Sage Cortez
Once again, it’s assorted matches from the WWF! There are some nice looking matches here, many of them involving our current champions. There are none of Hogan’s matches, but lots of Randy Savage (IC Champ), and the British Bulldogs (WWF Tag Team Champions). Rather than drone on, let’s get to it!
– April 22nd, 1986, from New York City, New York
Tito Santana vs. Randy Savage (w/Elizabeth) in a NO DISQUALIFICATION MATCH for the WWF Intercontinental Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: Well, this is right up my alley, with a big feud behind it. I have heard great things about this match before, and the series is excellent, as everyone knows. Will this be the best of the series? Crowd is really up for the match, and heavily in Santana’s corner.
Match Review: Macho does the usual hiding behind Elizabeth trick, and she doesn’t get too angry over it this time. Alfred Hayes says that she does it on purpose. This time, Elizabeth falls down and she high-tails it out of the ring, but Savage is beating the crap out of his challenger. WHILE WEARING SHADES. Savage misses the big axehandle, and Santana puts the boots to him to a raucous ovation. Santana knocks Savage out of the ring, where some moron pours a soda in his face, then Macho is thrown into the crowd. That doesn’t seem very smart, BUT BAH GAWD TITO HITS HIM WITH A CHAIR. Savage rams Santana into the ring-post to get a breather, and crawls back into the ring. Up to the top Savage goes, and down with a double axehandle. Cover gets 2. A Savage gutwrench suplex follows for a 2 count. Then a clothesline by the champion. Cover gets 2 as Savage is trying to finish this thing off quickly. Santana finally kicks Savage away from him, but it doesn’t really matter considering that Savage throws him to the outside. Santana throws Savage into another chair, but Savage tricks Santana into thinking he’s going back into the ring, and hits him. Santana gets in the ring and gives Savage a swinging neckbreaker, but it does little to stem the tide. Ernie Ladd is good on commentary here, by the way.
Savage grabs a chair and misses on the swing, but he comes off the top rope…and gets cracked in the ribs with a chair. Really good spot there. Santana hits Savage with a series of punches, as the crowd is really going a bit nuts at this point in time. Savage goes out for a breather, but Santana jumps off the apron and clobbers him in the back. They trade punches in the aisle, and Santana then rams Savage’s head into the announce table. Up to the top Santana goes, and comes off with a big elbow to Savage’s head. He now goes for the FIGURE’FOUR, but Macho kicks him in the face. They’re on the outside again, and Savage goes head first into the post this time. And Savage is GUSHING blood out of his forehead after that. THAT’S HOW YOU GET COLOR BROTHER. The heat on Savage increases even more as he stumbles into the ring, and gets beaten up even more by the challenger. They do the past equivalent of one of WWE’s epic punch exchanges, and Savage quickly PUNCHES THE REF IN THE FACE. Tito then hits Savage with the FLYING FOREARM, but the REFEREE IS OUT. The audience is going even crazier now, as Savage gets bodyslammed and kicks out after about 5 seconds. Savage attacks Santana from behind this time and gets rolled up, but THE CHAMPION PULLS THE TIGHTS, REVERSES THE ROLL UP, AND GETS THE WIN AT 13:01!
After the match Santana clears the ring, but it’s irrelevant. The champion stays the champion, and unfortunately the announcers are complaining, but they should have listened to Howard Finkel’s announcement at the start of the match. NO disqualifications.
My Thoughts: Oh that’s absolutely evil. Great ending to an excellent match, one where even MORE heat was placed on Savage. Elizabeth really doesn’t factor into these matches, which is good. Considering nearly every WWF heel has a manager, it’s nice to see a heel who doesn’t, and one who subsequently gets ALL of the heat that their work has earned. **** and highly recommended for this masterpiece in garnering heel heat. I think the tweener reactions in MSG may be over in the meantime.
