September 13, 1986
From Providence, RI
Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, and Vince McMahon
In action tonight are the British Bulldogs, The Machines, and Randy Savage. Plus, the return of Sika, Tonga Kid & Haku vs. The Moondogs and Sivi Afi vs. Paul Orndorff. And, the return of "Piper's Pit."
Sivi Afi vs. "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff w/ Bobby Heenan
Once again,Orndorff comes out to "Real American." An insert promo of Heenan and Orndorff is shown, with Orndorff laughing at the thought of people asking him if he was sorry for what he did to Hulk Hogan. Orndorff cheap shots Afi as the ref stepped in between them then takes control. Orndorff uses a turnbuckle smash but Afi no-sells that and does the same to Orndorff. However, Afi eats boot on a charge. Afi then dodges a dropkick and fires away. Afi attempts a crossbody off of the top rope but Orndorff ducks as Heenan is screaming for Orndorff to use the piledriver. Orndorff then hits Afi with a clothesline before putting him away with the piledriver (2:35).
Thoughts: Orndorff continues to dominate as Afi started his new role as a TV jobber. Afi wasn't bad in the ring but there was nowhere to go with him.
WWF Update with Gene Okerlund. This week's topic is Harley Race and his recent coronation ceremony as we get a clip of that for the second consecutive week. Harley got quite the push when he first started the King gimmick
Sika w/ King Curtis vs. Don Driggers
The return of Sika after a two year absence. Sika attacks Driggers before the bell. He gets him in a chinlock then starts biting is forehead. Sika stays on the attack as we see an insert promo from King Curtis which was awful as usual. I mean, the guy just screamed like an idiot and did not come off menacing and more like a joke. Sika continues to bit and gauge Driggers as Vince calls out referee Danny Davis for allowing Sika to act like this. Sika hits a clothesline then finishes him off with a Samoan Drop (2:32).
Thoughts: Most of this segment revolved around Danny Davis, with Vince questioning his motives while Jesse defended him. If Vince was not screaming about Davis, you would not really have much of an idea that he was doing anything "evil."
Ken Resnick runs down the card for the October show at the Boston Garden as Randy Savage comes out and is irate that he has to defend his Intercontinental Title against George Steele in a No Disqualification match.
The Moondogs vs. The Islanders
This is the first time that Tonga Kid & King Tonga have been called the Islanders. They have not yet changed their names though. King Tonga and Rex trade arm wringers to start. King Tonga catches Rex with a back elbow smash after an Irish whip sequence then hiptosses Spot when he tags into the match. Tonga Kid tags and gets caught in the wrong corner as we get another insert promo from the Honky Tonk Man calling out Orndorff for hurting his friend Hulk Hogan. Tonga Kid rolls away from a double team then makes the tag. King Tonga is a house of fire then tags the Tonga Kid who finishes off Rex with a top rope splash (2:29).
Thoughts: Funny how the Islanders were never named as such when the announcers ran down the show. Anyway, the team made sense as King Tonga had the power and Tonga Kid the agility.
Resnick is with Bobby Heenan and Harley Race, who will be facing Tito Santana at the next Boston Garden show. Race briefly runs down Tito then Resnick interviews Heenan, who is pissed at Piper who will be teaming with the Machines as "Piper Machine" and warns Piper that he is in big trouble for messing with him.
Troy Martin vs. Randy "Macho Man" Savage w/ Elizabeth
Savage backs Martin against the ropes then grounds him on the mat. Savage toys around with Martin as we get an insert promo from Pedro Morales, who thinks it is a shame that Savage is the Intercontinental Champion and tells him that he is ready for him. Jesse gets a funny line at the expense of Morales by stating he sounds like he has a mouth full of mashed potatoes when he talks. Back to the match as Savage flies out and hits Martin with a double axe handle then tosses Martin over the barricade. Savage rolls Martin back into the ring and hits another double axe handle then a slam, setting up the flying elbow smash for the win (2:09).
Thoughts: The future Shane Douglas got his ass handed to him by Savage. Jesse made me laugh as he made fun of Morales, who for some reason was portrayed as a threat to the Intercontinental Title.
Piper's Pit with guest Ken Resnick. Piper welcomes the crowd and said they got rid of all the flowers and makeup and that he is all man. All of a sudden, Adrian Adonis, Bob Orton, and Jimmy Hart interrupt. Adonis calls Piper "old news" and that the Flower Shop has class. Piper rolls his eyes and chews his gum as Adonis speaks. He then snaps his belt as Adonis challenges Piper to a debate in two weeks to see what the people want: The Flower Shop or Piper's Pit. Piper then challenges him to a debate now and ends up pulling the chair out from Adonis before walking away. The feud continues!
Rick Hunter & J.J. Jackson & Al Navarro vs. Super Machine & Big Machine & Giant Machine
Super Machine starts by tossing around Navarro. He then beats on Jackson before tagging Big Machine, who takes Jackson down with a back elbow smash. Jesse talks about how ridiculous the Machine gimmick is as Giant Machine tags in and gets the win with a punch to the gut (1:26). An insert promo from Albano airs with him teasing that there are more Machines.
Thoughts: Andre could barely move at this point but the crowd went nuts when he was in the ring. And the news of more Machines on the horizon was big news.
Jack Foley & Les Thornton vs. British Bulldogs w/ Capt. Lou Albano
Mick Foley's WWF debut as a jobber. And a painful one at that, thanks to the Dynamite Kid. Les and Davey trade off working the arm to start. Les hits a few European uppercuts until DAvey comes backwith a monkey flip. Jimmy Hart is shown in an insert promo telling the Bulldogs that the Funks are gunning for their titles. Well, Hoss was gone when this show aired so that was not going to happen. Dynamite tags and hits Foley with a few suplexes and a backbreaker. Davey tags and hits Foley with a running powerslam and a delayed vertical suplex that gets two. Foley rakes the eyes and lands a few elbows but Davey headbutts him then tags Dynamite almost takes his head off with a clothesline and that sets up Dynamite hitting a super back suplex for the win (3:42).
Thoughts: Poor Foley got destroyed in this match. Dynamite's clothesline was unnecessarilty stiff and Foley took one nasty bump on the finisher. The Bulldogs looked impressive though.
Resnick is with Super & Big Machine, who welcome their partner in Boston, Piper Machine. They talk about their match in Boston when George Steele interrupts and slams something down, saying "no rules" repeatedly as he walks around and slams a chair against the floor.
Next week, Don Muraco vs. Lanny Poffo. Plus, the Killer Bees are in action and a special feature on Dick Slater and an update on the Honkytonk Man. And, the Dream Team vs. U.S. Express
The show closes with a brief music video package containing highlights of this show.
Final Thoughts: Solid show. The Piper/Adonis feud heated up and the furthered along the Danny Davis angle. Also, they debuted the Islanders as a team and for recent fans, you can get to see Mick Foley and Shane Douglas as jobbers.
Here is my schedule for the next seven days:
Saturday: RoH Glory By Honor 10/5/02
Sunday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 9/14/86
Tuesday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 9/20/86
Thursday: Shoot Interview TBD
Friday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 9/21/86
Email all feedback to BBayless781@gmail.com
Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/mrbayless1982
From Providence, RI
Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, and Vince McMahon
In action tonight are the British Bulldogs, The Machines, and Randy Savage. Plus, the return of Sika, Tonga Kid & Haku vs. The Moondogs and Sivi Afi vs. Paul Orndorff. And, the return of "Piper's Pit."
Sivi Afi vs. "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff w/ Bobby Heenan
Once again,Orndorff comes out to "Real American." An insert promo of Heenan and Orndorff is shown, with Orndorff laughing at the thought of people asking him if he was sorry for what he did to Hulk Hogan. Orndorff cheap shots Afi as the ref stepped in between them then takes control. Orndorff uses a turnbuckle smash but Afi no-sells that and does the same to Orndorff. However, Afi eats boot on a charge. Afi then dodges a dropkick and fires away. Afi attempts a crossbody off of the top rope but Orndorff ducks as Heenan is screaming for Orndorff to use the piledriver. Orndorff then hits Afi with a clothesline before putting him away with the piledriver (2:35).
Thoughts: Orndorff continues to dominate as Afi started his new role as a TV jobber. Afi wasn't bad in the ring but there was nowhere to go with him.
WWF Update with Gene Okerlund. This week's topic is Harley Race and his recent coronation ceremony as we get a clip of that for the second consecutive week. Harley got quite the push when he first started the King gimmick
Sika w/ King Curtis vs. Don Driggers
The return of Sika after a two year absence. Sika attacks Driggers before the bell. He gets him in a chinlock then starts biting is forehead. Sika stays on the attack as we see an insert promo from King Curtis which was awful as usual. I mean, the guy just screamed like an idiot and did not come off menacing and more like a joke. Sika continues to bit and gauge Driggers as Vince calls out referee Danny Davis for allowing Sika to act like this. Sika hits a clothesline then finishes him off with a Samoan Drop (2:32).
