WWF Championship Wrestling April 6th, 1985

April 6^th, 1985

Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon

In action this week are Tito Santana & Junkyard Dog, Ricky Steamboat, Don Muraco, and the returning British Bulldogs. Also, we will get to see a match from WrestleMania

A.J. Petruzzi & Matt Borne vs. British Bulldogs

The Bulldogs returned after a several moth absence. Borne and Dynamite go back-and-forth in a nice, fast-paced sequence. Davey and Petruzzi tag in and trade hammerlocks. Davey gets a slam and tags Dynamite, who hits a missile dropkick. He hits a snap suplex then drops an elbow. After a backbreaker he tags Davey, who grabs a side headlock. He hits a running powerslam then Borne comes in and Davey picks him up in a fireman’s carry and tags Dynamite, who climbs up top then jumps off the back of Borne and hits Petruzzi with a diving headbutt for the win (3:39). The fans went crazy for that finish.

Thoughts: The Bulldogs were unlike any other team in the WWF at the time. Dynamite also was unlike just about any other worker in the United States at the time. The Bulldogs looked great and this was an awesome way to re-introduce themselves to the WWF audience.

WWF Update with Lord Alfred Hayes. He lets us know that Paul Orndorff is pissed after what happened to him at WrestleMania. He shoots it over to Mean Gene, who tells us that Orndorff was angry at being left behind in the ring and says that he guesses he has no friends after all.

Don Muraco vs. Billy Mack

Once again, Fuji is absent. Mack has the physique you get from working out in prison. Muraco is billed as 270 lbs by McMahon. Muraco beats on Mack, targeting the neck and back. He uses a nerve hold then a slam as this match is dragging. Mack fights back but ends up running into a dropkick. Muraco hits a gordbuster then finishes him off with a tombstone (2:57).

Thoughts: A fairly dull squash but that might have been part of Muraco settling into his “beach bum” persona.

Okerlund is with Tito Santana. He says that Valentine has to use outside help or run away in order to keep his title. He then promises Valentine that he will get him back into the ring and regain his title.

Jose Luis Rivera & Aldo Marino vs. Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake w/Jimmy Hart & Luscious Johnny Valiant

The crowd starts a “Tito” chant aimed at Valentine. Rivera slams Valentine then works the arm. Valentine comes back with a clothesline and a shoulderbreaker. Beefcake tags and stomps away. Valentine hammers away behind the ref’s back from the outside. The heels use quick tags to beat on Rivera, who fights back. Marino tags in and slugs away but runs into a knee on a charge. Valentine slams Marino then tags Beefcake, who puts him away with a running knee smash (2:37).

Thoughts: An odd pairing, especially with both managers present. At this time, it was rare for a singles title holder to team up with someone else. They seemed okay together though.

Okerlund is backstage. He says we will find out what happened at WrestleMania later on but does let us know that Andre the Giant is not retired. He brings out Muraco then asks him about Fuji. He tells us that he is taking care of his harem. He then tells Okerlund that he can thank him for ruining his marriage by saying he told everyone that he was fooling around and acting crazy. Muraco tells us that darkness is spreading across the country and if untreated, the fungus runs rampant. A wacky interview.

Jim Haley vs. Ricky Steamboat

Haley attacks Steamboat from behind and gets a backdrop. Steamboat comes back with a shoulder tackle and a dropkick before working the arm. Vince shits on Haley’s physique, he has a huge gut, as he rakes the eyes of Steamboat. Haley misses a charge in the corner and Steamboat hits a back suplex before getting the win with a flying body press (3:08).

Thoughts: The crowd is becoming more receptive towards Steamboat. At this point, he needs a feud to take him to another level. That will happen soon enough.

Piper’s Pit with Big John Studd. It takes place in the locker room at MSG. They all look glum. Piper talks up Studd, who gets angry and says that Andre made a fool out of him. Studd said that he never slammed him and he should go back to France.

The Tag Team Championship match from WrestleMania is shown joined-in-progress. We see the last half of the match.

Bob Wade & Rusty Brooks vs. Tito Santana & Junkyard Dog

Tito is sporting black trunks, which was unusual for faces at the time. JYD headbutts Brooks then works the arm. He and Tito use quick tags to beat on Brooks. JYD hits his crawling headbutts then Wade tags into the match. Tito tags and knocks around both guys before working the arm of Wade. JYD tags and gives them the double noggin-knocker. Tito tags and gets worked on by both guys but fights out and tags JYD. He nails Wade with a clothesline then tags Tito, who puts him in the figure-four, getting the win (3:53). Now, after every match JYD dances with a fan and that makes Vince happy. On this occasion, JYD pulls an older lady out of the crowd and Vince goes insane, just screaming “GET DOWN GRANDMA!!!!” as he dances with her briefly.

Thoughts: Tito showed a lot of aggression out there and had a different look with the black trunks but that was about it here. The rest of the match was dull.

Okerlund is hosting the “Manager’s Forum,” with Jimmy Hart, Johnny Valiant, and Bobby Heenan. Valiant runs down the outfit of everyone, Heenan looks disgusted at him and after reviewing his shoot interview, it was clear that he hated this guy. Valiant rambles on about the Air Force and how they are cheap like Capt. Lou Albano. This goes on for way too long, Heenan makes a green card joke about Santana then said that the only thing missing at a Mexican picnic is jumper cables, and the segment ends. The gist of all this is that the managers hate and are jealous of Albano.

Bruno and Vince run down next week’s show. We will see the Women’s Title match from WrestleMania. Also, we will see King Kong Bundy, Greg Valentine, Ricky Steamboat, Big John Studd & Ken Patera, and David Sammartino. Plus, a special update on Paul Orndorff.

Final Thoughts: Well, the Bulldogs returned and looked awesome. Also, they show us some of the fallout from WrestleMania and the feuds that will be continuing. Another key thing is the status of Orndorff, who by the report given to us by Okerlund, hinted at not wanting to be aligned with Piper or Orton anymore. I thought this was a fine show overall