Andrew Lutzke
Boston Garden 1985
Pedro Morales vs. “Cowboy” Bob Orton
Orton is chased to the floor right away. The Cowboy avoids Pedro and bails again. Then again. Orton finally drags Pedro to the floor and tosses him into the railing. He then tries a suplex but Pedro blocks it, so Orton hits an awkward looking slam on the floor instead. I’m guessing Pedro had no interest in taking those bumps. Orton tries another suplex and Pedro reverses it. Back in, Pedro smacks a few fists into Orton’s head and Orton falls to the floor. Orton is then tossed into the barricade – this upsets Orton so much that he tries bringing the barricade into the ring. Pedro blocks that and thwacks Orton’s head into the steel. Morales chews on Bob’s face and slugs him. Orton is then small packaged for the surprise pin. The Cowboy attacks him after. Perfectly acceptable wrestling.
Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage
This is before Savage captured the IC title and prior to their famous feud. Randy shoves Steamer and then hides behind Elizabeth. Ricky turns his back and Macho Pearl Harbors him. Steamboat recovers fast and sends Savage into the post on the floor. Ricky uses chops and armbars to wear at Savage’s arm. Randy bails but Steamboat chases him out and chops him back into the ring for more arm work. Savage tries to toss The Dragon to the floor in desperation and Ricky skins the cat back in, so Savage tosses him again. Macho Man with a double axe handle onto Steamboat from the top rope to the floor. Randy chucks him over the barricade and flings him back into the ring. Flying elbow to the head gets a near fall. Savage tries the big elbow from the top but Steamer avoids it. Steamboat tries his own top rope move but Randy slams him off. Savage tries a double axe handle from the top but eats a chop to the guts. Ricky chops away and Savage makes it to the ropes. Steamboat tries a back suplex but Savage hits Ricky in mid air with a foreign object and that gets the duke. Ricky attacks him after and finds the object.
Bruno Sammartino vs. Roddy Piper
These videos are well worth the watch as Piper trolls the audience before bringing Bruno out for some one on one verbal abuse. Roddy mocks the public school system and AIDS. Piper is pacing the ring and he charges Bruno right away. Sammartino sends Piper into the ring post and tosses him into some chairs. Bruno continues the beating in the ring with fists until a low blow connects. Piper is busted open. They slug away at each other until Piper pokes Bruno’s eye and dumps him to the floor. Sammartino kicks his way back in and Piper tries to escape to the back but Bruno sends him back in. Piper runs again and Sammartino has to drag him back in. Bruno is pounding away so Bob Orton Jr. runs in to save Piper. Bruno kicks his butt too and sends Bob to the floor. Bruno chokes away at Piper until Orton uses his cast to send Bruno loopy. They tie Bruno up and work him over. Piper culminates it by spitting on Sammartino. This led to tag team rematches, as you can imagine. This was chaotic fun.
IC Title: Tito Santana vs. Jesse “The Body” Ventura
Jesse and Tito lock up and Ventura cheap shots Tito to briefly take control. Once Tito takes over, Jesse heads for a break. Tito works the arm as Monsoon notes that Ventura has a surprising fan base. Jesse rakes Tito’s eyes with his finger, boot and the ropes. The Body stomps away and locks on a bear hug. Santana punches his way out but misses a boot so obviously that Jesse doesn’t sell it and Monsoon acknowledges it missed. A figure four is locked on but Jesse makes it to the ropes. He sends Tito to the floor and keeps him from making his way back in. Tito finally knocks Ventura over and hits a splash but he has already been counted out. Lame ending. Not much of a match either. Continuing tonight’s theme – Tito attacks Jesse afterward.