Davey Boy Smith (WWF Tag Team Champion) vs. Greg Valentine (w/Johnny V)
Pre-Match Thoughts: I passed on the Dynamite vs. Beefcake match from this show. Lots of reasons for that, the main one being that I doubt anyone can carry Beefcake to a good singles match at this stage, or perhaps any other. This on the other hand, could be something really nice to watch. Of course, this is a form of return for the title change at WM 2.
Match Review: They lock up, and Davey pushes the former Intercontinental Champion away. Valentine tries a roll-up, and it gets 2. Davey gives Valentine a hard clothesline, and Valentine heads to the outside to recuperate. Valentine lands some really tough chops, but Davey replies with some big forearms of his own. Then he pushes Valentine down to the canvas for 2. To the armbar Davey goes, and I’m a bit unsure where this is headed at this time. Davey gives Valentine a nice dropkick, and catches an attempt at a kick…then locks on a SHARPSHOOTER. Oh look, Monsoon puts himself over yet again by burying Davey’s application of the hold. Davey then splits Valentine’s legs apart, which is a super silly looking move. Once again, Gorilla buries the guys in the ring. Yikes. Davey suplexes Valentine in from the apron, which gets a 2 count.
They clip a little of the match after a chop, and Valentine drops a knee on Davey for 2. I don’t think that was a big clip at all. Davey gives Valentine a back suplex and Gorilla does it AGAIN, it gets a 2 count which Gorilla also shits on. Fucking wow. Can he just shut up? Valentine misses a charge to the corner, and Davey picks him up for the BIG POWERSLAM. Cover gets 2 yet again. Valentine bails to the outside, and dives back in so that he has the advantage, which he uses to hit Davey. Valentine puts the FIGURE FOUR on Davey now, but the young champion fights out of it and reaches the ropes. He makes Valentine miss an elbow drop and kicks him into the turnbuckle, but can’t make a charge to the corner. Valentine lands an elbow off the second turnbuckle, and finishes Davey Boy for the victory at 9:12. Pretty obvious the pinfall finish was coming there.
My Thoughts: Decent little match, but Gorilla’s commentary was absolutely unbearable. No wonder such a large group of people are not fans of his commentary at all. It would have ruined a better match for me, but this was nothing spectacular so that wasn’t going to happen. That being said, it was nice to see Davey work a singles match in the WWF at this point. That did not happen often. **1/4.
– Taped to air May 3rd, 1986, on Championship Wrestling from Poughkeepsie, New York
“Cowboy” Bob Orton & Randy Savage (IC Champion) (w/Elizabeth vs. Tito Santana & Paul Orndorff
Pre-Match Thoughts: Yes, this was really on TV, during an era where nothing this good was ever on WWF TV. It should be noted that Orton is subbing in place of Don Muraco. It is a natural fit, of course.
Match Review: Orndorff and Orton start the match, and Orndorff gives Orton a bodyslam. Savage tags in, and so does Santana, so Savage quickly leaves the ring. Ha. Orton tags back in at Savage’s request, and so does Orndorff, who comes in with an elbow off the top onto Orton. Orton reverses an armbar into a hip-toss, then they bridge out to an Orton backslide which gets 2. Orndorff arm drags Orton, and tags in his partner. Santana runs over and decks Savage as he isn’t looking, but Orton takes control and gives him a backbreaker. NOW Savage tags in, and gives Santana a clothesline. Cover gets 2. Orton tags in and holds Santana in place for Savage to hit his foe, then Orton drops a knee for 2. Santana responds by launching Orton into the corner, and he makes the tag to Orndorff. Orndorff does his house of fire thing, and tags back in Santana, who gets kneed in the back while running the ropes. Savage heads in, whips Santana into the ropes, and gets PINNED CLEAN after the FLYING FOREARM at 4:08.
Savage’s response to that is to destroy Santana after the match.
My Thoughts: I cannot believe Savage jobbed like that on syndicated TV. It’s just a bit unusual, but Santana has to get some clean wins in this feud somehow. This was the best way. Good booking to come up with the situation to have this tag match, and for Savage to lose. **.
