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WWF Wrestling Challenge July 19th, 1987

July 19. 1987

From the Louisville Gardens in Louisville, KY

Your hosts are Bobby Heenan (holding a video tape that he says contains TV footage of Bam Bam Bigelow) and Gorilla Monsoon.

In action this week will be Jake Roberts, Kamala & Sika, Can-Am Connection, and Randy Savage.




Sonny Rogers & "Leaping" Lanny Poffo vs. Kamala & Sika w/ Mr. Fuji

Poffo's pre-match promo is about Bobby Heenan and his struggles with Ken Patera. Match starts with Kamala tossing around Poffo, who briefly fights back only to get taken down with a thrust kick. Rogers tags as Sika beats him down. Sika hits the Samoan drop as Mr. Fuji is shown in an insert promo saying he specializes in big men like Bam Bam Bigelow as he promises to be his manager. That gets Heenan all worked up then Kamala tags and finishes Rogers off with a splash (1:22).

Thoughts: The point of this was to further along the "who will manage" Bam Bam Bigelow storyline. Kamala & Sika were past the point of usefulness here and Kamala would be done with the company in several weeks.



Craig DeGeorge talks about Danny Davis as we see clips of him and his dubious officiating. It was the same thing they showed on "Superstars of Wrestling."



Scott Casey vs. Honky Tonk Man w/ Jimmy Hart

Match starts with Casey in control as we get an insert promo from Hart telling all the other managers to back off as he is signing Bam Bam Bigelow. Casey hits a slam but Honky gets his knees up on a splash attempt as Heenan goes off on Hart. Honky rams Casey in the stomach as Gorilla talks about Honky visiting Graceland, which was detailed in WWF Magazine. Casey fights back but Honky elbows him in the back of the neck then hits the Shake, Rattle, and Roll for the win (2:13).

Thoughts: They pushed Honky a bit on commentary but again, most of this was about hyping Bam Bam Bigelow.



Gene Okerlund is with the Junkyard Dog, who talks about coming from the Mid South area to the WWF and how he started having bad luck lately so he talked to his grandma, who told him to go to his closet and grab his old chain. Gene talks about his new golf clubs as JYD rambles on and on about nothing.



We get a replay of the Million Dollar Man where he pays off the pool manager to kick out the kids so he can have it all for himself.



Can-Am Connection vs. The Shadows

Martel takes Shadow #1 down with a headscissors as the Can-Ams are shown in an insert promo saying they are going to take care of the Islanders before challenging for the titles. The Shadows take control of the match as they work over Martel while the announcers talk about the Million Dollar Man. The crowd rallies behind Martel, who kicks Shadow #1 after he ducked his head on a backdrop attempt then makes the tag. Zenk runs wild then the match breaks down as #2 gets dropkicked over the top rope then Zenk hits #1 with an atomic drop as Martel hits a crossbody for a win (4:11).

Thoughts: They put over the Can-Ams a lot here but this would end up being Zenk's last televised match with the company.



Okerlund is with Tito Santana, who does not care for Ted DiBiase trying to buy his way to the top of the WWF and that you have to earn the title here. Tito then believes Mr. T will do an honest job as the enforcer as he states he wants a shot at the Honky Tonk Man before screaming "arriba!." Looks like they are starting to give Tito something to do here instead of waste away in six-man tags.



A clip of Brutus Beefcake cutting off some of Greg Valentine's hair from this past episode of "Superstars of Wrestling."



Jerry Allen & Jim Powers vs. New Dream Team w/ Johnny V.

Powers works over the arm of Bravo to start. Allen tags but gets backed into the corner as we get an insert promo from Johnny V. as he claims to have the inside track at managing Bam Bam Bigelow because of his "grandma's cooking." Valentine beats on Allen as Heenan proclaims that all the managers are jealous of him as in college he had all the girls and the nice cars. Bravo hits Powers with a back suplex then an inverted atomic drop but misses an elbow drop as Allen tags. Bravo dodges a dropkick then hits a side slam before tagging Valentine, who gets the win with the figure four (3:25). Valentine refuses to break the hold as Johnny V. distracts the ref. Bravo tosses Powers to the floor as they finally stop the attack.

