June 7, 1986
Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon
Joe Mirto & Terry Gibbs vs. "Golden Boy" Danny Spivey & Mike Rotundo
Match starts with Rotundo and Gibbs going at it as the commentators talk about the differences between a foerarm smash and a punch. Spivey tags and grabs a headlock the Gibbs bounces off of Spivey before he gets taken down with a hiptoss. Rotundo tags and gets a nearfall with a crossbody then works a side headlock on the mat. Mirto tags but Rotundo knocks him down with a forearm smash. The faces use quick tags and after Rotundo catches Mirto in an airplane spin, Spivey gets the win with a bulldog (3:27).
Thoughts: The crowd dug the Rotundo & Spivey team tonight but they were pretty low on the totem pole. The division had a lot of depth at the time too and using Spivey as a Windham ripoff was not going to elevate this duo to the level of the Bulldogs, Dream Team, Killer Bees, or Hart Foundation.
WWF Update with Gene Okerlund. This week, the focus is on the Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff as we are shown a clip of them destroying a jobber team. Some guy in the background holding a beam falls as he walks, with Gene saying that it served him right. The running gag in these bits were that stuff was always going on in the background after the clip was played, with Gene pretending to be annoyed.
Hart Foundation w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Jose Luis Rivera & Don Driggers
The Anvil overpowers Rivera to start. Rivera comes back with a dropkick and an armdrag then tags Driggers, who gets whipped towards Brett and eats a dropkick. The Hart's take turns destroying Driggers as the crowd chants "greaseball" at Brett. The beating on Driggers continues until he is put away with the Hart Attack (3:10).
Thoughts: A dominating performance by the Hart Foundation, who were really getting over strong as a heel team. Both guys looked great here too. Soon enough, the Hart's would be in the Tag Team Title chase.
Ken Resnick plugs the June 27th Boston Garden show then brings out Jake Roberts, who will be facing Ricky Steamboat. Jake claims that he attacked Steamboat on "Saturday Night Live" then tells Steamboat that he will only have two strikes. Not Jake's best promo but still good.
The Gladiator & Moondog Spot vs. Ted Arcidi & King Tonga
Arcidi starts off by tossing around the Gladiator. Tonga tags and knocks him down with a back elbow smash. Spot comes in and Tonga takes them both down with a headscissors/headlock combo. Tonga gets trapped in the opposing corner but Tonga fights out and tags Arcidi, who clotheslines the Gladiator then Tonga finishes him off with a splash (3:19).
Thoughts: Tonga and Arcidi are not really getting over with their minor push as a team. Arcidi was pretty bad but they dicked him around during his short run by not firmly establishing him as either a heel or a face.
Resnick is with Mr. Fuji and Don Muraco, who will be facing Paul Orndorff in Boston. Not much to see here as Muraco was getting shoved further down the card.
A plug for the newest edition of WWF Magazine
Robert Van Winkle & Jim Powers vs. Hercules Hernandez & Big John Studd w/ Freddie Blassie & Bobby Heenan
Hercules and Powers lockup to start then Hercules gains the advantage. Studd tags and slams Powers as the crowd chants for Andre the Giant. Van Winkle tags and appears to be about 5'3 as he tries to slam Studd then hits a dropkick that has no effect. Studd tosses him around before tagging Hercules, who makes Van Winkle submit to the backbreaker (2:41).
Thoughts: The commentators spent most of the match putting over how Studd was the only giant in the WWF right now due to the suspension of Andre. Not much focus on Hercules, who has not been doing much since his debut.
Flower Shop with Adrian Adonis. His guest is Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Jake comes out with the snake around his neck as the fans chant for Steamboat. Jake calls Steamboat arrogant as Adonis puts him over for being vicious. Still not a fan of the Flower Shop segments and Adonis did a weak job playing the role of the interviewer.
A plug to buy the WrestleMania 2 Home Video, for $39.95.
Bob McNeil vs. Randy "Macho Man" Savage w/ Elizabeth
Savage attacks McNeil to start. Savage does not remove his glasses or headband then runs McNeil's face along the ropes. He tosses him to the floor then rolls him back inside and shortly after that puts him away with the flying elbow smash (1:21). After the match, he hits another flying elbow smash.
Thoughts: Awesome squash by Savage, who left his glasses and headband on for the entire match in a nice touch of arrogance. Savage was so cool back then and was actually getting some cheers during his entrance.
Hulk Hogan gives a PSA about wearing a seatbelt in the car.