– Taped to air May 17th, 1986, on Championship Wrestling
King Kong Bundy & Big John Studd (w/Bobby Heenan) vs. The British Bulldogs (Tag Team Champs) in a non-title match
Pre-Match Thoughts: Non-title ordinarily means, well…you know. I am interested to see how much offense the Bulldogs are allowed to get in. They are dwarves compared to these two behemoths.
Match Review: Davey and Studd start the match, and of course, Davey gets ruined by a shoulderblock. Davey tries a sunset-flip, and Dynamite hits Studd with a big clothesline to knock him down. The thing is, Dynamite can hit guys that big so hard that they have to go down. Davey hits Studd with a dropkick that does nothing, then forearms that big fucker right in the face. A bodyslam doesn’t work, but the Bulldogs double dropkick knocks Studd right down. Bundy tags in and slams Davey, but misses an elbow drop and gets hit with a double dropkick. Then a double shoulderblock fails, and Davey tries to set Bundy up to do something cool to him, but Bundy drops him. Aw. Studd then tags in and clotheslines Davey, and drops an elbow for 2. Studd tries a slam, but Davey vaults over him, only to get kicked. Bundy then tags in, and drops a fist for a 2 count. Close 2. Bundy gives Davey a backbreaker, but Dynamite breaks up the cover, angering the big man. In comes Studd, who misses a charge to the corner. He and Bundy then trade tags, and beat up the young champion. Dynamite flies in and puts Studd in a sleeper, but Bundy clocks him in the back. Then Studd pushes the referee, and gets disqualified at 4:55.
The challengers then try to kill Davey Boy, but Bundy misses his charge to the corner. And now, he and Studd start pushing each other. What the hell…
My Thoughts: It’s fortunate that the Studd/Bundy breakup tease went nowhere. I did NOT need to see them facing each other on the house show circuit. Anyway, the match was better than I expected in terms of the offense that the Bulldogs were allowed to have. That all being said, I don’t see why it had to be a non-title match if it was going to have that finish. *1/4 with some being taken off for Bundy’s mistake spot, the non-title match confusion, and the finish.
– May 19th, 1986, from New York City, New York
Tito Santana vs Randy Savage (w/Elizabeth) for the WWF Intercontinental Championship with BRUNO SAMMARTINO as Special Guest Referee
Pre-Match Thoughts: Of course, the guest referee is because none of the regular officials can stand up to the punch of the MACHO MAN. This is piggybacking off of last month’s match, of course. Savage has a really nice robe. Monsoon and Lord Alfred are on commentary. Bet Larry Zbyszko hated that Bruno was called “The Living Legend.” HATED, I tell you.
Match Review: Savage and Santana start by locking up, and Bruno has to separate them. Naturally, Savage gets angry at Bruno. Shortly after, Savage spits at Santana, and runs out of the ring. Savage wastes a bunch of time, and grabs a chair that Bruno immediately kicks out of the ring. Santana chases Savage out of the ring again, and Savage uses Elizabeth as a shield, as he usually does. It always gets a lot of heat. Santana puts Savage in an armbar back in the ring, and Savage reaches the ropes very quickly. Then Santana knocks Savage off the ring apron. Ha. Bruno is really good in this role, it must be said. Savage gets back in the ring once again, and celebrates after giving Santana an arm drag. Santana replies by doing the same, which may have been lost by the crowd but not by me. Savage and Bruno now go head to head arguing with each other, and Santana rolls up Savage, who gets in the ropes. Savage gives Santana a double axehandle to the back, and puts on a chinlock. This match does not have the flow of their previous encounters. Bruno is SO SLOW at counting pinfalls. Savage then dumps Santana to the outside of the ring, and follows with the BIG DOUBLE AXEHANDLE. Savage then sneak attacks Santana and punches him in the face, then climbs back in the ring and drops a knee. Cover gets 2. Both wrestlers then run into each other, and heat is built up through them both struggling back to their feet. Savage heads up top once again, and this time gets caught in the stomach with a punch by Santana. Santana then knocks Savage out of the ring with a knee, and drags him back in, presumably for the finish. Santana gives Savage a huge backdrop, but can’t lock in the figure-four. Santana then misses a charge to the corner, and Savage covers for 2. A Santana small package gets 2, and Santana clotheslines the champion. His attempt at a figure-four gets blocked once again, and Savage gives him a gutwrench suplex for a 2 count. Savage has his atomic drop blocked, and Santana locks in the FIGURE-FOUR.
