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WWF Boston Garden March 7th, 1987

March 7, 1987

Your hosts are Jimmy Hart and Gorilla Monsoon

Tonight's main event is an elimination match of Hulk Hogan & Roddy Piper & Billy Jack Haynes against Hercules & Adrian Adonis & Paul Orndorff




Jimmy Jack Funk vs. Pedro Morales

Morales gets a solid pop from the crowd during the introductions. Match starts with Funk stalling as Gorilla taunts Hart about being countered with Alice Cooper at WrestleMania. The announcers keep talking about WrestleMania as these two finally lockup almost three minutes after the bell rings. Funk complains to the ref about Morales using a closed fist. Funk cheapshots Morales then kicks him to the floor as Hart tells us how Danny Davis will surprise us with his wrestling ability. Morales fights back on the apron and beats on Funk in the corner until he gets hit with the cowbell as the referee missed that one. Funk grabs a chinlock to slow this match down even more. Funk then hits a slam then connects with a fist drop from the middle rope that gets two. Funk hits a shoulderbreaker then heads back up to the middle rope but misses an elbow drop then Morales fights back with a few shitty-looking punches and a backdrop before finishing with a backbreaker (7:26) 1/2*.

Thoughts: The crowd liked Pedro but this match was awful. Pedro was nothing more than a slug in the ring at this point as Funk was never any good.



Moondog Spot vs. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan

Duggan has yet to appear in a match on TV during this run. Duggan was actually a jobber for the WWF in the early 80's. He does all of his yelling as Hart tells us that women should not be allowed to referee matches. The crowd is into his act (Yelling "hooooooooo") as he beats on Spot in the corner. Duggan hits a clothesline after a sloppy sequence then goes back to beating on Spot in the corner. Spot fights back and takes Duggan down with a knee lift. After a slam and an elbow drop, Spot puts Duggan in a chinlock as Gorilla teases Hart about Neidhart looking tired tonight. Duggan fights out then backs Spot into the corner but gets caught with an inverted atomic drop. Duggan slugs away but Spot stops that with an eye rake. Duggan comes back with a kick to the face then catches Spot with a slam. Knee drop gets two then Spot begs for mercy. Duggan knocks Spot down with a shoulder tackle then lines up in the Three Point Stance as he hits Spot with a running clothesline for the win (6:22) *1/4.

Thoughts: These two did not mesh well. Spot carried things decently when on offense but Duggan looked bad in the ring. The crowd played along with Duggan's antics but did not react to his actual wrestling.



Cowboy Bob Orton & Don Muraco w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Jerry Allen & Danny Spivey

Heenan has replaced Hart on commentary. Allen was the replacement for Mike Rotundo, who had left the company a few weeks prior. Match starts with Spivey fighting out of the opposite corner as Fuji joins the booth. Spivey works the arm of Muraco as the announcers talk about Andre the Giant's training methods. Allen tags and gets two with a crossbody block as he and Spivey are using quick tags to isolate Muraco. The faces now work over Orton until he catches Allen with a kneelift. Orton then hits a back suplex as Muraco tags and gets two with a Russian Leg Sweep. Muraco grabs a front facelock as Heenan rags on the Boston fans. Allen gets worked over for a bit as Orton even throws a dropkick that really pales in comparison to his son's. Orton tries a Vader Bomb but Allen gets his knees up then makes the tag. Spivey cleans house as Heenan notes how Spivey has improved then jokes how it's not much but still something. That's basically a shoot comment. Spivey has Muraco in a headlock until that gets broken up as Muraco takes Spivey down with a knee lift. The heels now work over Spivey at a very slow pace. Muraco is caring less and less about this match too ,clearly not giving a fuck out there. Spivey mounts a comeback but Fuji trips him up. Spivey gets up as Muraco hits him with a double axe handle that knocks him right through the ropes but not before tagging his partner as Allen runs wild on Muraco. He gets two with a back elbow smash but Muraco catches him after a crossbody attempt then drops Allen throat-first on the ropes. They hit Allen with a double clothesline then Orton hits the superplex for the win that has Heenan all excited because they dedicated the move to him (11:46) *1/2. After the match they toss Spivey to the floor then Fuji comes in and whacks Allen with a cane. Spivey then comes back in and dropkicks Muraco into Orton and after that grabs the cane as the heels run away.

