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WWF Championship Wrestling April 19th, 1986

April 19th, 1986

Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon

In action this week are Nikolai Volkoff & Iron Sheik, "Adorable" Adrian Adonis, Killer Bees, Hoss Funk and Randy Savage. Plus, we will see highlights from the Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania 2 and "Piper's Pit" with guests King Kong Bundy & Big John Studd





Terry Morgan & Ivan MacDonald vs. Nikolai Volkoff & Iron Sheik w/ Freddie Blassie

Macdonald looks hilarious as he tries to run and charges at the Sheik but gets clotheslined. The heels beat on MacDonald then Morgan tags and Volkoff hits him with his backbreaker. Sheik tags and sets up Morgan for the Camel Clutch and the win (3:01).

Thoughts: Although Nikolai's rendition of the Soviet National Anthem got a lot of heat, this team was descending down the card and it made sense as they were both getting older. 


WWF Update with Lord Alfred Hayes. The focus was on the celebrities who participated at WrestleMania 2 as we see clips off several of them on the show. They are even pushing the celebrities after WrestleMania.


Mario Mancini vs. “Adorable” Adrian Adonis

Adonis takes Mancini down and works the leg. He takes him down again and works a headlock as Bruno is disgusted over his leg warmers. The crowd starts a “faggot” chant then Mancini hits a pair of armdrags. Adonis takes off his bow then knocks Mancini down. He hits a neckbreaker then locks on a sleeper for the win (1:55).

Thoughts: The Adonis heel push is still going strong. I've said it before but the Poughkeepsie crowd hated him. 


Gene Okerlund is with Capt. Lou Albano. He goes insane then says that his team, the British Bulldogs, are ready and will successfully defend the Tag Team Titles against the Dream Team. The Bulldogs were fucking terrible on the mic by the way and if you ever wanted to know why they were given Albano, there is your answer. 


Killer Bees vs. Tiger Chung Lee & Joe Mirto

Blair and Lee work a sloppy sequence that ends up on the mat. Blair catches him with a drop toehold then tags Brunzell, who is wearing a cast due to a broken hand caused by Greg Valentine. Brunzell gets trapped in the opposite corner then ends up against Mirto. Mirto eats boot on a charge then Blair tags and hits a sunset flip off of the top rope for the win (2:55).

Thoughts: The Bees have been around for about a year but haven't really done much of note. They were a solid but unspectacular team. 


Mean Gene is with Ted Arcidi, who will facing Big John Studd at the Boston Garden. Gene asks Arcidi about wrestling in his home city and he says that he loves his city. Arcidi’s Boston accent is certainly present. Arcidi said that he feels like he is the “World’s Strongest Man.” Arcidi was horrendous in the ring but he started as a heel then they just decided to make him a face only to turn him heel again before he left.


Nelson Veilleux vs. Hoss Funk w/ Jimmy Hart

Hoss takes down Veilleux to start. Veilleux manages a nearfall but Hoss sends him to the floor. Back in the ring, Hoss beats Veilleux in the corner. He then hits a suplex before locking in a front facelock. Veilleux manages a cradle but Hoss comes back with a piledriver for the win (1:54). After the match, Hoss whips Veilleux with a bullrope.

Thoughts: None one cared about this match as Hoss never fit in with the WWF. It was a bad idea from day one. 


Piper’s Pit with guests Big John Studd & King Kong Bundy. They come out to make a challenge to Andre the Giant and a partner of his choice to a match next week. Piper then asks them how would they go about slamming Andre and volunteers Orton for them to use. He then as Orton volunteer to take a splash but stops them short. Interesting. 


We are shown a highlight package of the Tag Team Championship Match at WrestleMania 2. It lasts several minutes long.


Sal Gee vs. Randy “Macho Man” Savage w/ Elizabeth

Gee schoolboys Savage to start then gets another nearfall but runs into a knee on a charge and Savage takes control. He tosses Gee outside and follows him out with a double axe handle from the top rope. Back inside, Savage destroys a bouquet of flowers that someone gave to Elizabeth then knees Gee in the back. Savage tosses Gee outside again and rams him into the post before rolling him back into the ring. He beats on Gee some more before tossing him outside yet again and hitting another double axe handle. Savage then goes mental and tears up a fan's sign as other fans throw trash at him. Back in the ring, Savage softens him up until he puts him away with the flying elbow drop (3:46). After the match, Savage backs Finkel into the corner and yells at him then leaves the ring and starts yelling at the fans as he walks up the aisle.

Thoughts: Pretty long for a squash match but Savage was so damn entertaining that it was decent. The Steele feud was good because of Elizabeth but Savage feels underutilized in his role at this time. He was one of the best in the company.


Gene Okerlund is with Johnny Valiant and the Dream Team. Valiant says that his team was railroaded at WrestleMania and Beefcake claims that Boston wants to see them take the titles back.


The announcers speculate as to who Andre will select as his tag team partner next week.


Also appearing next week will be Ricky Steamboat & King Tonga, Junkyard Dog & George Steele, Jake Roberts, Hercules Hernandez, and Pedro Morales & Tito Santana.


Final Thoughts: The big thing this week was Bundy & Studd challenging Andre and a partner of his choosing to a match for next week. What actually happened is a different story. Other than that, the WWF does not have a whole lot going on in terms of feuds post Mania. They are continuing the Bulldogs/Dream Team feud but other than that, the biggest current feud is Savage vs. Steele. Overall, this was an alright show.





Comments

  1. How do you not get a god push with a name like Hoss Funk.

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  2. GIT DOWN HOSS, TIME TO GET FUNKAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

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  3. Funk Hoss? Funkhosser? Funkhauser!

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  4. All aboard the Hossssssssss Train.