British Bulldogs w/ Capt. Lou Albano vs. Bob Bradley & A.J. Petruzzi
Davey Boy and Bradley start off with a nice little sequence that ends with Davey grabbing an armbar. Bradley makes the tag and Petruzzi roughs up Davey for a minute. Davey comes back with a dropkick then tags Dynamite who is briefly in the ring but still hurt so he tags Davey. Petruzzi gets slammed then Davey puts Bradley on his shoulders and tags Dynamite, who climbs up top and jumps off of the back of Bradley and hits Petruzzi with a flying headbutt for the win (4:40).
Thoughts: Davey sold a lot in this match, which is surprising in that the Bulldogs were the champs. At the same time, the fact that Dynamite was legitimately hurt and they had nearly five minutes to kill, it is understandable why Davey Boy had to sell for a bit.
Resnick is with Hogan, who is pacing around. Hogan tells Savage that in Boston he did not need the sympathy he received after their last match in Boston and this time around, he will destroy Savage.
Next week in action will be the Junkyard Dog (which never happened) and George Steele.
Final Thoughts: The Steamboat/Roberts feud was carrying the show tonight. They briefly touched on the Andre/Heenan feud and did a good job of hyping the Savage vs. Hogan match in Boston. The Hart Foundation looked impressive too. Other than that, nothing else of note happened
Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon
Joe Mirto & Terry Gibbs vs. "Golden Boy" Danny Spivey & Mike Rotundo
Match starts with Rotundo and Gibbs going at it as the commentators talk about the differences between a foerarm smash and a punch. Spivey tags and grabs a headlock the Gibbs bounces off of Spivey before he gets taken down with a hiptoss. Rotundo tags and gets a nearfall with a crossbody then works a side headlock on the mat. Mirto tags but Rotundo knocks him down with a forearm smash. The faces use quick tags and after Rotundo catches Mirto in an airplane spin, Spivey gets the win with a bulldog (3:27).
Thoughts: The crowd dug the Rotundo & Spivey team tonight but they were pretty low on the totem pole. The division had a lot of depth at the time too and using Spivey as a Windham ripoff was not going to elevate this duo to the level of the Bulldogs, Dream Team, Killer Bees, or Hart Foundation.
WWF Update with Gene Okerlund. This week, the focus is on the Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff as we are shown a clip of them destroying a jobber team. Some guy in the background holding a beam falls as he walks, with Gene saying that it served him right. The running gag in these bits were that stuff was always going on in the background after the clip was played, with Gene pretending to be annoyed.
Hart Foundation w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Jose Luis Rivera & Don Driggers
The Anvil overpowers Rivera to start. Rivera comes back with a dropkick and an armdrag then tags Driggers, who gets whipped towards Brett and eats a dropkick. The Hart's take turns destroying Driggers as the crowd chants "greaseball" at Brett. The beating on Driggers continues until he is put away with the Hart Attack (3:10).
Thoughts: A dominating performance by the Hart Foundation, who were really getting over strong as a heel team. Both guys looked great here too. Soon enough, the Hart's would be in the Tag Team Title chase.
Ken Resnick plugs the June 27th Boston Garden show then brings out Jake Roberts, who will be facing Ricky Steamboat. Jake claims that he attacked Steamboat on "Saturday Night Live" then tells Steamboat that he will only have two strikes. Not Jake's best promo but still good.
The Gladiator & Moondog Spot vs. Ted Arcidi & King Tonga
Arcidi starts off by tossing around the Gladiator. Tonga tags and knocks him down with a back elbow smash. Spot comes in and Tonga takes them both down with a headscissors/headlock combo. Tonga gets trapped in the opposing corner but Tonga fights out and tags Arcidi, who clotheslines the Gladiator then Tonga finishes him off with a splash (3:19).
Thoughts: Tonga and Arcidi are not really getting over with their minor push as a team. Arcidi was pretty bad but they dicked him around during his short run by not firmly establishing him as either a heel or a face.
Resnick is with Mr. Fuji and Don Muraco, who will be facing Paul Orndorff in Boston. Not much to see here as Muraco was getting shoved further down the card.
A plug for the newest edition of WWF Magazine
Robert Van Winkle & Jim Powers vs. Hercules Hernandez & Big John Studd w/ Freddie Blassie & Bobby Heenan
Hercules and Powers lockup to start then Hercules gains the advantage. Studd tags and slams Powers as the crowd chants for Andre the Giant. Van Winkle tags and appears to be about 5'3 as he tries to slam Studd then hits a dropkick that has no effect. Studd tosses him around before tagging Hercules, who makes Van Winkle submit to the backbreaker (2:41).