World Tag Titles: The Dream Team vs. The Killer Bees
Brunzell has a beard, which I’ve never seen him sport. The Bees get very little reaction from the crowd. Blair and Valentine exchange ground work until Blair powerslams Valentine. Brutus runs in and Blair takes him down too, then sends Valentine into Beefcake. Brunzell works over Valentine’s leg anf then lets Blair have his fun too. A figure four from Blair is quickly broken up by Beefcake. Beefcake tags in and pounds away on Blair with forearms and boots. The Dream Team make a series of quick tags as Blair is wore out in their corner. Beefcake chucks Blair over the top rope. Valentine starts to work over Blair’s leg. Beefcake gets back in but eats a kick to the chest and Brunzell is tagged in. Jim unloads on both heels and gets a near fall off a big drop kick. Brunzell locks in a sleeper but Valentine sneaks in with a flying elbow that allows Beefcake to make the pin. The Network edited off: Paul Roma vs. Barry O, Tony Atlas vs. Moondog Spot, Scott McGhee vs. Hercules and Lanny Poffo vs. Adrian Adonis
Sam Houston Coliseum October 1986
“Killer” Ken Resnick and Gorilla Monsoon call the action
SD Jones vs. Brutus Beefcake
Arena is very dark. This is before Beefcake was any good, so I will keep expectations low. Brutus stalls and struts…twice. SD does his own strut and atomic drops Beefcake out of the ring. Beefer takes control with a cheap shot and stomps and chokes away. Brutus drops a fake looking elbow and follows with a fistdrop. SD punches away but misses a corner charge. SD slugs away again and headbutts Brutus – and Monsoon mentions the men using their fingers to block the impact. Brutus hits the flying knee out of nowhere for the pin. Eh.
Steve Gatorwolf vs. Greg Valentine
Gatorwolf is an Indian who received the tiniest of pushes in late 85/early 86. Steve teamed with Chief Jay Strongbow a handful of times and may be best known for being the victim of a King Kong Bundy squash on Saturday Night’s Main Event on the same night that Bundy injured Hogan to set up Wrestlemania 2. Monsoon makes a racist joke at Steve’s expense. Gorilla tries to build heat for this by mentioning Jay Strongbow’s career ended at the hands of Valentine’s figure four and now his former partner is here to face him. The Hammer works over Gatorwolf’s arm. Steve gets a mini-war dance but doesn’t get any offense off it. The arm work continues with an elbow lock. Ken asks if Gorilla thinks Greg is just dragging things out and Monsoon denies this and talks about how he himself was in the shortest match in pro wrestling history. Gatorwolf does another war dance and chops away so Valentine takes a break on the floor. Hammer works over his leg and locks in the figure four but Steve grabs the ropes. Valentine misses a second rope move and Gatorwolf chops away. Hammer chops back and finishes it with a suplex. Just an over extended squash.
Davey Boy Smith vs. The Iron Sheik
Nikolai Volkoff is with Sheiky Baby. Sheik does his usual rant and then sneak attack’s Smith. Davey is sent to the floor but quickly regains control back in the ring. Davey gets a takedown and works over Sheik’s arm and leg. Sheik is atomic dropped but he is able to take control soon after. Sheik stalls and locks on a lousy abdominal stretch. Davey reverses a suplex and locks on a sleeper. Sheik punches his way out and gut wrench suplexes Davey. The camel clutch follows but Davey makes it to the ropes. Smith gets the powerslam out of nowhere and Volkoff trips him for the DQ. They double team Davey after and Dynamite Kid charges in to make the save. Not much meat on this bone.
Hulk Hogan vs. Paul Orndorff
Orndorff is trolling Hogan by using “Real American” as his music. Hogan is dressed in a rare black “Hulkamania” shirt. Hogan is jumped right away and Orndorff stomps and elbow drops his neck and back. Paul misses a few and Hogan jumps to his feet and is fired up. Orndorff is choked with Hulk’s shirt. Heenan tries to give Orndorff a chair but Hogan gets it and teases bashing Hogan. Heenan distracts Hogan and Orndorff sends the Hulk to the floor and hits him with a gentle chair shot. Paul drops more elbows and stomps onto Hogan. Hogan starts to Hulk up and rocks Orndorff with a series of punches, a slam and a leg drop. Hogan elects not to pin him and tosses Orndorff to the floor and teases another chair shot. Hogan sends him back in and hits the big boot. They go back to the floor and Orndorff is hit with a chair. Then Hogan just lets the ref count to 10 for the count out win. Well that was…unexpected…Match was fine, finish was odd. Hogan poses as Heenan and Orndorff look on in envy.
