April 5, 1986
Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon
This is the final show before WrestleMania 2. In action tonight are Hillbilly Jim & Uncle Elmer, Adrian Adonis, and Don Muraco. Plus, special interviews from Mr. T and Hulk Hogan and a lot more.
Lord Alfred Hayes once again lists of all the celebrities that will be appearing at WrestleMania 2. Tommy Lasorda is the newest celebrity that has been announced and will be the ring announcer for the King Kong Bundy vs. Hulk Hogan match.
Chuck Simpson & Al Navarro vs. Hillbilly Jim & Uncle Elmer
Elmer appears to be struggling just to walk around the ring and slap hands with the fans. Simpson fails to slam Jim then gets slammed himself as the announcers talk about the WrestleMania Battle Royal. We get a Cab Calloway insert promo as Jim clotheslines Navarro then tags Elmer, who gets the win with a leg drop (2:06).
Thoughts: A quick match that put over the hillbillies a bit for their WrestleMania matches. Elmer looked worse than ever here. He could barely walk.
Gene Okerlund is with William "Refridgerator" Perry, who puts over the Battle Royal. He mentions that he might have a new career if he wins the match.
Ivan MacDonald vs. Don Muraco w/ Mr. Fuji
Muraco looks motivted tonight as he beats the piss out of MacDonald. He tosses him outside as we get an insert promo from Darryl Dawkins, who says that wrestling is his passion. Not a bad promo, actually. Muraco continues his assault as Vince and Bruno discuss all of the celebrities in attendance then he finally puts away MacDonald with the tombstone piledriver (2:59).
Thoughts: Muraco looked pretty good in the ring. He was really entering the downside of his career though.
Gene Okerlund is with Randy Savage and he yells about how Elizabeth will be there, even though she is not here tonight.
A.J. Petruzzi & Steve Lombardi & Danny Spivey & Corporal Kirchner
Spivey starts by catching Lombardi with a hiptoss and a slam. Petruzzi tags and Spivey armdrags him then works an armbar. Kirchner tags and wins a slugfest with Petruzzi then monkey flips him out of the corner. Lombardi tags as Cathy Lee Crosby is shown in an insert promo talking about how she wants Refridgerator Perry to eliminate Big John Studd from the Battle Royal. Spivey tags and they use a double suplex on Petruzzi then for some reason Kirchner stays in the ring and hits a Samoan drop for the win (3:03).
Thoughts: The team of Kirchner & Spivey was amateur-hour stuff. They were both pretty terrible. Spivey was starting to be referred to as the "Golden Boy" at this point too but was really just floundering.
Mean Gene talks with Paul Orndorff, who says that Don Muraco helped hurt his friend, Hulk Hogan, and will beat him at WrestleMania 2. He leaves and the Dream Team appears as Valiant talks about the stipulation of their WrestleMania match against the British Bulldogs and how it doesnt matter if there is a 1,000 referees because they will still win anyway.
Nelson Veilleux vs. "Adorable" Adrian Adonis w/ Jimmy Hart
Adonis tones up his flamboyance as Hart sprays him with perfume before the match. He also comes out to "You're so Vain" as his entrance music. He works the arm of Veilleux as we get an insert promo of Elvira. Adonis then puts him in a sleeper (the not yet named Good Night Irene) and gets the win (2:18). After the match, Adonis beats the shit out of Veilluex.
Thoughts: Adonis is becoming more flamboyant and as that happens, he is getting more of a push. The crowd hated him.
Piper's Pit from Joe Frazier's Gym. He looks around for Frazier and sees him then asks how he has been training Mr. T for the fight. Frazier shows him a heavy bag with a kilt taped to the bottom. Frazier then whips a medicine into his chest a few times as Piper tries to brush off the pain and tells Frazier that Mr. T better be ready for their fight. Not a bad segment but I would not classify this as memorable or anything.
