WWF Championship Wrestling: June 22nd, 1985

June 22, 1985

Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon

Matt Borne vs. Paul Orndorff

Before the match, Borne gets on the mic and claims that he will collect the bounty. Borne lands a cheapshot off of a clean break but Orndorff fights right back. He beats the shit out of Borne until he is stopped by an eye rake. Orndorff kills Borne with a clothesline before putting him away with the piledriver (1:50). After the match, Heenan is seen in the back of the arena. Orndorff then grabs the mic and wants Heenan to come into the ring. Heenan is pissed as the crowd starts up a “weasel” chant, then he retreats to the back.

Thoughts: Heenan's bounty on Orndorff has been a pretty good angle. The crowd absolutely loathes Heenan too so that helps out a lot. Still, the Orndorff turn has been a success at the start.  

WWF Update with Lord Alfred Hayes, who lets us know that the WWF has just signed Terry Funk to a contract. We are then shown a vignette of Funk on his horse as he talks about his neighbor told him that Steamboat and Hogan have bigger muscles but that he has heart and the talk about muscles pisses him off as he spits on the ground.

Brett Hart & Jim Neidhart w/Jimmy Hart vs. Tony Garea & Jim Powers

Garea and Neidhart go back and forth until Hart tags. Garea shoves him in his corner then tags Powers. He backdrops Hart then follows that with a dropkick. He tries another backdrop but Hart kicks him in the face. Neidhart beats on Powers for a minute until they put him away with the Hart Attack (2:09).

Thoughts: Dull squash match, even if it was just over two minutes long. Anything involving Tony Garea is usually terrible though. The team of Bret & Neidhart are struggling to get over as heels, even with Hart as their manager.

Freddie Miller is with Hulk Hogan, promoting his match at the Boston Garden. His head is all bandaged up as Hogan tells Studd that he is never going to give up and that all of the Hulkamaniacs hang out in Boston.

Gary Starr vs. The Missing Link w/Bobby Heenan

Link rams Starr’s head off of the turnbuckle repeatedly. He then chokes him out on the mat and delivers a few headbutts, busting open his own head in the process. He then leaps off of the middle turnbuckle with a flying headbutt for the win (2:27). After the match, Heenan has to control Link from smashing his own head off of the turnbuckle.

Thoughts: The Link gimmick is still too similar to what George Steele was doing and all of his matches consisted of headbutts. Plus, the crowd bought into Steele and they do not feel the same way about Link.

Jack Reynolds is with Big John Studd. He talks about his match against Hogan in Boston while holding the bag that contains Andre’s hair. Studd said he can bench 700lbs and that Hogan has to look up at him, the biggest man in the WWF.

Doc Butler & A.J. Petruzzi vs. Ivan Putski & Tony Atlas

Finkel brings up that Atlas has been named “Mr. Universe.” Petruzzi tries to attack Putski from behind but that plan fails. The faces take turns headlocking Petruzzi before Butler tags. Atlas puts him in a headlock then tags Putski, who hits the Polish Hammer for the win (2:46).

Thoughts: Another dull tag squash. The seemed to be trying to do something with Atlas but his problems around this time are well documented and he was never very good in the ring to begin with. He and Putski had no chemistry to speak of either.

Piper’s Pit with guest host Bobby Heenan. His guest is Big John Studd but first, Heenan announces that Piper will be returning next week. Studd says that he is going to collect the $25,000 bounty on Orndorff and that no one embarrasses the Heenan Family. Heenan then says that everyone is in the running for the $25,000 bounty.

Johnny Rodz vs. Ricky Steamboat

Rodz ducks outside after Steamboat does some of his martial arts poses. He comes back in and rakes the eyes and takes control. Steamboat chops him back but misses a corner charge. Rodz chops him on the apron but misses a flying attack. Steamboat hits a chop off of the top rope but Rodz gets his knees up on a splash attempt. Rodz hits a top rope elbow smash then a slam. He hits a flying headbutt but misses a splash. Steamboat hits a chop then gets the win with a flying body press (3:17).

Thoughts: Decent enough action, even with Steamboat's martial arts gimmick

A plug for the WrestleMania home video airs, with Jesse Ventura doing the voice over.

Iron Sheik w/Freddie Blassie vs. Mike Rotundo w/Capt. Lou Albano

The crowd is jacked up for this match. They take it on the mat to start, with neither guy able to gain the advantage. Rotundo grabs a side headlock as the crowd starts an “Iran sucks” chant. Rotundo hip tosses the Sheik then hits a slam. They go back to the mat until Rotundo sends the Sheik over the top rope with an atomic drop. Back in the ring, Rotundo catches the Sheik with an airplane spin but Nikolai Volkoff runs in and breaks up the pin as the match is ruled a DQ (3:37). The heels beat on Rotundo until George Steele runs in for the save as the heels flee to the back.

Thoughts: No idea where Windham was for this but it certainly sets up for a title match down the line. The heat for this match was incredible too.  

Jack Reynolds is with Jimmy Hart. He talks about the Junkyard Dog dumping water on him during “Tuesday Night Titans” and we are shown a clip of that happening. A running gag on TNT was Hart playing pranks on Hayes. Valentine comes out and says that JYD made a joke out of him and Hart and is ready to take out all of his anger.

Vince and Bruno recap the show then get cut off by Rotundo. He promises that Barry Windham will be back next week and that he is sick and tired of Sheik & Volkoff cheating and issue a challenge, stating they will face them at any time or place. 

Final Thoughts: This show was jsut okay. The heated up the tag-title feud and furthered the Bounty Angle on Orndorff. The wrestling was duller than usual though, featuring makeshift teams and newcomers who are struggling to get over. Studd and Hogan also is a bit stale, considering it was being down at the end of 1984, so the World Title picture needs to freshen up.