Wrestler of the Day – January 27: Andre the Giant

Today we go big. Actually we go really big. Gigantic even. Today’s Wrestler of the Day is Andre the Giant.

Andre got his start in France around 1963 so it’s almost impossible to find footage. He would tour around the world for years before settling in Montreal. Keep in mind that this was back in the day when Andre was kept moving around, due to being unable to find a realistic challenger for him. Other than handicap matches, one of the only match types that worked for him was a battle royal, like this one from Detroit in late 1975/early 1976. This is a two ring battle royal, meaning you have to be dumped from two rings before being eliminated. The two winners will face each other at a later date.

Battle Royal

Brute, Wolfman, Wildman, Michaelangelo, Gary Fulton, Kurt Von Hess, Christopher Colt, Clint Von Brauner, Andre the Giant, SuperMex El Bracero, Chris Taylor, Chris Markoff, Dominic Dennucci, Bobo Brazil

I don’t know half these people but Brute is quickly sent to the other ring. Everybody hides from Andre until Michaelangelo is sent over to face the Brute, only to be eliminated a second later. Not much going on so far. Colt and Fulton are sent to the second ring with Colt being quickly eliminated as well. Fulton is tossed as well as Brute is on fire. Bracero and Dennucci get the same treatment and Wolfman follow suit.

Andre and Taylor (a HUGE man, almost as big as Andre) throw Markoff to the Brute who dumps him as well before Taylor chases after a manager to eliminate himself. Hess went out at the hands of the Brute as well before Andre and Bobo clean house and throw Wildman to Brute. Von Brauner went out somewhere in there, leaving us with Brute in one ring and Andre vs. Bobo (top star of the promotion) in the other ring.

Bobo goes right at Andre and they choke each other against the ropes with neither getting the advantage. They talk to each other and shake hands with Andre stepping out of the ring, leaving Bobo to fight the Brute one on one at a later date. Brute runs away from Bobo, who is declared the winner.

Rating: D. This was all about setting up the post match fight between Brute and Bobo, though I’ll give them credit for some creative booking. I had no idea how they were going to get rid of Taylor or either Brazil/Andre but they came up with a decent enough idea. I had no idea who most of the people were but it’s always cool to see guys from other companies like this.

Soon after this it was on to the WWF where Andre would be for most of the rest of his career. Here’s a six man tag from August 28, 1978 from MSG.

Spiros Arion/Yukon Lumberjacks vs. Andre the Giant/Tony Garea/Dino Bravo

The Lumberjacks are the tag champions and named Eric and Pierre. We’re in MSG here and this is 2/3 falls. Very international match here with three Canadians, a Frenchman, a Greek and a New Zealander. Vince is the lone commentator here and actually calls Andre Andre Roussimoff. Eric is the Lumberjack with blonde hair who starts with Garea.

 

Two quick armdrags send Eric running to bring in Arion. I think we’re clipped but I’m not sure. This is just punching. Off to Pierre, meaning Garea has fought all three guys now. Off to a top wristlock and I think the camera is just jumping around a lot. Either that or it’s the best clipping I’ve ever seen. Eric comes in again and gets slammed. The heels finally get Tony into the corner but Andre breaks that up, drawing a DQ for the first fall. I forgot it was 2/3 so that bell was really surprising. Oh wait the Lumberjacks got disqualified for the triple teaming. Ok then.

 

Garea and Eric start the second fall as well. Bravo comes in for the first time and I’ve never seen him move that fast. Arion comes in and we get a crisscross. Bravo beats Eric up for awhile but Pierre comes in to take over. A slam gets two. Off to Andre and the place erupts. See, this is something you don’t have in WWE anymore: an attraction. Andre was someone that was beloved and the people didn’t care what he did.

 

Andre here is in the last match of the night (more brilliant booking. Why have him in the middle and let everyone leave after he’s been in the ring? More beers and Cokes sold while people wait) and it’s a worthless six man tag, but the people want to see him. It’s not about some angle or the world title or whatever. It’s about Andre and whatever he’s doing. The people told the company what they wanted to see and that’s who got the big spot. Not the other way around. Very key difference. As for the match, a splash ends it about 10 seconds after Andre comes in.

 

Rating: C-. The match was boring, but it’s amazing to see something like Andre when he was still young(ish) and could move. The crowd reacts to him and that’s all it needs to be. He didn’t have to spend ten minutes sucking up to them. He was cool and the fans reacted to it. What more did you need than that?

From there, we move on to a match you’ll be seeing a lot here: Andre vs. Hogan. This is the match a lot of people forget from an era people forget. From Showdown at Shea in 1980 with Andre as a face and Hogan as a heel managed by Freddie Blassie.

Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant

Yeah this works. Hogan has the traditional colors on but is a heel here. Cole keeps talking about Mania 3 and their FIRST MATCH EVER! This show and match was a big blow to Hogan’s ego that he lies about to this day. He claims that he and Andre drew this house but for the whole summer this and Larry/Bruno were the top feuds. One time was Hogan/Andre the top listed match and it got about 40% of a house full. 3 months later they came back and did the traditional listings resulting in a full house. Real World: 1, Hogan: 0.