Mean Gene introduces another video package about the battle royal with the football players on whether or not they are worried they will not be able to extend their football careers after the match. Russ Francis talked about his dad promoting in Hawaii and having wrestled Lou Thesz and Bruno Sammartino. Hillbilly Jim said he will win because he was trained by Hulk Hogan. Jim Brunzell looked like he was coked up during his promo. Bret Hart says that when he and the Anvil win the Battle Royal money, they will buy a house with a pool and invite over a ton of girls, because that is what they want. They were billing this as a prize of $100,000.
Don Driggers & "Leaping" Lanny Poffo vs. Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff w/ Freddie Blassie
Poffo's post-match poem was about WrestleMania 2. I was touched. A fan in the crowd held up a sign that suggested Volkoff enter a "hog calling" contest. It's the wit that Poughkeepsie was famous for. The heels destroy Poffo as an insert promo of Lasorda is shown. Driggers tags then Volkoff hits a backbreaker then tags the Sheik, who finishes him off with the Camel Clutch (1:22). Sheik poses after the match as Vince talks about the football players that have entered the battle royal.
Thoughts: Just a brief squash to make the heels look decent for their WrestleMania matches.
Gene Okerlund runs down the WrestleMania card then shows us his interview with Hulk Hogan's doctor, who said that he is concerned about Hogan's condition and still needs 3-4 weeks of recovery. He also worries about his back and a possible herniated disk and despite multiple attempts to talk him out of the match, Hogan insists that he wrestle. We are back to the interview stage as Hogan appears and says that he is glad it has come to the cage match as he will come out to the ring "wired out of his mind" from "praying and taking his vitamins" then will take Bundy's pride and beat him down. The wired out of his mind line was awesome.
Next week, we will have a report from WrestleMania 2.
Final Thoughts: I actually thought last week's show did a better job hyping the show but this still a good job. Again, the overabundance of celebrity segments were grating and the Battle Royal interview segment went on for far too long. Even still, they put over the top matches strong and everything else was fine so it was a decent show overall. The WrestleMania 2 review will be posted on Tuesday night.
Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon
This is the final show before WrestleMania 2. In action tonight are Hillbilly Jim & Uncle Elmer, Adrian Adonis, and Don Muraco. Plus, special interviews from Mr. T and Hulk Hogan and a lot more.
Lord Alfred Hayes once again lists of all the celebrities that will be appearing at WrestleMania 2. Tommy Lasorda is the newest celebrity that has been announced and will be the ring announcer for the King Kong Bundy vs. Hulk Hogan match.
Chuck Simpson & Al Navarro vs. Hillbilly Jim & Uncle Elmer
Elmer appears to be struggling just to walk around the ring and slap hands with the fans. Simpson fails to slam Jim then gets slammed himself as the announcers talk about the WrestleMania Battle Royal. We get a Cab Calloway insert promo as Jim clotheslines Navarro then tags Elmer, who gets the win with a leg drop (2:06).
Thoughts: A quick match that put over the hillbillies a bit for their WrestleMania matches. Elmer looked worse than ever here. He could barely walk.
Gene Okerlund is with William "Refridgerator" Perry, who puts over the Battle Royal. He mentions that he might have a new career if he wins the match.
Ivan MacDonald vs. Don Muraco w/ Mr. Fuji
Muraco looks motivted tonight as he beats the piss out of MacDonald. He tosses him outside as we get an insert promo from Darryl Dawkins, who says that wrestling is his passion. Not a bad promo, actually. Muraco continues his assault as Vince and Bruno discuss all of the celebrities in attendance then he finally puts away MacDonald with the tombstone piledriver (2:59).
Thoughts: Muraco looked pretty good in the ring. He was really entering the downside of his career though.
Gene Okerlund is with Randy Savage and he yells about how Elizabeth will be there, even though she is not here tonight.
A.J. Petruzzi & Steve Lombardi & Danny Spivey & Corporal Kirchner
Spivey starts by catching Lombardi with a hiptoss and a slam. Petruzzi tags and Spivey armdrags him then works an armbar. Kirchner tags and wins a slugfest with Petruzzi then monkey flips him out of the corner. Lombardi tags as Cathy Lee Crosby is shown in an insert promo talking about how she wants Refridgerator Perry to eliminate Big John Studd from the Battle Royal. Spivey tags and they use a double suplex on Petruzzi then for some reason Kirchner stays in the ring and hits a Samoan drop for the win (3:03).
Thoughts: The team of Kirchner & Spivey was amateur-hour stuff. They were both pretty terrible. Spivey was starting to be referred to as the "Golden Boy" at this point too but was really just floundering.
Mean Gene talks with Paul Orndorff, who says that Don Muraco helped hurt his friend, Hulk Hogan, and will beat him at WrestleMania 2. He leaves and the Dream Team appears as Valiant talks about the stipulation of their WrestleMania match against the British Bulldogs and how it doesnt matter if there is a 1,000 referees because they will still win anyway.
Nelson Veilleux vs. "Adorable" Adrian Adonis w/ Jimmy Hart
Adonis tones up his flamboyance as Hart sprays him with perfume before the match. He also comes out to "You're so Vain" as his entrance music. He works the arm of Veilleux as we get an insert promo of Elvira. Adonis then puts him in a sleeper (the not yet named Good Night Irene) and gets the win (2:18). After the match, Adonis beats the shit out of Veilluex.
Thoughts: Adonis is becoming more flamboyant and as that happens, he is getting more of a push. The crowd hated him.
Piper's Pit from Joe Frazier's Gym. He looks around for Frazier and sees him then asks how he has been training Mr. T for the fight. Frazier shows him a heavy bag with a kilt taped to the bottom. Frazier then whips a medicine into his chest a few times as Piper tries to brush off the pain and tells Frazier that Mr. T better be ready for their fight. Not a bad segment but I would not classify this as memorable or anything.
Mean Gene introduces another video package about the battle royal with the football players on whether or not they are worried they will not be able to extend their football careers after the match. Russ Francis talked about his dad promoting in Hawaii and having wrestled Lou Thesz and Bruno Sammartino. Hillbilly Jim said he will win because he was trained by Hulk Hogan. Jim Brunzell looked like he was coked up during his promo. Bret Hart says that when he and the Anvil win the Battle Royal money, they will buy a house with a pool and invite over a ton of girls, because that is what they want. They were billing this as a prize of $100,000.
Don Driggers & "Leaping" Lanny Poffo vs. Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff w/ Freddie Blassie
Poffo's post-match poem was about WrestleMania 2. I was touched. A fan in the crowd held up a sign that suggested Volkoff enter a "hog calling" contest. It's the wit that Poughkeepsie was famous for. The heels destroy Poffo as an insert promo of Lasorda is shown. Driggers tags then Volkoff hits a backbreaker then tags the Sheik, who finishes him off with the Camel Clutch (1:22). Sheik poses after the match as Vince talks about the football players that have entered the battle royal.
Thoughts: Just a brief squash to make the heels look decent for their WrestleMania matches.
Gene Okerlund runs down the WrestleMania card then shows us his interview with Hulk Hogan's doctor, who said that he is concerned about Hogan's condition and still needs 3-4 weeks of recovery. He also worries about his back and a possible herniated disk and despite multiple attempts to talk him out of the match, Hogan insists that he wrestle. We are back to the interview stage as Hogan appears and says that he is glad it has come to the cage match as he will come out to the ring "wired out of his mind" from "praying and taking his vitamins" then will take Bundy's pride and beat him down. The wired out of his mind line was awesome.
Next week, we will have a report from WrestleMania 2.
Final Thoughts: I actually thought last week's show did a better job hyping the show but this still a good job. Again, the overabundance of celebrity segments were grating and the Battle Royal interview segment went on for far too long. Even still, they put over the top matches strong and everything else was fine so it was a decent show overall. The WrestleMania 2 review will be posted on Tuesday night.
C'mon Scott. The value of the company has fallen $350 million.
ReplyDeleteThe company has lost nothing.
This is a cliff notes version of every RAW recap.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I can't load shit on the wwe network for my PS3. Anyone else have that issue.
