Skip to main content

WWF Superstars of Wrestling February 14th, 1987

February 14, 1987

From the Sundome in Tampa, FL

Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino, Jesse Ventura, and Vince McMahon.

Tonight, we will find out if Hulk Hogan has accepted the challenge from Andre the Giant for a match at WrestleMania. Plus, the Can-Am Connection, Junkyard Dog, and Demolition will be in action. Also, we will find out about the other matches that have been signed for WrestleMania.



Clips of the Hart Foundation winning the Tag Team Titles last week from the British Bulldogs.



Craig DeGeorge is backstage with Jack Tunney, who has an announcement to make about Danny Davis, who runs by on his way to the ring. Tunney chases after him as Davis goes into the ring and shoves the other official down. Tito Santana, who is in the ring for a match, almost comes to blows with Davis but Jack Tunney then grabs the mic and announces that Danny Davis has been suspended for life. The crowd goes nuts then Jimmy Hart runs out and takes Davis with him.



Terry Gibbs vs. Tito Santana

Gibbs attacks Tito right after the bell but Tito comes right back and puts him away with the flying forearm (0:20).

Thoughts: Crowd was still jacked after the match as they were still high on the news of Davis getting suspended.



WWF Update with Gene Okerlund. This week's subject is WrestleMania III and how the Pontiac Silverdome won a bidding war to host the event. Gene says that the indoor attendance will be broken for this show.



Cowboy Bob Orton & Don Muraco vs. Leo Strohein & "Leaping" Lanny Poffo

Poffo's pre match promo is about the Andre/Hogan saga as Jesse believes that Hogan will duck Andre. Orton looks pissed after a miscommunication spot when Strohein went for an armdrag as Orton ran through him. Strohein gets destroyed in the corner as Orton & Muraco maintain control of the match. Muraco no-sells a few punches as Vince tells us that Roddy Piper has a lot of movie offers from Hollywood then we get an insert promo from Hillbilly Jim playing the guitar before saying how Hogan will accept the challenge from Andre and win the match too. Orton hits a suplex then Muraco puts away Strohein with a tombstone piledriver (3:23). After the match, Orton and Muraco destroy their opponents some more.

Thoughts: Orton & Muraco looked good here but they no longer had the heel heat they once had and fans didn't seem to care.



Okerlund is with Hogan and asks him about Andre the Giant. Hogan says that those who doubt his chances against Andre will be in for a surprise then talks about the 6-man elimination match in Boston where he will be teaming with Piper & Billy Jack Haynes up against Paul Orndorff & Hercules & Adrian Adonis. Hogan says this is the tune-up he needs for WrestleMania III. Hogan all but said he was facing Andre at WrestleMania here so that about clears up whether or not he will accept Andre's challenge. I will be reviewing that Boston show on the blog.



Adonis said that he heard from "Crazy Larry" that Piper will be retiring as he cannot take the punishment like he can. Adonis compares himself to a Veg-o-Matic as he will slice and dice Piper. After ignoring that feud on TV for the past few weeks, they are going back to pushing it on TV.



John Valkower vs. Junkyard Dog

Valkower is billed at 420 lbs. That seems about 50lbs too many. Lots of stalling to start. Valkower pushes JYD against the ropes then backs off as Vince and Jesse hype WrestleMania. JYD headbutts Valkower, who bumps like he got hit by a mack truck. JYD hits some sorry excuse for a shoulder tackle as Valkower bumps around like he is Dolph Ziggler. An insert promo from the U.S. Express is shown as Rotundo thinks Hogan will accept Andre's challenge but Spivey does not believe that he will. JYD then picks up Valkower and hits the powerslam for the win (2:03).

Thoughts: Man, for a big fat guy Valkower could bump like a motherfucker. That is really the only thing to take away from this match.



Okerlund is with the Rougeau Brothers, who will be facing the Hart Foundation in Boston for the Tag Team Titles. Jacques says that they deserve the titles and since they beat them the last time they wrestled in Boston that they will indeed win the belts. This was a bad babyface promo, actually. They came off as a couple of lame-ass losers.



Mario Mancini & Sivi Afi vs. Demolition w/ Johnny V.

Barry Darsow is in the Smash role permanently now after debuting on the 2/8/87 edition of "Wrestling Challenge." The face paint of Demolition still looks terrible though. Afi bounces off of Smash a few times before getting caught with an inverted atomic drop. Mancini tags and Ax beats him down. Demolition uses quick tags to destroy Mancini until they finish him off with the Decapitation (1:19).