It’s so weird seeing the yellow and red as heel colors. Foley fought Andre in Japan. I never knew that. Those ropes are LOOSE. Black elbow pads for Hogan which is a weird look. Hogan with a headlock to start as it’s a long feeling out process. Far different match than you would get at Mania. Foley talks about being at a Harley Race BBQ where Race has a picture of him slamming Andre. Take that Hulk!

We get some cool Andre stories which are just amazing every time. Hogan has a hairy back. Now that’s a weird one to write out. Bearhug by Hogan and this is a very slow match. Andre blocks a slam with a hammerlock. Down goes the referee as Hogan gets slammed. Hogan slams Andre and it’s just a normal move other than Cole and Foley babbling about it. Funny though. Andre gets a splash and a tainted count to win it from another referee. He got out but the referee counted it anyway.

Rating: D. Boring match here but these two are always fun together. This is the unspoken match as everything that Vince didn’t want you to know about at Mania time happened here. This was quick and more or less harmless though. I’m very surprised that this went so fast though, not even getting 8 minutes. Andre got busted open after the match.

One thing Andre wasn’t known for was fighting for titles. For a little rarity, here’s Andre challenging Ken Patera for the Intercontinental Title in Philadelphia on October 11, 1980.

Intercontinental Title: Andre the Giant vs. Ken Patera

Patera, the villain here, is an Olympian weightlifter who was as legitimately strong as anyone you’ll find in the WWF not named Mark Henry. For you WCW fans, Gary Michael Capetta is ring announcer. Patera is really nervous to get going before Andre pushes him into the corner with one arm. He cranks on the champion’s arm before grabbing the other to crank on both of them at once.

Off to a double chicken wing but Patera gets his legs into the ropes. Patera finally avoids a shoulder in the corner but he can’t follow up. Some knees to the head have Andre in trouble and Patera puts on a front facelock. The Giant is actually in trouble as the hold stays on for a few minutes. Andre comes back with five hard shots to Patera’s bad knee to break the hold before kicking it so hard that Patera gets tied up in the ropes. He lays on the knee a few times and Patera bails to the floor for the countout.

Rating: D. Another bad match here though Andre beating up strong guys was always fun to see. Those shots to the knee alone almost made this a fun match but the front facelock brought it right back down. They didn’t have many other options here as Patera’s finisher was a swinging full nelson and that just wasn’t happening.

So I don’t get more complaints about skipping Japan, here’s Andre vs. Killer Khan from NJPW on March 31, 1982. Khan is a big Mongolian dude who feuded with Andre for a long time.

Killer Khan vs. Andre the Giant

Andre is all ticked off here and scares a big crowd of fans on his way to the ring. I’m pretty sure he’s a heel here, even though Khan is as evil looking as you can get. Khan hides on the floor before coming in and getting punched back outside. Andre gets caught in a headlock by the huge Khan before a hard shoulder block sends Khan into the ropes. Andre drives his fat into the Killer but again misses a charge to give Khan a chance.

Khan superkicks Andre and hits a middle rope chop to finally drop the Giant. This is one of those heavy hitting monster battles of the days of yore. Andre comes back with a LOUD overhand chop in the corner and more ramming of the fat. A big right hand “hits” Khan in the nose and a big boot drops him down. Killer rolls to the floor to avoid a splash and Andre follows for one of the fastest double countouts I’ve ever seen.

Rating: D+. It was a horrible match from a wrestling standpoint but I’m a sucker for these battles of the giants. Andre beating up big fat men is eternally entertaining as you get to see just how big he really was. Khan was a good choice for a villain back in America as he’s as the most stereotypical evil Asian monster that you’ll ever find.

Andre pounds on Khan with something made of metal and the fight heads back inside until I believe Masa Saito comes in to break it up.

Andre would face a lot of giants in his career, primarily Big John Studd back in America. Here’s a cage match from July 23, 1983 in Landover, Maryland and the ending alone still makes me cringe.

Andre the Giant vs. Big John Studd

This is joined in progress and Andre is just maybe a foot or two shorter than the top of the cage. Andre bites away and opens up Studd. That cage is SHAKING. The lighting is rather bad here for the most part. This is before 1985 based on Andre’s hair. You can barely see them for a few seconds here but it picks up a bit.

Andre misses a diving headbutt and Studd heads for the door which gets him nowhere. This is a lot of laying around and choking on the mat with the occasional big clubbing forearm shot. Studd goes for the door again but can’t get through one more time. Monsoon kind of implies any part of getting out of the cage counts rather than just the feet. They’ve spent about four minutes now laying down near the door now.

