WWF World Championship Wrestling on TBS March 2nd, 1985

This is the first WWF show that was taped live in the TBS Studio in Atlanta. Only five shows aired live until Vince sold the timeslot to Jim Crockett. The last WWF show aired on TBS the day before WrestleMania

March 2^, 1985

 

Your hosts are Freddie Miller and Gorilla Monsoon

The show will be two hours long. Monsoon runs down the card including Greg Valentine and Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo as well as the WWF debut of Ricky Steamboat.

Mr. Wrestling II vs. Les Thornton

Gorilla immediately throws out the “this could main event any arena” line as these two take it to the mat. They go back and forth as Monsoon, doing commentary by himself, is joined by Jimmy Hart. He says that he has just signed Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart then puts over Valentine. They still go back and forth on the mat and while good from a technical standpoint, it isn’t particularly exciting, except to the several girls screaming in the front row. Hart states that Valentine has an open contract to face anyone. Thornton works a headscissors for a bit as Monsoon says that Mr. Wrestling II wants to be billed from Atlanta, GA instead of “Parts Unknown.” Mr. Wrestling II escapes and works a hammer lock as Hart continues to put over Valentine. Mr. Wrestling II works the arm for a while as Hart is now saying that this match can main event any arena in the country. Thornton gets a few near-falls with a crucifix then goes back to the headscissors. Thornton puts on a reverse chinlock then beats on Mr. Wrestling II. They battle over a gutwrench suplex and Mr. Wrestlnig II wins that but Thornton goes back to work. He uses some stiff European uppercuts. Both men collide and are down as the girls are screaming for Mr. Wrestling II. He gets up and sends Thornton to the floor with a kneelift. Mr. Wrestling II suplexes him back in but that only gets two. Thornton hits several more European uppercuts and they fight over a bridge but the time-limit has been reached (15:00) **1/2.

Thoughts: It started off dull as there was too much matwork but it ended up getting a lot better towards the end. Mr. Wrestling II was brought over when the WWF bought Georgia Championship Wrestling and relegated to the shows in the South. He left the company shortly after this match aired.

 

“Playboy” Buddy Rose vs. Hollywood Brown

Rose has a notable size advantage on Brown. Rose stalls by yelling at the fans then beats on Brown. He hits a jumping back elbow smash then stomps away. Rose pulls up Brown at the two count then continues his assault. Brown gets two off a rollup on what looked like a botched sunset flip attempt then gets tossed to the floor. Back inside, Rose hits a DDT for the win, which is called a reverse piledriver by Monsoon (3:22).

Thoughts: A dominant squash by Rose, who did not have Bobby Heenan at his side. Rose was going through a tax evasion trial at the time and wouldn't be around much longer.

 

Freddie Miller is with Jimmy Hart and Greg Valentine, who says that he has been doing much better since ridding himself of that fat slob Lou Albano. Valentine then says that he has gotten meaner and runs down the Junkyard Dog for thinking he is tough.

 

S.D. Jones vs. The Scorpion
The scorpion is a fat guy in a blue mask. They start by trading hammerlocks as the crowd is quiet. S.D. catches him in a powerslam then works a side headlock. S.D. knocks the Scorpion down, who rolls outside for a breather. Monsoon notes how Ricky Steamboat will debut tonight as S.D. gets caught with a back elbow smash. S.D. fights back and goes for the mask but is stopped. S.D takes him down and works a spinning toe hold. He takes him down with a headbutt then gets the win with a splash (5:13).

Thoughts: This was really dull and there was no need for this to last as long as it did. By showing matches like this, it was clear that Vince didn't give a fuck about the TBS show anymore.

 

Freddie Miller is with Ricky Steamboat. Ricky puts over the competition in the WWF as Miller notes how Don Muraco is also from Hawaii. Steamboat says they can both get the job done but in different ways as he puts over that he has upcoming matches with Buddy Rose.

 

Greg “The Hammer” Valentine w/Jimmy Hart vs. Ronnie Hudson

Hudson is a skinny jobber that weighs about 170 lbs. He gets slammed by Valentine to start. Valentine works the arm then beats the piss out of him. He suplexes Hudson back in the ring then  gets roughed up some more. Valentine drops an elbow from the second rope as Monsoon notes that they should stop this match. Valentine puts on a chinlock then murders Hudson with forearms. Valentine hits a reverse atomic drop then softens up the leg before putting on the figure-four, getting the victory (5:13).

Thoughts: Dominant squash by Valentine, who they have been pushing hard throughout this show.

Freddie Miller is with the Fabulous Moolah and Leilani Kai. Miller asks Kai about the controversial way she won the title. Kai puts over that she is the queen of the squared circle as Moolah runs down Wendi Richter.

Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo vs. Rene Goulet & The Demon

The champs work on Goulet to start. The Demon tags and the same thing happens to him. The Demon misses a charge in the corner and Windham slams him down. Goulet breaks up the pin and the match breaks down. The heels double-team Windham behind the ref’s back. Windham makes a blind tag and Rotundo takes control. Leg drop gets two as Goulet breks up the pin. The champs hit Demon with a double dropkick and Goulet breaks up the pin. Windham hits a powerslam and tags Rotundo, who put on a reverse chinlock then Goulet runs behind the referee’s back and breaks it up. Goulet then tags and drops an elbow for two. The heels use quick tags then Rotundo makes a blind tag. Windham hits a back suplex on the Demon. Goulet tries to grab Demon so he wot get suplexed again but that fails. Rotundo runs in and the hit the heels with a double noggin knocker and Rotundo catches the Demon with an airplane spin for the win (9:30) *.

Thoughts: The champs looked really good but again, there was no need for a squash to last almost ten minutes. This show is fucking torture.

Tony Russo vs. Ricky Steamboat

Russo is an old-time WWWF jobber who is short and pudgy. They start by fighting over a wristlock and that is won by Steamboat. He hits a slam then works a side headlock for a bit. Russo works the leg for a while. Steamboat escapes and hits a slam then sells the leg. He puts on a chinlock then gets a monkey flip. Steamboat rolls him up for two drops the knee. He chops down Russo and hits a top rope splash that gets the win (8:12).

Thoughts: Again, a painfully long match. Steamboat looked great and more athletic that 95% of the roster at the time.

Freddie Miller is with Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Sheik. They putdown the tag champs and the USA then start hitting each other in the chest several times.

Wenona Little Heart vs. Leilani Kai

Moolah  joins Monsoon on commentary. Wenona hits a few dropkicks but Kai comes back with a slam. Kai picks up Wenona with one hand and tosses her down. Wenona has a nice body I must say. Kai kicks her in the face then sidesteps a charge in the corner. Kai puts a claw on the abdomen of Wenona as Moolha goes back to the ring. Kai whiffs on a leg drop and that allows Wenona to fight back. She jumps on Kai’s back and puts on a sleeper then goes on her shoulders but Moolah pulls her down and works on her leg as Kai distracts the referee. Kai comes back with a slam and hits a splash from the middle rope for the win (6:30) *1/2.

Thoughts: Not a bad women's match. Wenona could take a shit kicking and Kai was alright in the ring so it worked out okay.

Miller is with Paul Orndorff. He tells him that the world is upset about him interfering in the Piper vs. Hogan match. Orndorff says that Mr. T will pay for sticking his “big, black greasy nose” in his business and promises that he will pay for what he did. Orndorff then proclaims himself as the best and takes pride in the fact that his opponents get carried out on a stretcher.

Rick McGraw & Chance Meyers vs. Nikolai Volkoff & Iron Sheik

Orndorff joins Gorilla at the announcer’s table as the crowd is screaming “U-S-A.” McGraw and Sheik trade moves to start as Orndorff puts himself over on commentary. McGraw gets two off a sunset flip and the Sheik is pissed. Sheik rakes the eyes and tags Volkoff. McGraw comes back with  a crossbody but Volkoff tosses him in the corner. Sheik tags and hits a gutbuster then a few suplexes. Volkoff tags and McGraw floats over on a slam attempt and gets two off a reverse rollup before tagging out. Meyers gets his ass kicked as Orndorff said he would give a guy like Meyers a shot at the title. Sheik spits on Meyers and the heels beat the shit out of him then toss him outside. Back inside, the heels continue to destroy Meyers unitl he tags out. McGraw comes back but misses a dropkick then tags Meyers again and Volkoff immediately hits him with a backbreaker. Sheik tags and applies the camel clutch shortly thereafter for the win (7:56).

Thoughts: They gave McGraw a lot more offense that I thought they would and he looked good. I have no idea why Orndorff was on commentary here but I suppose it was to give him a strong push for the not yet announced WrestleMania main event.

Miller is now with the tag-champions, Windham & Rotundo. They want Sheik & Volkoff to know that they will face them at any time.

Salvatore Bellomo vs. Paul Orndorff

Orndorff attacks Bellomo before the bell. Bellomo gets a crossbody but Orndorff catches him with  a powerslam then gets the win with a piledriver (0:43).

Thoughts: A nice, quick little squash. I also believe this was the last of Bellomo for a while until he returned the following year with his unmemorable heel run.

Monsoon and Miller wrap up the show. They run down next week which includes Tito Santana, Junkyard Dog, Greg Valentine, Brutus Beefcake, Ken Patera & Big John Studd, and Wendi Richter.

 

Final Thoughts: There was no need at all for this show to be two hours long and it was a good thing that Vince sold the rights to Crockett. The opening match was fine and Steamboat made his debut but other than that, I would avoid this show at all costs.