Sage Cortez
It is time for September in the WWF! We’re going to go with one month here, as it gives me time to rest after having compiled a huge list of matches to watch for the future. Selfish reasons sure, but good ones nevertheless. Of course, Saturday Night’s Main Event #7 is also at the beginning of October, so that’s yet another reason to split things up! In a move that placed the WWF under greater pressure to deliver the goods, Vince McMahon took the companies TV on the road. That truly took the WWF up to the level of a national company, because they taped all over the place. It’s something to watch going forward, and it would seem that one of the Saturday Night’s Main Event hosts would be the perfect place to start, so that’s what they did.
– Taped to air September 6th, 1986, on Superstars of Wrestling, from the Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island
Our announcers for this new, spectacular show, are Vince McMahon, Bruno Sammartino, and Jesse Ventura!
The Flower Shop with Rowdy Roddy Piper
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8jkvt_roddy-piper-starts-a-feud-on-the-fl_sport
Why does Jimmy Hart have to talk like this? He’s not the gay one! Piper has a piece of paper that he wants to give Adrian. He tells Adrian that his show sucks, people go to the bathroom during it…and Jimmy Hart announces that Piper’s Pit is coming back next week! The crowd really liked that. Moving on…
Billy Graham Vignette
The music during this is absurd. Graham is PUMPING THAT IRON BROTHER. He has some tarantulas crawling on his body brother. Big John Studd, get ready to deal with THE MAN OF THE HOUR, THE MAN WITH THE POWER, TOO SWEET TO BE SOUR. Okay, he didn’t really say that, but I wanted to. I love Graham’s promo style. These are the only two things I’ll be reviewing from the show, but I checked out a tag match to see Vince’s reaction to Koko B. Ware’s entrance, and it did not disappoint. It’s as ridiculous as you’d imagine. And why does Koko have a boombox during his insert promo? I also felt brain cells evaporating during Honky Tonk Man’s attempt at a babyface interview, and Kamala debuts. I’d consider that an action packed TV episode.
– Taped to air September 7th, 1986, on Wrestling Challenge, from the Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut
The Snake Pit with Kamala, Kimchee, and the Wizard
There sure were a lot of Civic Centers in this country. Jake is great in this role as host of his own mini-show. This is the first one, and The Wizard, Kamala, and Kimchee are on it. The Wizard is Curtis Iaukea of Dungeon of Doom fame. His bit made absolutely no sense, so Jake laughed him off to finish the show. Well, that was lame.
– Taped to air September 13th, 1986, on Superstars of Wrestling, from the Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island
Les Thornton & Jack Foley vs. The British Bulldogs (WWF Tag Team Champions) (w/Captain Lou Albano)
Pre-Match Thoughts: JACK FOLEY. He wasn’t the only jobber on this card who turned out to be something. This guy named Shane Douglas did too. It was Foley’s second match. This stupid wool vest of his made me laugh.
Match Review: Davey starts the match with Thornton, and with Thornton being experienced, he gets respect. Davey does some great wrestling bits with his fellow countryman, and blocks a charge to the corner so that he can give Thornton a victory roll for 2. Wow. Foley tags in and so does Dynamite, and Dynamite gives him an extremely hard snap suplex. A double underhook suplex follows, then a rough backbreaker. Dynamite follows with a headbutt and tags in his partner, who gives Foley a big running powerslam. Davey also gives Foley the delayed vertical suplex, and somehow the kid kicks out at 2. Foley tries fighting back, and gives Davey a flying back elbow, but that doesn’t even move the Brit. Davey gives Foley a headbutt and takes him over to the corner, where Dynamite gives him one of the stiffest clotheslines I’ve ever seen him give. In comes Davey now, and he takes Foley over to the corner. Dynamite comes in, KILLS Foley with a back suplex from the second rope, and pins him for the win at 3:42.
My Thoughts: I can’t believe anyone would take that back suplex in that hard WWF ring. If you want to get hurt, then by all means take it, but that shouldn’t have been allowed. In any case, this was good for a squash match, because the Bulldogs got in all their big moves, which would make any match good.
– September 22nd, 1986, from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York
The Hart Foundation vs. The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers
Pre-Match Thoughts: I’m going to be reviewing a lot of matches with this combination involved over the next few months, and I’m really looking forward to that. These two are great teams, they know how to work, and they know how to entertain. Who would not want to watch a match between these two? Lord Alfred and Gorilla are on commentary.