Andre finally stands up and stares at Studd for a bit. Ah never mind he must have worn himself out so we’re going to lay down a bit more. The slug it out and Studd surprisingly wins. Studd has a chance to leave and like the stupid heel that he is he doesn’t go for it and charges again, running into a big boot. Andre gets a slam and then goes to the TOP ROPE and jumps off with a huge sit down splash onto Studd’s chest. FREAKING DOUBLE OW MAN! The exit from the cage is academic as Studd is for all intents and purposes, dead.

Rating: D+. Well the match was incredibly boring with them just kind of laying around for the most part but DANG that ending was awesome with Studd getting destroyed to end this. That was a mind blowing ending with Andre coming down HARD on Studd. This was the second biggest feud in the company at the time which resulted in Andre beating Studd in a slam match at Mania.

This brings us to the biggest feud of all time, including one of the biggest heel turns of all time, culminating in the biggest match of all time. What people forget is that this story started back in 1984. Andre the Giant was the first man to congratulate Hogan on winning the WWF Title, forming a semi-regular tag team. Over the next year or two, Hogan would help Andre in his battles against King Kong Bundy, Big John Studd and whoever else Bobby Heenan threw at Andre at any given time.

In 1986, Andre had a lot of things going on, including filming The Princess Bride and needing time off for his mounting injuries. To explain his absences, he was suspended by WWF President Jack Tunney for (kayfabe) skipping advertised appearances. Soon after this, a mysterious team from Japan called the Machines appeared and began feuding with the Heenan Family.

The team was comprised of Big Machine, Super Machine and Giant Machine. The latter was obviously Andre but Heenan could never prove it despite trying for months on end. The team was put together to allow Andre to stand on the apron and rest while the other two did all the work, which is a common tactic in wrestling. Ever notice a guy coming back from an injury is in A LOT of six man tags? Simple yet effective.

Anyway, one day the Machines suddenly disappeared as news broke of Andre’s suspension being lifted. For some reason, Heenan was pleased with the news. Soon after this, Andre returned and appeared on an episode of Piper’s Pit with Hogan in Piper’s Pit where both received trophies; Andre’s for being undefeated for fifteen years and Hogan’s for being world champion for three years.

However, Andre’s trophy was noticeably smaller, prompting him to say “three years to be a champion, that’s a long time.” A few weeks later, Andre walked into the Pit with Heenan at his side and challenges Hogan for Wrestlemania. Hogan is STUNNED and has the crucifix ripped off his chest. Hogan finally agrees to fight Andre at Wrestlemania and the arena exploded. Make no mistake about it: THIS is why Wrestlemania III is the biggest show ever. In case you couldn’t tell, the next match is Hulk Hogan defending the WWF Title against Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania III.

WWF World Title: Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan

Hogan walks to the ring and the ovation is unreal. To put it simply, this is the biggest match in the history of professional wrestling. We get the historic staredown and we’re really supposed to believe that Hogan is nine inches shorter than Andre? It’s like three at most. Hogan punches away to start but goes for a slam a minute into this and falls down, giving Andre a very close two. That right there would fuel the rematch requests for the next year. Hulk’s back is hurt and Andre starts taunting him. A big forearm hits Hogan in the back and Andre slams him twice. Andre pounds away very slowly and hits a few headbutts.

Hulk fights back up with some forearms into the head. A running elbow staggers the Giant and Hogan sends him head first into the buckle ten times, only to charge into a boot to slow things right back down again. We hit the bearhug and Hogan is in trouble. This lasts for a LONG while until Hogan punches his way out of it, possibly hurting his hand in the process. Hulk rams into him a few times but charges into a chop to put Hogan down again. A boot to the ribs knocks Hulk to the floor but Andre headbutts the post. Hogan tries a piledriver of all things but is easily backdropped down.

We head back in for the legendary ending sequence. Hogan ducks a big boot and clotheslines down. It’s Hulk Up time and in the most famous scene in wrestling history, Hulk Hogan slams Andre the Giant to blow the roof off the place. The big legdrop makes Hogan immortal and the title is retained.

Rating: B. Ok here’s the thing: if you think this is about the wrestling itself, you have completely missed the point here. This was about making Hogan look like the biggest star ever and to say it did that is an understatement. On top of that, the match isn’t that bad. Don’t get me wrong: it’s not a masterpiece or anything like that, but the match is nowhere near as bad as it’s made out to be. This was exactly what how it was supposed to go down.

Hogan poses for a long time as Heenan leaves with his head in his hands, wondering where it all went wrong.

The match was so big that it started the second PPV series in the WWF: the Survivor Series. We’ll take a look at the main event of the 1987 edition with Team Andre vs. Team Hogan.

Team Andre the Giant vs. Team Hulk Hogan

Andre the Giant, King Kong Bundy, One Man Gang, Butch Reed, Rick Rude

Hulk Hogan, Bam Bam Bigelow, Don Muraco, Ken Patera, Paul Orndorff

After Andre’s team comes out, we go to the back for a great late 80s Hogan insane promo. He talks about how hungry all of his team is and apparently he trusts Orndorff again. Muraco is subbing for an injured Billy Graham who would never wrestle again if I remember correctly. To say the place erupts for Hogan is an understatement. Muraco and Rude get things going here. Again there aren’t many feuds going on here other than Hogan vs. Andre. Rude and Orndorff are feuding but other than that I don’t think there were any established programs already.