ReplyDeleteNvm
ReplyDeleteYou know what would be interesting? If they stripped Daniel Bryan of the title and then CM Punk won it in Chicago at Payback.
ReplyDeleteVery well written. I would have added:
ReplyDelete9)Names. The old WWF had guys with names like 'Hulk Hogan', 'The Hitman', 'Jake the Snake Roberts' and ' 'The Warlord' Today's WWE has guys with names like 'Xavier Woods', 'Bray Wyatt', 'Big E' and 'Seth Rollins'.
10)Intros. This fits into "It's all the same". There's also some retarded idea about what is "fashionable". But even today, anyone hearing the intro to 'Real American', hearing the glass break, hearing "If you smeeeellllll....", hearing the intro to the Hart foundation theme....it gives you goosebumps. The only modern into that even comes close to that feeling is the Undertaker's 'DONG!' Wait, that's not a modern intro. Seriously, when these guys all come out to the ring with some boring generic crap(and introduced with doofus names), who is going to care? A guy with long hair and sunglasses called "The Hitman" coming out to cool music? I'm there! Some totally anonymous guy with a generated name coming out to the same generic music as everyone else?
11)Justin Roberts. Man that guy is awful.
12)Insulting women. Yes, wrestling has always been sexist, but "Divas"? Oh yeah, and remember when the WOMEN were wrestlers who just happened to be hot?
Paige seems like she's very good, AJ is great, but they trotted out AJ and Nikki twice and it sucked both times (although I think both Bellas are getting better).
ReplyDeleteSo...advantage Punk?
ReplyDeleteCM Punk is currently splitting the hours of his day between laughing at WWE stock dropping and having sex with AJ. He only stops for 5-minute Pepsi breaks in between.
ReplyDeleteI think the name issue is overblown. Granted, there are dumb ones, but I remember when people were flipping out over the "Daniel Bryan" name. I'm fine with Bray Wyatt, all the Shield names and Cesaro, even though I don't get why they dropped his first name. I'm still happy that CM Punk wasn't introduced as Johnny Strummer or something along those lines.
ReplyDeleteAgree on names especially the Shield. That makes them seem more real or at least like guys in a cop movie lol. Big E is pretty stupid though.
ReplyDeleteIsn't wrestling seen in five million homes give or take every Monday? Isn't Raw seen by more people now than any time since the hottest period in wrestling history? Is it really broken or have you all just out grown it and want it to be something it will never be? Wrestling Is Like Religion you either outgrow the hokey, corny, pageantry of it all or you continue to show up every week and go through the paces every single week deep down knowing you don't give a shit but yet can't seem to just stop. I mean I come on these boards every day and all I ever hear is how the product is so boring and bland and corny and yet you people watch every week. Making excuses like addicts do. "Oh I only DVR it" or "oh I only read the results online" even though you guys can quote and cite every part of the show. It's not the WWE that is broken. Stocks or not the company is doing just fine and will continue to be just fine. Oddly enough due in large part to you feverish addicts. The wwe isn't broken you addicts are. I mean aren't you people sick of watching hours and hours of a product and spending even more than that complaining about it? Watch something else......of course we all know you cant. I look forward to all the excuses and deflections about how I'm just a gimmick. All the while you'll be spending more hours crying over ENTERTAINMENT you're overwhelmingly not being entertained by.
ReplyDeleteThis was an excellent dissection of WWE.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Big E is lousy. At least with Langston at the end, they could have transitioned his name to something else.
ReplyDeleteSpeculation is a weird beast that's savaging WWE right now, but there aren't any less people buying merch or tickets or watching the product.
ReplyDeleteBig E sounds like a second rate Flash villain.
ReplyDelete"Big" E Langston sounds like a badass mobster.
The concept of calling somebody by their gimmick name like it's on their drivers license is a little silly. Like it should be "CM Punk" not CM Punk, y'know? It's "Hulk" Hogan, not Hulk Hogan, cause Hulk is not a fucking first name.