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  5. GIANT GRAM (2000), BITCHES!
    Best wrestling games EVER!

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  6. I never liked that match, but I think it was just a filler like Greg Valentine vs IRS at Summer Slam 91.

    I actually liked the first half of 94. The worst time in the WWF 90s was IMO then from Survivor Series to Summer Slam 95 where every PPV just sucked.
    Series: Bob Backlund in a World Title Match?
    Rumble: Only 30 seconds intervals???
    WM: Bam Bam vs LT as Main Event? Only 7 Matches for a Wrestlemania? Cheap small arena? King Kong Bundy???
    KOTR: Everything???
    Summer Slam: Besides the HBK/Razor Match did the rest suck just like KOTR.

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  7. How do you block and ban the troll below me?

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  8. The first time I saw Big Show in person, I was like Holy Shit...

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  9. There's just something in Vince's voice that makes it fun to watch, for me. Sure, the product mainly sucked, and he knew it, but he was trying to convince you otherwise. That was kinda his job out there.

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  10. Hold that 10 for Johnny B. BadMay 26, 2014 at 6:07 AM

    I loved Onoo. He was gold in 95-96. (Without Bobby Heenan shamelessly putting him over constantly though, I'll admit not even close to as entertaining.)

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  11. Hold that 10 for Johnny B. BadMay 26, 2014 at 6:16 AM

    Agreed. Pay Punk the million to come back on commentary, and just let him do what he was doing before. Worth every penny. Every minute of the three hour Raws would improve by a factor of ten.

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  12. Yeah but Gorilla/Jesse and Gorilla/Brain were the best tandems WWF ever had.

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  13. Hold that 10 for Johnny B. BadMay 26, 2014 at 6:32 AM

    I'd put it as 3rd best from 95, but yeah, kind of a sleeper - surprisingly very good.

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  14. I liked him, too! They should have put him with a main-eventer!

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  15. Jim Ross was clearly not booker.

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  16. It sounded like fake passion, though.

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  17. Everyone says Vince is the biggest wrestling fan of all...I wonder who, truthfully, are his favourite performers and his favourite matches.

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  18. Even HBK didn't get the sustained push because business was tanking.

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  19. Yeah, Heenan really seemed like a guy just collecting a paycheck. I think the industry had passed him by as he really couldn't connect with the high level of wrestling from many of WCW's top workers.

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  20. There were internet rumours of a new Demolition back then. I was hoping so hard for a new kick-ass tag team.

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  21. That still baffles me. Like, what was the point?! Rey didn't even get a rematch!

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  22. Seriously those Bob Evams premade mashed potatoes are delicious, they will fill you up and you won't have to chew anything. So good. They're in the meat section.

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  23. Did the same thing. Made ten extra accounts to have tons of different rosters. Got a current one with WWE/TNA/ROH/Indys/Japan/Mexico and others. An 80s one, 90s, Wrestlecrap, old school (pre 80s), anime, goofy crap, women, and two other mixed ones. My friends and I love the game, we play it more then the WWE games. Love doing 8 man elimination matches or battle royals.

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  24. Summerslam 95 had under card matches like Horowitz/Candido, Waltman/Hakushi, and HHH/Holly which were decent to fun.

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  25. Was about to post the same thing. Legit doesn't add up unless USA had a change in leadership between 94-97.

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  26. "Gorilla is really counter-productive here, yelling over Owen’s interview that he’s a liar and just got lucky when he beat Bret and won the Kingship. What’s the point of cutting down your top heel?"


    And it was this moment that made Vince McMahon say to himself, "one day, I'm gonna produce my announcers so that they never sound like that ever again."


    Thanks, Gorilla.

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  27. Rumble 95: 4-star WWF title match, 2 3-star undercard title matches, and like mentioned below, who wanted 2-minute intervals for a JTTS Rumble?
    WM: 7 matches because the roster SUCKED. Did we need Bushwhackers vs. Well Dunn or Bob Holly vs. Tatanka at WrestleMania? It's still one of the worst Mania's.
    KOTR: Agreed.
    SummerSlam: Hakushi/1-2-3 Kid is a really good opener, Horowitz/Skip is good, Gunns/Blu Twins is surprisingly decent, the 5-star Ladder Match, Taker/Kama in one of the better casket matches (** is still better than the negative star ones he had with Yoko and Kamala), and Bret carried Isaac Yankem to a good match. Only negatives were a 5-minute women's match and Diesel/Mabel.

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  28. It doesn't make sense considering what they already aired. USA Up All Night wasn't exactly family programming.

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  29. ESPN 8: THE OCHO!

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  30. Endless tag teams back then. I dug the Bee's especially with the masks. The Dream Team was AWESOME, and although short-lived the Bundy/Studd tandom was EPIC they were monstrous. The Bulldogs of course are money, probably my personal favorite ever, that win at Mania 2 is what got me hooked. Even a team like Santana and Morales made sense and shudda had some legs.
    Vice really could do no wrong during this era, everything "just worked". And his roster was straight stacked......
    Savage, Piper, Studd, Bundy, Dory Funk, Shieky Baby and Volcoff, Killer Bee's and Adonis all on a throw away show. Pretty sweet.

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  31. Bow wow bow wow-wow

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  32. Great worker, but Terry got all of the charisma in the family.

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  33. Yeah, I know I'm posting a new comment on a really old topic. Anyway...

    I love the Fire Pro games, but I find it funny that the big appeal among a lot of fans is to not really play them. The AI editor is so detailed that there are online leagues devoted to creating wrestlers and having them compete in simulated matches. Frankly, I wish the WWE 2K series would incorporate an AI editor even half as detailed as the Fire Pro one.

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