Thoughts: More Bam Bam Bigelow drama here as Johnny V. throws his name into the hat. The New Dream Team sucked and really never got over at all as heels. They were only useful as fodder for Beefcake.



DeGeorge is with "The Outlaw" Ron Bass. He asks Bass about his whip, Miss Betsy,  as Bass tells us that Miss Betsy is here and warns Tito Santana and even Hulk Hogan about her.



Jake "The Snake" Roberts vs. Dusty Wolfe

Wolfe briefly works the arm until Jake brushes him away. Wolfe gets tossed outside then Jake sends him out again with a clothesline. Wolfe finally gets up and Jake hits the DDT for the win (1:29). After the match Jake wraps the snake around Wolfe's neck.

Thoughts: Jake looked rough with Wolfe in the ring. He beat the shit out of him.



We now see Heenan's footage of Bam Bam Bigelow, which was the same exact clip Jimmy Hart showed us on "Superstars of Wrestling." Gorilla tells Heenan that clip doesn't prove anything about him managing Bam Bam.



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

The crowd is cheering Savage here. Gorilla asks Heenan if he has anything to prove that he manages Bam Bam as the two guys in the ring lockup. Afi hits a hurricarana and a slam but misses a splash from the top rope. Savage tosses Afi to the floor and follows out with a top rope double axe handle. Back inside, Savage chokes out Afi against the ropes then hits a knee drop for a nearfall as Savage pulled him up. Savage then slams Afi then climbs up top and hits the flying elbow smash for the win (2:17).

Thoughts: The crowd treated Savage like a total face here, with Gorilla even being complimentary towards him. Another thing to note was how often Gorilla mentioned that Elizabeth looked worried.



Okerlund is with Mr. Fuji. He asks him about Demolition as Fuji holds an extension cord as he claims to train them by plugging it in as Demolition comes out, sporting new face paint, and tells us that they break bones while Fuji is laughing in the background. Demolition then plays with the cord and make electrical puns as Fuji is cracking up. Okerlund then asks them if the cord means that they are on the "juice" while they laugh. Funny stuff here and it seemed to have a lot of inside references.



Next week in action will be Ken Patera, Demolition, George Steele, and Killer Khan.



Final Thoughts: They are really pushing the newcomers like Bam Bam and DiBiase and its a good thing as the top of the card is lacking at the moment. The Can-Am push was for nothing as Zenk quit, which put a wrench in their hot feud they had with the Islanders. Plus, the Savage face turn was ever so slowly starting out here, with the announcers dropping subtle hints. It was a slow time still but they were putting the pieces in place to get the product going again.




Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Thursday: RF Video Shoot with Greg Valentine
Friday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 7/25/87
Saturday: RoH Glory By Honor II 9/20/03
Sunday: WWF Madison Square Garden 7/25/87
Tuesday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 7/26/87

Comments

  1. Was the Demos new paint, their standard paint we'd come to expect for the next 3 years?

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  2. Brubaker on Cap is amazing. The whole run.

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  3. It wasn't but I was a lot better than Ax's black and purple face paint job. They both had black paint and it did not cover their whole faces either. I liked the look

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  4. Started watching in '89, so grew up with Ax's red and silver, and Smash's what would become standard design. I was such a mark for Demolition as a kid. Maybe not in my top 5 teams anymore, but still top 10.

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  5. "Okerlund then asks them if the cord means that they are on the "juice"

    LOL. My word, that sounds like the funniest promo Fuji or the Demos ever participated in.

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  6. I'm trying to find it on YouTube but no luck.

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  7. Demolition was awesome
    they deserve to be remembered better what the WWE does now

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  8. AverageJoeEverymanJune 9, 2015 at 7:41 PM

    Totally turned the character around. Everybody had an idea how cool Cap could be, this showed it.

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  9. I'm looking for a censored version of Patera's shoots.

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  10. AverageJoeEverymanJune 9, 2015 at 10:38 PM

    It's crazy that the WWF version of the Road Warriors who they created, let dominate the best tag division ever for 3 years, had one of the best theme songs ever, and was actually better in the ring is treated as "those wannabes" by the same company. It's cool to give the LOD their due as draws and innovators, but at the expense of the Demos is awful.

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  11. The Demos calling the LOD copycats for wearing face paint and spikes was fun too.

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  12. Isn't there bad blood between the WWE and Ax?

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