Whenever I see Joey Maggs, I think of a classic line Heenan had about him: "That sounds like something you get sleeping in the woods. I got Jumpin' Joey Maggs!"
ReplyDelete"Isn't Raw seen by more people now than any time since the hottest period in wrestling history?"
ReplyDeleteThe numbers were higher in 2003-2004 and the product was pretty bad then. Numbers are up slightly from last year but they have improved since 2012
Saying both Bellas are getting better is saying like your gf only bit your penis twice during a bad bout of oral sex, instead of her usual three.
ReplyDeleteSame here. It still hasn't worked for me.
ReplyDeleteThe frustrating thing about this stuff is that roster is fucking awesome in terms of talent, there's very very few people I don't like watching in the ring; even in the AE, a lot of the guys I enjoyed their promos and prayed they didn't waste time on RAW wrestling. I hope that dirtsheet bit about HHH being pissed about Vince undermining him is true.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, what incentive does he have to come back? Outside of the paparazzi I'm sure he loathes, that's a fucking nice life he's got if he's saved as much as he said he did.
ReplyDeleteWWE Stock brand extended more in 24 hours than any other Entertainment-based stock in history.
ReplyDeleteBrie is tolerable for WWE female wrestling. Certainly better than the usual models.
ReplyDeleteWhy does any rich person do anything?
ReplyDeleteBoredom.
If Punk is ambitious as he seems, he'll be doing something soon.
You're completely wrong. It's nothing like it was in the pre-publicly-traded era, and it doesn't matter one bit how many people watch it. It's a toothless, ball-less, soulless, PREDICTABLE borefest. Nothing ever happens. It's a black hole, neither sports nor entertainment. It's a joke. And I don't watch it every week, I come here and read about it instead. I watch the PPVs because the workers' talent level is off the charts and they usually deliver with solid matches. But the television product is execrable. They have no one to blame but themselves for all the money they are hemorrhaging.
ReplyDeleteEvery time she "wrestles", I feel like Jim Carrey at the bar in "Dumb & Dumber: "No, and I don't CAAAAARRRRRRRE!!!"
ReplyDeleteOh sure, I just don't believe that thing is WWE.
ReplyDeleteThis guy covers the names thing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reNPpiXZbDk
ReplyDelete"What do you say to those sceptics?"
ReplyDelete"Those sceptics..gibberish...I'm sorry!"
"We're live, pal!"
...wait, that Steiner story is BS?
ReplyDeleteI've been treating it as legit for years!
I know man, I know. I really wish I had an Observer sub in the old school RSPW days.
ReplyDeleteYou never stop being an addict, you're just not using at the moment.
ReplyDeleteWrestling gets in your blood, and WWE is the biggest game in town, unless he pulls a Corgan or decides that living in Japan would be fun...he'll be back.
Or he'll take up painting to blow off his artistic steam.
Letting
ReplyDeleteYeah, highly unlikely Verne would ever give an outsider like Bischoff booking power.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure about that. I can easily see it working on several levels (just like a show like The Simpsons appeals to kids and adults in a different way).
ReplyDeletedownvote.
ReplyDeleteif I had a kid and was trying to prevent it from something that I think is harmful I would be very disappointed if my relatives just ignore those efforts.
um no
ReplyDeletemost. a few stereotypes you might need to chat about. Same thing with WCW. When Orndorff is pulling his eyes up to mock asians, Piper is saying some questionable things about blacks, and Adonis in general, questions can arise. But you don't have to worry about language or racy content too much. Every once in a while Raw, even pre monday night wars could drop a remark (especially early on with Bartlett) but changes are it flys over a younger kid's head
ReplyDeleteSo my daughter, who just started watching some wrestling with me (nothing new just some old WCW I'm working through on the Network) showed me why wrestling works. So after a couple shows she didn't like Sting. Then Rude was revealed as the Halloween phantom on Halloween Havoc and cut a promo with Paul E. Dangerously towards Sting and about destroying WCW. Next thing you know my daughte says, "im rooting for Sting now." There you have it. A heel who changed a kid's mind in 3 minutes of promo work and made her want to see the face beat up the heel.
