WWF Philadelphia Spectrum June 28th, 1986

June 28, 1986

Your hosts are Dick Graham and Gorilla Monsoon

Tonight, Hulk Hogan defends his Heavyweight Championship against King Kong Bundy. Also, Randy Savage defends his Intercontinental Title against Paul Orndorff and Don Muraco faces the Junkyard Dog.




Brickhouse Brown vs. Moondog Rex

This was the WWF debut of Brickhouse, who got booed by the crowd during the ring introductions. Gorilla talks about Brickhouse's success as a Chippendale's dancer as Brickhouse uses his speed to elude Rex. Brickhouse hits a dropkick then catches Rex's foot as the crowd boos as it takes him about a minute to turn him around a hit an atomic drop. Brickhouse escapes from the corner and knocks Rex down as Gorilla refers to Brickhouse as a smaller version of Tony Atlas. Brickhouse grabs a chinlock then gets two off of a falling headbutt. Rex takes control after getting his elbow up on a charge then gets two off of a splash. Rex grabs a chinlock as the crowd seems bored to tears. Brickhouse fights back but gets caught with a backbreaker. He is able to backdrop Rex then lays into Rex with a flurry of rights. Rex reverses an Irish whip but Brickhouse leaps on the second rope and comes back with a flying headbutt for the win (6:29) 1/2*.

Thoughts: Brickhouse had a few athletic spots that looked nice but this match was garbage. Neither guy was on the same page. Brickhouse never did anything of note in the WWF and was gone in several weeks.


Tiger Chung Lee & Hercules Hernandez vs. Danny Spivey & Mike Rotundo

Some kid in the crowd is holding up a "Spivey Sucks" sign. The team of Spivey & Rotundo are now wearing matching trunks. Match starts with Lee getting worked over by Spivey & Rotundo, who are using quick tags and mainly targeting the arm. Hercules tags but Spivey takes him down with an armdrag then grabs an armbar. Hercules breaks the hold but Spivey takes him down after an Irish whip sequence. Rotundo tags an hits an atomic drop but whiffs on a dropkick. Lee tags and targets the back of Rotundo as the heels use quick tags and double teams on Rotundo. None of it looked good by the way. Rotundo tags as Lee missed an elbow drop then Spivey cleans house until he is stopped by Lee. Hercules works on Spivey then distracts the ref so Lee can choke him out. They take down Spivey with a double chop then set him up in a Tree of Woe as a fan almost made it into the ring but got dragged out by security. This is quite the crowd tonight by the way. Spivey and Hercules collide but Lee is tagged in and cuts off Spivey from making the tag. Lee slams Spivey but goes up top and ends up getting slammed. Hot tag to Rotundo who cleans house. Hercules breaks up a cover then Spivey is tagged into the match and hits Lee with a bulldog for the win (12:26) *1/2.

Thoughts: Basic match. Lee looked terrible in the ring but Rotundo was really good here and Spivey is very slowly improving. The matching tights are a sign that they are getting a bit of a serious look as a team.


Tito Santana vs. "Adorable" Adrian Adonis

Adonis is a bloated mess. I think he even has bigger tits than Elizabeth does. Anyway, they take it to the mat to start as Tito works a headscissors for a long time. He then catches Adonis with a few slams and a armdrag for nearfalls. Tito now works a hammerlock on the mat for what seems like an eternity as the crowd starts up a boring chant. Tito then catches Adonis with an abdominal stretch but Adonis ends up sending him to the floor. He follows Tito outside and roughs him up for a bit until Tito catches him with an atomic drop that sends Adonis into the post. Back inside, Tito works yet another hammerlock as the crowd is getting restless. Adonis breaks the hold with an eye rake then hits him low as he takes control of the match. He sends Tito back to the floor then taunts the crowd, who are a less than tolerant group. Tito ends up taking down Adonis from the floor and ramming his leg against the post. Tito goes back inside and hammers away. Tito covers but Adonis was able to get his foot on the bottom rope. Tito gets another nearfall but Adonis blocks a reverse rollup attempt then grabs Tito's tights for leverage as he gets the win (11:38) *1/2. After the match, Tito gets his revenge on Adonis.