After that, what the fuck, ADRIAN ADONIS runs in, hits Bruno, and starts beating up Santana. What the absolute fuck. Now, BRUNO SLAMS ADONIS, and Savage lands his double axehandle on Bruno’s back, as they both beat the shit out of Bruno, leaving him laid out in the ring. Santana wins the match via disqualification at 13:25, but that seems a little irrelevant at this point.
My Thoughts: Well, this match was a little disappointing. Bruno as referee disrupted the flow these two had going, that being said, the angle at the end of the match was excellently executed. Still, as stated, this was not as good as their match the month before. It couldn’t have been. **3/4. Really looking forward to the tag team match between Adonis/Savage and Bruno/Santana at next month’s show.
Ricky Steamboat vs. Jake Roberts
Pre-Match Thoughts: Now here we go, this is what I want to see. It is time for Steamboat to get REVENGE on Roberts for Roberts sneak attack on SNME. I expect a crowd that’s on fire for this matchup. “Sirius” was great music for Steamboat, by the way.
Match Review: Roberts tries to pull Steamboat out of the ring, but that doesn’t work, and Steamboat goes out of the ring of his own volition to attack Roberts. Back in and Roberts gives Steamboat a high knee, then goes for the DDT, but Steamboat reverses and chops away at his foe. Steamboat gives Roberts a BELLY TO BELLY, and the referee pulls Steamboat off of Roberts. What a moron. Roberts comes into the ring again, and gives Steamboat a clothesline. And another one. Roberts then tosses Steamboat over the top rope, but Steamboat sticks on the apron and sunset-flips Roberts on the way back in, only to get punched in his grill. Roberts follows with an inverted atomic drop, and a bodyslam. He takes a look at Damien, but doesn’t go for the bag yet, and gives Steamboat another bodyslam. THEN he goes for the bag, and very stupidly misses a charge to the corner when he notices that Steamboat has risen to his feet. Steamboat follows with a swinging neckbreaker, and yet another. Up to the second rope he goes, and he misses a big splash. Roberts throws Steamboat over the top rope again, and invites heat upon himself while Steamboat takes the breather. Roberts was going to DDT Steamboat on the floor again, but he wasn’t going to allow that. So, Steamboat throws Roberts into the steel barricade, and there’s some BLOOD, BROTHER. Back in the ring, Steamboat flies onto Roberts with an elbow to the head. The referee gets in the way of Steamboat once again, and Steamboat goes back to punch Roberts anyway. Now for a third time, and Steamboat reverses a DDT attempt into a backdrop anyway. Roberts then gets some punches in on Steamboat, and the stupid ass ref gets in the way again, so Roberts punches him. After Steamboat kicks Roberts into the referee, moron in chief calls for a double DQ at 7:36.
The referee tries to keep Steamboat from punching Roberts even still, and calls for some help. As such, Bret Hart, Tiger Chung Lee, and Paul Christy come out to pull Steamboat off of Roberts. One of those names is not like the other names. They let Roberts beat up Steamboat, though! Now, to help Steamboat, Sivi Afi, SD Jones, and Lanny Poffo come to the ring. That doesn’t do much, and Steamboat fights with Roberts all the way to the back. Hooray!
My Thoughts: That post-match fight was pretty cool. Match was good too, and set up a lot of further, more awesome matches. I liked it about exactly as much as the match I watched before this. The stupid referee was a perfect angle to use in this match, I believe. **3/4.