Rude gets knocked into the corner and quintuple teamed before it’s off to Orndorff for the tag. Paul knocks him around a bit and here’s Hogan to blow the roof off the place again. He drops a bunch of elbows on Rude and here’s Bigelow with a splash for no cover. Bigelow gorilla presses Rude and here’s Patera who never got back to where he was before his jail stint.

Off to Reed who has about as much luck as Rude had earlier. Muraco comes in and dropkicks Reed down as does Orndorff. Paul beats on him for a bit and it’s a double clothesline from Hogan and Orndorff, leading to the big leg and a 5-4 lead for Hogan and company. Andre comes in while Hogan is celebrating, but Joey Marella (Gorilla’s adopted son) says a high five to Patera counted as a tag so the teasing of the crowd continues.

Andre, the Frenchman that he is, thinks Patera is beneath him and tags out to Bundy. Patera clotheslines Bundy down but King tags in Gang to beat on Orndorff. Paul is all like BRING IT ON and punches Gang in the head, only to charge into a knee in the corner to bring him right back down. Off to Rude who gets his own head taken off by a clothesline. It’s been ALL Hulk N Pals so far.

Rude pokes Muraco in the eye and it’s off to Gang, but OMG misses a splash in the corner. Patera gets in and pounds away on Gang even more with right hands and a knee in the corner. Gang goes to the eyes which of course makes Jesse happy. Patera tries to fight back but they clothesline each other and Gang falls on top of him for the pin, making it 4-4. Hogan comes in immediately to take over but quickly brings in Bam Bam for a double big boot.

Bigelow is probably the second most popular guy in the company at this point or third at worst behind only Hogan and Savage. They hit head to head and it’s a double tag to Rude and Orndorff. Paul goes nuts on him but as he loads up the piledriver, Bundy jumps him from behind, giving Rude a quick rollup pin. That would be it for Orndorff in the WWF, at least in major spots.

Bigelow comes in and suplexes Rude down before tagging out to Hogan for a high knee (!). A powerslam from Muraco to take Rude out and it’s Gang, Bundy and Andre vs. Bigelow, Hogan and Muraco. Muraco goes after Bundy’s leg which is pretty good strategy. Granted it doesn’t work but at least it was a good idea. Gang comes in and Muraco can’t slam him because he’s really fat. The splash eliminates Muraco and it’s 3-2.

Gang vs. Bigelow now with Bigelow trying a sunset flip, only to get crushed by the power of fat. Bundy clotheslines Bigelow inside out and Jesse says Hogan is going to run if Bigelow gets eliminated. Gorilla RUNS to Hogan’s defense and Jesse freaks. Gang and Bigelow collide and Hogan looks like he’s about to cry. Andre finally comes in and Bigelow looks TINY compared to him.

Bigelow slides between Andre’s legs and FINALLY it’s Hogan vs. Andre. Hogan pounds away and blocks a headbutt and Andre is in trouble. Hogan decks Bundy and Gang before elbowing Andre in the head. Bundy pulls Hogan to the floor and Hulk has to beat up both of the other monsters. He slams both guys, but he’s outside too long and Hogan is counted out. Hogan, the great sportsman that he is, gets back in anyway and is STUNNED, yes STUNNED I SAY about getting counted out. It takes the referees saying that if Hogan doesn’t leave, his whole team is disqualified.

So it’s Bigelow vs. Andre, Bundy and Gang. Bigelow starts with Bundy and clotheslines him down for two. A shoulder block puts Bundy down again and a headbutt gets two. A dropkick staggers Bundy and the King misses a splash. Bigelow hits his slingshot splash to eliminate Bundy and make it 2-1.

Gang comes in immediately and starts pounding away, hooking something like a front facelock. Bigelow gets rammed into Andre’s boot and Gang goes up. Oh this can’t end well. Gang misses a “splash” and Bigelow pins him to get us down to one on one. Let the pain begin. Andre pounds him down, avoids a charge, fires off a bunch of shoulders to the back, and a kind of single arm butterfly suplex gets the final pin for Andre.

Rating: B-. For a main event, this was perfectly fine. More than anything else, it continues Hogan vs. Andre. They had their first match about eight months ago and something like this needed to happen to extend the feud. That’s the reason for the amount of PPVs going up: you need another place to have major feuds. Andre has now won something in direct competition over Hogan and there’s a reason for a rematch. Maybe on February 5th live on NBC?

Hogan IMMEDIATELY runs out and decks Andre with the belt. Hogan clears the ring and says bring it on, but Heenan motions that Hogan has to sign a contract first. Jesse freaks out as Hogan poses. This is a total jerk move by Hulk as he lost completely fairly and is out here because he can’t accept it. I was a Hulkamaniac as a kid, but Hogan was a horrible sport a lot of the time.

