Sage Cortez
So, it’s time to dip back to December 1986 to wrap up the WWF year! Heading into WrestleMania III there is a lot of ground to cover. There will be a few debuts along the way, and a few departures as well. I can’t believe I’ve gotten this far, but I’ll be going even further into January 1987 as well. Let’s get to the action!
– Taped to air December 7th, 1986, on Wrestling Challenge, from the Metro Centre in Rockford, Illinois
Kamala (w/The Wizard & Kamala) vs. Jack Foley
Pre-Match Thoughts: I wanted to get one more of these Foley squashes in here. For shits and giggles or whatever. Plus, it’s a singles match!
Match Review: Why does Monsoon keep calling Foley “Hoffman”? Kamala slams the poor kid, and gives him a splash. Then he goes up top, and gives Foley the BIG SPLASH. Cover, and that’s it after 39 seconds. Foley does a stretcher job after the match.
My Thoughts: Nothing to this one.
The British Bulldogs (WWF Tag Team Champions) & Billy Jack Haynes vs. Butch Reed, Nikolai Volkoff & The Iron Sheik (w/Slick)
Pre-Match Thoughts: This is a pretty well stacked match for TV. Such things are generally rare from this company! I like how the other heels have to clap for Volkoff and Sheik’s shtick. Matilda chases the heels out of the rings at the start of the match. Oh, Matilda. I tried really hard to forget that.
Match Review: Sheik and Davey will start the match, and do so with Davey giving Sheik a hip-toss. He takes Sheik down with a shoulderblock, then catches a big boot attempt and gives Sheik a huge suplex. Dynamite tags in as does Volkoff, and they blow a spot. Bad. Dynamite turns a backdrop into a sunset flip, which gets 2, and in comes Haynes and Reed. The crowd pops for the matchup of these physiques, and Reed takes Haynes down. Haynes responds with a hip-toss, they trade elbow drops that miss, and lock up again. Dynamite tags in, and is given a back suplex. Monsoon makes an interesting quip during that sequence. “What exactly is natural about Reed?” GOOD QUESTION. He mentions that Andre the Giant has been reinstated, as Davey gives Volkoff a back elbow. Lots of random tags going on here. Davey gives Reed a big backdrop, and tags in Haynes, who tries putting a FULL NELSON on Reed. Everyone then runs into the ring, and the referee’s distracted. Slick clocks Haynes with his cane, and Reed makes the cover for the victory at 3:31.
My Thoughts: Always so much action in these six man tags. I would hope that all the spots come off well, but in the case of this match they did not. *. Can’t really get a read (no pun intended) on Reed yet.
– Taped to air December 14th, 1986, on Wrestling Challenge, from the Metro Centre in Rockford, Illinois
SD Jones vs. Adrian Adonis (w/Jimmy Hart)
Pre-Match Thoughts: Bear in mind that this is before SNME #9 went to air. It’s the SPECIAL DELIVERY MAN!
Match Review: Adonis jumps Jones at the beginning of the match, and puts the boots to him. Then, in the middle of that…Roddy Piper makes an appearance! He’s just standing in the aisle, but the distraction allows SD to get in a few shots on his rotund opponent. Piper slowly creeps closer and closer to the ring, as SD Jones gives Adonis a backdrop. Jones tries a roll up, and it gets 2. Adonis tosses Jones to the outside, and Piper hops into the ring, getting Jones disqualified at 2:13.
He takes Adonis down, and kicks his ass! The jobber brigade runs out from the back to separate them. I’m more interested in seeing which regular wrestlers are part of that group. I see Hercules, Iron Sheik, Butch Reed, and the new US Express. They separate the two, and that’s the end of it all.
My Thoughts: It was a squash that ended a little differently, and helped further along the Adonis/Piper feud. The crowd was really interested in it.
– Taped to air December 17th, 1986, on Prime Time Wrestling, from Joyce Athletic & Convocation Center, in South Bend, Indiana
Don Muraco & Bob Orton (W/Mr. Fuji & Jimmy Hart) vs. The Islanders
Pre-Match Thoughts: Oh no, it’s an evil team managed by two people! I wanted to take a look at the babyface team. This may have been taped for Superstars, as Vince McMahon, Bruno Sammartino, and Jesse Ventura are on commentary. They did not use it for that, though.