Thoughts: Darsow was so much better than Culley and it made Demolition look even more badass. They completely dominated the match.



Piper's Pit with guest Hulk Hogan. Before Hogan comes out Piper recaps the past few weeks of what happened between Hogan and Andre on the Pit. As Piper talks, Hogan comes out, looking dejected and holding onto his shirt in one hand and his cross in the other. Piper asks him what is going on between him and Andre. Hogan said that he doesn't understand as he worshipped Andre and thought he was his best friend. even patterned his life after him because of how good he was in and out of the ring. Hogan said that they used to fight for the same things but that Heenan got into Andre's head and when he tore off his shirt and cross, he really tore out his heart. Piper then asks Hogan point blank if he will fight Andre at WrestleMania III for the title and he screams "yes" as he crowd goes nuts. Another tremendous segment, although Hogan's interview with Okerlund from earlier pretty much confirmed he was accepting the match.



Jimmy Hart is with Danny Davis. Hart says that Davis is now a wrestler and the newest member of the Hart Foundation. Hart says that he can team with the Hart Foundation, wrestle in a tag team, or even in singles competition. And this was the climax of the Davis evil referee storyline. It ended well.



Hollywood Laxton vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

Hollywood is some pudgy jabroni billed from Tennessee. Ventura takes offense at Laxton for calling himself "Hollywood." He takes over Steamboat with a headlock then grabs a front facelock. Steamboat fights back with chops as we get an insert promo from George Steele on how he likes Steamboat then says some other stuff that no one can figure out. We will learn just exactly what was said later on in this show. Laxton knocks down Steamboat but misses a crossbody and falls outside. Steamboat then follows out with a flying body press then rolls Laxton inside and hits a flying chop for the win (2:02).

Thoughts: The Steamer sold a lot here but the real story here was what Steele said and the announcers were trying to figure out what he meant.



We get a vignette of Jimmy Hart and the Honky Tonk Man looking at one of Elvis' old planes. Honky says that he will be flying around in a 747, unlike this old piece of junk.



Can-Am Connection vs. Tiger Chung Lee & The Gladiator

Zenk works over Lee as Vince breaks the news that Ricky Steamboat will be facing Randy Savage at WrestleMania III and will have George Steele in his corner. Jesse thinks that Steamboat has made a mistake taking that match. The CAC use quick tags to beat on Lee as we get another insert from Don Muraco & Bob Orton making fun of Zenk & Martel and how they will beat them at WrestleMania III. Gladiator pulls down the top rope on Martel as he crashes outside then beats on him for a bit. Martel gets his knees up on a charge then makes the tag. Zenk runs wild on both guys then catches The Gladiator with a powerslam and takes Martel, who gets the win with a slingshot splash (3:19).

Thoughts: The action was okay but the big news was that they announced two matches that would take place at WrestleMania III.



Okerlund is with Bobby Heenan and Hercules. He asks him about the six-man elimination match in Boston. He calls Haynes "Billy Jerk" several times throughout the interview. Hercules then talks about Haynes going crazy and attacking Heenan so he had to hurt him.



Next week, we will find out whether or not Roddy Piper is going to retire. Plus, the Hart Foundation will defend the Tag Team Titles against the Islanders. Also in action will be King Harley Race, Koko B. Ware, and Billy Jack Haynes. And we will find out what other matches have been added to the WrestleMania III card as well.



Final Thoughts: Another good show. The official announcement of both Hogan and Andre and Steamboat vs. Savage taking place at WrestleMania III was big news. Also, Davis getting suspended for life as a referee ended that several month long storyline too. Nothing else here sucked as the WWF still continues to produce awesome shows leading up to WrestleMania III.

Comments

  1. Davis suspended and turning to wrestler while Hogan does a great job selling the pain of Andre's betrayl but then accepting the challenge. "The Attitude Era" gets major heat but man, 1987-90 was also a damn fun time for wrestling .

    ReplyDelete
  2. The unnamed city this week is my lovely hometown, Macon Ga. Voted #2 least safest city to live in the USA.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who noticed Hogan's answer to Andre's challenged was spoiled during his Boston promo with Mean Gene.

    Sloppy segment editing by the WWF on what was otherwise a good show.

