the corner set up a bearhug (as is Volkoff’s custom), followed by a quick bow and arrow to stay on the back. That’s broken up so Kirschner dropkicks him to the floor and follows him out to hammer away. Back in and an elbow drop gives Kirschner two but he misses a charge into the corner. Volkoff is right back up with the gorilla press backbreaker for the pin at 10:17.
Rating: D+. This was pretty rough as they seemed to run out of things to do to each other by the end. It’s not like these two were exactly cut out for a longer match and it didn’t work out all that well in this case. Kirschner wasn’t exactly great in the ring, but he was so tough that no one was going to tell him no. You don’t get many people like that, but he was kind of done when he replaced Sgt. Slaughter but was a lower rank.
Bobby Heenan thinks Kirschner never had a chance but Monsoon doesn’t buy it. Monsoon moves on to Heenan signing the Islanders, which has Heenan rather proud. That makes sense to Monsoon, because Heenan is going to take all of their money.
It’s time for….a segment that doesn’t seem to have a name but tells you what is going on at the moment. We open with the Islanders having a technical match with the Can-Am Connection until Heenan showed up, which caused the Islanders to beat the fire out of them. A headbutt from the apron knocked Tom Zenk silly for a countout and Heenan was rather pleased.
Heenan is all fired up about his new team and wants the Tag Team Titles. Heenan: “I’VE DONE IT AGAIN!”
Back in the studio, Monsoon asks why Heenan has to turn everything into a big deal and why he couldn’t just say he has signed the team. Heenan says he likes the shock value, which sends Monsoon into a video on Superstar Billy Graham trying to learn how to walk again after a variety of injuries. Heenan can’t help it and goes into a series of jokes about how Graham can’t sue anyone because he doesn’t have a leg to stand on.
We go to the Arizona desert where Graham is moving around on a walker, as he talks about how he needs to get back. We also see him going through some rather tough physical therapy but Graham has insisted that he’ll be back.
Monsoon and Heenan talk about a FREE calendar you can get….if you’re one of 100 post cards they select. This was a move they would do every now and then to restock their mailing list and it’s kind of brilliant.
I think this is from May 13, 1987 at the Sports Arena in San Diego, California but it’s not clear. It also seems to be from Wrestling Challenge, which wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for Prime Time.
New Dream Team vs. Young Stallions
The New Dream Team (Dino Bravo/Greg Valentine) have Johnny V in their corner. Bravo drives Roma into the corner to start but he’s right back up with a dropkick, meaning the Dream Team needs a breather on the floor. We get a quick inset promo from the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers promising to be everywhere the Dream Team goes. Except here it seems.
Back in and Valentine takes over on Roma, including a suplex for two. A middle rope ax handle to the back sets up a jumping elbow for two but Valentine misses his big forearm. The hot tag brings in Powers to clean house, only to have Bravo get in a cheap shot from the apron. Valentine drops an elbow for the pin at 4:23.
Rating: D+. Well that was short. This wasn’t much of a match as it was mainly the Dream Team beating on Roma until Powers got to come in for a few seconds at the end. Commentary was hyping up the Stallions as future stars and then they just lose. I get that the Dream Team was new, but it was a weird way to go given the commentary.
Heenan is glad the Dream Team got rid of Brutus Beefcake but Monsoon doesn’t think Heenan’s memory is quite right.
Ken Patera is happy that he is out of prison and has paid his debt to society. Now all he wants is a second chance but that isn’t going to include Bobby Heenan. While Patera was in jail, Heenan was nowhere to be seen because weasels don’t make it through tough times.
Heenan says he doesn’t feel sorry for Patera (who put him in the neck brace), because Patera is the one who landed himself in jail. That ended their relationship and Heenan doesn’t care what happened to Patera’s family. Now Patera is blaming him, so Heenan will be taking care of him soon.
From the Philadelphia Spectrum on May 9.
Pedro Morales vs. Steve Lombardi
It’s weird seeing Lombardi without a shirt. Said shirtless Lombardi runs away from Morales to start as Pedro is all fired up (as is his custom). Back in and Lombardi forearms away, earning himself a slam from Morales. That’s enough for Lombardi to bail to the floor again as more breathing is needed. Back in again and Morales hits another slam, meaning Lombardi heads outside for the third time in less than three minutes.
Lombardi gets in again and this time claims a sore back to stall even more. Therefore we pause for some stretching before Lombardi misses a right hand and gets atomic dropped out to the floor (again). This time Lombardi comes back in with a rake to the eyes and a ram into the buckle but commentary isn’t buying Lombardi as a threat. On cue, Morales hits him in the ribs and adds a backdrop, setting up a backbreaker for the pin at 5:47.
Rating: D. This was a good example of a match that worked well for the live crowd but wasn’t much if you’re not a big Morales fan. It’s also a lesson in how to get through a match without doing much, as this was more than half Lombardi stalling on the floor. They didn’t bother trying to do anything more than the minimum here, which wasn’t the most thrilling stuff. The live fans seemed to like it though and that was the point of something like this.
Monsoon is glad that Heenan wasn’t around as a manager when he was in the ring. He knows Heenan would dump any of his clients at the drop of a hat, just like Patera. As you might expect, Heenan shrugs off the suggestions and we move on.
From the Convention Center in Anaheim, California on May 12, 1987. This seems to be from the June 6 Superstars.
Brutus Beefcake vs. Tim Patterson
Monsoon and Heenan make Pat Patterson/Terry Garvin jokes about Patterson in their intro for the not so subtle jabs. Brutus gets his own inset promo, promising to give the New Dream Team another cut. Patterson gets punched and slammed down to start as commentary talks about Beefcake’s gear. Vince: “Barbers are a little eccentric in general aren’t they?” The beating continues as commentary talks about Honky Tonk Man getting an undeserved Intercontinental Title shot next week. I’m sure that won’t go anywhere. Patterson fights back with some running shoulders but Beefcake is back with the sleeper at 2:40.
Post match, Patterson gets a haircut, possibly for taking a long time to go down from the sleeper.
Monsoon and Heenan bicker over how legitimate of a neck injury Heenan really has.
Gene Okerlund talks to Slick, who has quite the fashion sense. Slick says Gene has high class opinions of high class people and calls Gene “Holmes” before threatening to smack him in the head. Nikolai Volkoff and Butch Reed come in, with Slick saying they are the best of the best around. Reed thinks there are some jive turkeys running around here like Tito Santana and Junkyard Dog. Those people are trying to take money from him, and he gets mean when he has money. Volkoff thinks Americans should be proud that he is here in America. Buy Russian war bonds! This is still one of the oddest groupings ever and it’s great.
From the San Diego Sports Arena, May 13, 1987.
Don Muraco/Bob Orton Jr. vs. Sivi Afi/Corporal Kirschner
Mr. Fuji is here with Muraco and Orton and why are we getting two Kirschner matches on one show? Afi shoves Orton outside to start and it’s time for an early breather. Back in and Afi no sells some rams into the buckle (he’s foreign so he has a hard head you see) so it’s off to Kirschner. This means a discussion of being drafted, with Heenan saying he was 3Q, meaning too smart for the military. He could have been a six star general if he had actually gone in though, which Monsoon somehow manages to no sell.
Orton sends Kirschner outside and a distraction lets Muraco get in a cane shot to take over. A top rope shot to the back drops Kirschner again as Monsoon talks about how Kirschner has been pretty worthless as of late. It’s back to Afi, who gets taken down with a neckbreaker but comes right back with a high crossbody.
Kirschner gets to come in and glare at Muraco, setting up a clothesline. A dropkick sends Muraco over to Orton, who cuts Kirschner off with an atomic drop as Heenan praises the villains’ intelligence (kind of his thing). Muraco sends Kirschner into an elbow from Orton but it’s off to Afi anyway. The pace picks up for all of ten seconds before Muraco charges into a powerslam. What would become known as the Tombstone finishes Afi at 7:19.
Rating: D+. Muraco and Orton weren’t going to be the top team but they were fine as a pair of villains to give an up and coming team some trouble. That wasn’t exactly what they had here, making this a fairly long and not entirely squashy squash. Then again, what are you expecting from the forces of Afi and Kirschner?
Monsoon likes the new WWF Magazine, including a look at Ken Patera. Heenan wants to know where the prison number is.
Monsoon and Heenan introduce a women’s tag match and Heenan has no idea who they are.
From the Boston Garden on March 8, 1986.
Crush Girls vs. Donna Christianello/Judy Martin
Well this is a surprise. The Crush Girls (normally Gals) are Lioness Asuka/Chigusa Nagayo and in short, Christianello/Martin are going to be in a lot of pain. Nagayo isn’t having any of this getting hammerlocked thing and takes Christianello down into a hammerlock of her own. It’s back to Martin, who has to avoid Asuka’s kick to the head. Asuka gets the better of an exchange of kicks to the ribs and it’s a very fast sunset flip for two.
Christianello comes back in for a front facelock but a forearm sends Asuka over to Nagayo as Hayes can’t keep track of these names. An elbow to the head sends Martin outside and she looks rather scared of what she’s gotten herself into. Back in and Christianello offers a handshake, which of course suckers Asuka in so the villains can take over. We take a break and come back with Martin elbowing Asuka in the face, only to have her nip right back up.
Nagayo comes back in but gets kicked in the chest for a quick knockdown. Some choking in the corner has Nagayo in more trouble as commentary brags about all of the international media here. A few right hands allow the tag off to Asuka though and it’s time to clean house in a hurry. Asuka dropkicks Martin and hits a slam for two as the beating is on.
Nagayo gets on the middle rope so she can be tagged in (you know Monsoon isn’t having that) and it’s a Sharpshooter as Monsoon can’t remember if Nagayo is a tiger or a lioness (with Hayes having to make the save). Asuka accidentally clotheslines Nagayo down but they’re both back up for a double punch (I think?) to Martin’s ribs. A bunch of elbows keep Martin….well not really in trouble as she pops up to hit Asuka in the face. Christianello comes in and gets caught in a giant swing for the pin at 15:31.
Rating: C+. This is such an odd match, not just for the participants but also the fact that it got some serious time. You don’t see modern women’s matches breaking fifteen minutes but here you have this one, in 1986 no less, getting far more time than anything else on the show. Martin and Christianello weren’t exactly a seasoned team like the Girls, but dang this was a fun surprise.