Thoughts: The commentators spent most of the match putting over how Studd was the only giant in the WWF right now due to the suspension of Andre. Not much focus on Hercules, who has not been doing much since his debut.
Flower Shop with Adrian Adonis. His guest is Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Jake comes out with the snake around his neck as the fans chant for Steamboat. Jake calls Steamboat arrogant as Adonis puts him over for being vicious. Still not a fan of the Flower Shop segments and Adonis did a weak job playing the role of the interviewer.
A plug to buy the WrestleMania 2 Home Video, for $39.95.
Bob McNeil vs. Randy "Macho Man" Savage w/ Elizabeth
Savage attacks McNeil to start. Savage does not remove his glasses or headband then runs McNeil's face along the ropes. He tosses him to the floor then rolls him back inside and shortly after that puts him away with the flying elbow smash (1:21). After the match, he hits another flying elbow smash.
Thoughts: Awesome squash by Savage, who left his glasses and headband on for the entire match in a nice touch of arrogance. Savage was so cool back then and was actually getting some cheers during his entrance.
Hulk Hogan gives a PSA about wearing a seatbelt in the car.
British Bulldogs w/ Capt. Lou Albano vs. Bob Bradley & A.J. Petruzzi
Davey Boy and Bradley start off with a nice little sequence that ends with Davey grabbing an armbar. Bradley makes the tag and Petruzzi roughs up Davey for a minute. Davey comes back with a dropkick then tags Dynamite who is briefly in the ring but still hurt so he tags Davey. Petruzzi gets slammed then Davey puts Bradley on his shoulders and tags Dynamite, who climbs up top and jumps off of the back of Bradley and hits Petruzzi with a flying headbutt for the win (4:40).
Thoughts: Davey sold a lot in this match, which is surprising in that the Bulldogs were the champs. At the same time, the fact that Dynamite was legitimately hurt and they had nearly five minutes to kill, it is understandable why Davey Boy had to sell for a bit.
Resnick is with Hogan, who is pacing around. Hogan tells Savage that in Boston he did not need the sympathy he received after their last match in Boston and this time around, he will destroy Savage.
Next week in action will be the Junkyard Dog (which never happened) and George Steele.
Final Thoughts: The Steamboat/Roberts feud was carrying the show tonight. They briefly touched on the Andre/Heenan feud and did a good job of hyping the Savage vs. Hogan match in Boston. The Hart Foundation looked impressive too. Other than that, nothing else of note happened
I completely forgot that they were referring to Spivey as "The Golden Boy" at this time. What a far cry from Waylon.
ReplyDeleteIs the "Hart Attack" a finisher that got named retroactively? I've never heard the announcers refer to that move as such.
ReplyDeleteI always look forward to these. Great job!
ReplyDeleteIn promos back then, the Hart Foundation and Jimmy Hart would frequently say how their opponent would fall victim of the Hart Attack but yeah, I never heard the announcers call it that
ReplyDeleteRobert Van Winkle? Before he was rapping, flipping houses, and going ballistic on crappy VH1 reality shows, Vanilla Ice was jobbing to the stars. I keed, I keed.....I think.
ReplyDeleteNever read one of your recaps before (read everything else) and this is good stuff too.
ReplyDeletePretty sweet seriesof matches between Hogan and savage back then, I think in Boston, Toronto, and NYC. Pretty awesome stuff.
ReplyDeleteI have a trading card from 1987 where it shows them delivering the move, with "Two-Man Clothesline" on the front and back.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tradingcarddb.com/Images/Cards/Wrestling/67167/67167-22Fr.jpg
ReplyDeleteWhatamaneuver!
ReplyDeleteYeah, on air it always seemed to just be the "big clothesline." Just like the Demolition Decapitation and Doomsday Device, tag move names seen more common in print than in commentary. I THINK, when Owen and Neidhart reunited and laid out Razor Ramon at King of the Ring with the move, that Monsoon actually did call it the Hart Attack.
ReplyDeleteThey had some good ones. There is a taping of challenge in 1987 as a dark match on home video that I thought had a great ending.
ReplyDeleteLife is a bowl of beans in Waylon Mercy's hands. Scares me how much Spivey in 95 looked like Scott Hall today.
ReplyDeleteI think it's peas, not beans
ReplyDeleteWas about to post the exact same sentiment. :)
ReplyDelete