The Dream Team (w/Johnny V) vs. The British Bulldogs (w/Captain Lou Albano) for the WWF Tag Team Championships
Pre-Match Thoughts: Finally I’m to a point where I can watch these teams have a house show match. Honestly, I thought it would take forever. This, of course, should be a dandy. Before the match, the challengers have a promo, during which they make excuses for their loss at WrestleMania.
Match Review: Davey and Beefcake start the match, and Davey locks up Beefcake’s arm with the quickness. Davey gives Beefcake a bodyslam, and Johnny V gets on commentary for a minute. How unfortunate. Dynamite tags in, and tosses Beefcake over his shoulder very nicely. In comes Davey, off the top rope with a blow to Beefcake’s arm. Valentine tags in thanks to Beefcake driving Davey back to the corner, and Valentine lands an elbow to Davey’s head off the top rope. Valentine gives Davey a shoulderbreaker, and covers for 2. Davey responds with a clothesline and makes the tag to his partner, who beats the crap out of the Hammer. Dynamite gets chopped down to the canvas and the Dream Team exchanges tags, while whipping Dynamite into the corner repeatedly in between. Beefcake finally gives Dynamite something different, which is a hard backbreaker for a 2 count. Valentine tags in and dishes out some hard forearms, which is part of why I love watching this guy wrestle so much. Hugely underrated wrestler. Dynamite lands some forearms too, and tries to make the tag, only to get cut off by Valentine. Valentine gets kicked into the ropes on a figure-four attempt, and prevents Dynamite from making the tag by nailing Davey. Beefcake tags in, and doesn’t do much of shit as per his usual. He does give Dynamite a superb looking suplex, but hurts himself while giving the move. Then Dynamite makes the tag.
Davey lands a bunch of dropkicks, clears the ring, and vocuses on Beefcake. The RUNNING POWERSLAM follows, and Valentine breaks up the cover. Things break down a little bit, and Davey gets a small package broken up, as the referee isn’t paying attention. Valentine tags in, and gives Davey a standing suplex, only to miss an elbow drop. Dynamite tags in, and lands some hard headbutts. A cover only gets 2. Dynamite lands a huge clothesline on Valentine for 2, but Valentine throws Dynamite into Beefcake’s boot. Valentine locks in the FIGURE-FOUR now, but Davey breaks it up. Why not do that in a tag team match? Valentine then slams Dynamite, and misses yet another elbow drop. He’s landed like one of these, and he makes the cover, which leads to a 3 count. What? Johnny V was holding Dynamite’s legs down, preventing him from kicking out, and the referee spots that. Then, Valentine and Beefcake celebrate, and Dynamite cradles Valentine for the REAL VICTORY at 11:54.
My Thoughts: Cool finish! They had me confused at first. Of course, this was another good Bulldogs tag match. Only against the worst teams could they have anything less than a good match. Even Beefcake’s involvement was good, which is a rarity. I like that this also played on him being a stupid wrestler, as he was too busy celebrating to break up the cover in time. ***1/4.
With two more months in the books, some things about 1986 are becoming apparent. First is that the Hart Foundation really rose up from a floundering team to tag team champions in a short span of time. They’re not doing much of anything except for having singles matches, and the occasional match with the Killer Bees on the B-tour. Second is the lack of top heels. That gets corrected a bit over the next year or so, and it was desperately needed. Unfortunately some of those guys, like Killer Khan and Kamala, are nothing spectacular. Andre and Orndorff had to turn to have some big drawing matches, too. All in all, it worked.
In something that makes me very happy, Harley Race made his return to the WWF. He is not yet the KING OF WRESTLING, however. The Fabulous Rougeaus also made their debut on television, in April. They do not yet become permanent fixtures, but their presence is appreciated. Next time, I’ll be hopping back to Jim Crockett Promotions.
Best: Tito Santana vs. Randy Savage from April. Outstanding match.
Worst: Gorilla Monsoon’s commentary. Quit burying people, man.