Heenan claims to be on the phone with the Crush Girls before moving on to this week’s main event. Monsoon asks what George Steele has to do to get by Kamala, and Heenan suggests buying a machine gun. Or give up during the instructions. Then the Hogan figure on the desk falls over, which Heenan says is how he’ll be kneeling before King Harley Race. That’s the kind of quick wit that made Heenan a legend.
From the Philadelphia Spectrum on May 9.
Kamala vs. George Steele
Kim Chee and Mr. Fuji are here with Kamala. Steele looks confused (as is his nature) but he knows to avoid a charging Kamala as the bell rings. A few right hands put Kamala on the floor and it’s time for an early breather. Kim Chee gives some instructions (“Don’t look directly at the hairy chest.”) and Steele scares Kamala right back into the ropes. Steele starts poking at Kamala, who runs off again as this isn’t exactly an action packed spectacle.
Back in and Steele destroys a turnbuckle so Kamala runs away from the pieces of padding. Kim Chee’s distraction finally lets Kamala get in a shot from behind and Steele goes shoulder first into the exposed buckle. Since Kamala doesn’t quite know how to follow up, Steele grabs a foreign object to knock Kamala silly. Another Kim Chee distraction, this time in the form of a trip, lets Kamala hit a splash but a top rope version misses. Steele, ever the easily distracted one, chases Kim Chee off and that’s a countout at 6:03.
Rating: D+. I know it wasn’t very good and was little more than a comedy match, but this was the kind of goofy fun that I like from a show like this one. This was a lot better than seeing these two try to have a regular match and it’s nice to see that they understood the limitations they were under. Not a good match, but it was entertaining in a wacky way.
Post match Steele comes back with Kim Chee’s cane and pith helmet. He hits Kamala in the ribs with one and puts another on his head. I’m assuming you know which is which.
Heenan doesn’t think much of Steele but Monsoon isn’t convinced.
Try to get that calendar!
Heenan wants to tell us what’s coming next Wednesday but finds out that they’re going back to the regular Monday time to mess with him one more time.
Roll credits.
Overall Rating: C-. Prime Time Wrestling isn’t a show you often go to for classic action, but I had a great time with this. It was the big show of its day and you could see some of the top stars and goings on of the time. I’ll be doing some more of these, just for the sake of having some fun. That’s what wrestling is often supposed to be and that’s what I was getting out of this, despite it not having the best wrestling in the world.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:
Today is someone who stayed around for the better part of ever: the Barbarian.
Barbarian has an interesting backstory as he was one of a group of teenagers sent to study sumo wrestling by the King of Tonga. This evolved into his professional career, starting in 1980. We’ll pick things up at Starrcade 1985 with the aftermath of an arm wrestling challenge.
Barbarian vs. Billy Graham
Barbarian rips at Graham’s face and chokes away like any good monster villain would do. He even bites Billy’s forehead but doesn’t bust him open here. We get a very early bearhug from Barbarian and he slams Billy down, only to miss his top rope headbutt. Graham stomps away and puts on his own bearhug but Jones comes in and breaks it up for the DQ.
Rating: D. Was there a point to this? It was barely long enough to rate and the majority of the match was spent in those bearhugs. Graham would be back in the WWF sooner than later and Barbarian would continue to be this same character for about twelve more years. Nothing to see here.
Here’s a fairly random tag match from Starrcade 1986.
Hector Guerrero/Baron Von Raschke vs. Shaska Whatley/Barbarian
Whatley and Barbarian are members of Paul Jones’ Army while Guerrero and Raschke are kind of an oddball tag team. It’s a big brawl to start with the Baron pairing off with Whatley as Hector sends Barbarian out to the floor. Hector and Shaska start things off with Guerrero hitting some fast paced offense for early control. It’s off to Barbarian though to drop Hector throat first across the top rope, stopping his momentum cold.
Barbarian misses a running boot into the corner though and falls to the floor, allowing Hector to hit a BIG dive, taking out both Barbarian and Baron. That was a very big deal back then and still looks good even today. Whatley comes out to beat on Hector before throwing him inside for a gorilla press slam by Barbarian. A double backdrop puts Hector down for two and Whatley breaks up a potential hot tag to Baron.
Back to Barbarian for another near fall off a big boot followed by a backbreaker. Whatley sends him into the ropes and Hector spits right in his face, which is somehow enough for the hot tag off to the Baron. Raschke puts his Claw Hold on Shaska as everything breaks down. Barbarian breaks up the hold but gets pummeled in the corner by Hector. In the melee, Shaska misses a charge into the corner and Baron drops an elbow for the pin.
Rating: C. Just a basic tag match here which was fine for the most part. There was talk of a grudge coming in but there was not actual explanation given of what the feud was over or how everyone was involved. Baron seemed much more angry than Hector but that’s normal for the both of them. Nothing bad here but it’s just a tag match.
We’ll move into a more familiar era now with Barbarian in his best known phase: half of the Powers of Pain with the Warlord. Since they were pretty much a Road Warriors knockoff, here they are against the Road Warriors in a six man at the first Clash of the Champions.
Road Warriors/Dusty Rhodes vs. Powers of Pain/Ivan Koloff
Koloff and the Powers of Pain are the Six Man Tag Team Champions but the titles aren’t on the line here. This is a barbed wire street fight. Animal (teaming with his regular partner Hawk and Dusty) had his face injured by the Powers (Warlord and Barbarian) and Koloff while doing a weightlifting demonstration so tonight is about revenge. The barbed wire is around the ropes and while it’s not the at the level you might expect today, this was a BIG deal back in 1988.
The heels finally crawl under the ropes but Animal chases Warlord out to the floor to send him into the post. Most of the guys stay clear of the barbed wire and fight in the middle of the ring. Ivan and Dusty send each other into the wire and draw blood but Dusty comes back with right hands to Warlord and a big DDT to Barbarian. Hawk comes off the top with a right hand that mostly misses Warlord before Dusty kicks Barbarian to the floor. Animal powerslams Warlord and Barbarian’s top rope headbutt hits his partner by mistake, giving Animal the pin and revenge.
Rating: D+. The match wasn’t much to see but the barbed wire was a nice touch, even though it wasn’t used all that much. It probably is better that they kept this match short and energetic as none of the six guys were known for their stamina. The Powers of Pain would jump to the WWF less than two months later so this was the blowoff to the feud.
Off to the WWF now with the Powers of Pain actually as faces, starting at Summerslam 1988.
Powers of Pain vs. Bolsheviks
The Powers (Barbarian and Warlord) are still faces here and have the Baron (Von Raschke) with them. Just like in the previous two matches the brawl is on as soon as the good guys hit the ring. The Powers double clothesline Boris Zhukov as Volkoff tries to sneak in for a cheap shot. Barbarian easily catches him coming in and sends him flying until we get down to Barbarian vs. Boris to start things off.
Boris puts his head down and…..something happens (it looked like a choke but it’s not really clear) before it’s off to Warlord for a gutwrench suplex on Zhukov. Both Russians double team Warlord but they can’t even get him down to his knees. Nikolai chokes away before Boris puts on a chinlock. The Russians have a double backdrop broken up and it’s off to Barbarian again. Everything breaks down and it’s a double shoulder followed by a swan dive to Boris for the pin.
Rating: D. Another lame match here but the Powers looked decent. The Baron would be gone in a few weeks as the company wasn’t pleased that a dark character was getting cheered, so they turned Demolition and their evil S&M looking gear face instead. Also did the Russians ever actually win a major match?
The face run didn’t last long and it was off to feuding with Demolition, including a match for the Tag Team Titles at Wrestlemania V.
Tag Titles: Demolition vs. Powers of Pain/Mr. Fuji
Demolition is defending and this is a handicap match. Warlord and Ax get things going with Ax pounding him down quickly. Smash comes in for a double beatdown and it’s off to a neck crank. Back to Ax for the same move and he yells at Fuji a bit. The Demolition beatdown ensues but Warlord powers Ax over to the corner for a tag to Barbarian. He shoves Smash into the corner and is immediately clotheslined down by a fresh Ax. The crowd is dead here.
Barbie gets double teamed by the champions and Ax hooks a neck crank. Back to Smash who gets chopped down before it’s back to Warlord. The advantage lasts for all of three seconds before the Powers finally get some successful cheating going on. Off to Fuji for the first time for some old man offense that is far better than Heenan or Hart at least. Barbarian comes in again and the yet to be named Kick of Fear puts Ax down again for no cover.
The match continues to stay in second gear at best with both teams barely moving at all. Fuji tries the flashiest move of the match by going up top, only to miss Ax. Gorilla: “He hasn’t wrestled in years, just like us.” Jesse: “Us? For Fuji and I it’s been years. For you many years.” Barbarian gets clotheslined down again and it’s off to Smash as everything breaks down. Fuji loads up his salt but hits Warlord by mistake. The Demolition Decapitator is enough to end Fuji and retain the titles.
Rating: D. I’m a fan of Demolition but this was a REALLY weak performance by both teams. The Powers would split soon after this which was the best idea for both guys as they were never going to break through the ceiling with Demolition on top. The title reign would continue to go on for another two months or so, reaching at nearly a year and a half.
Time for the required Survivor Series match in 1989.
Hulkamaniacs vs. Million Dollar Team
Hulk Hogan, Demolition, Jake Roberts
Ted DiBiase, Zeus, Powers of Pain
My goodness that’s an amazing face team. Ok, so now I get to explain Zeus. A month or two ago, WWE released No Holds Barred, a movie Hogan made in the late 80s, on DVD. The villain in the movie is named Zeus and you may notice he’s here. Zeus is played by an actor (not a wrestler mind you) named Tom Lister and the idea is that he’s living his character and is coming to beat Hogan up “in real life” because he lost in the movie. This would be like the guy who played Goldfinger trying to get revenge on Sean Connery. To make things even better, this was originally going to be the main event of Wrestlemania 6.
I’m sure you can see the problems mounting up already, with the main one being that Zeus doesn’t know how to wrestle. Other than that, there’s the idea that the movie barely broke even so a lot of people didn’t get the idea of the story. A positive twist to this is that a lot of people didn’t get the idea of the story, which probably kept the company from being laughed at more than they already were. Zeus wrestled like four matches ever, most of which were short or tag matches so he wasn’t in the ring long. WCW, the geniuses that they are, brought him back seven years later and put him in the main event of another PPV.
Anyway back to the match. The Million Dollar Team won’t let them get inside until Jake fires in the snake to chase them all away. Hogan and Demolition are the champions that you would expect them to be at this point. Zeus wants to fight Hogan one on one but their respective partners hold them both back. Jake starts with Zeus but the actor wants Hogan. They stare each other down and Hogan bounces off Zeus. Hogan pounds away but nothing hurts Zeus at all.
Instead Hulk finds the one weak spot on Zeus by raking the eyes. He slams Zeus down and amazingly enough, IT DOESN’T REALLY DO MUCH. Barbarian hits Hogan in the back of the head and Zeus twists Hogan’s neck around. He starts choking away and it’s a DQ for Zeus who is only pulled off by DiBiase and the promise of money. Just to clarify, we’re giving the Hulkamaniacs, an 80s dream team, a man advantage. Also why would DiBiase get Zeus off Hogan? Wouldn’t Hogan’s pain and agony make DiBiase happy?
It’s DiBiase vs. Hogan now and Hulk is in big trouble. DiBiase hammers away in the corner but Hulk gets a boot up in the corner and there’s the tag to Jake. A clothesline puts DiBiase on the floor and it’s off to Ax who demolishes DiBiase with ease. Smash comes in and they both pound Ted down. Back to Hogan who triple teams DiBiase along with Demolition. Back to Ax with a clothesline but DiBiase elbows him down out of desperation.
Off to Warlord as these two teams are still feuding even a year later. Come to think of it there wasn’t much else in between for those guys either. Dang did the division fall that fast in just a year? A shoulder breaker puts Ax down but Barbarian misses a middle rope elbow. Off to Warlord again but he gets clotheslined down. Fuji trips Ax up and a basic elbow drop is enough to tie the score.
It’s Smash vs. Warlord now but it’s quickly off to Hogan. Hulk softens him up to bring in Jake, which Jesse calls a mismatch. That’s likely based on power but I’m pretty sure Jake is taller than Warlord. Off to Smash but Warlord pokes him in the eye to take over. Back to Barbarian whose big boot is caught but Smash misses the elbow. DiBiase comes back in with those falling punches of his which get two.
It’s chinlock time with a knee in Smash’s back. DiBiase misses a middle rope back elbow of all things but Smash won’t tag for some reason. Barbarian makes a blind tag so the hot shot Smash hits on DiBiase doesn’t count and Barbarian takes his head off with a top rope clothesline for the pin. Jake comes in next but he can’t DDT Barbarian. Barbie whips Jake into the corner with authority although I’m not sure who’s authority it was.
Back to Warlord as things slow down a lot due to exhaustion. Jake dives for a tag but DiBiase slaps Hogan to draw him in instead. DiBiase piledrives Jake but Roberts gets a foot on the ropes to Jesse’s annoyance. Barbarian misses a headbutt and there’s the hot tag to Barbarian. He cleans house and gets two on Barbarian off a big boot. A suplex gets the same and my goodness how rare is it to see Hogan get a two count? Hogan fights off both Powers of Pain but they catch him in a spike piledriver which is good for a DQ for both of them, making it Hogan/Roberts vs. DiBiase.
Dibiase drops knees on Hogan before slapping on the Million Dollar Dream. That eventually gets two arm drops and Jake makes the save. That’s actually a nice touch as it makes the hold look stronger by needing a save instead of Hogan saving himself. Hogan finally breaks the hold and punches a jumping DiBiase. Hot tag brings in the Snake who cleans house. Jake drives in knees on DiBiase’s head as Hogan is dying in the corner.
Here’s Virgil to interfere and take the DDT. DiBiase drops a fist on Jake and puts his feet on the ropes to steal the pin. Ted pounds on Hogan who is still reeling from the long Million Dollar Dream. I’ll give him credit as that’s some great selling of a hold like that. Off to a chinlock and Hogan taps, which wouldn’t mean a thing for years. Hogan breaks the hold but they clothesline each other. DiBiase belly to back suplexes him and it’s Hulk Up time. You know the rest and there’s the legdrop.
Rating: C. There’s one major problem with this match: the first four minutes of this match give away the ending almost immediately. How can you give Hogan, Roberts and Demolitio a man advantage that fast? I’m not saying Hogan should have lost, but the Zeus stuff could have come later in the match and worked much better. Have Zeus stand on the apron most of the match and it would have worked fine. The fans finally reacted though.
Time for a singles run, starting at Wrestlemania VI.
The Barbarian vs. Tito Santana
This is Bobby Heenan’s debut as Barbarian’s manager. Barbarian takes him into the corner to start but Tito comes back with punches to send Barbie to the floor. Back in and a big hip toss puts Tito down but Santana comes back with right hands to the head for two. They run the ropes and Barbarian kicks Santana’s head off to take over. When all else fails, kick the other guy in the face.
Barbarian misses a middle rope elbow but Tito can’t take him down with a dropkick. The flying forearm takes Barbarian down but Heenan puts his foot on the rope. Barbarian slugs him down and goes up top for a BIG clothesline off the top (and a SWEET bump from Tito) for the pin.
Rating: C-. The shot at the end makes up for most of the match sucking. Tito looked like he was dead out there and the flip backwards made it look even better. This was just a way to set up Barbarian as a singles guy which went absolutely nowhere. The guy stayed employed over the years if nothing else though so he’s got something up on a lot of people. Tito was officially a jobber to the stars at this point.
The singles run didn’t work out so well and it was back to another tag team. Here are Barbarian and Haku in the opener of Wrestlemania VII. I’ve always really liked this match.
Haku/Barbarian vs. Rockers
Shawn and Haku get us going with Michaels trying to speed things up, only to be slammed into the corner. The second attempt at flying around works a bit better as a dropkick puts Haku down. The Rockers do some of their double teaming stuff but Barbie takes them down with a big double clothesline. Shawn and Marty double superkick him down though and the Heenan Family has to regroup a bit.
We get down to Marty vs. Barbarian again and speed takes over one more time. A sunset flip doesn’t work for Jannetty but Barbarian punches the mat. A rana takes Barbarian down and Marty pounds away for two. Off to Haku and a double headbutt puts Marty down again. Jannetty loads up another rana but the foreigners hit a double hot shot onto the top rope to really take over this time.
A gorilla press plants Jannetty and it’s time for more heel double teaming. Marty comes back with something like a cross body for two but the speed continues to get beaten down. By speed I mean the drug of the day for Jannetty of course. Back to Barbarian for a bearhug followed by a powerslam so wicked that the fans pop for it. The falling headbutt misses though and it’s hot tag time to Shawn. Things really do speed up now but Shawn gets kicked in the face to slow him down. That goes nowhere for the villains though and it’s a Michaels cross body off the top for the pin on Haku.
Rating: B. Just a fast paced tag team match here with power vs. speed. This is one of those formulas that works no matter how many times you do it as long as you have talented guys in there. The future Faces of Fear were fine as monsters for the Rockers to conquer and it set a good pace for the show here. Solid opening match.
Back to WCW as a tag guy, starting at Clash of the Champions XX.
Barbarian/Butch Reed vs. Dustin Rhodes/Barry Windham
Barbarian and Reed are both associates of Cactus who is on commentary. Rhodes drops to the mat so Barry can run over Barbarian before double dropkicks send the heels to the floor. Things settle down with Barry getting two on Barbarian via a rollup before it’s off to Reed vs. Dustin. Butch runs into a boot in the corner but avoids a charge, sending Rhodes out to the floor.
Barbarian and Reed drop Dustin with a double back elbow and Barbarian hammers away a bit more. Reed gets two off a powerslam and pounds right hands into Dustin’s head. Dustin gets rammed back first into the buckle and a knee to the ribs is good for two. We hit the reverse chinlock for a bit but Rhodes fights up with an elbow to the jaw.
A double clothesline puts both guys down and Dustin makes the tag to Windham. Reed comes in as well but gets taken dropped with a running clothesline. The superplex drops Barbarian and a double dropkick sends Reed outside, but Barbarian gets back up and kicks Barry’s head off for the pin.
Rating: C. Nice little tag match here with both teams getting to look good in the process. Windham and Rhodes weren’t a bad team at all and the monsters worked well against them. Reed and Barbarian almost had to get the win here to set up Reed vs. Simmons, which makes Barry and Dustin a curious selection for opponents.
Now we get to one of the biggest overpushes I can ever remember with Barbarian getting a World Title shot at Halloween Havoc 1992.
WCW World Title: Barbarian vs. Ron Simmons
Yeah it’s THAT Barbarian. See, for some reason WCW decided that the big names should go after the NWA Title while the WCW Title was treated like a midcard title. Simmons has a HUGE entourage bringing him to the ring. Barbarian is a Jack surrogate as Cactus is injured. They stare each other down forever and feel each other out before Barbarian pounds him down in the corner. Simmons comes back and Barbarian bails to the floor.
Barbarian gets a Stunner over the top rope to take over again and sends Ron to the floor. No one cares about this match at all and I can almost guarantee they’re not going to get the fans to care based on how good (and I use that word loosely) the match will be. Barbarian rams him into the post and then into the railing as this is already dragging less than five minutes in.
Back in and Ron hits the absolute worst sunset flip of all time for two. Barbie hooks a LONG cobra clutch which looks more like an armpit claw but whatever. A top rope elbow misses and Simmons gets a chance to breathe. They slug it out but Simmons channels the power of football to hit a bad spinebuster for two. Simmons misses a clothesline but Barbarian sells it anyway.
There’s a three point shoulder block but Jack has the referee. Barbarian kicks him in the back of the head and sends him to the floor as a result. Back in and Simmons is nice enough to roll three feet to the left so that the top rope headbutt can hit. Once that gets two, Barbarian’s chances are done. Simmons grabs a powerslam out of nowhere for the pin to retain.
Rating: F. The Barbarian just co-main evented a show. This was treated like a worthless match and to be fair, there was good reason to do that. It came off like a bad main event of a C level TV show, which goes a long way to explain the troubles this company was having around this time. Just awful here.