Thoughts: This match got a lot worse as it went on and the face team was really, really low on the totem pole so the crowd was not all that into the match. Getting fans to care about Jerry Allen is a tough, tough task. Spivey would team with Allen for a few more weeks until he got repackaged as a singles heel that wrestled on house shows in the opening matches until leaving the company in the Spring of 1988.



S.D. Jones vs. "The Outlaw" Ron Bass

Jones ducks a pair of clotheslines before getting two with a crossbody. Gorilla talks about how he wants to see Bass and Blackjack Mulligan face each other as Jones catches Bass in a powerslam. Bass takes a breather outside. The announcers talk about the midgets as Jones has Bass in a headlock. Sunset flip gets one then Jones goes back to the headlock. Bass escapes then starts beating on Jones before tossing him to the floor. Back in the ring, Bass chokes out Jones as female referee Rita Chatterton starts screaming at him to stop. Bass grabs a chinlock as a few in the crowd start a "boring" chant. Jones escapes and mounts a brief comeback that ends when he gets taken down with a kneelift. Bass then applies an abdominal stretch to really drive this match into second gear. Bass hammers away then avoids a charge. He slams Jones down on his arm then works on that for a bit. Jones comes back and hits a headbutt but ends up getting caught with a jumping back elbow smash for the win (10:59) *.

Thoughts:  Very dull match and no idea why this had to go 11 minutes. Bass had barely been featured on TV and this was to build him up for a feud with Blackjack Mulligan that never ended up taking place as Mulligan would be gone from the company a few weeks after this match.



WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Rougeau Brothers vs. Hart Foundation w/ Jimmy Hart & Danny Davis

Davis joins the booth to tell us how the Hart Foundation are the best team today and that at WrestleMania, they will have a few surprises for the British Bulldogs and Tito Santana. Brett starts out the match by stalling as Heenan tells us that "Rougeau is French for "coward." Brett and Jacques work a test of strength as Jacques gets the best of that. Both announcers then put over Brett has the most improved wrestler this year, which was said frequently during broadcasts this year. Neidhart and Raymond are in the ring as Raymond gets the best of him. The Rougeaus are now using quick tags to isolate Neidhart. Brett tags and blocks a reverse rollup but Raymond catches him with a kick as the Rougeaus are now using quick tags to work over the leg of Brett. Davis distracts Raymond and gets hit but that allows Neidhart to attack him from behind as the Hart Foundation takes control, using a lot of illegal double-team moves. Raymond manages to get a backslide for two but Brett beats him down. Jacques tries to get a chant going for his brother, who gets tossed to the floor. Heenan is pretty damn funny as he rips on the Rougeaus as Neidhart has Raymond in a bearhug. Brett tags and hits a backbreaker but eats a knee to the face on a charge as both men are down. Raymond makes the tag but the referee was distracted so he orders Jacques back on the apron. Neidhart holds up Raymond for Brett, who accidentally takes him out then Raymond makes the tag to Jacques as the crowd shows some life. Jacques beats on Brett then uses rolling forearm scissors until the match breaks down. The Hart Foundation collide then the Rougeau's set up for the assisted senton and hit that but Neidhart breaks up the pin then the match breaks down again as Raymond has Brett in a small package but Davis sneaks in and reverses the hold then the referee counts to three as the Hart Foundation retain their belts (14:50) **1/2.

Thoughts: Solid match but nothing more than that. The Hart Foundation have easily had the most heat on the show at this point in the card and they were really hitting their stride as a team. The Rougeaus were too bland to really get behind as a team and with the Tag Team division stocked with depth, they were soon on their way down the card.