Match Review: Tama and Orton start the match off, and Tama chops him after some nice rope running. Orton falls into the Islanders corner and is headbutted, then tags in Muraco. Haku is in as well, and he gives Muraco a dropkick. Muraco then pinballs between his two opponents, getting chopped along the way, but Tama and Orton are going to tag in now. Tama’s head is too hard to ram into the turnbuckle, and Orton takes time after realizing that. Tama uses momentum to make Orton and Muraco run into each other, but is given a hotshot by Orton. Muraco tags in, and gives Tama a hip-toss. He puts a chinlock on him now, and the crowd is pretty into this match as they cheer Tama on. Muraco gives him a clothesline when he fights out, drops the leg, and tags in Orton. Orton gives Tama a dropkick of his own, and rams his head into the mat while standing on the second rope. That gets two, and we head to commercial.
Back from the commercial, Orton is continuing to beat up Tama, until Tama reverses a whip and throws Orton into the corner. He headbutts Orton down low and makes the tag, and the Islanders give him a double chop. Muraco comes in and they beat him up too, then Haku dropkicks Orton over the top rope. He slingshots Muraco into the ring from the apron, and goes for a noggin knocker. Haku lands a back elbow for 2, Muraco tags in shortly after, and gives him a swinging neckbreaker. Muraco and Haku then collide in the middle of the ring, and both men make their tag. Tama gives Orton a backdrop, and goes for a bodypress as well, causing both men to tumble to the outside. Muraco and Haku went out as well, and both teams get counted out at 7:39. That’s not surprising.
Muraco and Orton then fail at running the Islanders heads together, because islanders have hard heads, you know. Muraco and Orton try to distract the Islanders so that they can be attacked by their managers, but that doesn’t work at all.
My Thoughts: This was an interesting match for an assortment of reasons. Firstly was that Vince and Jesse were commenting on it. Seemed weird for such a competitive match that hadn’t been edited for sound. The crowd was into it, and there was little downtime. Still, it was nothing spectacular. **, and I’m looking forward to seeing the Islanders face better teams.
– January 5th, 1987, from the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey
Randy Savage (WWF IC Champion) & The Honkytonk Man (w/Elizabeth & Jimmy Hart) vs. Hulk Hogan (WWF Champion) & Ricky Steamboat
Pre-Match Thoughts: My copy of this match is super blurry, but I have to watch it. Not watching it is not an option. Honky’s heel turn is really strange, but it worked out well in the end. The video is below. People just HATED his character, and a full blown turn wasn’t required.
Match Review: Unfortunately at the beginning, Savage throws a chair into the ring, and hits the referee. Pretty sure that wasn’t supposed to happen. Steamboat tosses Honky into Hogan’s big boot, and I guess we’re underway. HTM pinballs back and forth between Steamboat and Hogan, getting beaten up. Steamboat and HTM blow a bodypress spot, and now Hogan tags in, intent on facing off with Savage. He makes HTM tag our current Intercontinental Champion, then tosses Savage back in the ring when he doesn’t want to join the battle. Savage scampers over to tag HTM back in so that he doesn’t have to face Steamboat, then Steamboat puts a chinlock on HTM. HTM sunset flips Steamboat for 2…where’s the heel offense? Heels don’t do sunset flips. HTM beats up Hogan for a bit now, but Hogan comes out of the corner with an inverted atomic drop. He clotheslines HTM, and tags in Steamboat. Steamboat puts a sleeper on HTM, and when Steamboat is made to run the ropes, Savage knees him from behind. Savage finally tags in, and gives Steamboat a double axehandle to the back. He chokes Steamboat with the top rope, and tags HTM in for a bodyslam. He goes up to the second rope, and comes down with a fist drop. Savage cheats by holding Steamboat’s hair to prevent him from making the tag, then Hogan does a bit where he chases Savage down the aisle. That went over well. Hogan then stops Savage from beating up Steamboat on the outside of the ring, but that doesn’t change the fact Steamboat is getting beaten up inside of it. Both men go down after a collision, and the tag is made!
Hogan comes in, and beats up both of the opponents to some HUGE cheers. He gives Savage a big boot, and tags in Steamboat who finally gets a chance to beat up Savage. Steamboat heads up top, and comes down with a big flying chop. He goes up again, and HTM knocks him off the top rope. Hogan runs around the ring to confront HTM, during which Savage decides to grab the ring bell to use on Steamboat again. The referee tries to take it away from him, so the referee gets pushed down to the canvas, and he rolls to the outside. That’s going to get Savage & HTM disqualified, after an 11 minute match. Savage goes up top with the bell, but this time, Hogan stops him from making an attack. Steamboat slams Savage back into the ring, and grabs the bell for himself now. Of course, Savage runs away. Hogan tosses Jimmy Hart into the ring now, and it looks like Jimmy and HTM are going to get destroyed. Of course, they do.