Heenan and Andre say they want Hogan and all Hulk has to do is sign on the dotted line.

The story continued on the Main Event on February 5, 1988 with Hogan vs. Andre II. This match drew the biggest audience in the history of American wrestling, drawing 33 million fans and a 15 in the ratings. To put this in perspective, at the peak of the Monday Night Wars, Raw and Nitro combined for about ten million.

WWF Title: Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan

So yeah, this is the biggest match ever on television and still is to this day. Again: it got a FIFTEEN in ratings. To put that in perspective, Jay Leno gets about a three. Hogan says there was no controversy in the count and that he’s beaten Andre once and can again. He also says that he’s invested into his fans. Good promo as you can tell Hogan thrives in this kind of environment. Now if only they had noticed something: Hogan has the OLD design for the title in the interview but as he walks out you see the famous winged eagle title debut. Nice job guys. That interview was probably taped in late 87.

The pop for Hogan is just absurd as he’s almost at the height of his powers here. Ok so 87 was bigger but close enough. Hogan wants to start immediately but Hebner stops him. I’ve seen this match multiple times and this has me fired up very well. Andre stalls forever on the apron as Hogan is all kinds of fired up. Hogan gives the sign for slamming him and Andre’s face says nothing but “boyplease.”

The crowd is electric as they do a masterful job of letting the tension build. Hogan has finally waited long enough and drills into the heels and cleans house. He hammers away early as you can definitely see a faster pace here than they had last time. Granted that might be due to Hogan needing to do more here as Andre is getting very bad very fast.

ALL Hogan here but Hogan can’t do much here other than strike. DiBiase is counting money so Hogan stomps on his hand for the fun of it. Big wind up punch and Andre WILL NOT GO DOWN. Hogan like an idiot tries to go up and gets the Flair treatment for his luck. Andre tries a diving headbutt and just misses completely. He chokes away and other than that and basic strikes he has nothing.

The idea here is that Andre’s offense is very limited but his size and power plus great selling by Hogan makes him seem like a killer. Andre gets a big boot to Hogan’s chest and falls down too. He chokes with the strap on his singlet and Hogan is in trouble. Hogan breaks a choke and it’s on all over again. A middle rope clothesline finally drops the Giant.

Hogan gets the legdrop but Virgil grabs the referee. Andre gets up and drills some headbutts and hits a suplex kind of move which was his finisher. Hogan clearly gets his shoulder well off the mat at about one and a half and the referee keeps counting anyway, getting to three and declaring Andre as the winner. And let the controversy begin.

Rating: C-. The match itself was just ok but obviously the biggest angle of all time happening here is the real story. The 9 minute match was a backdrop for that as Andre couldn’t do a thing but choke for the most part which is fine given his physical condition at the time. Not bad at all, all things considered.

The referee says it was three and Hogan says he got his shoulder up which is absolutely true. Hebner gets the belt and hands it to Andre. This is the end of Hogan’s over four year title reign. Gene is at ringside and talks to Andre who calls it the world tag title for some reason and then surrenders it to DiBiase. The image of DiBiase with the belt around his waist is downright terrifying.

Hogan turns his attention to Hebner and here comes….Dave Hebner. There are TWO Dave Hebners as the fans are STUNNED. Hogan figures out what is going on as the guy that refereed the match was an impostor and we actually have an evil twin storyline. The evil one beats up the good one but Hogan gets his hands on him anyway to throw him to DiBiase and Andre.

I’ll wrap it up with Andre’s lone official title win in the WWF. From the December 13, 1989 episode of Superstars.

Tag Titles: Colossal Connection vs. Demolition

This is during Demolition’s second reign and they’re over huge with the crowd. The fight is on quickly with Andre dropping Ax (who was actually Super Machine) with a headbutt. Haku chops away at Ax to start before it’s off to Andre for some heavy choking in the corner. Smash makes the mistake of going after Heenan, leaving Ax to be double teamed. Andre comes in for a standing choke as this is total dominance by the challengers.

Some shoulders in the corner have Ax in even more trouble but Haku misses a charge to breathe life into the crowd. A second charge hits Ax’s elbow but Haku blocks another tag attempt. Andre comes back in with some headbutts and another choke, drawing Smash in for the save. The referee gets him out, allowing Haku to hit a quick superkick followed by an Andre elbow drop for the pin. Smash tried to make the save but there’s no way to pull Andre around on the mat.

Rating: D. The match sucked, but the fact that Demolition got squashed like this blows my mind. Smash was never even in the match and the pinfall was practically clean in about six minute. That NEVER happens to Demolition at anyone’s hands, making the Connection look all the more awesome.

Demolition would get the belts back at Wrestlemania by tying Andre up in the ropes. Andre would turn face again after the match, which was his last in the WWF. He would have a handful of matches in Japan, including one less than two months before he passed away in January of 1993.