Match Review: Bret and Jacques start the match off, and Jacques flips his way out of a hold, then gives Bret a great looking dropkick. Raymond tags in now, and he decides to run Bret over. He also gives Bret a dropkick, and that sends Bret over the top rope. Anvil and Jacques come into the ring now, and Jacques cannot do the same things to Neidhart that were done to Bret. For a time anyway. Shortly, he learns what to do, and that’s to have Neidhart run the ropes so that Jacques can slam him. Jacques puts Neidhart in a Boston crab, so Bret kicks him to break that hold. Jacques is hurt now, and Bret tags in so that the Hart Foundation can do a backbreaker-second rope elbow combination. That gets a 2 count. Bret then tosses Jacques to the outside, where Neidhart slams him on the concrete floor. No pads down there! Bret rams Jacques into the apron, then waits for him to crawl into the ring. Bret puts Jacques in a chinlock briefly, but Jacques gives him a monkey flip after shooting Bret into the ropes. Nicely done! Neidhart tags in to keep Jacques from making a tag, which is a success. Bret runs distraction with the referee, and they go double team Jacques in the corner to build heat. In similar fashion, Bret knees Jacques in the back as he runs the ropes, and Neidhart walks over to Jacques to choke him. Haha. Jacques has a bit of a chance to do something, but his springboard cross-body attempt misses, and Neidhart has the opportunity to tag in his partner. Jacques tries to get out of the corner, and does, but the referee is distracted when Jacques tags out. So, with the referee not paying attention, Bret throws Neidhart into Jacques, shoulder-first. Neidhart covers, and that gets 2. Bret tags in now, and ties Jacques up in the ropes. He does the cross-body spot, and Jacques pretty obviously messed it up so that Bret couldn’t fall through the ropes. Aw. Bret follows with a backbreaker, and goes to the second rope, where he misses an elbow drop. It’s nice to have alternate momentum changers like that one.
Anvil and Raymond tag in, and Raymond cleans up. He gives Neidhart a hip-toss and dropkick as well, then throws Neidhart into Bret. Good play on the earlier move. Raymond drops an elbow for a close 2 count, and also puts a sleeper on Neidhart. Bret comes in from behind to break it up, which works, and Jacques chases Bret around the ring. I LOVE that spot. Over in the ring, Bret boots Raymond in the face, and Neidhart grabs a hold of him. Unfortunately for the Foundation, Jacques sunset flips in from the apron, and gets the pinfall over Neidhart at 14:52. Nicely done! Jacques wasn’t the legal man, but who cares about rules.
My Thoughts: Fun match here. Not a lot of downtime, which is always good, and I liked the addition of some double team attacks to the arsenal of the Hart Foundation. The Rougeau’s are really good opponents because they can bump, wrestle, and fight. All of their offense looks believable and so does their selling. Not a perfect combination like Midnight Express/Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, but a very good one nonetheless. ***1/4.
The Machines vs. King Kong Bundy, Big John Studd, & Bobby Heenan
Pre-Match Thoughts: The Machines tonight are Big Machine, Super Machine, and some guy named Hulk Machine. Against better thought, I’m watching this, even though I’ll likely regret it. I couldn’t care less about this angle, but it needs to be discussed here, unfortunately. There’s no Andre here, so uh…what a failure angle this was. Hulk Machine’s promo before the match was amusing.
Match Review: Hogan looks hilarious with this mask and singlet. The Machines get in the ring and beat up their opponents, minus Heenan who waits outside of the ring. Hogan and Bundy will start the actual match, and Hogan slams Bundy nearly immediately to huge cheers. Studd comes in and Hogan drags him over to the corner, so he can tag Big Machine, who cannot slam Studd. Bundy tags in now, and is given a shoulderblock by him. Big tags in Super, who gives Studd a cross-body, but that only gets 2. Super also goes for a bodyslam of Studd, but can’t do it. Big tags in and gets slammed, and Bundy tries to rip off his mask, but that gets broken up. Big shocker there. Bundy tries a front face-lock, puts it on, then Studd tags in, only for Super to tag in and land a bunch of shots on him. This is TERRIBLE. Bundy in now, and he lands a back elbow. Went for the splash afterward, and missed it. Studd tags in and comes off the top with a blow to Super Machine’s back, then Heenan finally tags in. I can’t believe it! He quickly fails, and Hulk tags in to the crowd’s delight. Hogan launches Heenan into the corner, beats up Studd now, and slingshots Heenan back into the ring. Big Machine tags in now, and Heenan rolls out to tag in Bundy. Big Machine fights his way out of the opponents corner, tags in Super, and Super’s slam attempt fails with Studd landing on top of him for a 2 count. Bundy tags in, and sets Super up for the AVALANCHE, which is landed. Hulk and Super switch with the official’s back turned, and of course Hulk is not hurt, so when Studd tries a clothesline, Hulk ducks under, slams him, and drops the leg for 3 at 8:45.