My Thoughts: This was a good match, no less than I’d expect from a stacked tag team match like this. All four guys did a good job, and the people got to see Steamboat get one over on Savage. That was completely necessary. I’m pretty sure this was the last match at this Superstars taping, as people began to leave after it. I guess that was how they got people to sit through all those tapings! **1/2 for the match, and the DQ finish for once made total sense.
– Taped to air January 10th, 1987, on Superstars of Wrestling, from Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Arizona
OUTBACK JACK VIGNETTE
LOOK AT THIS GUY. HIS ACCENT. He became a jobber so fast, and his WWF career was so unimportant. Check the video out though.
– January 11th, 1987, from Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario
The Hart Foundation vs. Davey Boy Smith (WWF Tag Team Champion) & Junkyard Dog
Pre-Match Thoughts: Well, this is the not so fun part of the article. Dynamite Kid suffered an injury on December 13th to his back. He had a bad back in the first place, but during a match against Muraco & Orton, it got worse. He had disc surgery, and should have been out for months on end. Except he wasn’t. He was told to stop wrestling, but he didn’t. And the WWF kept promoting him as a wrestler during the period they knew that he would be out. Pretty low. As we know, they ran a title change, and the rest is history. More on that in a future article. Now, it’s time to see one of these matches where Davey had to tag with somebody else.
Match Review: It appears that Danny Davis is the referee! Good decision! The dog keeps trying to attack the Foundation, which is pretty funny. Bret and Davey will start the match. Sad to hear Gorilla making fun of Bret’s greasy hair. It’s funny though. Bret puts a front face-lock on Davey, which summarily leads to him being picked up and placed on the top corner, then slapped. Bret’s mad about that and tags in Neidhart, who decides to do a series of shoulderblocks with Davey. Neither man goes down until Davey evades Neidhart and gives him a drop toe-hold. Neidhart reaches the ropes, gets up, and JYD tags in. He puts a wristlock on Neidhart, and Neidhart tries to pull his hair, but there’s really nothing to pull. Anvil and Bret try setting JYD up for a double team shot, but Neidhart runs into Bret. Damn. Davis stops JYD from using a clenched fist, which leads to Neidhart punching JYD in the face. Haha. Davis gave a fast 2 count as well. Bret winds up in the wrong corner, and Davey tags in. He and his partner give Bret a double clothesline and Davis doesn’t count the cover, which is hilarious. Neidhart sneaks in the ring, clocks Davey from behind, and Bret takes advantage by following up with an inverted atomic drop. He throws Davey out to the ramp at ringside, then Bret fakes like he’s been punched by JYD. That allows Neidhart to walk over to Davey and slam him on the ramp. Danny Davis officiating leads to some great stuff. Neidhart sends Davey back into the ring, and Bret makes the tag. Neidhart covers for a quick 2, then grabs Davey by the hair and pulls him up in the air and back down to the canvas. Bret kicks Davey in the back with the referee distracted, and tags back in. Davey tries a crucifix on Bret now, and Davis doesn’t count the cover. HAHA. Neidhart puts a chinlock on his British foe, as the crowd starts chanting “bullshit.” Good stuff. Neidhart goes to a bear hug, and while Davis has his back turned. Bret and Neidhart switch places. Bret gives Davey a backdrop for 2, and goes to a sleeper after that. Davey powers out of it and drives Bret’s back into the corner, then gorilla presses Bret, crotch first onto the top rope. That was a great spot.
JYD makes the tag in, and gives out some headbutts. Neidhart takes a tumble to the outside, so it’s Bret and JYD in the ring. JYD gives Bret a crappy ass powerslam, but the cover gets broken up by Neidhart. Davey rushes in and gets thrown to the outside, then Davis ushers Neidhart out of the ring. Bret goes for a small package on JYD, but Davey comes back into the ring and reverses it. Davis makes the quick count, and Davey/JYD win the match, at 14:44! I guess Danny Davis wasn’t paying attention! That’s kind of a dumb finish. After everyone but JYD leaves, he invites a whole bunch of kids into the ring, and they fill it. Ha.
My Thoughts: That was a really fun match until the ending, which didn’t make any sense to me. Every referee can tell who’s making the pin when they count it, can’t they? That was the assumption I always worked with. Anyway, **3/4 for the match. It wasn’t big on work, but it was big on keeping a very interesting angle (to me anyway) going.
– Taped to air January 18th, 1987, on Wrestling Challenge, from Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania
The Dream Team (w/Johnny V) vs. Pedro Morales, Hillbilly Jim, and Tito Santana
Pre-Match Thoughts: Yes, the Dream Team now has 3 guys. The third is Dino Bravo. Hooray…okay, not really. Can’t say hooray to that at all. What a mish-mash opposition it is for them.
Match Review: Bravo has brown hair, and looks like a goof. He and Jim start the match, then Jim tags out, and Bravo is taken down by a Santana shoulderblock. Then they blow a rope running spot, and a spot where Bravo was supposed to drop Santana on the top rope. Beefcake tags in, and gets hit with a big flying forearm. Danny Davis counts 2, super slowly…and I start laughing. That was good. Beefcake gives Santana a suplex, and tags in Valentine, who drops an elbow for 2. Valentine also gives Santana a shoulderbreaker for 2, and gets kicked in the nuts. Santana also blocks a figure-four attempt by kicking Valentine into the turnbuckle, and makes the tag to Morales. Morales very slowly beats up Valentine, and punches him for a 1 count. Good ol’ Danny Davis strikes again. The faces argue with Danny Davis now, and walk out on the match. Haha. Santana grabs a microphone, and tells him they have a problem with him, then the team leaves! Time of their being counted out was 4:35.
My Thoughts: This is turning up the Davis angle even more, which is certainly not a bad thing. It has to be coming to a conclusion, and we all know what it leads to. I could have done without Davis ever wrestling, but we got a sick tombstone piledriver out of it. * for the match.
– January 19th, 1987, from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York
Kamala (w/The Wizard & Kimchee) vs. Hulk Hogan in a no disqualification match for the WWF Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: I only wanted to see one match between these two guys, for obvious reasons. This card was a sell out, and that’s no surprise either. Hogan is wearing Kamala’s face paint, and wow…he looks like such a moron.
Match Review: Kamala starts the match by taking Hogan’s title belt off and beating him with it. I’ve seen worse starts. Hogan comes off the ropes and lands some right hands, then grabs the belt himself, and clocks Kamala in the face with it. Hogan also hits The Wizard, and tries going for Kimchee as well, but Kamala puts a stop to that. Kamala does a choke lift on Hogan, and starts biting him afterward. He lands a savate kick, then a chop as Hogan runs the ropes. Kamala slams Hogan and splashes him, but Hogan kicks out at 2. Now Kamala goes up top, but Hogan moves away, so Kamala has to go back in and beat him up. He slams Hogan, and misses a splash this time. Hogan clotheslines him, as the crowd roars. Really hot crowd here. Hogan chokes Kamala with some tape, and follows it up with some hard chops. He gives Kamala an atomic drop, picks him up again, and gives Kamala a big boot to knock him to the floor. Hogan clocks Kimchee from behind, hits Wizard too, and puts Kamala back in the ring. Hogan slams the big boy, and goes for an elbow drop, which he surprisingly misses. Kamala takes control by biting Hogan’s arm, but while Kamala isn’t paying attention, Hogan grabs some powder out of his tights. He throws it Kamala’s face to big cheers, then beats up The Wizard and takes the horn away from around his neck. He also throws Kimchee into the ring post, then comes back in, and hits Kamala in the head with the horn. Hogan drops the leg, 1-2-3, and it’s over at 7:56.
So, after the match…in the middle of Hogan’s pose routine, here comes Andre the Giant! He has Hogan’s title belt in hand, and he looks at it lovingly. Andre then tosses the belt over to Hogan, and leaves. The fans booed him for that.
My Thoughts: This was what it was. A typical Hogan match, against a bad opponent. Fortunately it was short. I consider myself fortunate for that. Ted DiBiase’s presence later in the year will be much appreciated. *1/4 for standard fare.
So, it’s still a little calm leading into WrestleMania. There was nothing special in here, which is a bit unfortunate. I could have skipped these two months and only missed a minimal amount of things. We have Dynamite’s injury, which is a pretty big deal. We now have a heel Honky Tonk Man. There’s still a whole lot more to come though. The Can-Am Connection has made their debut, Jim Duggan is coming soon, and Ron Bass has come to the WWF as well. The next article will be about another NWA TBS special, Super Towns on the SuperStation. See you guys then!
Best: JYD & Davey vs. The Hart Foundation. By default.
Worst: Dynamite getting injured, and it obviously leading to his later problems in life. Unfortunate.