Andre was more of an entity than a wrestler. I try to keep these at about seven matches at most but here I could have gone on three or four times as long as I did. I was looking over Andre’s American career and there are so many matches where he gets to show off his size and power that they’re almost impossible to split up. The guy really was one of a kind and there will never be another.

I remember reading a post on the WrestleZone forums once that said when Vince created the Undertaker, he was replacing Andre the Giant. The more I think about that theory the more I buy into it. Andre was never the top star of a company, but he was always a huge attraction and one of the biggest (literally) draws of all time. Unfortunately what people forget is that Andre was REALLY good in the ring considering how massive he was.

Watch some of his stuff from before 1987 to get an idea of what Andre was like in his prime. It’s sad to see him near the end of his career as he could barely move, especially if you see his earlier stuff. Earlier is a stretch too, as he would have been wrestling over sixteen years by 1980. Definitely check him out if you’ve somehow never seen him or only seen the final stretch of his career.

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WWF House Show – September 18, 1987: The Worst Kind Of Show

WWF House Show
Date: September 18, 1987
Location: Philadelphia Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 9,000
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Dick Graham

This is a time when the WWF was in a holding pattern as we were well past Wrestlemania III but we weren’t close enough to Survivor Series yet to talk about it. Therefore the main event tonight is WWF’s bread and butter from the 80s: Hogan vs. the monster of the week, in this case Killer Khan, a guy most famous for a run against Andre the Giant about five years earlier than this. The card looks a bit underwhelming but I’ve been surprised before. Let’s get to it.

We open with a quick rundown of some of the bigger matches, including Beefcake vs. Rude and Race vs. Savage.

Barry Horowitz vs. Lanny Poffo

Oh we’re in for a long night aren’t we? Horowitz would be pretty new at this point and after a quick poem from Poffo we’re ready to go. Horowitz won’t shake hands to start so we have a clear evil one here. He armdrags Lanny down and celebrates like a true villain would. Barry slams him down again so Lanny armdrags him a few times to send Barry to the floor. Back in and Horowitz hides in the ropes. Poffo ducks through them too to laugh at Barry in a funny bit.

We get down to business now with Poffo grabbing an armbar for control. The arm hold stays on for awhile as the announcers talk about the Piledriver Album. They get back up and Barry whips him into the corner, only to be reversed into an armdrag and armbar #3. Into the corner again and Larry headscissors him across the ring. Barry gets in a thumb to the eye and some European uppercuts. A legdrop gets two.

We hit the chinlock from Barry as this match continues to go on way longer than it needs to go. The announcers talk about the most painful submissions ever and Gorilla says by far it’s the bear hug from either Bruno, Graham or Patera. A small package gets two for Lanny but Horowitz pokes him in the eyes to stop the momentum again. Lanny grabs a sunset flip for another two.

Barry goes up but ala Ric Flair is slammed down. Poffo monkey flips him out of the corner in a move that wasn’t as snappy as you would expect from Lanny. There’s a hard elbow in the corner to Barry but a second monkey flip is countered. Barry atomic drops him out of said corner and hits a Russian Leg Sweep for the pin.

Rating: D. It picked up a bit towards the end but it was Barry Horowitz vs. Lanny Poffo for nearly thirteen minutes. I don’t see any situation in which that is something that ever needs to happen. This was basically a battle of future jobbers, which isn’t the right idea to start a show with in Philadelphia of all places.

Frenchy Martin vs. Special Delivery Jones

Another battle of the jobbers. I’m in for an even longer night than I was expecting aren’t I? They fight over a headlock and a top wristlock to start and Jones takes him to the mat. A nearly botched slam puts Martin down and things slow again. Martin’s chinlock is countered by Jones who puts Frenchy on the top for a polite tap on the jaw. Off to another chinlock by Frenchy to keep this match from getting interesting.

The fans aren’t thrilled by this and I can’t say I am either. SD fights up but gets clotheslinedown almost immediately. Off to a nerve hold which is much less boring than a chinlock because….uh…..hey look over there! Jones tries to fight out of it and it’s back to the chinlock. Jones fights up and pounds away, including a punch to the beard. Yes the beard. Martin catches him with a knee to the ribs but ramming Jones’ head into the buckle doesn’t work as well. After Martin bails and comes back in, Jones pounds away with more punches. SD small packages him but Frenchy reverses and grabs the tights for the pin.

Rating: D-. This is the second straight boring match in a row to start things off here. The whole thing is only two hours long and we’re thirty minutes into it already. This can’t be a good sign as the opener with Barry Horowitz in it was the best match of the night after a quarter of the show. Nothing to see here again.

Harley Race vs. Randy Savage

This HAS to be better. The talent in this alone keeps it from being dull. Savage is VERY freshly turned here, not even having had his feud with Honky start off yet. Race is the King but Savage won the untelevised King of the Ring tournament two weeks before this. Savage goes all insane to start and Race isn’t sure what to make of him. Race takes him into the corner but Savage escapes and throws on a sleeper.