Thoughts: Most of this segment revolved around Danny Davis, with Vince questioning his motives while Jesse defended him. If Vince was not screaming about Davis, you would not really have much of an idea that he was doing anything "evil."
Ken Resnick runs down the card for the October show at the Boston Garden as Randy Savage comes out and is irate that he has to defend his Intercontinental Title against George Steele in a No Disqualification match.
The Moondogs vs. The Islanders
This is the first time that Tonga Kid & King Tonga have been called the Islanders. They have not yet changed their names though. King Tonga and Rex trade arm wringers to start. King Tonga catches Rex with a back elbow smash after an Irish whip sequence then hiptosses Spot when he tags into the match. Tonga Kid tags and gets caught in the wrong corner as we get another insert promo from the Honky Tonk Man calling out Orndorff for hurting his friend Hulk Hogan. Tonga Kid rolls away from a double team then makes the tag. King Tonga is a house of fire then tags the Tonga Kid who finishes off Rex with a top rope splash (2:29).
Thoughts: Funny how the Islanders were never named as such when the announcers ran down the show. Anyway, the team made sense as King Tonga had the power and Tonga Kid the agility.
Resnick is with Bobby Heenan and Harley Race, who will be facing Tito Santana at the next Boston Garden show. Race briefly runs down Tito then Resnick interviews Heenan, who is pissed at Piper who will be teaming with the Machines as "Piper Machine" and warns Piper that he is in big trouble for messing with him.
Troy Martin vs. Randy "Macho Man" Savage w/ Elizabeth
Savage backs Martin against the ropes then grounds him on the mat. Savage toys around with Martin as we get an insert promo from Pedro Morales, who thinks it is a shame that Savage is the Intercontinental Champion and tells him that he is ready for him. Jesse gets a funny line at the expense of Morales by stating he sounds like he has a mouth full of mashed potatoes when he talks. Back to the match as Savage flies out and hits Martin with a double axe handle then tosses Martin over the barricade. Savage rolls Martin back into the ring and hits another double axe handle then a slam, setting up the flying elbow smash for the win (2:09).
Thoughts: The future Shane Douglas got his ass handed to him by Savage. Jesse made me laugh as he made fun of Morales, who for some reason was portrayed as a threat to the Intercontinental Title.
Piper's Pit with guest Ken Resnick. Piper welcomes the crowd and said they got rid of all the flowers and makeup and that he is all man. All of a sudden, Adrian Adonis, Bob Orton, and Jimmy Hart interrupt. Adonis calls Piper "old news" and that the Flower Shop has class. Piper rolls his eyes and chews his gum as Adonis speaks. He then snaps his belt as Adonis challenges Piper to a debate in two weeks to see what the people want: The Flower Shop or Piper's Pit. Piper then challenges him to a debate now and ends up pulling the chair out from Adonis before walking away. The feud continues!
Rick Hunter & J.J. Jackson & Al Navarro vs. Super Machine & Big Machine & Giant Machine
Super Machine starts by tossing around Navarro. He then beats on Jackson before tagging Big Machine, who takes Jackson down with a back elbow smash. Jesse talks about how ridiculous the Machine gimmick is as Giant Machine tags in and gets the win with a punch to the gut (1:26). An insert promo from Albano airs with him teasing that there are more Machines.
Thoughts: Andre could barely move at this point but the crowd went nuts when he was in the ring. And the news of more Machines on the horizon was big news.
Jack Foley & Les Thornton vs. British Bulldogs w/ Capt. Lou Albano
Mick Foley's WWF debut as a jobber. And a painful one at that, thanks to the Dynamite Kid. Les and Davey trade off working the arm to start. Les hits a few European uppercuts until DAvey comes backwith a monkey flip. Jimmy Hart is shown in an insert promo telling the Bulldogs that the Funks are gunning for their titles. Well, Hoss was gone when this show aired so that was not going to happen. Dynamite tags and hits Foley with a few suplexes and a backbreaker. Davey tags and hits Foley with a running powerslam and a delayed vertical suplex that gets two. Foley rakes the eyes and lands a few elbows but Davey headbutts him then tags Dynamite almost takes his head off with a clothesline and that sets up Dynamite hitting a super back suplex for the win (3:42).
Thoughts: Poor Foley got destroyed in this match. Dynamite's clothesline was unnecessarilty stiff and Foley took one nasty bump on the finisher. The Bulldogs looked impressive though.
Resnick is with Super & Big Machine, who welcome their partner in Boston, Piper Machine. They talk about their match in Boston when George Steele interrupts and slams something down, saying "no rules" repeatedly as he walks around and slams a chair against the floor.
Next week, Don Muraco vs. Lanny Poffo. Plus, the Killer Bees are in action and a special feature on Dick Slater and an update on the Honkytonk Man. And, the Dream Team vs. U.S. Express
The show closes with a brief music video package containing highlights of this show.
Final Thoughts: Solid show. The Piper/Adonis feud heated up and the furthered along the Danny Davis angle. Also, they debuted the Islanders as a team and for recent fans, you can get to see Mick Foley and Shane Douglas as jobbers.
Here is my schedule for the next seven days:
Saturday: RoH Glory By Honor 10/5/02
Sunday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 9/14/86
Tuesday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 9/20/86
Thursday: Shoot Interview TBD
Friday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 9/21/86
Email all feedback to BBayless781@gmail.com
Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/mrbayless1982
The Islanders were a decent team but Tama's constant flakiness really held them back.
ReplyDeleteIf he was committed, he would have been a star. He had all of the talent in the world at such a young age.
ReplyDeleteOne of the highlights of Foley's first book is talking about this, making the mistake of telling the Bulldogs, "go ahead, do what you want" before the match. That plus one of his DVD's where he talks about the match starting and "you can see the realization in my eyes I'm about to get killed." But did get some respect after the match going to the Bulldogs and rather than be upset, thanking them for a good match and such.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to forget how young he was during this time. Maybe if he started when he was older he would have been more committed.
ReplyDeleteHe was 20 or 21 here
ReplyDeleteRespect or not, it was still bullshit for Dynamite to take advantage of a young kid like that.
ReplyDeleteThat's one of the MILDER things Dynamite has done.
ReplyDeleteHoly God when will the Macho Man stop defending against George Steele? Plus Pedro Morales?
ReplyDeleteWhat a waste of a top talent, Savage could have been putting on 4 star matches with half a dozen other guys all year long.
Actually I have never heard about this "flakiness" and always wondered why he seemed to be so talented but was kind of a flash in the pan on the large stage.
ReplyDeleteWhat did he do?
Yeah Foley caught DK on a good day.
ReplyDeleteWho? Steamboat would be wrestling him in November to set up the injury and feud. Hogan was tied up with Orndorff. Bruno hadn't started his feud with him due to Steamboat. Tito was in a Midcard role and Spanish announcer prior to Zenk getting fired. Who is Macho wrestling? Surprisingly he did wrestle a face Honky Tonk Man -- but I'm afraid to watch that match.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I like to say whose hero Dynamite was -- I'll leave THAT alone.
ReplyDeleteHe had good mic skills to against Piper.
ReplyDeleteLong time reader, first time commenter. Wasn't King Curtis going by "The Wizard" at this point, was that later, or was that someone different? Going purely by memory with some of this.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Brian, really enjoy these recaps. This is around the time I started watching religiously. Thanks for doing this. Old-school SK follower from way back in the actual RSPW days. Just lurked this entire time.
ReplyDeleteOh and Mick Foley in the main event in his first match in the company!
ReplyDeleteYou're correct
ReplyDeleteThey called him Curtis the first few shows too bit dropped it shortly
ReplyDeleteThank you very much.
ReplyDeleteI have a lot of shows from this era and will crank them out as often as I can
He was the Wizard while helping Kevin Sullivan lead the Dungeon of Doom in WCW.
ReplyDeleteNot saying it isn't. Still bullshit.
ReplyDeleteThese don't get a lot of comments, because honestly there isn't much to say about a lot of these shows. But I've found them fascinating for just how efficient, tight, and borderline-minimalist they can be. There is absolutely not a single solitary wasted second--every single segment is designed to sell you on something, and they did it rather effectively.
ReplyDeleteWow. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteWhen I decided to do these, I wanted to make it so people could remember or eve learn about everything that happened. I started since Hogan won the belt at MSG and have been doing them since.
Next step will be ebook series for the years.