WWF Championship Wrestling August 24th, 1985

August 24, 1985

Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon

In action tonight are the Killer Bees, Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff, and Tony Atlas & George Wells. Also, Randy Savage will choose his manager, with Bruno thinking it will be Jimmy Hart and Vince guessing Freddie Blassie. Plus, Terry Funk will be on Piper’s Pit.

Barry O. & Rusty Brooks vs. Killer Bees

Blair uses his speed to elude Brooks. He hits a flying forearm before tagging Brunzell. Brooks rakes the eyes and tags Barry. They trade arm wringers and slams until Blair tags. He hits a flying elbow smash and the Bees work the arm of Barry, who is able to tag Brooks. Brunzell hits him with a flying knee smash, landing right on top of him when he landed, getting two. Brunzell then slams Brooks and Blair finishes him off with a sitdown splash from the top rope (3:57).

Thoughts: Decent action. The Bees were really good as a team in the ring. In terms of charisma, not that much but there have been a lot worse than them in that department.

WWF Update with Lord Alfred Hayes. The subjects for this week are Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo. They show a clip of them winning the tag titles. The day this show aired, Windham & Rotundo lost the belts to the Dream Team at the Philadelphia Spectrum. I will be reviewing that house show next.

Pedro Morales vs. A.J. Petruzzi

Morales slams Petruzzi, who rolls outside for a breather. Mr. Fuji joins the booth and states his case for winning the “Manager of the Year” award. He says he should win because he is great. Morales slingshots Petruzzi back into the ring, who begs for mercy in the corner. Morales is incredibly lazy here by the way. He sends Petruzzi back outside with some forearm smashes. Back inside, Morales hits a backdrop then puts him away with the Boston Crab (3:09). Loud chants for Pedro after the match.

Thoughts: Most of the focus was on Fuji stating his case for the “Manager of the Year” award. The match was dreadful but the fans still dug Pedro in the Northeast.

Gene Okerlund runs down the September 7^th show at the Boston Garden. Hulk Hogan comes out and says that he has “traveled miles to deal with piles of trials” before running down King Kong Bundy not only for being ignorant but also for not saying his prayers of taking his vitamins.

Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff w/ Freddie Blassie vs. Keith & Al Diamond

Volkoff kicks one of the Diamond’s (the announcers couldn’t even identify them) from behind. He beats the piss out of him before tagging the Sheik. He continues the assault then throws him in the opposite corner. The other Diamond tags in and gets suplexed before submitting to the Camel Clutch (1:55). After the match, the jobbers get tossed to the floor.

Thoughts: The heels were ultra-aggressive as they are still angry over losing the belts.

Mean Gene is now with Corporal Kirchner. He talks to Gene about never quitting and going all the way. Kirchner was not very good on the microphone.

Susan Starr vs. Spider Lady w/Fabulous Moolah

Starr kicks the Spider Lady away after she attempted a leg lock. Starr then goes to work on the arm as Moolah is up on the apron. The Spider Lady takes control with an elbow smash as Vince tells us that Savage will surprise everyone with his choice as manager because it is not someone we are familiar with .Moolah chokes out Starr behind the referee’s back then Spider Lady puts her away with a powerslam (2:44).

Thoughts: I don’t know who played the Spider Lady this time (Judy Martin?) but several different woman played her at this time. It was her debut on Championship Wrestling.

Piper’s Pit with guest Terry Funk. He talks about JYD, calling him a clown and a buffoon. Funk then does an impersonation of a cattle getting branded before he and Piper call JYD a “jackass.” Funk ends the segment by spitting tobacco onto the camera lens. This was pretty funny, actually.

Tony Atlas & George Wells vs. Bolo & John Rizzo

Wells knocks down Rizzo, who immediately tags out. Atlas tags and goes to work on Bolo, who bails after Atlas attempts to remove his mask. The faces go to work on Rizzo until Wells gets the win with a flying shoulder tackle (2:36). After the match, Atlas is shown hugging fans at ringside.

Thoughts: This was pretty bad, actually. Wells & Atlas showed absolutely nothing as a team. It was like they hated each other the way they acted as a team. Atlas would flame out soon enough due to drugs.

Hillbilly Jim gives us a PSA, telling us to always listen to our parents.

Jim Young vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage

All of the active heel managers in the WWF are at ringside. Macho beats the piss out of Young before throwing him to the floor. He follows out with a double ax handle then rolls him back inside. He hits a delayed vertical suplex before putting him away with the flying elbow drop (1:46). After the match, he tosses Young back to the floor. Savage grabs the mic and tells us this is the big day and thanks all of the managers for their consideration, giving them compliments in the process, before announcing his new manager. He says they are right behind the door and it opens to reveal a smiling young woman, who has the crowd whistling and Vince going out of his mind. Savage doesn’t reveal her name as the announcers refer to her as a mystery lady.

Thoughts: At the time, I am sure this was a shock. For those who hadn’t figured out, this was the debut of Miss Elizabeth. I wonder how this angle, with all of the hype only to debut an unknown hot woman, would have gotten over today, in the day and age of needing immediate gratification?

Gene Okerlund is with Pedro Morales. He tortures us with a boring interview. Then speaks in Spanish at the request of Mean Gene. Even in his promos, it was clear that Morales didn’t give a fuck at this point in his career.

Bruno and Vince close the show by discussing the Macho Man’s choice of manager. Vince also lets us know that next week, Corporal Kirchner will be making his debut.

Final Thoughts: The theme of the show was finding out who was going to become the manager of Savage. The decision of the beautiful young woman was a shock to the crowd and I assume everyone at home too. You just didn’t see woman who looked like that in wrestling back then. The rest of the matches were basically meaningless but Piper’s Pit was entertaining at least.