Race quickly grabs a rope so Savage clotheslines him over the top and out to the floor. Savage clotheslines him back over the top rope to bring Race back in and Harley is in trouble. Race hits him in the ribs and sends Savage out to the floor, but Macho sends Race head first into the announce table. Well it is Philly after all. Race trips him up and like an idiot, tries a falling headbutt on the floor. The miss gets two for Savage back in the ring.

Harley is busted and Savage goes after it like a….well like a savage actually. Race pulls him into the corner and takes over with some shots to the head. The piledriver gets no cover but an elbow drop gets two for Harley. A belly to belly gets another two count but Savage reverses a vertical suplex to take over.

Savage drops a knee for two but Race punches him down to take over again. Randy wakes up and elbows Race in the head for two. He’s all fired up now and drops the double ax to Harley’s head for another two. The Flying Elbow misses so Race tries another suplex, only to get reversed into an O’Connor Roll to give Savage the pin.

Rating: C+. This was a nice breath of air as Savage was on fire at this point and the fans were rapidly getting behind him. He would feud with Honky for a few more months before entering the world title tournament at Wrestlemania and taking over the company for a year. Good stuff here as Race was still excellent in the ring and can make even someone like Savage, who is already as talented as anyone, look better.

Iron Mike Sharpe vs. Scott Casey

Casey is known for two things: being on Survivor Series 88 due to a ton of injuries and also training Harlem Heat. Feeling out process to start for the first minute or so with nothing going on. Casey crucifixes him down for two and Sharpe heads to the floor. Back in and Sharpe poses a bit and wants a test of strength. Casey goes down to his knees in the grip but he rolls away and takes Sharpe down.

Iron Mike heads to the floor again and walks around a bit longer this time. Actually he’s walking away from the ring and Casey has to stand in the ring. At this point in the show, they couldn’t do anything much worse than that. Thankfully Sharpe comes back in and rakes Casey’s eyes along the top rope ala Arn Anderson. Casey grabs a piledriver out of nowhere but it only gets two.

Sharpe comes back with some chops to the chest but gets sent into the corner and monkey flipped for his troubles. The announcers discuss the brace on Sharpe’s arm which is on the verge of rivaling Orton’s for longest running injuries. A poke to the eye stops Casey and Mike sends him to the floor. As they head back inside, Casey pokes Mike in the eye to get control back in a nice touch. A sleeper slows Sharpe down and a bulldog gets the pin for Casey.

Rating: D+. Another long and dull match here with guys that not many people were interested in seeing. Casey was basically just a house show guy who occasionally would pop up on TV as half of a jobbing tag team but that’s about it. Nothing to see here again though as it was a nine minute match with about two minutes of action in it.

Rick Rude vs. Brutus Beefcake

This is the last match before the intermission. Rude is pretty new here and he hasn’t started his first big feud, which would be with Orndorff. Brutus jumps him before his name graphic can come on and punches him down to the floor. Back in and Rude wants a handshake but Beefcake would rather hit him again and hits a headknocker. Rude slips in a shot to the knee and Brutus is in trouble.

Beefcake will have none of this being on defense thing and suplexes Rude down, followed by an atomic drop. If anything can help a show no matter what, it’s Rude selling an atomic drop. Rude comes back with a knee lift and starts choking a bit. He wasn’t exactly polished at this point. Brutus breaks a nerve hold but Rude pokes him in the eyes to slow him back down again.

Back to the chinlock as the match slows down again. You can tell it’s the 80s when th are this many chinlocks in a match. Beefcake fights up again with right hands but Rude takes him right back down. You may be noticing a pattern here. Beefcake makes comeback #8 or so with a backdrop followed by a slam. He puts the sleeper on but Rude rams Brutus’ head into the buckle to escape.

A shoulder breaker puts Beefcake down again and there’s the over the shoulder body vice, but Rude lets it go early. Rude goes for the scissors but gets caught in the sleeper again. Harley Race runs in for the save and is put in the sleeper as well. Brutus chases both of them off with the scissors before winning by DQ.

Rating: D+. Not a great match again but at least there was some energy in this match and there were some people I might care about for a change. Beefcake would get MUCH better in a few years as would Rude, and with Jake Roberts lurking for Rude, that time would come soon. This was your usual house show punch and kick match though.

Craig DeGeorge has replaced Monsoon on commentary. Great.

Junkyard Dog vs. Ted DiBiase

We have a Mid-South reunion here. DiBiase offers JYD 500 bucks to take the night off but JYD drills him and gives the money to the fans. Ted is relatively new here too, only having been around about four or five months. Ted gets punched down again and it’s time to stall again. DiBiase hides in the ropes more than once as this is going nowhere so far. JYD rams Ted in the buckle a few times and Ted backs off again.

