Skip to main content

WWF Wrestling Challenge June 7th, 1987

June 7, 1987

From the Sports Arena in San Diego, CA

Your hosts are Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon

In action tonight will be the Honky Tonk Man, Hercules, George "The Animal" Steele, and "Macho Man" Randy Savage





Jerry Allen vs. Honky Tonk Man w/ Jimmy Hart

Before the match, Phillips lets the crowd know that the DDT will not be banned, causing Honky and Hart to flip out. Allen then attacks Honky and takes him down with a dropkick. He tries another one but Honky pulls up on the ropes then goes to work. He clotheslines Allen down and hammers away until getting the win with the Shake, Rattle, and Roll (1:34). After the match, Honky plays guitar for the crowd, who respond by pelting him with garbage.

Thoughts: Honky is probably the hottest heel on WWF TV at this point and time. The crowd hated him and the Honky/Hart pairing was money. Those two together were heat magnets. 




Wrestler's Rebuttal with the Hart Foundation, who dismiss the rumors that they are hiding behind the Tag Team Titles. Both guys let us know that they will defend the belts anywhere at anytime then close out the segment by starting a "we're not afraid" chant. This was truly a great heel team and firing on all cylinders in 1987.



Replay of the Can-Am Connection vs. Islanders match from the 5/30/87 edition of Superstars. This is when the Islanders turned heel and aligned with Bobby Heenan.



Gene Okerlund is with Ken Patera, who cuts an awful promo about Heenan saying stuff about his family and how he will get his revenge on him. Patera seemed like he was reading off of a teleprompter here and barely showed any emotion. His face turn and push continues to flop.



Jerry Monti vs. Hercules w/ Bobby Heenan

Johnny V. has replaced Heenan in the booth. He seems hammered tonight. Hercules beats the piss out of Monti then gets shown in an insert promo talking about his strength as he puts Monti away with a full nelson (0:31).

Thoughts: No mention of Haynes on commentary as they are phasing away from that feud.



Okerlund is with Jim Powers & Paul Roma. They both talk about being a young and up-and-coming team and in the process come off as two guys just happy to be wrestling and not guys you would ever take seriously.



Clips of the George "The Animal" Steele vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage lumberjack match from "Saturday Night's Main Event" are shown, with Danny Davis whacking Steele with the timekeeper's bell.



Rudy Ryder vs. George "The Animal" Steele

Ryder was referred to as "Buddy" previously. Steele goes right after Ryder and tosses him through the ropes. He beats on Ryder some more as we get an insert promo from Davis, telling us he is afraid of no man or beast and how Steele is in the middle of the two. Davis's smug look was priceless here. Steele then puts Ryder away with the flying hammerlock (0:40). After the match, Steele tosses Ryder to the floor then takes down the referee, who is able to escape.

Thoughts: Designed, along with the previous segment, to push a Steele/Davis feud.



Craig DeGeorge is with the One Man Gang and Slick. They put over Gang's finisher, the Master Blaster, as Slick says that Gang is so scary that he is even afraid of him. Gang tells us that his hobby is beating people up. A decent segment to put over Gang as a monster. He had a good look.



New Dream Team w/ Johnny V. vs. Jim Powers & Paul Roma

Roma catches Bravo with a hiptoss and a dropkick as we get an insert promo from the Rougeaus, telling the New Dream Team will be where ever they are. Back to the match as Bravo takes control. Valentine tags in and hits a suplex as the announcers hype the IC Title match next week. The New Dream work over Roma, using quick tags, until Roma dodges an attack and tags Powers. Valentine goes after Powers, who fights back. Johnny V. is  on the apron and distracts the ref as Bravo clotheslines Powers from the apron after he attempted a reverse rollup then Valentine drops an elbow for the win (4:21).

Thoughts: Nowhere near as competitive as the past several Roma & Powers tag matches on TV. The New Dream Team really do suck though. No wonder these two were split up soon afterwards as there was zero chemistry here.



Another replay of Superstar Billy Graham's comeback piece.



Bill Anderson vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage w/ Elizabeth

Anderson shocks Savage with a takedown to start. Savage attacks him then hits a suplex. He tosses him outside and follows out with a double axe handle from the top rope. Back inside, Savage hits a gutwrench then shortly after that puts him away with a flying elbow smash and covers him with one foot  (2:31).

Thoughts: Savage got a decent amount of cheers after dropping the elbow. Him going mental since losing the IC Title has been fun.



Okerlund is with Mr. Fuji and asks him about his guys until Kamala, Sika, and Kimchee come out. Okerlund tries to interview as Fuji tells us it is lunch time for them as they leave. A goofy promo to put over the least impressive tag team in Fuji's stable.



Next week, the IC Title match between Ricky Steamboat and Honky Tonk Man will be shown.



Final Thoughts: The WWF is still trying to come up with new feuds since WrestleMania III ended but they are not very successful. And the firing of Duggan and Sheik killed their hottest TV program, which meant more of the Patera vs. Heenan Family stuff that was failing. The one positive thing going on was with the tag team division as they had several teams considered in the running for the #1 contender and a majority of them looked strong. But the next few months of the WWF would remain stagnant until several newcomers came in and they would shape up the WWF for the rest of the decade.




Tuesday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 6/13/87
Thursday: Shoot Interview TBD
Friday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 6/14/87
Saturday: Ring of Honor Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies 8/16/03

Comments

  1. Newcomers= Warrior, Rude, Demolition, Bad News?

    ReplyDelete
  2. And the biggest one of all, at least short-term: DiBiase.


    Also the return of Andre, who had been gone from sight. WM3 was initially projected to be his final match.

    ReplyDelete
  3. DiBiase, Bam Bam, Rude, Warrior,

    ReplyDelete
  4. Belee_Matt!_INDEED!!!May 11, 2015 at 5:32 AM

    When I was 7, I thought his name was Craig THE George.


    True story.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Fat, Ugly Inner-City SweathogMay 11, 2015 at 6:45 AM

    I wonder at what specific point the decided they were going to make mega-heel Randy Savage into the World Champion by the next Wrestlemania

    ReplyDelete
  6. Fat, Ugly Inner-City SweathogMay 11, 2015 at 6:48 AM

    Bigelow should have stuck around in '88. Probably could have had a nice run as the token "betrays his buddy Hulk Hogan" heel.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment