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WWF Superstars of Wrestling March 14th, 1987

March 14, 1987

From the Civic Center in New Haven, CT

Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, and Vince McMahon

In action this week are the Killer Bees, Hercules, and Randy Savage. Plus, "Piper's Pit" with guest Hulk Hogan and another WrestleMania III report.




Tiger Chung Lee & Iron Mike Sharpe vs. Killer Bees

Ventura makes fun of the Bees new tights, comparing them to ballet dancers. We get an insert promo from the Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, and Slick hyping their match at WrestleMania III as Blair works over Sharpe. Brunzell tags and makes Sharpe scream with an arm wringer. Sharpe finally breaks free and tags Lee, who beats on Brunzell. He catches him with a powerslam then Brunzell comes back with an armdrag but gets caught in the opposite corner after that as Jesse and Vince talk about Bob Uecker. The heels double-team Brunzell behind the referee's back as this match is dragging. Brunzell finally makes the tag as Blair hits Sharpe with the Bee Sting then tags Brunzell who hits Lee with a dropkick for the win (4:48).

Thoughts: Too long for a squash as the announcers touched upon the other matches and celebrities that will be at WrestleMania III after the Bees/Sheik & Volkoff match was hyped. And the bees new trunks were atrocious.



WWF Update with Gene Okerlund. This week's update is on the WWF World Heavyweight Title match as we get the tale of the tape for both men. Lots of exaggerations here but it was all in good fun.



Don Driggers vs. King Harley Race w/ Bobby Heenan

We get an insert promo from Bob Uecker hyping WrestleMania III before the match. God, he was great. Match starts with a criss-cross spot that ends with Driggers dropkicking Race. He then misses a second attempt as the Junkyard Dog is shown watching the match backstage on a monitor who then says he has seen enough and walks away. Back to the match as Race hits a clothesline then hits a kneedrop before putting him away with the cradle suplex (1:45).

Thoughts: The bit with JYD monitor took up a majority of this match, which was a typical snoozefest from Race. This feud is losing steam.



Okerlund is with the Can-Am Connection. Martel promises that they will be ready for WrestleMania III as Zenk agrees and warns Mr. Fuji that they will be ready for him if he tries to interfere. The Can-Am Connection were not known for the mic skills.



Butch Reed and Slick are shown talking about Koko B. Ware. Reed ends the interview by dropping feathers all over the place saying he will make soup out of Frankie. Fine for what it was.



Barry O. vs. Koko B. Ware

Vince goes mental over Koko's dancing as Jesse refers to him as "Buckwheat." Koko gets the crowd going as he reverses an Irish whip then catches Barry with a slam. Tito Santana is shown in an insert promo warning Koko to keep an eye out on Slick during his match against Reed. Barry sends Koko to the floor then stomps him as he lays on the apron. Still on the apron, Koko blocks a turnbuckle smash then drills Barry with a missile dropkick before hitting the Ghostuster for the win (2:43).

Thoughts: Solid action as the crowd still loved Koko. This was about the peak of his career in the WWF though.



Okerlund is with Aretha Franklin. He asks her about a few of the performers as she calls Jimmy Hart a "one-hit wonder." Not a bad segment.



Now, Okerlund is with Hulk Hogan, who doesn't care what people are saying as he wants to live forever and that the prayers, vitamins, and Hulkamania will live forever. He then said Andre will feel the power of Hulkamania in front of the whole world at WrestleMania III. Good promo from Hogan.



Uecker is with Andre the Giant. He asks him about meeting Andre in Europe and how they are est friends but Andre comes out and puts his hand on Uecker's shoulder and makes a fist as Uecker laughs nervously. I'll say it again, Uecker was great in all of these segments and this was no exception.



Hercules w/ Bobby Heenan vs. Mario Mancini

Hercules beats on Mancini as we get an insert promo from Billy Jack Haynes screaming about how we will see who is the master of the full nelson. Hercules continues his assault on Mancini until he puts him away with the full nelson (1:20).

Thoughts: The psychotic screaming promos from Billy Jack Haynes are a favorite of mine. Hercules was getting a nice push here and starting to get over well as a singles act.



Piper's Pit with guest Hulk Hogan. Piper first tells us that Adonis will be the ugliest thing you will see after he cuts his hair after their match at WrestleMania III. Hogan then comes out as the crowd goes mental. Hogan is intense as he first tells Piper that he knows there is no way he will let a "fat boy" put him away with the sleeper as Piper says that he knows they will have to bury him six feet under in order to get the belt off of him. Piper asks Hogan about all of the doubters that say he cannot beat Andre as Hogan is unsure if he can pick him up but he will try no matter what before telling Andre he will get him back for tearing the heart out of the "Little Hulksters" as the segment ends with both guys shaking hands then walking off together. Awesome stuff and the crowd was crazy the whole time.



The WrestleMania III report is next. Uecker is shown with Jimmy Hart asking him about the hair vs hair match between Piper and Adonis. Hart promises Piper that he will be bald when he heads off to Hollywood. Mary Hart is then shown with Bobby Heenan and Andre the Giant, who tells her that she talks too much when asked why he has a manager and Hulk Hogan does not. Okerlund then runs down the card. We get some promos mixed in between as Haynes tells us he has been doing wrist curls and that Dino Bravo will be present when the Dream Team wrestles the Rougeaus so he can them lose. The highlight was a wacky promo from the Anvil, calling Tito Santana a "burrito brother" and asking why he has a problem.



Sivi Afi vs. Randy "Macho Man" Savage w/ Elizabeth

Lots of cheers for Savage as Vince tries to spin it as they are all for Elizabeth. Afi sends Savage to the floor with a dropkick then heads back inside as he headbutts him down. He then hits a slam but Savage gets his knees up on a splash attempt. Savage then hits a clothesline then on the floor hits him with a running knee smash to the back. In the ring, Savage slams Afi down then puts him away with a flying elbow smash (1:37). Savage then gets cheered after the win.

Thoughts: Savage was just awesome at this point and started to get cheered by the crowds as a result, no matter how big of a heel he was.



Okerlund is with Bobby Heenan and Hercules. Okerlund taunts Heenan about the "weasel" name as Heenan said that he has proven himself as a brain as he puts over his stable of wrestlers. Hercules then runs down Haynes and leaves as Heenan comes back but they are out of time as Heenan is now pissed.



Next week in action will be Jake Roberts, Honky Tonk Man, and the featured bout of Jim Duggan vs. Iron Sheik. Plus, highlights from the Battle Royal that takes place at the 3/14/87 edition of
"Saturday Night's Main Event."



Final Thoughts: Another show that did a superb job at promoting WrestleMania III, which is just fifteen days away. Piper's Pit was a great segment and the celebrity involvement, especially Uecker, was cool to see. Not much else to say other than this company was on a roll heading up to WrestleMania III.




Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Thursday: Highspots Shoot Interview with Ernie Ladd
Friday: WWF Saturday Night's Main Event 3/14/87
Saturday: RoH Death Before Dishonor 7/19/03 (Finally!)
Sunday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 3/15/87
Tuesday: WWF Frank Tunney Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament 3/15/87


Comments

  1. Thank you very much. And I have all of the shows leading up to the start of RAW, including, PPV's, SNME, House shows, fan cams, and more. I'll keep doing it for as long as I can.

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  2. These WWF 1987 reviews are really, really great. Kudos to you for doing such a good job. You're right about The Uek: he was fantastic!

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  3. WWF1987 does reviews now?

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  4. Doesn't everybody do reviews now?

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  5. Did the Sheik offer to make Brian Blair humble during the inset promo? To do it old country way?

    ReplyDelete

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