    ReplyDelete
  4. On the other hand, how many different localized segments aired in that slot? Doubtless not all of them had Hogan.

    ReplyDelete
  5. "Benoit doesn't bring woman with him because that would be suicide"... Murder actually.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Such a greatest hits of weird WCW shit on this show- you've got Public Enemy's failed run, that time the Quebecers were in WCW, GLACIER,

    ReplyDelete
  7. "Athough Hogan's interview with Okerlund from earlier pretty much confirmed he was accepting the match" .... That segment only aired in the Boston syndication market. Everyone else, including me in NY only saw the Piper acceptance.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Events center was the exact same thing, only produced a bit differently.

    ReplyDelete
  9. True. Though they should have avoided having Hogan make any indirect references to Andre's challenge.

    I remember one of the first times the WWF came to my town. There, in the middle of an episode of "Superstars", was Sean Mooney in the Event Center talking about some huge event coming to my town of all places!! Then, coincidentally, here comes Hogan talking about throwing Andre all over the arena.....MY hometown arena!

    In my eight year-old mind, this was easily on par with WrestleMania, and would feature the creme de la creme of wrestlers and celebrities.

    It was only later than I realized this was just a house show. And as Bryan "Wrath" Clarke of pre-Kronik fame once told me when I interviewed him for my college newspaper, nothing of any importance happens at house shows.

    Still, I have to give mad props to the WWF live event promotions team in the pre-internet days.

    ReplyDelete
  10. So Hulk Hogan patterned his life after Andre both inside and outside the ring. Does that mean that Hogan was an angry, bitter alcoholic?

    ReplyDelete
  11. He tried to drink 100 beers in a single setting but only made it to 20

    ReplyDelete
  12. No, Event Centers had Sean Mooney in a studio running down cards and then wrestlers cutting separate promos on their own, notably without mentioning when and where their match was. (Occasionally for major arenas guys would in fact do arena-specific interviews). That saved untold amounts of time, because the same promo could air for a card in Nashville, Boston, and Phoenix. Cards also began to get more uniform in general.

    ReplyDelete
  13. That didn't happen in my NY market at all. We had very specific event center interviews mentioning the arena and everything. It's possible bigger markets continued to do this.

    ReplyDelete
  14. So now they're using, what this house band called CFo$ for their themes? Fuck sakes. I mean really. Paige's theme is ok...but I can't help but think that Jim Johnston wouldn't have knocked something out of the park for her (and the rest of the roster, while he was at it.) Why do they have him rotting in the film division again?

    ReplyDelete
  15. In 1993, they started doing "Face to Face", where wrestlers were actually flown to Titan Tower to film promos where the guys could talk at each other from separate rooms.
    Later, they had Live Event News and Slam Jam, where depending if there was a show coming up in the market, you'd get either market-specific segments or hype for the next PPV.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I dunno, the image is tainted for me after Doug choked Patty Mayonnaise to death and then hanged himself in Bud Dink's garage.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Name one documentary that covers a performer from HHH's era where he doesn't try to belittle, joke about, or embarrass that person. Please, find me one because that'll be the first.

    Stephanie had to stretch the limits of the English language with euphemisms while trying to cut on Heyman and his success.

    And these were in edited documentaries with plenty of time to think and rethink something. And then there's the stories from Punk.

    But yeah, this is all conjecture. No evidence whatsoever. Nuh uh.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I bet more people know Jim Johnston than James Dudley.

    ReplyDelete
  19. We need to get 100 people to make this comment.

    ReplyDelete
  20. He's definitely one of those guys that LOVES to hear his own voice. Somehow, I have the feeling that he does this as foreplay before he dives into Steph's leathery lady-bits.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Not to mention letting his idiot daughter and doofus son-in-law run the company. THAT would be his biggest mistake, right there.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Is it Austin on Keller or Keller on Austin's podcast?

    ReplyDelete
  23. At this point, I sort of wish Vince would have sold WWE to Disney, or someone. If THIS is what keeping it in the McMahon family results in, surely someone ELSE could do better, right?

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hurricanranas were done all the time in the 80s. They were merely transition moves to get a guy on the mat.

    ReplyDelete
  25. mutual? Um, Vince said "hey, I'm going to not pay you what I promised you, but you can go to WCW instead if you want." Hardly mutual. Vince was breaching the contract and Bret either sued to get what was promised when it was promised (and not years later) or he went to WCW. Hardly mutual.

    ReplyDelete
  26. no humiliation. She went out in good fun and got a network exclusive documentary on her right after. She's on great terms with the company. They said the same thing about Jericho when he left after his match with Cena in 05 or 06. Jericho laughed at the internet because he was the one who wanted to be carried out kicking and screaming.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I find it a bit hypocritical of Arn getting all over Benoit for taking another man's wife, what with his constant support of Flair over the years - and particularly the time he beat Jimmy Garvin for a night with Precious that was totally going down (even if Flair wasn't going to let JJ watch) until Ronnie showed up in drag. Again.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Cleaning up that mess was *very* expensive!

    ReplyDelete
  29. for me atleast it wasn't that they didn't deserve the push, it was how they treated others and the double standard for their unprofessional behavior. The talent was there. Outside of Bret, Taker, and maybe Bam Bam, Razor, Shawn and Diesel were the obvious ones to push, plus 123kid was a good mid card guy and when he came in HHH was a good heel in the midcard with potential. It was never their talent, but rather their behavior backstage, their refusal to do busines with certain guys or to job, their behavior after shows, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  30. And Karen Angle's signed autographs.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Russo would rather air 20 1-minute promos in a row.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Man, I have never given a shit about Matt Morgan.

    ReplyDelete
  33. He had to have one of the most depressing ends of one's life.

    ReplyDelete
  34. I had to google him...I still have zero recollection of this person.

    ReplyDelete
  35. "Yep Mode" Abeyance Brown ©January 2, 2015 at 5:56 PM

    And Disney and Pro Wrestling itself have worked together in the past.

    ReplyDelete
  36. "Yep Mode" Abeyance Brown ©January 2, 2015 at 5:56 PM

    But, he was the DNA of TNA.

    ReplyDelete
  37. I watched TNA for about two weeks when Roode and Aeries were getting hot, that story was decent, everything else at the time was far worse than anything on WWE today.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Didn't they send his sperm into space for some NASA experiment?

    ReplyDelete
  39. That cover band is doing awesome work in NXT.

    ReplyDelete
  40. I'm not surprised. Jarrett just doesn't seem like the type that would be a locker room "distraction."

    ReplyDelete
  41. This. And wouldn't Ross take a lot of the brunt of this?

    ReplyDelete
  42. When was this? Imagine if the Monday night wars were still on, and Rock is so pissed he shows up in WCW ala Luger.

    ReplyDelete
  43. With all the talk about Undertaker going into the HOF this year doesn't it seem more likely he will wait a year and be inducted next year when it's in Texas?

    ReplyDelete
  44. Werd. Always been on Jarrett's side in this deal, and cringe at how Vince is once again trying to re-write history to make himself look like a victim.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Jarrett's an okay guy. Only problem people have is that he's the ultimate mid carder that was shoved down our throats as a main eventer. People also bring up the Angle thing while seemingly ignoring that Angle was, from what I've heard, a serial cheater, plus that marriage was already over.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Uh.....Ultimate warrior?

    ReplyDelete
  47. Ultimate warrior says "hi"

    ReplyDelete
  48. I always say. Imagine if Scott had found his character earlier than what he did.

    ReplyDelete
  49. FUCK Bill Watts. He doesn't fuck that up, Flair returns in 1993 and it's money to be made with a DA vs Horseman feud.

    ReplyDelete
  50. But jim Johnston wasn't Vince's chauffeur

    ReplyDelete
  51. I remember, that's when I bought the book

    ReplyDelete
  52. He got a lot of heat for that

    ReplyDelete
  53. Tunney got a 10 year+ gig for pushing Crockett out of the Maple Leaf shows and Vince probably figured he no longer needed him

    ReplyDelete
  54. Jim Crockett Jr.
    Nailz (for attacking Vince)
    Ole Anderson
    Gino Hernandez
    Crush

    ReplyDelete
  55. Legally speaking, how can WWE possibly enforce a one-year ban on earning a living for someone they've fired?

    ReplyDelete
  56. Kim Kanner AKA Shakira in WCW should go in. Don't care how short her career was.

    On a serious note she was hot, very charismatic, and could have been huge (in women's wrestling terms) had she ever decided to train. That said I get her reason for not doing so and just walking away.

    ReplyDelete
  57. MSG was a different animal, so they may have kept the NYC-centric promos. There were NYC-specific PPV reports and bits of commentary, also. The rest of the country generally got the same genericized interview.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Paul Heyman is amazing for stuff like this. that's also why I love(d) him at ringside during Lesnar's, Punk's and his other "clients" matches. he enhances the match a lot by his interactions with his guys.

    ReplyDelete
  59. If fucking Arnold Skaaland is in Jim Johnston should be in for posterity. Paul Heyman not in is a joke. Maybe its childhood nostalgia talking but Todd Pettengill deserves to be in as well. He was a staple of the new generation era. Bischoff and Cornette merit entry but yeah bridges burned.

    ReplyDelete
  60. afaik another example is Batista "quitting" in 2010.

    ReplyDelete
  61. And Bishoff going out in a garbage truck was his idea.

    ReplyDelete
  62. But he did pay him, Bret confirmed this. He used possibly breaching it to open up discussions of Bret leaving. He paid him in full until and allowed Bret to negotiate with WCW. Vince obviously wanted out of the deal but Bret agreed.

    ReplyDelete
  63. Shane Douglas would never let that happen on his watch

    ReplyDelete
  64. It doesn't help that 98% of their non von Erich stuff is them fighting the southern boys.

    ReplyDelete
  65. Oh they were assholes, I just think a lot of their reign of terror is overblown. It's a wrestling tradition to blame your failures on anyone who's succeeding and I laugh when you have Tatanka and Adam Bomb blaming the Clique for everything. Shawn's questionable but Nash and Hall didn't mind jobbing.

    ReplyDelete
  66. They probably can't.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Not only just the finalists but anyone who happens to be caught on camera. I work at a hotel where they filmed the auditions last year and they put up signs that basically said, "By walking near this sign when we are filming that is you giving consent for us to use your image "forever and throughout the universe." The signs literally said that.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Prediction: the Authority bans Bryan, Ziggler or Ambrose from the Royal Rumble. During the match, the Bunny enters, eliminates Rose and then removes the costume to reveal the banned wrestler.

    ReplyDelete
  69. Had them for shows in Houston as well. One example was in 1990, with Warrior introducing his replacement for Beefcake ...Kerry Von Erich...and how he'd be debuting in his 'home town'.

    Considering those of us from Houston generally don't like people from Dallas (and vice versa), that was kind of an insult lol

    ReplyDelete
  70. Hell, I prefer it to 1998-1999, easily.

    ReplyDelete
  71. Yeah, and he's spent every minute since convincing the world he's an idiot.

    ReplyDelete
  72. Its pretty pathetic that it matters more if someone burned their bridge, than if they actually belong in the HOF for their career.

    ReplyDelete
  73. Wasn't there a point where JBL was actually a great heel announcer? Now I don't know what the hell he's turned into, maggle.

    ReplyDelete
  74. More reason for certain Indy and overseas stars to avoid WWE. Nice Vince.

    ReplyDelete
  75. Back in 1987, when. Superstars was broadcasted in Europe to us via Sky Channel, there were never these promo's for (specific) houseshows. I only remember gneric promo's with Mean Gene with wrestlers talking about there opponents and feuds but never about houseshows. Back then didn't even know they excisted,, by just having only access to Superstas.

    ReplyDelete
  76. Ah shit, so I got accepted recently -- are you saying I should do something in computers instead?

    ReplyDelete
  77. 911 was another guy Heyman booked perfectly to hide his weaknesses. I always wondered whatever happened to him.

    The line about Luger's exploding powers was hilarious.

    ReplyDelete
  78. Yeah, we got those here too if there weren't any upcoming house shows in the area. They also aired on the cable shows. Or, they talked about the upcoming PPV if there was one.

    ReplyDelete
  79. You just know that Virgil has blown up and printed the screen shot above with him holding the title in the ring and sold and signed it as so

    ReplyDelete
  80. EXACTLY. I mean Windham vs Anderson in this match was a red hot sequence, and that's not even close to the awesome storytelling of Flair being all 'ARN, COME HOME.'

    ReplyDelete
  81. I've always found their match from slamboree 93 pretty underrated.

    ReplyDelete
  82. The dirt at the time was that HHH and other higher-ups thought Rock's movie career would flop and he'd have to come crawling back for a lesser offer.

    ReplyDelete
  83. I wish some wrestler or preferably group of wrestlers would sue WWE over the independent contractors thing and NOT settle out of court.

    ReplyDelete
  84. That was 2013.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment