WWF Boston Garden March 8th, 1986

March 8, 1986

Your hosts are Lord Alfred Hayes and Gorilla Monsoon

Rene Goulet vs. Sivi Afi

They have dropped the whole “Superfly” deal with Afi, presumably after it was DOA when he made his TV debut. Afi shoves down Goulet, who complains about a hairpull. Goulet takes him down then they trade arm wringers until Goulet escapes to the apron. Afi works a side headlock for way too long as a few in the crowd start a boring chant. Goulet hits Afi then takes control for a bit, even choking him out on the mat. Goulet hits a clothesline for two then works a claw. This match blows by the way. Afi fights out but eats boot on a charge. Goulet gets a nearfall then goes back to the claw until Afi slams Goulet. Both men collide as the announcers hype up WrestleMania 2. Goulet is up first and lands a few punches then they trade chops. Afi rams his head off of the top turnbuckle ten times then hits an atomic drop. Afi does some sort of dance before hitting a backdrop and a flying headbutt for a nearfall. Crossbody gets two. Afi reverses an Irish whips Goulet into the corner before finishing him off with a flying body press, which looked awful (11:06) DUD.

Thoughts: Christ, this was dreadful. It was torture, actually. Two guys that no one gave a shit about in an eleven minute match is not the way to go.

Jose Luis Rivera vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts

Roberts plays around with Rivera then starts to laugh. He then goes after him and hits a gutbuster before taking him to the mat. Roberts works a side headlock as Gorilla hypes the battle royal at WrestleMania 2. Roberts takes him down with a spear-like move that Rivera takes a delayed bump for then goes back to the mat. Roberts works a headlock then hits a slam. Roberts misses a few elbow drops and that allows Rivera to work the arm. Rivera’s offense is awful. He was just a terrible wrestler. Crossbody gets two then Roberts rolls under the ropes for a breather. He then sits in the corner and keeps grabbing the ropes as Rivera has him in an arm wringer. Roberts then takes control and kills him with a short-arm clothesline. Roberts slams him then signals for a kneelift and connects. He works a sleeper for a while as the crowd starts up a boring chant. Rivera escapes then hits a clothesline. He fires away before hitting a backdrop. Roberts ducks outside and Rivera chases after him but ends up running into a kneelift then signals for and hits the DDT, getting the win (10:30) *. The crowd popped for the finish. Jake grabs his bag for the snake but the referee stopped him. The crowd wasn’t happy about that and it was a mixed reaction when they announced him as the winner.

Thoughts: Really dull stuff but the crowd was into Jake, who had yet to make his TV debut. They also wanted to see the snake. Rivera is like the Puerto Rican version of Tony Garea. He was terrible.

Donna Christiantello & Judy Martin vs. Crush Girls

The Crush Girls are Chigusa Nagayo and Lioness Asuka. Racist moment as Gorilla didn’t know which one was who then Hayes chimed in how they both looked the same to him anyway and expect to see a lot of karate. Gorilla finally gets clarification over their names as Nagayo starts out with Martin, who evades her opponent. She stalls some more then works a key lock. Nagayo kips up but gets tossed down. Christiantello tags and gets taken right down. The American girls are leery of getting into the ring and keep stalling. Asuka tags and backs off Martin with a high kick. Martin works an arm wringer but Asuka hits her with a few kicks and she bails. Martin re-enters and stalls some more, then cheapshots Asuka. She knocks her down but Asuka catches her with a sunset flip in the corner. Christiantello tags and choke out Asuka. Asuka tags out as Christiantello takes her down. They fight over a leg lock until Martin tags. She catches Nagayo off of a crossbody but Asuka dropkicks her down. Asuka then tags as Martin bails before tagging Christiantello. They trap Asuka in the corner then take turns roughing her up. Asuka fights back against Martin and takes her down. She tags Nagayo, who gets booted right down. Martin picks her up over her shoulders and drops her over the knee of Christiantello. The heels work over Nagayo until she trips up Christiantello and works a single leg crab. Martin breaks it up then they double-team Nagayo behind the backs of the referee. Martin cuts off a tag attempt in great fashion then taunts Asuka, using her partners hand. Nagayo fights back and makes the tag. Asuka runs wild on Martin. Nagayo hits an elbow drop from the second rope then locks on a sharpshooter. Martin finally makes the ropes then dodges a top rope attack by Asuka, who ends up hitting her own partner. Asuka then rips off Martin’s head with a clothesline then Martin gets double-teamed. Martin slaps down Asuka and tags Christiantello, who walks into a double dropkick. Asuka then puts Christiantello in a giant swing that would make Cesaro proud and tosses her for the win (15:33) **.

Thoughts: This was all stalling, really. It did get better at the end though.  Martin was pretty good in the ring and was a solid heel too. This match was a poor showcase of the Crush Girls, who were quite athletic in the ring. Christiantello was pretty useless.

Scott McGhee vs. Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart w/ Jimmy Hart

Neidhart shoves down McGhee a few times and gets cocky, allowing McGhee to sneak up from behind a roll him up for two. Neidhart backs him into the corner off of a test of strength but McGhee comes back with a sunset flip for two. McGhee bounces off of Anvil then gets tossed outside and on top of the table. Monsoon asks Hart why the Hart Foundation are working in singles competition as Hart said that he has to get through the Bulldogs for the belt as the Dream Team will not give them a shot. Neidhart tosses McGhee to the floor as Hart sets off the siren on his megaphone. In the ring, Neidhart overpowers McGhee, until he comes back with a suplex. McGhee hits a few European uppercuts but Neidhart catches him with a powerslam for the win (5:59) *1/4.

Thoughts: This was fine for what it was and McGhee was a solid hand in the ring and made Neidhart look good.

Brett “The Hitman” Hart w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat

Hayes said that Brett was the most improved wrestler of 1985. He then attacks Steamboat before the bell and beats him around the ring. Steamboat reverses an Irish whip and slams Brett off of turnbuckle then takes of his jacket. He chops Brett then goes towards Jimmy before hammering away on Brett. Steamboat works the arm for a few minutes as the fans chant his name. Steamboat slides underneath Brett twice then finishes off the fast-paced sequence with an armdrag. The fans loved that spot. Steamboat yells at Jimmy to shut up as he has Brett in an armbar. Brett escapes but eventually gets caught with a hiptoss and Steamboat goes back to the arm as Jimmy joins the announcers and said he is going to have a nervous breakdown due to Steamboat’s karate. Steamboat floats over on a suplex attempt then connects with a crescent kick. He then tries a backdrop but Hart turned it into a swinging neckbreaker then takes control of the match. Steamboat falls to the floor in a spot that would get booed out of the building today then after several punches, Brett brings him back into the ring with a suplex for a nearfall. Brett works a side headlock as the crowd is chanting for Steamboat. Scoop slam gets two. Steamboat comes back with a slam as both men are down. Steamboat tries a splash but Brett gets his knees up then roughs Steamboat up before sending him to the floor. Brett follows him out and slams him on the floor the goes back into the ring and taunts the fans, who boo loudly. The fans are really into this match by the way. Back inside, Brett almost puts him away with a running powerslam. He goes up top but Steamobat rolls away from an elbow drop as both men are down. Steamboat fights back, taking him down with a chop. Back suplex gets two. Steamboat hammers away on Brett in the corner and shoves the referee away when he attempts to intervene. Brett reverses an Irish whip and sends Steamboat into the referee, knocking him down. Brett then nails Steamboat with a clothesline and goes for the cover but the ref is down. He pulls him up and yells at him then after an Irish whip sequence, Hart hits a poor excuse of a crossbody on Steamboat, who uses the momentum to roll on top of Brett and get the win (15:08) ***1/2. The ending looked pretty bad.

Thoughts: Really good match with an ugly ending. Brett even showed some personality here and the crowd was really into this match. Of course, Bret was rewarded by getting passed over on a chance to wrestle Steamboat at WM2 by Hercules Hernandez. Easily the match of the night.

WWF Intercontinental Title Match

Tito Santana vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage w/ Elizabeth

Tito is livid at Savage, who stalls outside of the ring. Savage then yells at the announcers that he is the best ever and leaves to taunt the crowd. Savage continues to stall then ends up running out of the ring. After a minute, Tito chases him out and all over the place before grabbing him by the legs as he tried to go back inside. Tito wails the piss out of him and ends up knocking Savage over the guardrail. Back inside, Tito works on the leg as the crowd chants for him. Savage ends up grabbing Tito’s tights and pulling him out of the ring. Savage attacks him outside then hits the double axe handle inside the ring for two. Savage hits him with a running knee strike and a clothesline for nearfalls until Tito fights back. Tito hammers away then stomps a mud hole into Savage. Tito kills Savage with a flying forearm then drops an elbow for two. He tries to lock on the figure four but Savage escapes outside. Tito goes out after him as Savage tries to run away by going into the ring. Tito grabs him as referee Danny Davis tries to break it up. Tito tosses him across the ring and the ref rings the bell for the DQ (7:17) **3/4.

Thoughts: The heat for this was off the charts and everything that Tito did on offense was intense. Tito was great with his fiery babyface comebacks and Savage was perfect in his role as the complete prick.

Dump Matsumoto & Bull Nakano vs. Velvet McIntyre & Dawn Marie

Matsumoto & Nakano were going by the name “Devils of Japan” while wrestling for All-Japan. Matsumoto has a cool look with her entrance gear. Hayes is cracking up because Matsumoto’s name is “Dump.” McIntyre works the arm of Nakano then tags Dawn, who gets destroyed. Matsumoto tags and shoves away Dawn as the announcers make fun of her weight. McIntyre tags and Matsumoto brushes away her dropkick then uses the hairpull snapmare before running her over. Nakano tags and chokes out McIntyre for a bit. McIntyre comes back with a crossbody but Nakano gets up and takes control as Matsumoto yells from the apron. Nakano yanks Dawn into the ring by her hair then tags Matsumoto, who stands on her. Matsumoto kicks her down then splashes her after a slam for two. Matsumoto works a few submission holds on Dawn before killing her with a clothesline. Dawn still makes the tag as Velvet runs wild on Matsumoto in a clunky sequence. Bull tags and runs her over as Matsumoto screams from the apron. McIntyre is sent into the corner but floats over and ends up on Nakano’s shoulders and gets the victory roll for the win (8:27) *.

Thoughts: This sucked. The match had no flow and all of the yelling from Matsumoto grew tiresome. The announcers took a lot of shots at the Devils of Japan weight. Speaking of this team, they were better off facing the other team from Japan. They might have actually entertained the crowd that way.

Iron Mike Sharpe vs. Corporal Kirchner

Sharpe attacks Kirchner to start. Kirchner reverses an Irish whip then monkey flips him out from the corner. Kirchner hits three dropkicks on Sharpe, who rolls outside and acts stunned. Back inside, Sharpe grabs a headlock as the announcers talk about WrestleMania 2. They briefly fight over a wristlock then Sharpe hits a few shoulderblocks but ends up missing a dropkick. Sharpe takes a breather after Kirchner held his legs, teasing a groin stomp then they fight over a test of strength. Kirchner wins that battle and stomps Sharpe’s fingers. Kirchner gets a nearfall with a suplex as Sharpe got his foot on the rope. Sharpe comes back with a clothesline then chops him hard. He rams Kirchner’s head off of the turnbuckle as a “USA” chant breaks out. Kirchner gets tossed outside where Sharpe sends him into the guardrail, which tips right over. Kirchner struggles to get to his feet then Sharpe picks him up only to knock him off of the apron. In the ring, Sharpe is bothered by the crowd and Kirchner gets two off of a crossbody. He clotheslines Sharpe then gets two with a small package. Sharpe adjusts his forearm padding and tries to hit Kirchner but it gets blocked and Kirchner ends up hitting Sharpe in the head with his own forearm for the win (9:56) *1/2.

Thoughts: Sloppy but energetic and fast-paced. Kirchner wasn’t known for his grace inside of the ring. Sharpe seems to be back as a performer and would be a mainstay for the rest of the decade.

Barry O. vs. Ted Arcidi

Arcidi receives a big pop after being billed from Boston. He shoves Barry across the ring to start. Barry bounces off of Arcidi a few times as the announcers hype up Arcidi’s appearance in the WrestleMania 2 Battle Royal. Arcidi ducks a cheapshot attempt by Barry then chases him outside of the ring but gets stomped as he came back inside. Barry hits a turnbuckle smash but Arcidi reverses an Irish whip and chops him a few times. Barry quickly escapes from a bearhug but gets clotheslined down before Arcidi catches him in another bearhug for the win (3:13) ¼*.

Thoughts: Barry did 95% of the work in this match. This was designed to build up Arcidi for the Battle Royal at Mania. Arcidi was void of charisma. He made Jose Luis Rivera look like the Fonz.

Hoss & Terry Funk w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Junkyard Dog & Hulk Hogan

The crowd goes apeshit for JYD and Hogan, who is still selling the attack from Bundy on last week’s SNME with his ribs. JYD chokes out Hoss with his chain as Hogan beats on Terry. Hoss gets sent outside as Hogan rams Funk off of JYD’s head. Hoss goes back in but Terry comes in with a branding iron, causing the referee to step in between them. Terry gets his head rammed off of the turnbuckle repeatedly by JYD. Hoss tags and JYD outsmarts him on a criss-cross spot as Terry picks up his brother. Hogan is in with Hoss, who whips him into the corner but JYD runs over and prevents Hogan from hitting the turnbuckles, earning a pat on the back. Funk starts kicking things around outside and  falls down after getting caught up in the wires. In the ring, Hoss fails to slam Hogan and that leads to a spot in which Hogan keeps slamming both Hoss and Terry. The Funk’s duck out for a breather as the fans are cheering. Funk then hits Hogan with a steel chair behind the ref’s back then jabs his branding iron into his ribs. Hoss attacks the injured ribs of Hogan then tags Terry .Hogan hulks up as Terry punches him then tags JYD. He clotheslines Terry but Hoss comes in and attacks JYD and is now the legal man. Hoss hits a few European uppercuts then Terry comes in and chokes out JYD. Funk tries to cut off a tag by hitting JYD with his crawling headbutt but that doesn’t work and Hogan tags and runs wild. He knocks Hoss off of the apron and tries to take Terry off top but Hoss attacks him from behind. Terry chokes out Hogan with a string behind the ref’s back. He manages to tag JYD but the ref didn’t see that either and the Funk’s are destroying Hogan. JYD drags Hart inside the ring and the ref goes after him, allowing Terry to hang JYD. Hogan then comes in and hits Terry with a lariat and the ref turns around and counts to three (11:32) **1/4. After the match, JYD and Hogan pose in the ring and JYD grabs an oversized Hulk mask from a kid in the crowd and puts it on, copying Hogan’s poses. JYD in whiteface got a loud pop.

Thoughts: Not much in terms of wrestling but it was entertaining, mostly due to Terry. Hogan had his fun moments here too. It was a nice way to send the crowd home happy.

Final Thoughts: Decent for a house show. The Steamboat/Hart match is definitely worth seeing and the IC Title and main event matches were good. The Japanese girls did not get a chance to impress, like the Jumping Bomb Angels would over a year from when this show took place. Nothing was terrible besides the opener. One thing to notice here is the constant mention of referee Danny Davis on commentary and how he kept screwing up. They said his name a lot on the show.