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WWF Superstars of Wrestling June 13th, 1987

June 13, 1987

From the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, NY

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

Tonight, our featured match will be for the Intercontinental Title as Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat defends the belt against the Honky Tonk Man. Also in action are the British Bulldogs, Islanders, and the returning Junkyard Dog. Plus, Jesse lets us know that we will see footage of himself from the film "The Predator."




Before the show started, they replayed the comments from Steamboat and the Honky Tonk Man from last week as they are hyping up this match in a big way.



Johnny K-9 & Dusty Wolfe vs. British Bulldogs

K-9 spills out to the floor after running through a leapfrog by Davey. Back inside, the Bulldogs beat on K-9 as we are shown an insert of Matilda. Wolfe tags in and takes a goofy bump after getting whipped into the corner then Davey put him away with a diving headbutt (2:11).

Thoughts: The Bulldogs are on the down swing here. Also, Matilda is getting pushed stronger than the team itself. With Dynamite's health, its not a shocker.



WWF Special Report with Craig DeGeorge. We are shown more footage of Superstar Billy Graham as he attempts to recover from hip surgery and return to the ring, despite doctors telling him that his a bad idea. Those doctors were right. They spent months and months hyping a return that lasted a handful of matches.



Outback Jack plugs the WWF Ice Cream Bars. When that ended, Jesse was laughing hysterically at Jack trying to bite into the bar as he made fun of his lack of teeth. I laughed.



Eric Cooper & S.D. Jones vs. The Islanders w/ Bobby Heenan

Match stars with S.D. slamming Tama as we get an insert promo from the Can-Am Connection as they warn the Islanders that they will not get away after attacking them. Back to the match as Cooper is getting his ass kicked. The match breaks down as Tama backdrops S.D. to the floor then the Islanders put Cooper away with a double diving headbutt (2:35).

Thoughts: The Islanders were a better heel team. Tama was very charismatic and pulled off the cocky heel role quite well. He also appeared to gain about 15lbs since the last TV taping.



Gene Okerlund is with the Can-Am Connection, who will be facing the Islanders at the July 11th show in Boston. They are pissed over the Islanders turning on them as they used to have respect for the duo. The Can-Ams also promise the Islanders will not be laughing after what they will do to them. Promos were really not Zenk's strong suit, or Martel's for that matter.



We are shown a clip of Jesse in "The Predator."



Terry Gibbs vs. Junkyard Dog

Its JYD's first appearance on TV since WrestleMania III. Gibbs attacks JYD to start. JYD comes back with a hip toss off of a criss-cross but misses a falling headbutt then gets clotheslined. Gibbs hurts his hand punching JYD in the head and that allows JYD to fight back as we are shown an insert promo from him saying that he is back. JYD tosses Gibbs to the floor then shortly after that puts him away with a powerslam (1:43). After the match he invites several kids into the ring with him as they dance.

Thoughts: They tried pushing JYD as being bigger and faster than ever but the only thing bigger than ever was his gut. He was just awful in the ring at this point. Even the fans seemed a lot less into him and after almost three years of the same act, its not tough to figure out why. He didn't ever bother to really smile when dancing with the kids.



Okerlund is now with "The Outlaw" Ron Bass, who is cracking his whip. Bass then tells us that he sees wrestlers with partners, managers, and friends so he didnt want to have a disadvantage so he got himself a whip, named "Miss Betsy." Bass warns the "goody-goody guys that he will split them from one end to the other and there will be some changes. They gave Bass his new gimmick. I didn't mind him to be honest but he was almost 40 at this point and looked older than that so he was going to get that much of a push.



New Dream Team w/ Johnny V. vs. Scott Casey & "Leaping" Lanny Poffo

The post match promo by Poffo is about the announce team and how Jesse turns them into the three stooges and how the fans hate him, which has Vince laughing like an idiot. Match starts with Casey getting the best of Bravo as the camera shows Johnny V., who is still pissed about Brutus Beefcake cutting his hair. Casey hits Valentine with a few armdrags and hip tosses but gets stopped with an eye rake. Bravo tags back in and misses an elbow drop as Poffo tags into the match. He runs wild on the New Dream team very briefly until Valentine knees him in the back from the apron then shortly after that Bravo puts him away with a side slam (2:48).