This didn’t lead anywhere so it was back to the WWF as a new Headshrinker named Sione. Here he is at Survivor Series 1994.
Teamsters vs. Bad Guys
Diesel, Shawn Michaels, Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart, Jeff Jarrett
Razor Ramon, 1-2-3 Kid, British Bulldog, Headshrinkers
Diesel and Shawn are tag champions but they’ve having issues. Owen and Neidhart are a semi-regular tag team. This version of the Headshrinkers is Fatu and Sione, more famous as Rikishi and the Barbarian. Razor is IC Champion. I didn’t know that for sure but it’s the mid 90s so I took a shot in the dark. Shawn keeps slipping in front of Diesel to steal the spotlight. That’ll become important later.
It takes awhile to decide who starts before we get Kid vs. Owen. This should be good. The fans chant 1-2-3 which sounds something like RVD. Before there’s any contact it’s off to Neidhart which won’t be as interesting. Neidhart hits a shoulder block to start but gets dropkicked down. Another shoulder gives the Anvil control though and it’s off to Jarrett. Things speed up a bit and Jarrett loses the advantage Neidhart got him.
Off to Sione, who is someone I’ve talked about before but I’ll do it again here. This guy continuously had work for nearly fifteen years, which is impressive when you consider how basic the main character he played was. The guy was always around though other than in the dying days of WCW. Anyway here he gets dropkicked in the back but powers out of the cover with ease.
Off to Owen who wants the Bulldog. Davey comes in to a big ovation and they trade insane counters to wristlocks. Owen gets catapulted into the good guy corner, which is actually the Bad Guy corner, but the Bad Guys are the good guys in the match if that makes sense. Bulldog gets kicked in the face by Hart and it’s off to Neidhart for a double clothesline. Then Bulldog hits a double clothesline on Hart and Anvil, followed by the delayed vertical on Neidhart.
Fatu hits a top rope headbutt for no cover. Instead he tries to take his own boot off because he’s used to wrestling barefoot. Jarrett comes in and is immediately powerslammed before it’s off to Razor. Jeff immediately bails and it’s Razor vs….Jarrett still. Double J takes Razor to the mat and MESSES WITH HIS HAIR! Oh he’s so EVIL! A big right hand by Razor staggers Jeff and a clothesline puts him on the floor. This is a very hot crowd so far.
Back in and Jarrett escapes an atomic drop and punches Razor in the face to get himself in even more trouble. Off to the Kid who Razor gives a fall away slam to send him straight into Jeff in a cool move. Jeff hooks an abdominal stretch with some cheating from Shawn. That eventually gets caught and the Kid hooks a stretch of his own which doesn’t last long. Off to Fatu vs. Owen but all of the Canadian offense results in Samoan dancing.
A blind tag is made to Diesel and it’s a clothesline and a Jackknife to take out Fatu. Kid runs in and hits a dropkick but a top rope sunset flip is easily countered into a chokebomb. Jackknife finishes Kid a second later. Here’s Sione to pound away but he can only stagger the big man. ANOTHER Jackknife makes it 5-2. Diesel put out three guys in 70 seconds. Bulldog comes in and pounds away but a big boot puts Smith on the floor where he brawls with Owen to a countout.
So it’s Ramon vs. all five guys and he starts with Diesel. A discus punch puts Diesel down as does a middle rope bulldog. Diesel gets a clothesline in to take Razor down and Shawn screams for a Jackknife. The future Outsiders slug it out but Diesel drops him on the buckle in a snake eyes. Ramon comes back with a slam and calls for the Edge but Diesel easily backdrops him down. A big boot puts Razor down and there’s the Jackknife.
NOW Shawn wants in but he asks Diesel to hold Razor. Those of you paying attention should know what’s coming, and there it is as Shawn superkicks Diesel by mistake. Apparently this has happened a few times before and Diesel is MAD. Diesel destroys the rest of his team and stalks Shawn up the aisle. Ramon is the only one left in the ring and somehow the countout eliminates EVERYONE on the Teamsters to make Razor the sole survivor.
Rating: C. This was all angle and not much wrestling. This was the big face turn for Diesel which would result in the world title incredibly soon after this. It was a face turn that made sense too as he was tired of Shawn telling him what to do and getting hurt as a result, so he gave up and went after Shawn. Ticked off giants are very fun, so the first few months of Diesel Power were fun stuff. It was the other eight or nine months that stopped being fun.
It was back to WCW soon after this for a reunion with Haku, now known as Meng as the Faces of Fear. Here they are on Nitro, June 3, 1996.
The Faces of Fear were part of the Dungeon of Doom. Here they are as a unit on Nitro, September 2, 1996.
Four Horsemen vs. Dungeon of Doom
It’s the Faces of Fear, Big Bubba and Kevin Sullivan. Sullivan vs. Mongo to get us going. I’m not sure that’s the best combination but we’ll get to the better stuff soon. Mongo takes a double stomp to the chest and instead of hurting him, it fires him up. A shoulder block brings Bubba in and they’re on the floor already. Off to Benoit vs. Barbarian and Sullivan’s interference doesn’t work.
The cops are in the back for some reason. Here’s Flair to a huge pop. And let’s get away from the guy the fans want to see as we need to watch Sting and Luger chase Nick Patrick. Patrick runs towards the limo but turns away from it instead. Ted DiBiase is getting into the limo so Sting throws a brick through it, because every major sports arena has a pile of readily available bricks next to it. The limo drives off so Sting and Luger steal a cop car and chase after it. This is never going to be prosecuted is it?
Back to the ring and it’s Flair vs. Meng. Flair hits him low and the referee is cool with that. Bischoff actually mentions that Sting and Luger will be going to jail. We cut to the back and see the police guard calling in the stolen cop car. Yeah because THIS was necessary to see instead of the match right? Barbarian slams Anderson and drops an elbow so he can load Anderson into the Tree of Woe.
Anderson hammers on Bubba and counters a Meng piledriver. After a break Anderson falling into a tag to Benoit and things start to break down. We get to Sullivan vs. Benoit and I’d believe this is at least partially shoot. The Dungeon beats Benoit down and the Horsemen are busy thinking of ways to beat up Dusty Rhodes I guess because they don’t bother making the save. Flair breaks up a pin off a spinebuster and everything breaks down again.
They head to the floor and Flair grabs a chair as Bischoff plugs a Muhammad Ali documentary. Back inside and Bubba does the really stupid looking spot where you intentionally jump into the other guy’s boot. Off to Sullivan and Benoit who get to chop each other a lot. The Faces of Fear beat up the Canadian a bit but Benoit hits a cross body out of nowhere but gets double teamed again.
Things break down a little bit as Anderson plants Bubba with a spinebuster but Barbarian breaks up the tag. This has been going about 15 minutes already so it’s getting a lot of time and that’s including the time in the back. The Faces of Fear try a double top rope headbutt but Benoit rolls away and FINALLY gets the tag, bringing in Naitch. Everything breaks down for about the 5th time and Flair puts the Figure Four on Sullivan and Woman does….something to help Flair get the pin with the hold still on.
Rating: C+. Long match here as it went nearly 20 minutes. It’s a good example of how long doesn’t make it good though as this match is really just ok. Benoit and Sullivan kept trying to have this big brutal feud but it just went on forever with the same brawls and it stopped being good after about the first two. Anyway, not bad here but nothing more than that.
Time for a singles match on Nitro, August 18, 1997.
Barbarian vs. Mortis
This feud isn’t exactly lighting the world on fire but it’s nice to see a story getting to run its course. During Mortis’ entrance, we hear about Jericho winning the Cruiserweight Title on Saturday Night. Mortis kicks away to start and pounds Barbarian down into the corner. Barbie misses a charge into the post and Mortis hits a Fameasser off the middle rope for two. The guy not in a mask comes back with a powerslam and pounds Mortis down in the corner. Mortis goes up again but dives into a powerslam for another two count. The Kick of Fear ends Mortis a few seconds later. Wow Barbarian gets a clean win on Nitro. That’s different.
Time for the showdown that not many people were asking for on Nitro, February 16, 1998.
Meng vs. Barbarian
This is the brawl you would it expect it to be from the start with both guys on the mat pounding away. Back up and Barbarian charges into an elbow in the corner but Meng’s clubbering is countered by a whip into the corner. They pound on each other even more with Barbarian taking him into the corner and both guys shouting a lot. Headbutts have no effect on both guys but Meng staggers him with a big boot. Jimmy Hart breaks the wooden chair over Meng’s head to no effect so Meng puts him in the Deathgrip. Barbarian hits four straight Kicks of Fear to put Meng down for the pin.
Rating: C. This falls into the category of entertaining nonsense. Sometimes there’s nothing more fun than having two monsters beat the tar out of each other for a few minutes. Barbarian kicking Meng in the head over and over was a good idea to end the match and it made for entertaining TV. What more could you ask for from this pairing?
The team reunited and had a match on Nitro, January 25, 1999.
Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Faces of Fear vs. Fit Finlay/Dave Taylor
Lumberjack match with a lot of lower card guys plus Rey Mysterio Jr. surrounding the ring. Remember that it’s a double elimination tournament. Finlay and Barbarian start things off with Finlay nailing an uppercut and putting on an early nerve hold. Barbarian presses out of a cover and sends Finlay to the floor. That goes nowhere so Finlay comes back in for some more uppercuts.
Barbarian slams Finlay down and it’s off to Meng for some clubbering. Taylor gets the tag and the Europeans clothesline Meng down. Meng and Taylor chop it out with the monster getting the better of it and bringing Barbarian back in to pick the bones. After a beating from both monsters, Taylor is allowed to tag Finlay back in for a brawl with Meng. Finlay gets in a few shots to the ribs but makes the mistake of going after Meng’s head.
Fit is sent outside again for nothing from the lumberjacks as the crowd still has nothing to care about. The rolling fireman’s carry has Barbarian in trouble but Meng breaks up Taylor’s butterfly suplex. A double headbutt gets two on Taylor as everything breaks down. Meng backdrops Taylor into a sitout powerbomb from Barbarian (not as smooth as it sounds) gives the Faces of Fear the win.
Rating: D+. Not a horrible match but it was really dull stuff. That’s the problem with a lot of tournaments: you have to sit through matches like these with teams that people don’t care about and only limited chemistry to make the match work at all. It was watchable from a technical standpoint but nothing more than that.
After WCW went under, Barbarian went on a tour of Australia headlined by Dennis Rodman. Here he is at I-Generation Superstars of Wrestling, also known as Rodman Down Under.
Barbarian vs. Brute Force
Force is Brutus Beefcake and this is a hardcore match for no apparent reason. Brutus pulls Barbarian away from posing for a trashcan shot to start things off. Some broomstick choking has Barbarian down in the corner but a low blow stops Force’s force. Yeah I know that was bad but this show is dumbing me down and we’re not even half an hour into it. A headbutt low gets Barbarian yelled at for no reason but a trashcan to the head is fine. The announcers talk about a popcorn machine as Barbarian stomps him down in the corner. I could go for a hot snack to keep me awake too.
We head to the floor with Barbarian being rammed into the table and hit with the trashcan again. Barbarian fights from his back with trashcan lid shots but has to avoid a shot with the steps. Back in and Brutus is hit with a 2×4 and punched in the head a lot. Some choking with a chain does no good for Barbarian as Brutus comes back with an atomic drop and a low headbutt. A Stunner, a DDT and a piledriver get two each for Brutus but a single kick to the chest/ribs is good for the pin for Barbarian.
Rating: D-. This is a good example of the problem with gimmick matches: there’s no reason for this to be a hardcore match so it’s just two people hitting each other with trashcans for ten minutes. That doesn’t make for an interesting match but rather a boring waste of time until we get to a very stupid finish that made Barbarian of all people look tough instead of the hero.
Barbarian was never going to be named Wrestler of the Year or anything like that, but he had a gimmick that was always worth keeping around because you can always use a good savage monster. He kept getting work with basically the same character for years so there must have been something there. Barbarian was a character wrestler and a lot of the time that’s all you need to be.
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Today’s wrestler is the original WWF superstar: Bruno Sammartino.
Bruno started in 1959 and the earliest I can find for him is 1963 in what might be the WWWF in Buffalo. I’m assuming this is the whole match.
Bruno Sammartino vs. Hans Schmidt
Bruno easily wins a forearm battle to start and knocks Schmidt out to the floor. Back in and Schmidt chokes with the tag rope and pounds away in the corner. Bruno is stomped down and has his head rammed into the buckle. He fights back but gets his hair puled to put him right back down. Some big forearms put Hans back outside and the stalling begins. He comes back inside and they slug it out until the bell rings, presumably for a time limit draw.
Rating: C. This is a hard one to rate as we didn’t see most of the match (fairly obvious given how fast the match ended) but what I saw wasn’t all that great. The interesting thing here though is how aggressive both guys were. This could have passed for your modern power brawl if you didn’t know what era it was from, which says a lot when this is over fifty years old.
We’ll jump ahead to the end of Bruno’s WWWF Title reign for this match from July 25, 1970 in Philadelphia.
Bruno Sammartino vs. George Steele
Gorilla Monsoon, the host of the tape this is from, says this is from sometime in the 60s but isn’t sure exactly when. That would likely be because it’s from the 1970s but he’s close enough. Back then Steele was a top heel so this would have been a big time fight. The cage is weird looking as it’s more or less wire walls rather than a traditional cage. Steele has riot gear police officers bring him out. This is still escape rules. Naturally the commentary is from the 80s rather than back in the day as there likely wasn’t commentary done for this originally.
This is clipped to an extent. Bruno hammers him as this is probably the culmination of what was a major feud. Steele looks identical to what he would for the rest of his career. Steele actually gets a low blow before eating a turnbuckle. He rubs the stuffing into Bruno’s eyes which blinds him but George won’t just leave. Apparently Styrofoam stuffing is blinding. This is in Philadelphia according to Monsoon.
Bruno gets rocked by Steele for a good while as the camera and lighting is really different here but of course at the time no one knew what to do from a production standpoint as this was a very new idea back then. Bruno Hulks Up as Steele pounds away and then runs as Bruno can’t be hurt. Sammartino destroys him by ramming him into the cage a bunch and then climbs out.
Rating: C-. Nothing great here but seeing something from this far back in time is always cool. Steele didn’t change a bit in about twenty years and was still completely awesome the whole time. This was a pretty ok match but the clipping didn’t help. Bruno was completely awesome in cages and this worked ok but at six minutes shown, how into a cage match can you get?
Here’s a fairly famous match from MSG on January 18, 1971.
Bruno Sammartino vs. Ivan Koloff
The footage is very old and of low quality so the details might be sketchy here. Also the match itself ran about fifteen minutes but only eight minutes of footage exists. Koloff grabs a quick headlock to start but is backdropped down as the champion escapes. A slam and an armbar put Koloff down but he grabs a headscissors to escape a cover. Bruno gets monkey flipped down but takes over with an armbar.
We’re clipped to later in the match and another armbar by Bruno. Either that or the referee has developed the powers of teleportation. We’re clipped again only seconds later to Koloff holding Bruno in a bow and arrow hold. For the third time in about 30 seconds we’re clipped to Bruno trying to escape the hold but Ivan holds him in place. Again we’re clipped to Ivan cranking on the hold even more. Bruno finally escapes the hold and turns it into one of his own but Ivan makes the rope.
They circle each other a bit and we’re clipped to them circling each other again. Bruno grabs a headlock but gets shoved off and shoulder blocked down. Koloff grabs another headlock and we’re clipped to Bruno being shoulder blocked down again. Bruno hooks a drop toehold into a leg lock but we’re clipped to further in the same hold. The champion stomps on the leg but we’re clipped to Koloff choking away. We’re immediately clipped again to Koloff stomping on Bruno before sending him hard into the corner.
Ivan keeps punching and kicking away and we’re clipped to him doing more of the same. This is one of the most clipped matches I’ve ever seen but for footage over 42 years old, there’s not going to be a much better option available. Koloff pounds away even more and we’re clipped to Bruno making his comeback with right hands to the ribs and a kick to the same place. A slam by Sammartino gets two and we’re clipped to him holding Ivan in a chinlock. We’re clipped again to a cover by the champion but Koloff is too close to the ropes.
We’re clipped again to Bruno hammering away and getting two off a punch to the ribs. Another clip takes us to Ivan in a chinlock again and another clip takes us to later in the same hold. The hold gets two and we’re clipped to Ivan sweeping Bruno’s leg out. We’re clipped yet again to Ivan doing the same thing before we’re clipped to Ivan kicking Bruno in the chest.
A fourth clip in fifteen seconds sees the referee accidentally being knocked down by Koloff in the corner but he’s right back up. Ivan slams Bruno down in the corner and goes up top, dropping a knee in the stomach of the champion. He covers Bruno and history is made as we have a new world’s champion for the first time since 1963.
Rating: C. The rating is based on what we were able to see. While it’s certainly not as intricate or flashy as the matches we regularly see today, there was definitely an energy to the match and nothing looked terribly bad. The problem here of course is the ridiculous amount of clipping, but from what I understand we saw about half of the match here, which is more than I’ve ever seen before.
We’ll jump ahead again to a tag match from some point in 1973.
Bruno Sammartino/Dick the Bruiser vs. Baron Von Raschke/Ernie Ladd
Baron and Bruiser get things going here with Von Raschke hiding from Dick’s right hand. Some shoulders put Baron down and a middle rope stomp is good for two. Ladd makes the save and Bobby Heenan is losing it. Bruiser hooks a chinlock and we’re clipped to Bruno coming in to face Ladd.
Bruno sends the much bigger Ladd into the buckle and knocks him over the top with a single right hand. He puts the boots to Ladd but gets shoved down by the Baron. Bruiser grabs Von Raschke by the face and sends him to the floor before doing the same to Ladd. Back in and Heenan breaks up a cover before Bruiser backdrops Baron. A cover gets two but Von Raschke gets his foot on the ropes…..which the referee pulls off and counts the three for a pin.
Rating: C+. Again better than I expected here though I’m assuming the referee was a bit crooked. This was a very different era where you could win a match on a backdrop and no one would think anything of it. Again I really like the energy out there and it made for a more entertaining match than I was expecting.
Here’s another match from the WWWF in 1974 on TV from Philadelphia. Bruno is champion again but I think this is non-title.
Bruno Sammartino vs. Mr. Fuji
Some armdrags put Fuji down to start and he looks shocked by Bruno’s speed. Fuji goes to the eyes like a true heel should, only to get whipped hard into the buckle to keep the champion in control. A slam puts Bruno down but he kicks away and grabs an armbar. The hold stays on long enough that we get a replay of the last few moments. Fuji comes back with another slam but misses a running splash.
We’re in the third armbar in five minutes and it’s time for another replay. Fuji comes back with a pectoral claw so Bruno just nails him in the jaw. It’s foreign object time and a rake to the eyes with whatever Fuji has is enough to take over. Bruno again comes right back with a knee to the ribs so Fuji goes to the eyes again. Vince: “There’s no telling what’s in the tights of Mr. Fuji.” Fuji goes up top but gets slammed down for two. A backdrop is enough to pin the evil Hawaiian.
Rating: D+. See what I mean about the times being different? If nothing else, the lesson we learn here is don’t get backdropped in the 1970s. The match was pretty dull with armbars that were long enough to air replays. To be fair though this was just a TV match so not a lot was going to happen.
Here’s the first ever cage match in MSG on December 15, 1975.
WWWF World Title: Bruno Sammartino vs. Ivan Koloff
This is inside a steel cage and is called the first ever cage match in Madison Square Garden. You can only win by going out of the cage. Koloff attacks to start the match but Bruno fires off right hands to send Koloff into the cage. Bruno sends him chest first into the buckle and fires off some knees to the face to keep control. Vince calls Koloff the favorite to win the match for some reason. Bruno pounds away even more and sends Ivan face first into the cage wall again.
Bruno stomps away on the back of the head before sending him into the cage again. All Bruno so far. Ivan comes back with a kick to the stomach to take over and now Sammartino tastes the steel. The champion comes back with more right hands and sends Ivan into the cage yet again. Bruno fights back with right hands and pulls Koloff back in as he tries to escape. The ring is especially loud in this match. Ivan goes face first into the cage three times in a row and make it four.
Koloff gets a boot up in the corner to put Sammartino down before dropping the top rope knee onto the champion’s ribs. Ivan is bleeding from the forehead. Bruno pounds away and hits a knee to the chest to keep Ivan in trouble. They seem to mess up a spot before colliding in the ring. A knee to the ribs staggers Ivan and Bruno sends him into the cage once more. Koloff is rammed into the cage again and again before being sent hard into the corner.
Ivan is now between the cage and the ring as Bruno turns up the aggression even more. He sends Koloff head first into whatever metal object he can find before choking with his boot. The champion rakes his boot over Koloff’s eyes and sends him into the cage yet again. There are two more shots into the cage before Bruno climbs out of the cage to retain his title.
Rating: D+. This was a rather short cage match and it was a glorified squash at the same time. Koloff was soundly defeated here which was the entire point of the match. Still though, it wasn’t incredibly exciting as the majority of the match was Bruno ramming Ivan into the cage over and over again. That being said, the fans loved Bruno and that’s the point of the game.
Another title defense from March 1, 1976.
WWWF World Title: Bruno Sammartino vs. Ernie Ladd
Ladd is a 6’9 former football player who was a powerhouse in his own right. The video is labeled as being from Madison Square Garden but it doesn’t look like that arena whatsoever. Ladd has a taped up thumb that the referee wants to take a closer look at. A quick armdrag by Bruno sets up an armbar but Ladd makes the rope. Bruno tries the same combination again and gets the same result. Ernie grabs a quick bearhug and Bruno is in some early trouble.
Ladd gets him down to the mat for a two count with the hold and puts his feet on the ropes for extra leverage. He gets caught too many times though and the referee finally breaks the hold. This time Ladd starts choking away but moves around fast enough to avoid the referee from seeing him. A big slap to the face puts Bruno down again. The champion comes back with a bunch of right hands including one that knocks Ladd out to the floor.
That goes nowhere so Bruno pulls him back in and whips Ladd into the corner. A backdrop puts Ernie down and there’s a boot to the head. Ladd is on the mat holding his head before getting back up and hitting the champ in the throat. A headscissor takeover gets two for Ladd but Bruno comes back with punches and knees to the ribs.
Sammartino rams Ladd into the buckle a few times but misses a charge into the corner. Ladd hits a football tackle to drop the champion and then does it again. A slam puts Bruno down and drives the taped thumb into Sammartino’s throat. Ernie goes up top for a splash but only hits canvas though, giving Bruno the pin to retain the title.
Rating: C-. While this was a somewhat more energetic match than some of the other ones that we’ve looked at, it’s still a pretty slow paced affair. Ladd was a huge power guy which doesn’t quite work against a smaller (5’10) powerhouse like Bruno. The match was decent enough though and it got a good reaction from the crowd, but it was still kind of dull to sit through. It’s a very different kind of wrestling that not all fans are going to like which is understandable.
Time for another pretty famous moment from Baltimore on April 30, 1977.
WWWF World Title: Bruno Sammartino vs. Billy Graham
The ring is especially wide here for some reason. They feel each other out a bit and Graham easily shoves Bruno around. Now Bruno shoves back and grabs an armbar for good measure. Graham makes the rope and heads to the floor for a bit before returning for a test of strength. Bruno goes down to his knees twice and even gets his shoulders counted a few times. The champ fights back and sends Graham to the floor to reset things a bit.
Back in and they fight over a top wristlock with Billy taking control again. Bruno fights back again and takes over with an armbar of his own. The challenger fights up and hits a knee to the ribs, sending Bruno down for some more stomping in the process. Graham goes to the throat to keep the advantage but misses a running knee in the corner. Bruno pounds away and Graham is busted open.
Billy comes back with a whip into the corner and it’s off to a bearhug on the champion. Bruno is in trouble all of a sudden but he fights up from his knees on the much taller Graham. Right hands to the head break the hold and there’s a hard whip into the corner by the champion. Now Sammartino hooks a bearhug of his own but Billy gets a rope. They fight in the corner with Bruno in full control. The referee tries to break it up though, allowing Graham to trip Bruno’s legs out from under him and roll Bruno up with his feet on the ropes for the pin and the title.
Rating: C. This wasn’t too bad but more importantly it showed what Graham could do in the ring. He was insanely powerful and had a flashy look as opposed to the bigger than average but still relatively normal look that dominated wrestling in the 70s. This was Bruno’s last match as champion and he went out in a pretty good way.
And a rematch on August 1, 1977.
WWF Title: Bruno Sammartino vs. Billy Graham
Gorilla is the guest referee for this one and good night is he huge. He shoves Graham around for trying to jump Bruno before the bell. He has no issue with Bruno doing the same though. Gorilla is also doing the voiceover thing here and says that more or less anything goes here. For the second time he says he’s 423lbs at this point. He won’t count Graham out because he says he’s not ending a title match with a count out.
Bruno was limited in his offense but at the same time that’s all you have to do. I think this is in Toronto but I’m not sure at all. Graham gets the feet and gets something from under the ring. Ah it’s a rope. Bruno chokes him with it and Gorilla isn’t as adamant about stopping that. According to Gorilla this is in MSG also but there’s no way given how this arena looks.
The idea here is that Bruno just wants the title back and Graham is trying to find a way to escape with it as his power isn’t working this time as Bruno might be stronger and is at least just as strong. Bruno works on the knee and hooks a half crab. We get a clip again as the hold is broken. That kind of sucks the drama out of matches and I’m not a fan of it at all.
Graham throws in a low blow and Gorilla seems to be ok with it. On the commentary he claims it might have been in the thigh. Yeah the hand being up around the trunks of Bruno really looks like a thigh shot Monsoon. Graham goes up top and misses a knee and Bruno is all fired up again. Ok never mind as he eats post. Billy goes out and gets the belt which Gorilla steals as well. Shame he didn’t do it before the belt hit Bruno’s cranium.
Bruno is BUSTED WIDE OPEN as I channel my inner Gorilla. Graham hits the floor to leave so Gorilla throws him back in the ring. Well you can’t say he’s not active. He says if you look hard enough in the rule book it’s in there. Graham might be busted too and now he can’t get back in the ring.
Gorilla won’t count which is kind of funny. Bruno is ALL FIRED UP and there’s the bearhug again. And there’s a shot to Gorilla but still no DQ. Now that Gorilla’s shirt is just covered in blood he has no real choice but to stop it. It’s kind of hard to question that and he points out that he didn’t have much of a choice.
Rating: B-. Another brutal fight here with all kinds of blood out there. Feuds back then were based more on what happened in the ring rather than what happened on the mic so it’s a very different kind of style. This was a pretty fun match though as Bruno just beat the living tar out of him and Graham kept trying to cheat no matter what he could do. I liked it though.
Time for one of the biggest feuds ever at the time. Starting on January 22, 1980.
Larry Zbyszko vs. Bruno Sammartino
Now THIS is some legendary stuff. This is the original match where it’s more of an exhibition than a match. Basically Bruno is the teacher who taught Larry everything he knows but Larry wants to prove he can hang with Bruno. This is from January of 1980. This is going to be all feeling out/nice guy stuff until the very end. Sammartino takes him to the mat with a drop toehold and has dominated the entire match so far.
Bruno keeps putting holds on Larry and then lets them go which is an odd choice of offense. Larry grabs an abdominal stretch but Bruno powers out of it. Half crab goes on Bruno but Larry lets it go. Sammartino grabs about his fifth hold and lets go of it too. They try a crisscross and Larry gets tossed over in a hiptoss. He’s getting very ticked off here.
Apparently Bruno said he’d only wrestle defensively in this match. Larry heads to the floor to cool his head and Bruno looks the other way for some reason. Larry comes back in and in the biggest heel turn ever at this point, DESTROYS Bruno with a wooden chair. There is blood all over the place. This was shocking and came out of absolutely nowhere. It also set up the hottest feud of the year which we’ll get to the blowoff of in a second.
Rating: C-. The match itself means nothing as the heel turn is the whole thing. This was one of the biggest angles ever and is still a huge turn that works to this day. They would feud over the summer and would blow it off in front of about 40,000 people in the infield of Shea Stadium. We need to get to that now.
Now the blowoff from Showdown at Shea. For this match, bare in mind that it’s from the WWE 24/7 version. Michael Cole and Mick Foley did not do commentary for a match in 1980.
Larry Zbyszko vs. Bruno Sammartino
Wrestling 101 here: Bruno was the mentor, Larry decided he had surpassed the teacher, teacher kept being the star, student attacks the teacher, they go to a baseball stadium and have a wrestling match in front of 36,000 people in a box with no lid on it. Tale as old as time. Old school cage here, as in the kind they have now. NUCLEAR heat on Larry. Bruno gets the only entrance of the night.
We even get clips of Zbyszko’s heel turn which is WAY rare. Bruno jumps him to start and Larry hits the cage 3 times in about 5 seconds. You can only go through the door here and not over the top for no apparent reason. Apparently Larry talks about this match to the point of annoyance. Low blow gives Larry a chance to breathe as this has been very intense so far.
Foley makes another interesting point: Bruno headlined all three Shea shows and only once was world champion at the time. That’s saying a lot. This is the first match with an angle and the crowd clearly knows it. We get into a discussion about whether Bruno would be successful today and the commentators say yes because he was the people’s man. You know, like that blue collar guy that represented the hard working everyman who didn’t like his boss. Someone you could have a beer with. Or maybe a case of them if you get what I’m talking about. Yeah I think Bruno would have worked today.
Almost all Bruno so far. Now we talk about Stan Hansen inspiring Foley to sleep with his wife. Ok then. We hear about Larry and Foley driving together and Cole says how would they get a word in edgewise? Foley says he only talks over Cole because he’s smarter than Michael is. Nice line! Bruno’s arm is bleeding so Larry punches away at it. After nearly ten minutes Larry makes the first attempt at the door, naturally not getting there.
We get into a semi-argument over whether or not Foley ever worked out. Foley seems genuinely ticked off about that and I can’t say I blame him. Bruno wakes up and beats the heck out of Larry, kicking him in the head one more time and walking out to win it definitively. Bruno beats on him some more after the match ends
Rating: C+. Solid match for what it was supposed to be which was a big time brawl. The fans loved it and Bruno decisively won. What more can you ask from them? This was a blowoff to a feud and that’s what they did. There’s nowhere for this feud to go from here and it ended. That’s what gimmick matches are for. LEARN THIS RUSSO!
We’ll jump ahead to Bruno returning to the WWF after a few years away. Here’s a grudge match inside a cage on February 8, 1986.
Adrian Adonis/Randy Savage vs. Tito Santana/Bruno Sammartino
Wild brawl to start with Adonis vs. Santana and Bruno vs. Savage. Savage is the IC Champion at this point. You only win with both guys getting to the floor. They’re MOVING out there. Apparently the door is only going to be opened upon request. So it’s like a shave around the ears? Bruno, an old veteran of cage matches, stops Savage from trying to escape.
Even Adonis is running so you can tell they’re serious here. Bruno is beating the tar out of Savage here. I love the way he throws boots. This was actually a hot feud as Bruno came out of retirement to feud with Savage which in reality was a way to get his son some spots on TV. Tito makes a nice save to keep Savage in the door and Bruno crotches Adrian just because it’s fun. Gorilla says his wish just came true. I don’t want to know what that means. Tito is busted and it’s not bad.
It’s kind of odd to see someone use a kick as their main offense when you’re so used to seeing punches being the main thing. Savage goes for a double axe from the top but runs into the fist of Santana and the heels are in trouble. Savage is bleeding BAD. He manages to stop Santana though.
Adonis goes up and dives off the top, hitting Sammartino with a knee drop. Unfortunately that’s because he botched it for the most part and kind of fell off the top of the cage onto Bruno. Savage gets a leg over the top but runs into the taco salesman from Tijuana. The heels are slammed together allowing Bruno to get out the door and Santana over the top to end this.
Rating: A-. Sweet goodness this was a war. They beat the living crap out of each other and none of the four ever stopped at all. Bruno could bring on the violence when he wanted to and apparently he wanted to do so here. This was a very good match with all four guys working very hard and never stopping once in about ten minutes. I liked it.
Another cage match on July 12, 1986.
Bruno Sammartino vs. Roddy Piper
Not a title match here as this is from the mid 80s. We’re in Boston here. Gorilla and Jesse talk about the experience you get in cage matches. Jesse wonders what you can actually learn in there which makes sense. Piper wears a Bears shirt which is around the time that the Bears beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl. He also hangs posters in the cage which is a nice touch.
Bruno comes out and goes straight for Piper, sending him into the cage. Piper is bleeding maybe a minute in. Bruno shoves the poster in Piper’s face as this is a big beatdown. This was another big feud as Piper had totally not respected Sammartino as most young heels didn’t so Vince set this up before cutting almost all ties with Bruno. Granted that was mutual so that’s not a fair criticism.
Piper gets a low blow to save the match and barely has his shirt off yet. Sammartino has to make a big save to keep Piper out as he might be busted open too. Piper seems more like he’s just trying to escape while Bruno wants punishment. And there go Roddy’s trunks. Ok then. Bruno kicks away and they slug it out. Jesse has kind of stopped talking here.
Roddy goes up and Bruno pounds on his supple Scottish balls. That’s not quite enough for Bruno to get out but Bruno grabs a wooden chair as he’s trying to leave and blasts Piper in the head with it to win. Jesse says that was cheating but it’s a cage match so whatever I suppose.
Rating: B-. Not bad here and a bit longer than the previous one. Bruno was fun to watch and the fans always reacted to him. This was a veteran giving the young loudmouth a beating and that’s something that is always going to work. Nothing great but a fun match either way.
We’ll wrap it up with a match in Boston on January 7, 1987.
Intercontinental Title: Randy Savage vs. Bruno Sammartino
Savage hides behind Liz to start and Gorilla is freaking out on commentary. Bruno finally gets in a shot and sends Savage into the corner to put the champion in early trouble. Some right hands put Savage down and he hides behind Liz again. Bruno of course won’t swing with a woman in front of him so Randy gets in another cheap shot to take over.
A top rope ax handle drops Bruno on the floor and another drops him in the ring. Bruno comes back with his standard kicks to the ribs and Savage is in trouble. Another kick to the ribs drops Savage but Bruno ducks his head and takes a kick to his own face. A collision sends Savage to the floor and he brings in a chair for the DQ.
Rating: D+. This was just a brawl for the most part but the live crowd would have liked it a lot more than someone watching nearly thirty years later. Bruno was just a nostalgia act at this point but he certainly didn’t embarrass himself. It was entertaining enough though and that’s all this was supposed to be.
I don’t know what you want me to say. The guy sold out MSG something like 200 times. I think that speaks for itself.
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Wrestler of the Day – June 8: Billy Graham
Today we’re looking at one of the most influential wrestlers of all time with Superstar Billy Graham.
Graham got his start in 1970 so we’ll pick things up in the AWA in 1972. A lot of these matches aren’t going to have an exact date on them due to age but I’ll do what I can.
Billy Graham vs. Tommy DeMarco
Ivan Koloff is Graham’s second here. Before the match Graham shows off his tye dye which is a very different thing to see at this point. Graham starts very fast and cranks on the arm before sending him to the floor. Tom comes back with a very fast series of right hands in the corner followed by a backdrop. Graham runs him over with a shoulder but walks into a dropkick and armdrag. Billy has to run outside for a breather and things slow way down. Back in and Graham cranks on the leg before wrapping it around the post. A big elbow drop is enough to pin DeMarco.
Rating: C-. WAY more entertaining than I was expecting here with DeMarco being very energetic. It was a step above a squash and that’s way better than what you would usually get on TV at this point. Speaking of TV, the production values for 1972 are AMAZING here as I could easily buy that this was from about fifteen years later.
Still in the AWA, this time in Chicago on Halloween 1973.
Wilbur Snyder vs. Billy Graham
Graham hides in the ropes to start and Gene Okerlund gets to make a rare commentary appearance. A lockup goes nowhere until Billy pulls him down by the hair into a chinlock. Snyder counters into a headlock of his own as this isn’t the fastest paced match in the world. Different time though. They trade elbows to drop each other with Wilbur getting the better of it and stomping away.
Boots are put to Graham and Snyder starts going after the arm by wrapping it around the ropes. Back up and Graham scores with some elbows to the head and rams Wilbur into the buckle. Snyder avoids a charge in the corner and ducks a right hand, sending Graham out to the floor. Graham sneaks in a right hand back inside and we’re back in the chinlock.
Snyder actually wins a power battle and cranks on an armbar, followed by a headscissors on the mat. Back up again with Graham cranking on the headlock to take Snyder back down. After that eats up way too long, Snyder sends him into the buckle and they fight to the apron for a double countout.
Rating: D+. Not the most exciting match in the world but again it’s a different era. This really was built around a lot of stuff on the mat instead of more fast paced action. That being said, this was a lot of chinlocks which can be hard to sit through. Snyder was a fairly big deal back in the AWA so this was a pretty big time match.
It’s off to New York now Graham was instantly a big deal. Here he is challenging Bruno for the World Title on October 13, 1975.
WWF World Title: Bruno Sammartino vs. Billy Graham
It’s a boxing match to start and Graham hides in the ropes like a good heel should. A LOUD Bruno chant starts up as Graham shoves Bruno into the corner. The champion cranks on his arm and it’s a fight over a top wristlock. After a long stretch of having Bruno overpower him, Billy pulls him down by the hair and we’re back in the top wristlock battle. Another hair pull gives Graham control again but Bruno gets all ticked off and slams him down.
We get another test of strength with Billy taking over, but Bruno won’t let it go and fights up. This keeps going for a few minutes with Graham not being able to keep Sammartino down. Bruno finally takes over but another cheap shot gives Graham a breather. Off to a chinlock on Bruno with tape around his throat until the champion fights up again. A big backdrop and some boots have Graham in trouble so he begs off in the corner.
The delay is enough to allow Graham to grab his bearhug and take Bruno down to the mat. You know the champion isn’t going to stay down like that though and he’s quickly back to his feet. As has been the case throughout the match, the hold stays on for a good while until Billy rams him into the buckle, SLAMMING Bruno’s head into the buckle. Now it’s Bruno with his own bearhug but an eyerake gets Graham out. They collide with Bruno being knocked outside for the countout in a sudden ending.
Rating: C. While the match was a lot of the same holds for a long time, they actually told a nice story with it. They played up the idea of both guys being incredibly strong and turned it into a showdown where you wanted to see which guy was going to blink first. The ending worked really well too as it sets up the rematch but keeps Bruno looking good.
Graham would continue chasing the title until April 30, 1977.
Bruno Sammartino vs. Billy Graham
The ring is especially wide here for some reason. They feel each other out a bit and Graham easily shoves Bruno around. Now Bruno shoves back and grabs an armbar for good measure. Graham makes the rope and heads to the floor for a bit before returning for a test of strength. Bruno goes down to his knees twice and even gets his shoulders counted a few times. The champ fights back and sends Graham to the floor to reset things a bit.
Back in and they fight over a top wristlock with Billy taking control again. Bruno fights back again and takes over with an armbar of his own. The challenger fights up and hits a knee to the ribs, sending Bruno down for some more stomping in the process. Graham goes to the throat to keep the advantage but misses a running knee in the corner. Bruno pounds away and Graham is busted open.
Billy comes back with a whip into the corner and it’s off to a bearhug on the champion. Bruno is in trouble all of a sudden but he fights up from his knees on the much taller Graham. Right hands to the head break the hold and there’s a hard whip into the corner by the champion. Now Sammartino hooks a bearhug of his own but Billy gets a rope. They fight in the corner with Bruno in full control. The referee tries to break it up though, allowing Graham to trip Bruno’s legs out from under him and roll Bruno up with his feet on the ropes for the pin and the title.
Rating: C. This wasn’t too bad but more importantly it showed what Graham could do in the ring. He was insanely powerful and had a flashy look as opposed to the bigger than average but still relatively normal look that dominated wrestling in the 70s. This was Bruno’s last match as champion and he went out in a pretty good way.
And now, for a rematch on August 1, 1977.
WWF Title: Bruno Sammartino vs. Billy Graham
Gorilla is the guest referee for this one and good night is he huge. He shoves Graham around for trying to jump Bruno before the bell. He has no issue with Bruno doing the same though. Gorilla is also doing the voiceover thing here and says that more or less anything goes here. For the second time he says he’s 423lbs at this point. He won’t count Graham out because he says he’s not ending a title match with a count out.
Bruno was limited in his offense but at the same time that’s all you have to do. I think this is in Toronto but I’m not sure at all. Graham gets the feet and gets something from under the ring. Ah it’s a rope. Bruno chokes him with it and Gorilla isn’t as adamant about stopping that. According to Gorilla this is in MSG also but there’s no way given how this arena looks.
The idea here is that Bruno just wants the title back and Graham is trying to find a way to escape with it as his power isn’t working this time as Bruno might be stronger and is at least just as strong. Bruno works on the knee and hooks a half crab. We get a clip again as the hold is broken. That kind of sucks the drama out of matches and I’m not a fan of it at all.
Graham throws in a low blow and Gorilla seems to be ok with it. On the commentary he claims it might have been in the thigh. Yeah the hand being up around the hips of Bruno really looks like a thigh shot Monsoon. Graham goes up top and misses a knee and Bruno is all fired up again. Ok never mind as he eats post. Billy goes out and gets the belt which Gorilla steals as well. Shame he didn’t do it before the belt hit Bruno’s cranium.
Bruno is BUSTED WIDE OPEN as I channel my inner Gorilla. Graham hits the floor to leave so Gorilla throws him back in the ring. Well you can’t say he’s not active. He says if you look hard enough in the rule book it’s in there. Graham might be busted too and now he can’t get back in the ring.
Gorilla won’t count which is kind of funny. Bruno is ALL FIRED UP and there’s the bearhug again. And there’s a shot to Gorilla but still no DQ. Now that Gorilla’s shirt is just covered in blood he has no real choice but to stop it. It’s kind of hard to question that and he points out that he didn’t have much of a choice.
Rating: B-. Another brutal fight here with all kinds of blood out there. Feuds back then were based more on what happened in the ring rather than what happened on the mic so it’s a very different kind of style. This was a pretty fun match though as Bruno just beat the living tar out of him and Graham kept trying to cheat no matter what he could do. I liked it though.
Here’s a match against another opponent from December 19, 1977 in MSG.
Billy Graham vs. Mil Mascaras
Mascaras is a Mexican legend and one of the biggest stars the country has ever produced. I’ve heard a lot about Mascaras not selling stuff so let’s see if that’s the case or not. Graham is a roided up mess here and likely had to lose the title due to health issues soon after this. The Grand Wizard, Graham’s manager, gets to stay here as he’s promised to be good. I’m not making this up. Fink actually says the words “as long as he behaves.”
And Mascaras sprints off to the back to….uh….apparently he’s getting a burrito? Ah never mind he gets Backlund which is likely to set up the next show. Mascaras goes insane to start us off and just beating the tar out of Graham. They’re going with the basic power vs. speed formula here and there’s nothing wrong with that. Mascaras gets a bow and arrow hold and makes Graham dance like a chicken. You’d have to see it to get it but then again this is a book so that makes no sense. Basically graham is flapping his arms around trying to break the hold but since his arms are behind him he looks like he’s trying to fly.
Graham can’t overpower the guy that’s a lot bigger than I expected him to be. We stay in this hold for a LONG time as Graham isn’t smart enough to break it by using the ropes I guess. And of course just as I type that he’s in them. So far it’s been almost all Mascaras which says a lot given the size difference here.
Graham wins a test of strength but Mascaras just keeps out moving him. We hit a full nelson but that doesn’t work either. Graham can’t get anything to keep working at all here which I think is the point of the match. An abdominal stretch is a big deal at the time but lasts a second or two here. There are a LOT of submission holds here and they’re kind of sucking the life out of it.
Vince is also very different here as he’s not talking a mile a minute. That rarely would be the case later on in his more prominent stuff. Wizard shouts instructions to Graham and gets taken away by the POLICE. WOW they took wrestling more seriously back then. There’s the bearhug which is Graham’s finisher at the time. Just like every other hold he’s used though Mascaras counters into his own version.
Graham reaches for the ropes and looks like he’s a large man at a country fair reaching for the last slab of pie in an eating contest. He finally escapes and goes for the mask in an evil move. I say evil because we’re at two minutes and counting so far of him trying to take the mask off. Ah here we go again. Champion goes to the floor and is rammed into the post, cutting him open. Mascaras goes off on him but the ref stops the match due to the cut. Some things never change I guess. That isn’t enough for a title change though as it’s pin or submission only, which makes sense at least.
Rating: B-. It’s slower paced and kind of a clash of styles but the whole Mascaras counters everything was a decent enough story. Backlund coming out to counter the Wizard was a nice touch as it would foreshadow issues between him and the world champion in the coming months, but we’ll get to that in a bit. Graham here was looking like a modern champion in that he was barely surviving but escapes with the title to fight another day despite being outmatched.
While no longer champion, Graham would continue to be a big deal and face Dusty Rhodes on August 28, 1978 in one of the first gimmick matches in MSG history.
Dusty Rhodes vs. Billy Graham
This is a Texas Bullrope match and it’s pin or not being able to answer an 8 (yes 8) count. Jay Strongbow is referee for some reason. Graham doesn’t want to be tied up so Strongbow grabs him and ties him up anyway. Graham keeps running and Dusty keeps pulling him in. The elbow to the head puts Graham down and he tries to run again. Another elbow stuns Graham but he rakes the eyes to get a break.
Dusty gets choked by the rope but Billy misses an elbow drop. The Dream is busted open and Graham hooks his bearhug. That doesn’t last long for some reason so Billy goes up top. That’s REALLY FREAKING STUPID in a bullrope match as Dusty pulls him down to the mat. Billy is busted too and Dusty pounds away. Apparently this is the rubber match in a series. Graham comes back but Strongbow breaks it up for some reason. Dusty elbows him in the head and that’s enough for the 8 count and the win. That was a really abrupt ending.
Rating: C. This was fun while it lasted but unfortunately that wasn’t too long. There’s something cool about letting two guys beat the stuffing out of each other and that’s what happened here. I still don’t get what Strongbow had to do with this but maybe it was Graham’s next feud. Dusty never did much in the WWF but he did enough elsewhere to make up for it.
We’ll jump to Japan for a match at some point in 1979.
Mighty Inoue vs. Billy Graham
Graham spits at him to start before getting in a shot to the throat. Inoue is sent to the floor and rammed into a chair for some choking. He tries to bring the chair into the ring so Graham throws some more in at him. Things settle down with Inoue working over Billy’s leg in the corner but getting choked by the tag rope. The choking is switched over to a chinlock until Inoue cranks on the leg to escape.
They head outside again for more choking with Graham saying to put this on television. Back in and Inoue hammers away before it turns into another battle of the chokes. A pair of dropkicks give the Mighty one control but Graham avoids a third and drives in an elbow to the back. Graham puts him over his shoulder for the backbreaker and a submission.
Rating: C. Energetic match here but the choking got really annoying. At least they kept things moving so that it wasn’t a boring match but the extended holds are getting to be a bit much to sit through. I’m not all that familiar with Inoue but he wasn’t bad at all. The constant choking took away from the match though.
We’ll jump ahead to November 25, 1982 in Philadelphia.
Chief Jay Strongbow vs. Billy Graham
Graham is now bald and a karate master, having lost a lot of weight and muscle. Jay quickly chops him down and cranks on a wristlock to eat up a good chunk of time. Graham goes to the eyes to escape and we hit the bearhug on the Chief. Jay finally escapes and gets choked with tape but it’s time to go on the warpath. Strongbow cleans house but a shot to the jaw sends him to the floor for a VERY fast countout.
Rating: D. This really didn’t work all that well. Graham as the karate guy never worked but he wasn’t going to do the Superstar stuff anymore as Vince Sr. wouldn’t let him turn face. Strongbow was a guy that was popular with the crowd but really doesn’t hold up in modern times due to how generic his offense was.
That’s enough long matches. Here’s a squash from early 1983.
Barry Hart vs. Billy Graham
Barry would later change his last name to Horowitz. Some right hands to the face have Hart in trouble and a back elbow to the jaw puts him down. Barry fights back with a knee lift but Graham quickly sends him to the floor. Back in and a karate chop to the neck is good for the pin.
Graham would head to the NWA in 1985 and appear at Starrcade 1985. I’ll include the setup to the match as well.
Now we get some good old fashioned ARM WRESTLING between Billy Graham and the Barbarian. Graham finally puts him down but Barbarian’s manager Paul Jones whacks Billy with a cane as soon as it’s over. Apparently it’s time for a match.
Barbarian vs. Billy Graham
Barbarian rips at Graham’s face and chokes away like any good monster villain would do. He even bites Billy’s forehead but doesn’t bust him open here. We get a very early bearhug from Barbarian and he slams Billy down, only to miss his top rope headbutt. Graham stomps away and puts on his own bearhug but Jones comes in and breaks it up for the DQ.
Rating: D. Was there a point to this? It was barely long enough to rate and the majority of the match was spent in those bearhugs. Graham would be back in the WWF sooner than later and Barbarian would continue to be this same character for about twelve more years. Nothing to see here.
Injuries would slow Graham down but he would come back to the WWF as a monster face for a bit. The injuries would put him on the shelf again, but Graham would come back for one final run in the fall of 1987. Here’s his last match from November 14, 1987.
Butch Reed vs. Billy Graham
Reed jumps him to start and stomps away at Graham’s injured hip. A series of chair shots to the hip has Billy in big trouble and Butch goes after the leg even more. Butch goes up but jumps into a fist to the ribs. Graham has to deal with Slick, allowing the One Man Gang to come in for the DQ.
Gang splashes Graham on the floor, which was the way he was written into retirement. Don Muraco made the save.
To say Billy Graham influenced a lot of wrestlers is an understatement. If you listen to him talk you’ll hear lines used by Dusty Rhodes, Scott Steiner and Hulk Hogan among others. He was far more important on the mic and how he looked than in the ring, but to say he was a big deal is nowhere near a strong enough statement. He also held the World Title longer than any heel ever in the company. That’s quite a record to last over thirty years.
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