TAG TEAM BATTLE ROYAL!!!
Moondogs, Hart Foundation, The Dream Team, King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd, The Machines, The Rougeau Brothers, The Killer Bees, Mike Rotundo and SD Jones, Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff, The Islanders, Steve Gatorwolf and Chief Jay Strongbow, and The British Bulldogs.
Only need to throw out one member of a team to eliminate them. Mass elimination on John Studd to save the trouble of lifting Bundy. With the bigs out of the picture, everybody pairs up and piles on others. Strongbow being in there is funny since Monsoon just put over his career ending injuries. Lots of guys clinging and hanging – too many guys in there yet to see any real action. SD Jones is tossed. Gatorwolf is tossed. Raymond and Bret Hart eliminate each other and thus both of their teams are out. The Moondogs dump the Machines. Sheik dumps Moondog Rex and Brunzell. The Bulldogs chill out as the others pound away on each other. The Islanders are trapped 3 on 2 but they dump Beefcake. The Bulldogs and Islanders go at it as Sheik and Volkoff watch. Bulldogs dump the Tama. The remaining four men split off but Kid rocks both heels. Davey and Sheik fight over a bodyslam and Volkoff knees Davey from behind for the surprise win. This was nothing special. The Network edited out: Mike Rotundo vs. Jim Brunzell, Ray Rougeau vs. Bret Hart, Big Machine vs. Big John Studd, and Tama vs. Volkoff
Philadelphia Spectrum Aug 1988
Dick Graham, Lord Al Hayes and Superstar Billy Graham host.
The Hart Foundation vs. The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers
An absolute abundance of empty seats in the Spectrum. Raymond uses athletics to escape a Neidhart wristlock. Ray hits a drop kick and dances. Anvil hits one of his own for good measure. Jacques stalls for so long that even the announcers complain. Jacques rolls over Bret’s back on a back drop attempt and then kips up twice to show off. Jacques then hops around Bret in circles. Jacques is hit with an elbow and stalls a long while overselling the effects. Neidhart and Raymond back in and Anvil pounds away. Bret tags in, hits the back breaker but is then tripped up by Jacques and the Rougeaus double team him and work over the back. Both men rotate and keep Bret in a chinlock. The Rougeaus keep switching without tags and working on Hart’s back. Jacques locks in an abdominal stretch and Ray gets in a karate kick for good measure. Hart finally blocks a monkey flip and drops Jacques’ testicles on his knee and that allows Neidhart to tag in and wipe out both heels. Harts hit the Demolition decapitation and Ray is downed with a piledriver. Hart’s pin is interrupted by Jacques dropping a double axe handle onto Bret’s neck and pinning him. Great match if you love shenanigans; if that’s your thing – this is your match.
WWF World Champion Randy Savage vs. Ted DiBiase
Savage attacks DiBiase from behind and beats The Million Dollar Man to the floor and back in the ring. Virgil and DiBiase’s heads are knocked together. DiBiase catches him with a boot to the face and Savage is tossed over the top rope. DiBiase chokes away and drops a fist drop. A double axe handle from the second rope drops Macho again. Macho rallies back but a double axe handle from Macho Man is countered with a blow to his midsection. MDM misses an elbow and Savage tags him with a big clothesline. DiBiase then has his throat jammed across the top rope and then he is once again sent to the floor via a clothesline. Savage connects on a double axe handle from the top to the floor. Savage tries the elbow but Virgil distracts him. DiBiase and Virgil collide but Savage eats a punch to the jaw and is locked in the Million Dollar Dream. Macho makes it to the ropes. Virgil conks him with a chair as Ted distracts the ref. Virgil then takes the turnbuckle off one of the corners, but Savage reverses DiBiase’s attempt to send him into it and drives DiBiase into it. Randy tries a pin but Virgil breaks it up. DiBiase and Virgil beat Savage down. This was fine, but I wasn’t wowed or anything.
Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs. Rick Rude
Jake catches him in a headlock right away. He keeps it locked on for several minutes. At least Rude is fighting it and not just sitting there. Rude escapes but Jake catches him with a short kneelift. Rude stalls from the pain and then from the fear of the snake. Jake locks on another head lock and rubs Rude’s face in the bag. Rude bails. Jake goes back to the headlock. Rude dumps him on his head and Jake still hangs on. Rude sends Jake to the floor and then into the post several times. Rude hits a double axe handle to Roberts’ arm and locks in a lengthy hammerlock. Rude switches to an armbar and accidentally crotches himself on Jake’s arm. Jake slugs away and hits another knee lift. DDT is blocked. Jake pulls down Rude’s pants and hits the short clothesline. Rude is hit by the DDT but the ref somehow got tangled up and knocked out during the move. Rick hits the Rude Awakening reverse neckbreaker. Jake survives that and dumps Rude to the floor. Rude distracts Roberts by grabbing Damien and Jake is counted out. Dreadfully dull 17 minute affair. Jake abuses Rude with Damien afterwards. The network edited off: Lanny Poffo vs. Ron Bass, Blue Blazer vs. Barry Horowitz, Tito Santana vs. Haku and The Powers of Pain vs. The Bolsheviks.
MSG April 1991
Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan and Jim Neidhart on the call
“The Dragon” vs. Haku
Steamboat’s dragon cape looks ridiculous. Ricky actually looks a little out of shape and soft in the belly. He is coming off another near two year layoff, so maybe he was still getting the roids back in his system. The Dragon outclasses Haku technically early on. Haku fires off some kicks and punches that look surprisingly loose. Haku finally gets sick of being flipped around by Steamboat’s arm drags and just takes his head off with a short clothesline. Haku nails a delayed vertical suplex. Now both men are opening up with the stiff chop exchanges that I expected out of this encounter. Haku misses a charge and Steamboat finishes with the flying crossbody. Match was basic stuff.
The Bushwhackers vs. Power and Glory
The security guard that walk Luke and Butch to the ring has to avoid having his face biffed by their swinging arms. Butch confounds Hercules with head rubs. Then when Herc turns around to ask Roma how to deal with this nut, the Whackers knock him and Roma together and proceed to bite both of their hind ends. Butch may have kissed Roma on the lips. Roma pounds on Butch, so Butch slams his own head into the turn buckle and both Whackers poke the eyes of Power and Glory and send them fleeing with clotheslines. Butch is stomped down again and both heels choke away. One annoying aspect of watching these house shows is every time a guy appears without their manager (who were only used at TV mostly) the announcers make the same excuses (“He’s watching from a press booth”, etc.). How Jamison got in a press booth is a mystery lost to time. Roma beats down Butch for a while until Luke makes the tag and the Whackers make a brief rally until Herc trips him and that’s enough for the pin. The first half was wacky goodness, once Roma and Herc took over this started to drag.
Big Boss Man vs. The Mountie
Mountie and Bossman do a nightstick vs. cattle prod stand off. Mountie charges right into a big boot. Bossman drives the Mountie’s spine into the mat. Mountie is worked over in and out of the ring with the Bossman’s fists. After several minutes of being battered, Mountie finally takes over after the Bossman misses a corner charge and collapes over the top rope. Mountie kicks away at the Bossman’s leg – then he ties his foot in the ropes and abuses the knee further. The Cobb County lawman then has his leg driven into the ring post. Bossman hits the Boss Man Slam out of nowhere for the pin. Perfectly acceptable little match. Surprised by the clean finish. Mountie attacks Bossman after and zaps him several times to set up rematches for the next 4 months.
World Champion Hulk Hogan vs. Sgt. Slaughter
Hulk slams Sarge and Adnan’s head together and then flings both men over the top rope. Hogan batters Sarge into the railing and chokes him with a ringside cable. Hulk drives his head into the ringpost and drives his fist into Slaughter’s forehead. Sarge is tossed to the floor again and a chair is implemented to wreck Sarge’s night further. Hulk drives down a series of elbows and rakes Slaughter’s face. Sarge starts to work on Hogan’s burnt forehead to gain control.
That angle seems tame now, but it made me cry when I was nine. Hulk blades to sell the wound opening up. Hulk is sent into the ring stairs and smashed in the face with the World title. Sarge even drives the ring bell into Hogan’s skull. Slaughter boots away on Hulk’s back and locks in the camel clutch. Hogan powers out. Sarge drops a boot from the top rope. Hulk up. Big boot but the ref is bumped. Adnan sends Slaughter a chair and Sarge hits the ref with it. Hulk ducks the chair swing and it bounces off the rope and knocks Sarge loopy. Sarge eats another chair shot – this one delivered by Hogan. Ref wakes up and sees Hogan with the chair and DQ’s the Hulkster. Sarge tries to toss a fireball but Hogan blocks it with the chair. Hogan chases him to the back. Good brawl.
Jimmy Snuka vs. IRS
Heenan cracks me up by saying “Snuka claimed a $1100 reduction on coconuts alone last year”. IRS is wearing a terrible outfit. Instead of wearing his dress pants he generally worked in, he has black wrestling trunks on over a dark tan pair of long tights – he looks like he’s in pantyhose! Add to that the fact that he still is wearing his dress shirt and suspenders. Oh my! Heenan calls Snuka a “tree monkey”. IRS works his usual headlock and abdominal stretch based offense. He wins with a fluke roll up after a few dull minutes.
Kerry Von Erich vs. The Warlord
They do a test of strength. Kerry hits the discus punch finisher…and Warlord doesn’t even leave his feet. Warlord locks in a bearhug. Announcers are bored so they troll Heenan about not being an athlete. The banter is a million times better than the match. Warlord slams Kerry’s back into the ring post. Back breaker. Kerry rallies with clotheslines and Warlord still hasn’t taken a bump. Another discus punch finally knocks Warlord over. They spill on the floor and trade punches. Both men are counted out. TERRIBLE match – the announcers were entertaining though.
The Rockers and Virgil vs. Kato, Pat Tanaka and Mr. Fuji
The Rockers sends the Express together and Virgil downs them with a double clothesline. Crowd actually starts a Virgil chant – one of the few guys that has garnered any heat tonight. Virgil is caught in the wrong corner and all 3 men take turns chopping and kicking away at him. A 6 way breaks out. Tanaka is sent to the floor and Kato jumps Marty – Marty sends Kato at Tanaka and Pat accidentally dumps him to the floor. Shawn is caught with a side slam and Fuji head butts his crotch. Tanaka adds a flying head butt to his back. Tanaka hits a beautiful flying forearm to the mush. So far Bad Company and The Midnight Rockers are doing a good job of reliving their AWA chemistry. Shawn nails a double clothesline and Marty tags in and is a house of fire on both Express members. The Rockers get rid of Kato and Virgil locks in the “Million Dollar Dream” for the win. How do you have a watchable match? Keep Virgil and Fuji on the sidelines. Good match – especially coming after a few stinkers.
“Rowdy” Roddy Piper vs. Ted DiBiase
DiBiase has a crutch to mock Piper’s recent leg injury. Piper chokes Ted with a belt and whips him for good measure. Roddy chews on Ted’s head. Piper tries to lift Ted but his leg gives out. Sherri is dragged in and Piper kisses her. Sherri grabs Piper’s leg and DiBiase jumps him. The ref is ok with all this. Roddy is locked in the tree of woe and Ted works over Piper’s leg. Sherri gets in the ring again and DiBiase bops Piper with a chair behind the ref’s back. Piper tackles DiBiase and pounds on him and THAT is just going too far & the ref steps in to stop it. Sherri hands the Million Dollar Man a chair and he cracks it on Roddy’s leg. Figure four locked in and the ref stops the match to prevent Piper from receiving further injury. Roddy slams Ted and Sherri’s heads together, then clotheslines them both. He whacks DiBiase with Sherri’s heel and leg sweeps Sherri. He rips her dress off for good measure. Piper selling the injury made for a worse match than expected as it forced him to mostly lay around. Volume 5 coming in a few weeks! Hope the quality of matches are better the next go around.