A fan asks DiBiase for more money when he’s on the floor. That made me chuckle. Back in and DiBiase’s boot to the ribs is caught in an atomic drop. We’re almost four minutes into this and almost nothing has happened so far. JYD works over the arm with a wristlock and then gets on all fours for some headbutts. A falling headbutt misses and DiBiase takes over. DiBiase goes up but jumps into an extended fist instead of the extended boot. Well at least it was different. More headbutts keep DiBiase down and Virgil gets one too. Virgil trips JYD up and DiBiase steals a win with a rollup.

Rating: D+. Another punch/kick/headbutt/stall match here which is continues to drag this show down. DiBiase was killing time until he started to go after Hogan and JYD didn’t mean much of anything yet. The match was mainly DiBiase stalling though and it didn’t go anywhere at all, which is a theme tonight.

Tag Titles: Hart Foundation vs. Killer Bees

Again this has to be good based on the chemistry and familiarity between the teams involved. The Harts are defending due to the Bees never having been champions. We get the ritual of Neidhart taking Bret’s glasses off and we’re ready to go. Blair and Neidhart get us going and the big guy shoves Blair around and takes down the straps. The Bees take over on the arm of the Anvil but Brunzell gets caught in a bearhug.

The Bees use the Sting Action to take over and Blair works over the leg. Both Bees work on the leg but Anvil shoves Blair away and brings Bret in. Blair takes the Hitman down by the leg and hooks an Indian Deathlock. Brunzell hooks a quick spinning toehold and it’s back to Blair for a figure four. The Bees were famous for being able to tag in and out very quickly which they’re doing well here.

Bret finally breaks the old and Blair is taken into the corner and choked by Anvil. We get to the face in peril section now as Blair is down on the floor. Actually that may be premature as Blair sunset flips Bret down for two back inside. Neidhart comes back in with a chinlock before bringing Bret back in to pound on Brian some more. A slam and knee drop get two on Blair as does a kick to the ribs. Neidhart slaps on a bearhug which the announcers can’t name for some reason.

Blair elbows out of it but Bret gets a blind tag and comes in, only to get taken down by a double clothesline. Both guys are down now and the fans are getting into this. Blair picks him up for a slam and Neidhart kicks Bret down onto Blair, but Blair rolls through for two. That would have been an awesome way to change the titles if that was what they were doing here.

Blair crawls over to make the tag and Bret is in trouble. Bret gets his foot on the ropes to save the titles twice in a row before grabbing a sleeper to give himself a breath. Everything breaks down and Brunzell dropkicks Bret to the apron. Brunzell tries to suplex him back in but Neidhart trips him up, allowing Bret to fall on top to retain the titles.

Rating: B-. This was one of those matches that you couldn’t screw up. I remember one of these four saying that they wrestled each other roughly four hundred times and it’s pretty easy to see that they know each other very well. The Bees never won the titles but dang they had some fun matches trying to get them on house shows.

Outback Jack vs. Tiger Chung Lee

Outback Jack can really only be described as different. He’s from Humpty Doo, Australia and has a song called Tie Me Kangaroo Down. Lee is your generic evil Asian dude. Feeling out process to start with Jack hitting a few punches. A bulldog out of nowhere gets the pin for Jack. I think that was supposed to be a clothesline to the back of the head but Lee took it like a bulldog. Too short to rate but this was nothing at all.

WWF World Title: Killer Khan vs. Hulk Hogan

As Hogan is being checked for objects, Khan jumps him and chokes Hogan down with his own headband. Khan loads up the Asian Mist but it hits the referee by mistake. A new referee comes out but Hogan is in big trouble. I think I’ll bet on Khan here. I mean, it’s clear Hogan can’t come back from this kind of a beating. A knee drop gets two for Khan and he beats on Hogan for awhile longer. There’s nothing of note happening here as it’s mainly just stomping.

Fuji gets in a cane shot to Hogan’s throat but Khan’s knee drop misses. Hogan enters Kung Fu mode and chops away, but he poses a bit too much and Khan takes him down again with chops. Off to the nerve hold which Asians tend to be proficient at. Hogan is almost out but he holds up the arm on the third drop and the place erupts. He starts running the ropes but a big chop takes him right back down. Khan’s top rope knee drop finisher gets two and it’s Hulk Up, a block of the mist, mist to Khan’s eyes and the legdrop to retain.

Rating: C. It’s Hogan vs. a foreign monster in the 80s. I have no idea what else you’re looking for here. Hogan would go on to feud with DiBiase and Andre in a few months while Khan would disappear, although he was almost never on TV so it wasn’t like it was a big loss. Nothing to see here again but the fans loved it.

Overall Rating: D-. This was the worst kind of show possible: the dull kind. Nothing on here is awful, but there is NOTHING that hasn’t been done better a few dozen times. At the end of the day, this is a dull house show with a lot of standing around to fill in time. This show came and went and I’m never going to think of it again. That’s the worst kind of show to sit through as it’s so boring there’s nothing to care about or get excited about at all. The tag match was ok though.

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