Thoughts: Dull stuff filled with rest holds. Tito was certainly doing nothing of note at all from the time when he dropped the IC title to Savage until he formed Strike Force with Rick Martel. He was just putting over the hot heel, helping them get to a higher profile match, like he did tonight.

Moondog Spot vs. Billy Jack Haynes

Spot bounces off of Haynes then gets thrown down in a terrible looking spot. Billy Jack messed that one up. Haynes works a side headlock on the mat then they trade arm wringers. Haynes goes to work on the arm as the announcers talk about the previous match. Haynes catches Spot with a slam, who then retreats to the corner. Haynes goes back to the arm as the crowd remains unimpressed. Spot rakes the eyes and then rams Haynes' head off of the turnbuckle. A bunch of fans are shown flipping off Spot, who then tosses Haynes to the floor near the announcers table. Back inside, Spot works a chinlock as we are informed that the next match will be Junkyard Dog vs. Don Muraco. The crowd boos as this match has been painfully dull. Spot beats on Haynes in the corner then hits him with a kneelift. Haynes comes back with kneelift but Spot is able to follow that with an atomic drop for a nearfall. Haynes then gets two off of a sunset flip but runs into a clothesline. Spot misses a splash off of the second rope then begs for mercy in the corner before Haynes chops away. Haynes slams Spot then drops the leg for two. Spot blocks a monkey flip in the corner but misses an elbow drop and that allows Haynes to lock on the full nelson for the win (10:34) *1/4.

Thoughts: Haynes was pretty bad in the ring but he had the look and was starting to get a push. Spot tried to hold things together but the action here was non existent.


Don Muraco w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Junkyard Dog

Muraco starts by continuously retreating outside. JYD his Muraco, who gets pissed and heads to the corner. JYD then grabs a headlock and catches Muraco with a slam, who rolls back outside. Muraco comes back in and lands a few shots but JYD reverses an Irish whip then backdrops Muraco, who yet again rolls outside. Muraco keeps on retreating outside after being attacked by JYD but the crowd is still somewhat interested in this match. Muraco comes back in and rakes the eyes. He hit the Asiatic Spike and follows that with a nee drop for two. JYD fights back then takes down Muraco with a clothesline that gets two. He hits another clothesline then Fuji goes on the apron as Muraco takes his cane and breaks it over JYD's back for the DQ (6:20) DUD. Muraco continues assaulting JYD after the bell and ends up busting him open but JYD fights back then grabs a piece of the broken cane but the ref stops him, allowing Muraco to escape. JYD then whacks the ref with the cane, who takes a comical bump which makes the crowd happy.

Thoughts: Terrible match but sadly this is about all you could do with JYD at this point. His offense looked as bad as anyone else I have ever seen. Besides all of that, he was still over thus getting somewhat of a push but nowhere near the point he was a year prior. This also seemed to be setting up for a future match.


Kal Rudman is backstage with King Kong Bundy, who thinks people who cheer for Hogan are brain dead then brings out Miss America, who is apparently a Bundy fan.


WWF Heavyweight Championship Match
King Kong Bundy w/ Bobby Heenan vs. Hulk Hogan (Champion)

Bundy shows off his strength by shoving Hogan into the corner a few times. He tries for an Avalanche but misses and Hogan takes control. Heenan jumps on the apron and Hogan knocks him down. Hogan clotheslines Bundy a few times then tosses him to the floor. Hogan follows him out and they engage in a slugfest. Hogan wins that as the fans are going nuts. Hogan whacks Bundy with a chair then chases Heenan away before going back to the ring. Hogan slugs away at Bundy and picks him up for a slam but Heenan jumps up on the apron and pushes Bundy on top of Hogan. The ref sees this and orders Heenan to the dressing room as Bundy drops an elbow for two. He slams Hogan and follows that with a splash for a nearfall then hammers away. Hogan reverses an Irish whip and catches Bundy with a powerslam but hurt his back and Bundy puts him in a chinlock. Bundy breaks that then hits the Avalanche for two but Hogan hulks up then unloads on Bundy. He hits the big boot then drops the leg but Adrian Adonis, wearing a blond wig and a dress, runs to break up the pin for the DQ (7:05) **1/2. Hogan eventually tosses Bundy to the floor and chases Adonis away but not before grabbing his wig. Hogan then taunts Adonis with his wig and this lasts for a long time ending with Hogan posing to his theme music.

Thoughts: This was a really good match until the last thirty seconds. Bundy and Hogan worked well together and this was all action, with the brawling outside of the ring looking really good too. Hogan could still move around well enough and Bundy was fairly athletic for his size. Fun stuff that sets up the main event for next month's show.


George Wells vs. "Handsome" Harley Race

Wells, who is really heavy here, starts off by hitting Race with a shoulder block. He runs into a clothesline then Race drops an elbow for two. Wells fights back as the crowd is silent then grabs a side headlock. Monsoon puts over Race's career as he breaks the hold. Race hits a belly-to-belly suplex for two. Knee drop gets two. Race then drops a knee then tosses Wells to the floor where he lands a falling headbutt. He rams Wells against the railing as the crowd couldn't care less. Back inside, Wells makes a comeback but clotheslines himself against the ropes after Race side stepped him then puts Wells away with a cradle suplex (6:05) *.

Thoughts: The fans didn't even care enough to boo or chant boring here. Race could still wrestle well at this point but this was a nothing match and Wells looked awful.


Les Thornton vs. King Tonga

After promising Tonga vs. Studd throughout the show, they give us Les Thornton instead. So much for the bodyslam angle. Thornton grabs a side headlock as Gorilla tells us that Polynesians tan very easily. Tonga grabs a side headlock as the camera pans to a cute girl wearing a Hogan short. Back to the action as they are trading arm wringers until Tonga grabs a side headlock as a fan yells "boring." Thornton beats on Tonga in the corner but that fails and Tonga goes back to the arm. Thornton breaks and hammers away but Tonga fights back. He hits a back elbow smash then catches him with a slam before drilling him with a side kick for the win (4:04) 1/2*. Christ, he planted him with that.

Thoughts: Talk about bait and switch. Tonga had the angle on TV where he slammed Studd but that push lasted for about two weeks as Studd and Bundy would be feuding with the Machines very shortly.


WWF Intercontinental Championship Match
"Macho Man" Randy Savage (Champion) w/ Elizabeth vs. "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff

The match starts with Savage taunting Orndorff from the top rope then getting pissed when Orndorff takes the belt from the ref and poses with it, causing Savage to duck outside. Savage tries to psych out Orndorff, who is having any of it, then goes back outside where the fans give him all sorts of shit. Savage goes back in and tries a handshake that Orndorff laughs at then grabs the arm until Savage reaches the ropes. Savage grabs a side headlock then hits a shoulder block but bails after Orndorff hits a pair of armdrags. Savage tosses a chair into the ring as the fans continue to harass Savage. As Savage bails, Orndorff gives a bouquet of flowers to Elizabeth, which makes Savage go nuts. He grabs the bouquet and tries to smush it in Orndorff's face but that fails. Onrdorff hits an elbow drop but eats boot on a charge. Savage takes him down with a clothesline then heads up top and hits a double axe handle for two. Savage chokes Orndorff on the mat but Orndorff comes back with a reverse rollup for two. Savage gets on top of Orndorff then takes him down with a kneelift. Suplex gets two. Savage tries another double axe handle but Orndorff catches him with a shot to the gut then fires away. He knocks Savage outside and follows him out as they brawl. Orndorff floats over on a suplex attempt then clotheslines Savage and goes inside the ring, just beating the ten count as he wins the match via count out (8:20) **1/4. After the match, Orndorff poses similarly to Hogan.

Thoughts: Not a technical masterpiece but fun enough and a nice way to send the home happy. This crowd hated Savage too. Orndorff wrestled as a total face here and was less aggressive than usual with his offense, kinda the opposite of what he was doing on TV.


Gorilla tells us that next month, Hogan will face Adrian Adonis for the title.


Final Thoughts: This was not a good show at all. The two title matches were fun but everything else was a waste of time. I would avoid this show completely unless you are a Hogan fan.