Monsoon is with Outback Jack, who tells us that he has no wrestling experience and was found by S.D. Jones and Arnold Skaaland in Australia then brought into the WWF. He then talks about his finisher, the Boomerang. God, this gimmick was a failure.



Jimmy Jack Funk vs. Outback Jack

Another Jimmy Jack Funk match! According to thehistoryofwwe.com, Jack was a replacement for Barry O. here. Jack had a long entrance and spent a lot of time with the fans. Funk attacks Jack from behind to start the match then stays on the attack as the crowd is silent. Jack reverses an Irish whip then catches Funk with a back elbow smash before putting him away with the Boomerang (0:58) DUD.

Thoughts: Jack failed to win over the crowd here and despite this being just under a minute long, the match was god-awful and Jack's finisher looks ridiculous.



Monsoon asks Piper why he is retiring. Piper first thanks the WWF then pro wrestling for taking a poor kid from the streets and turning him into a star with a house and kids.



Elimination Match
Hercules & "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff & "Adorable" Adrian Adonis vs. Billy Jack Haynes & Roddy Piper & Hulk Hogan

Match starts out in a giant brawl that ends with the faces clearing the ring. The fans are chanting for Piper as the match starts with Hercules and Hogan. Hercules hits a knee lift but Hogan reverses an Irish whip before hitting a corner clothesline. Haynes tags and kicks the crap out of Hercules for a bit. Orndorff tags as Haynes knocks him down then gets two with a crossbody as Orndorff flips out on the referee by saying Haynes held his tights. Haynes and Orndorff take it to the mat briefly until Adonis tags himself into the match. He knocks down Haynes, who comes back with a backdrop then a slam before tagging Piper. Adonis runs to his corner and tags Orndorff then he and Piper fight over a test of strength as the faces all work over the arm of Orndorff. Adonis makes a blind tag and attacks Haynes from behind. Hercules then tags and puts the boots to Haynes. Hercules flattens Haynes with a clothesline then slams him down. Adonis tags and targets the knee of Haynes then knocks Piper off of the apron. Adonis hits a powerslam then has Haynes up for an atomic drop but does not realize that he tagged in Piper then turns around and gets destroyed as the crowd goes nuts. Adonis takes a bump in the corner and goes up and over the ropes as the match completely breaks down with everyone brawling outside as the bell rings. Piper is in the ring with a chair as we learn that both Adonis and Piper have been counted out and are now eliminated (11:25). Piper then sits in the middle of the ring and gets a chance for a standing ovation from the crowd in what was billed as his final match at the Boston Garden. Orndorff distracts Hogan with a chair from the apron and that allows Hercules to attack him from behind as the match continues. Orndorff tags but misses a pair of elbow drops as Hogan cleans house. Orndorff catches Hogan with a kneelift after he ducked his head then targets the ribs. Hercules holds up Hogan for Orndorff but gets accidentally hit with a clothesline then Hogan rolls up Orndorff for the pin (15:26). Haynes is beating the shit out of Hercules until he gets hit with a low blow then the ref gets knocked down as Orndorff and Hogan were brawling. The ref finally comes to as Hercules drops an elbow and gets the pin on Haynes (16:23). That was a lame sequence. Hercules targets the back of Hogan before putting him in the backbreaker rack. He drops Hogan down then covers but only gets two as Hogan is starting to Hulk up. Hogan rams Hercules into the corner repeatedly then hits a clothesline to set up the leg drop for the win (18:04) ***. Heenan runs into the ring after the match and Hogan tosses him to the floor. After that, Hogan poses

Thoughts: Good match that had a lot of heat and was a lot of fun but it did lose some steam after the count out spot. All three faces were crazy over here too. Piper also got a nice sendoff from the crowd. Haynes came off like a star here too.



Final Thoughts: The elimination and tag team matches were solid but everything else sucked. I'd seek out the elimination match but avoid everything else. And for some reason, NESN (The network that televised the house shows) gave us a "flashback" match of Pete Doherty and Mario Mancini from a show in 1985. In closing, this was a pretty crappy show.




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