ReplyDeleteMy kids love wrestling and have been watching the network on their own. I told my wife that I'm not sure what I am looking forward to the least; answering questions about Benoit or Santa Claus.
ReplyDelete2 Words: Royal Rumble. Lots of stuff going on, always new people coming in and it's not typically super violent (no chairs, blood, etc)
ReplyDeleteKick her leg out from under her leg!
ReplyDeleteThere's a bad Benoit joke to be made here but I'll leave that to the pros. ..
ReplyDelete"32. You completely devalued Ric Flair’s infamous Figure 4 Leg Lock by staying in the hold longer than you ever should have during your cage match with him. Yup—I was in the figure four—and at the same time I was in charge of releasing the lever that would allow the “new blood” to shower him. I was in it so long because the tech was supposed to drop the blood, and he waited FOREVER. Was that my fault? Come on."
ReplyDeleteThis piece in a nutshell. After all these years he can't simply say "My time in WCW wasn't successful for business or creative and I'd do it differently if I could again."
Well it makes sense if you say it was indirect, if Russo came up with reviving the Blazer because Owen wouldn't do the Debra angle.
ReplyDeleteNoooo. House shows were terrible and most of the stories were garbage in 87 WWF. People just remember wrestlemania and the popularity of wrestling from that era today.
ReplyDeleteThat's just ridiculous
ReplyDeleteThat's long been shown as false. They thought of the Debra angle and Owen said no I'd rather be a hokey blazer character again for a while. Russo thought Owen was hilarious and wanted the TV audience to see Owen smitten with Debra, trying to win her affection. I think it would have been funny too. Blazer wasn't punishment, jeez
ReplyDeleteBetween this and the Clash 1/91 comments, we're sure learning a lot...
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I went out if my way to read this piece of shit article. Fuck Russo. "Uh, if Vince is so good how come the ratings have been shit since 2002?" Uh, you left in 1999 and the ratings got BETTER in 2000 so fuck u buddy.
ReplyDeleteIt might, MIGHT, be ridiculous to assume a single person has done anything to destroy professional wrestling, but if a single person out there has done anything along those lines, Vince Russo is at the top of the list.
ReplyDeleteHis reliance on goofy gimmick matches, his inability to see an angle or storyline through to a logical conclusion, his fetish for changing the alignment of characters and the way he oversexed the product in the late 90's are all proof of that statement. The worst was the way he turned WCW into WWF-lite in a few short weeks. I remember reading a rant Scott did where he kept count of how many times the word "ass" was said, and it was easily 10+. I won't even go into how he pushed McMahon to expose the business and how much damage to the sport doing so did.
Let's take a fun, somewhat popular B-level actor... um, how about Johnny Knoxville? Yeah, he's good. Let's have him become UFC Light Heavyweight Champion of the world.
ReplyDeleteDoing so would destroy the credibility of the sport (did so to WCW), the credibility of the title (check), the credibility of the former champion (check, even though Bischoff took the pinfall) and would garner mountains of "WTF of the Week" type publicity. The people presenting those news segments would claim the people behind the scenes at UFC are crazy.
UFC fans would groan in pain while watching these news reports.
Non-fans would laugh along with everyone else and checking out UFC would drastically plummet down their to-do list.
How anyone, even someone as insane as Russo, would see that kind of publicity as good amazes me. Famous people, from Charlie Sheen to Chris Crocker, would attest that "any publicity is good" is a very untrue statement, especially in the digital/social media age.
If giving Mr. 1800-Call-ATT was such a good idea, why did WCW continue to lose fans and ratings? Every time he claims it was a great idea he's failing to see the documented results right in front of him. Millions of people don't think it was a good idea and they are the ones who matter, not him and his massive, improperly wired, bullshit-filled cranium.
Now, if he would have had the title switch hands in a ____-on-a-Pole match... well, we'd all be sitting here talking about how dumb McMahon was for letting Russo go, and how it resulted in his downfall and WCW's rise as a multi-trillion dollar company.