Thoughts: The WWF debut of Casey. He would be followed by future jobbers such as Barry Horowitz and Sam Houston in the coming months. All he did here was armdrags and hip tosses. The New Dream Team just isn't working out. There is no chemistry at all between Bravo and Valentine.



Snake Pit with guests Hillbilly Jim and Little Beaver. Roberts tells Beaver he is lucky to be alive after getting elbow dropped by King Kong Bundy as Jim calls Bundy a coward and promises to go after him. Beaver tells Jim to go after Bundy in a jumbled promo. It was quite terrible, actually. Almost three months after their WrestleMania III match, Jim and Bundy resume their feud.



Ricky Steamboat tells us to "Say No To Drugs" and to get naturally high, just like himself. Okay.



WWF Intercontinental Title Match
Honky Tonk Man w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

The crowd is pumped for this match as the announcers debate whether or not Honky deserves a title push while putting over Steamboat for being a fighting champion. Steamboat starts the match by skinning-the-cat, knocking over Hart as the fans hoot and holler. Back inside, he dumps Honky to the floor then hits a back suplex when he re-enters. Steamboat hits a few chops then gets a reverse rollup for two but Honky kicks out and ends up ramming Steamboat into the corner in the process as Jesse wonders if his larynx is hurt again. Honky attacks the throat briefly but misses an elbow drop. Steamboat fights back then gets hit by Honky, who sets up for the Shake, Rattle, and Roll. Steamboat counters that with a backdrop and follows with a bunch of chops. He hits a flying chop but Hart jumps up on the apron to distract the referee. Steamboat gets off of Honky and attacks Hart then dropkicks Honky into his manager. Steamboat then puts Honky in a small package but it gets reversed as Honky grabs the rope for leverage and ends up getting the win and the title as the crowd is shocked (3:53) *1/2. After some confusion it is revealed that Honky is the winner as the crowd boos. Jesse screams about how this is a major upset, rubbing it in the face of Vince and Bruno for not believing he was worthy of a title shot.

Thoughts: Fun while it lasted, although the finish looked terrible. Honky's win was a major shock, especially when the babyface announcers, for weeks, kept on telling us that Honky was undeserving of a title shot to begin with. It worked as the announcers threw off the fans. This was the start off the longest IC Title reign in WWF history.



Silvano Sousa vs. One Man Gang w/ Slick

Gang immediately attacks Sousa and continues his assault as we get an insert promo from Gang and Slick, who puts over the Master Blaster finisher and that seeing his believing. Back to the match as Gang hits the Master Blaster then puts Sousa away with an elbow drop from the middle rope (1:31).

Thoughts: Another dominant performance from Gang, who is getting pushed up the card. This match also marked the first time I have ever heard Slick yell out his "turn out the lights, the party is over" line. I am a fan of Slick. The crowd was still in shock over the title change



Okerlund is with Mr. Fuji, asking him about Demolition, who eventually come out. Ax calls Gene "Howard" as he says its about time they got their names right then talks about listening to Fuji and destroying their opponents. Okerlund and Demolition and some decent chemistry together.



Back to the ring as the Honky Tonk Man returns to the ring, with Hart and the IC Title as he thanks the fans for their support. He also says the belt is the fans as he dances to his music. Great job at heeling the crowd.



Next week in action will be George Steele, Can-Am Connection, Killer Khan, and the Hart Foundation vs. the Killer Bees in the featured match.



Final Thoughts: This show is only memorable for the IC Title change and that was a good segment. Other than that, it was dull and showed just how little the company had going on at the time. Lots of feuds with washed-up guys were being featured. Track down the IC Title match but you could skip everything else and not miss a beat.



Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Thursday: Highspots Developmentall Speaking Shoot Interview with Brian Myers
Friday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 6/14/87
Saturday: RoH Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies 8/16/03
Tuesday: WWF Madison Square Garden 6/14/87

Comments

  1. Next week is my jump on point!


    What's with the 4 dogs in the first match?

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  2. "Tonight, our featured match will be for the Intercontinental Title as Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat defends the belt against the Honky Tonk Man"


    I got super excited the moment I read this.


    I am also a HUGE mark for "turn out the lights, the party's over". Slick was about 10 years ahead of his time. I maintain that if he and Akeem showed up during the Attitude era they would have been monster faces.

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  3. Slick was the man.

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  4. Silvano Sousa (the Lousa) was a major part of the 1970's WWWF jobber brigade. Bizarre seeing him turn up here after being completely out of sight for about 8 years.

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  5. He looked like a 70's jobber in 1987.

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  6. This was the only show that we got in Australia, apart from the Wrestlemanias. I was PSYCHED to see my fave wrestler absolutely shred HTM into little pieces. With the (botched) end of the match my mouth was just hanging open in disappointment and disbelief. After the epic battles against Savage, to lose like this....
    That was then compounded by the 1st round exit at WMIV, denying me a rematch with Savage.

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  7. I remember seeing this as it aired from the hospital as my dad was in surgery. funny how I can remember specific details on irrelevant shit (I was eating a bag of nacho cheese bugles during the ic match) but will forget to do something important.

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  8. Honky Tonk Man beating Steamboat was a shocker. I figured that HTM would start a feud with Steamboat which is how most of these featured matches go but to see HTM beat Steamboat for the title was very surprising. An unexpected surprise and a big deal.

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  9. Sousa ran a small indy in New England and probably needed some extra cash. Vince always helped out guys that worked for his father.

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  10. Man Dusty Wolfe must have done like 20 jobs at this taping.

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  11. Extremely pedantic nitpicks - Superstars was generally a morning show, not a night time one ("Tonight, our featured match..."), and Jesse's movie was called "Predator", not "The Predator".

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  12. At the Challenge tapings the next day he jobbed to Beefcake. He was a jobbing machine in late 87

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  13. I have a prepared statement. Last week I said the IC title match was the opening match. I am here to say, I was wrong about that. I'm sorry.

    I am also sorry Don Adams didn't get his revenge rematch against Kamala. Tennessee Tuxedo will not fail. I'm hoping Don Adams will get booked some revenge. Peace and chicken grease.

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  14. Trail derails near Philly. News immediately rushes to announce 'it isn't related to terrorism'. Thanks guys. Secular trains derail just as easily as any others. Morons.

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  15. A good highlight of Steamboat's DVD is him talking about it and still pretty clear he's pissed it ended like this but it was a pretty rough thing: He wanted time off to be with his kid while Vince had intended him to be a long-lasting babyface champ. The urban legend is always that it was going to be Butch Reed but he didn't show up that day so HTM was picked at random. Not sure if that's true but you have to wonder how vastly different things would have been with Reed as IC champ instead of HTM's long reign.

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  16. I cant imagine it would have been anywhere nearly as successful. Reed wasnt setting the world on fire in the WWF.

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  17. have heard in a couple Honky Tonk shoots that Vince and Hogan were talking in the hallway at the tv taping trying to decide who to give the title to right after Steamboat told Vince he was leaving... completely by chance Honky Tonk walked down the hallway and Hogan just asked Vince "What about this guy?"


    story then goes that Vince told Honky Tonk that Steamboat wanted time off at home while he needed the IC title in towns every night. first words out of Honky Tonk's mouth was that he'd never need time off and the decision was made to give him the title...

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  18. yeah Valentine's win sucked the life out of the building at WM4, even Donald Trump at ringside looks around a little since i'm sure he knew the match the fans were expecting

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  20. AverageJoeEverymanMay 13, 2015 at 7:47 AM

    HTM was cool, cocky, and bad even then.

    ReplyDelete

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