My Thoughts: That was somehow worse than the match at the Big Event. It was absolutely agonizing for me, and I hope I never see anything like it again in my life. I wanted to watch the Piper Machine match when I compiled this list, but seriously, I won’t even do it now. DUD for this pile, and this is the last Machines match I’m watching. Ever. PERIOD.
– Taped to air September 27th, 1986, on Superstars of Wrestling, from Baltimore Arena, in Baltimore, Maryland
Piper’s Pit vs. The Flower Shop
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3dupo_piper-s-pit-vs-flower-shop_sport
WELL THIS SHOULD BE GOOD. Orton is going to be Adrian’s guest on his show. Piper’s getting increasingly angry at some of his comments, of course. So he walks over to the Flower Shop, gives Orton a woman’s hat, and that made him very angry. The crowd is loving Piper. Now he’s going to do his show, and his guest is Don Muraco. During his interview of Muraco, Adonis walks over, and is very angry. Piper and Muraco are trading barbs at one another, until Adrian intrudes once again, and causes Piper to yawn repeatedly. Then Piper puts some pink underwear on Adrian’s head, and Muraco starts shouting at him. This time when Adonis walks over to Piper’s Pit, he clobbers Piper with a vase of flowers while Muraco holds Piper in place. Aw damn. Orton, Adonis, and Muraco all beat up Piper with a steel chair, and destroy the set of Piper’s Pit to enormous heel heat. This is pretty powerful stuff, so of course watching the video is recommended.
Butch Reed (w/Slick) vs. William Tabb
Pre-Match Thoughts: It’s the debut of Butch Reed! I’ve always considered Reed to be a nice talent, but it’s going to be interesting to go through more of his career. I don’t know what to expect! He had a good look though, and was obviously really athletic.
Match Review: Reed gives Tabb a few hard knees, then catches Tabb coming off the ropes and bodyslams him. Up to the second rope Reed goes, and he comes down with a nice flying shoulderblock. Like that move a lot. Reed follows with a stomach-breaker, and that gets a 3 count at 1:01.
My Thoughts: It sounds like Vince LOVES this guy. It was an impressive debut, for sure. I am interested to see what Reed has to offer, as my exposure to him in all honesty is limited.
– Taped to air September 28th, 1986, on Wrestling Challenge, from the Normandy Arena in Salisbury, Maryland
Terry Gibbs vs. The Honky Tonk Man
Pre-Match Thoughts: Gorilla and Heenan on Wrestling Challenge commentary, yes! Babyface Honky. Yes! What can be said about this before watching it? It is so DUMB.
Match Review: Honky starts the match by hitting Gibbs with a horrible elbow and an atomic drop, then Hulk Hogan pops in with an insert promo hyping up Honky. WHAT THE HELL. Gibbs comes back with a better looking elbow, but he gets punched in the head a bunch and bodyslammed. Honky follows with an elbow drop, for 2. Gibbs responds with a bodyslam and heads up top, but Honky slams him down. THE STRAPS COME DOWN, and Honky gives Gibbs yet another bodyslam. Up to the top he goes, and down he comes with a fist drop. And that’s it at 2:36, Honky winning via pinfall.
My Thoughts: This was a poor squash, and Honky’s offense was absolutely awful. I’m glad he became a heel and dropped this ugly outfit. At least as a heel, he didn’t need to have a great comeback in his arsenal. No rating for a squash of course, but this was a bad one.
There was nothing special in terms of match quality during this month, but there was a lot of good character building and some interesting debuts. Some of them were better than others, but it’s funny considering that the worst of the debuts turned out to have the greatest staying power of all of them. It was also nice to see television tapings taken on the road so that everyone could see them. 28 years later, that appears to have been a great decision. Be sure to check out the linked videos in addition to the embedded ones. They are pretty good. Next up, SNME #7!
Best: Piper’s Pit vs. The Flower Shop
Worst: The Machines vs. Bundy, Studd, and Heenan. NEVER AGAIN.
