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WWF Superstars of Wrestling April 25th, 1987

April 25, 1987

From the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV

Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, and Vince McMahon

Tonight's featured match is the Islanders & Sivi Afi vs. Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff & Butch Reed. Also in action will be Demolition, Killer Bees, Honky Tonk Man, and Tito Santana. Plus, the final installment of the "Ken Patera Story" and Hacksaw Jim Duggan, who Vince informs us has indeed bought a ticket to the show.




Jim Powers & Paul Roma are talking about how they will be facing Demolition tonight and give it 110%. Roma looked like he was staring at cue cards during his part of the promo and it came off terribly to be honest.



Demolition w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Paul Roma & Jim Powers

Demolition takes turns beating on Powers as we get an insert promo from Mr. Fuji and Demolition as they talk about destroying Roma & Powers. Demolition remains in control of the match until Powers kicks Smash as he ducked his head for a backdrop attempt. Roma tags in and lands a few shots but misses a dropkick attempt then Demolition hits Roma for the Decapitation for the win (2:24).

Thoughts: Very strong showing for Demolition, who were pushed as even more dangerous under the guidance of Mr. Fuji.



WWF Update with Craig DeGeorge. This week's subject is Danny Davis and his work as part of the Hart Foundation. Davis is shown cutting a promo about how anyone wanting to face him can sign the dotted line. Man, Davis was great as a smug, cocky prick. Too bad he was garbage in the ring.



Tito Santana vs. Ed Dean

Jesse rags on "Chico" as Santana takes down Dean. Slick and Butch Reed are shown in an insert promo screaming at Santana for ripping off his suit at WrestleMania III as Reed promises Slick he will get revenge. Santana is using restholds on Dean, who is awful by the way, until he finally puts him away with the flying forearm (3:00).

Thoughts: The action was dull as they are still continuing Santana's feud with Reed.



Gene Okerlund and Lord Alfred Hayes are backstage hyping the 5/2/87 Boston Garden Show. Brutus Beefcake comes out and runs down Adrian Adonis using the lamest insults ("looks like a big, walking waste disposal unit") I have ever heard.



Johnny V. is shown telling Beefcake that he was always the weak link of the Dream Team then says anyone can beat him, including himself as he challenges Beefcake to a match.



Tommy Sharpe vs Honky Tonk Man w/ Jimmy Hart

Hart comes to the ring with his "Ban the DDT" sign. Sharpe manages a rollup for a nearfall then hits Honky with an atomic drop. Sharpe tries a backdrop but Honky elbows him in the back of the head. Honky then roughs up Sharpe before tossing him outside. Honky taunts the fans in the ring then goes to work on Sharpe as he is shown in an insert promo talking about his fan support regarding the "Ban the DDT" movement. Honky roughs up Sharpe a bit more before putting him away with the Shake, Rattle, and Roll (3:07). After the match Honky grabs the mic and tells the fans he will give them what they want, dancing and singing. Honky starts moving around on the mat with his guitar and that makes me laugh.

Thoughts: Honky was generating a lot of heel heat here as the "Ban the DDT" stuff was also working well too. Honky was really hitting his stride as a heel.



Okerlund and Hayes are backstage again talking about the next Boston Garden show. We then get a promo from Hulk Hogan who talks about hanging out with the Junkyard Dog in order to prepare for his match against King Harley Race. He also talked about destroying Heenan and his family as he referred to Orndorff as "old news."



Killer Bees vs. Steve Lombardi & Iron Mike Sharpe

The Bees work over Lombardi as Vince talks about Lombardi & Sharpe having words for Roma & Powers that came in an insert promo later on in which they told them they "stunk" before declaring that they were the up-and-coming team. Sharpe cheapshots Brunzell as the heels take control briefly until Brunzell ducks an attack from Sharpe that accidentally his Lombardi. Blair tags as the match breaks down Brunzell puts away Sharpe with a dropkick (3:25).

Thoughts: The main focus here was to start a feud between jobber teams, not on the Bees, who are really just another team at this point.



And now it is the final installment in the "Ken Patera Story." Okerlund meets Patera in front of the prison as he gets released. We then are shown clips of Patera working out as he blames Heenan for selling him down the river and will be coming back stronger than ever. We get the corny 80's montage complete with a smiling Patera flexing in front of the mirror about how he wants to "make it right." This was pretty bad as Patera in the babyface role was as far from a natural fit as you could get. Plus the blaming Heenan for him being in prison was a stretch even for kids.



Okerlund is with Bobby Heenan, who talks about Patera being nothing until he was his manager then accepting Okerlund's idea for the two of them to debate next week. That is certainly an intriguing idea even if the Patera story segments have been underwhelming.



Rick Renslow & Dave Wagner vs. Blackjack Mulligan & Billy Jack Haynes

Wagner tries and fails to attack Mulligan before the bell. Mulligan fights off both guys then we get an insert promo from Ron Bass about wanting to see Mulligan's woman that he keeps talking about. The faces then beat on Wagner briefly until Mulligan puts him away with a jumping back elbow smash (1:52).

Thoughts: The face team was an odd pairing to say the least. Mulligan was the focus here as Haynes was treated as an afterthought. They sure spent a lot of time on this Mulligan/Bass feud and it would last through a whole other set of TV tapings (This was the last of the current bunch) before Mulligan was gone.



The camera shows Hacksaw Jim Duggan sitting in the front row before the featured match.



Sivi Afi & The Islanders vs. "The Natural" Butch Reed & Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff w/ Slick

Volkoff sings the Russian National Anthem before the match until Duggan chases him and his partners off with his 2x4. Duggan then leads the crowd into a loud "U-S-A" chant then goes back to his seat. The match starts with Haku and the Sheik going back and forth in a brief sequence. Volkoff tags as Haku beats on him then tags Tama. Afi tags and works the arm until Volkoff rakes his eyes. The heels beat on Afi as the fans chant "U-S-A." Tama tags in and does not fare well as he gets beaten down until he slides beneath Reed and makes the tag to Haku, who runs wild on everyone. Afi tags but gets booted in the face by Sheik then Reed tags in and gets the win with a gorilla press slam (2:55). After the match the heels continue their assault until Duggan chases them off with a 2x4.

Thoughts: Duggan was the focus here as he remains set on making sure Volkoff never sings the Russian Naitonal Anthem ever again.



Okerlund & Hayes are backstage again as they run down the entire card for the 5/2/87 Boston Garden show. The Hart Foundation along with Jimmy Hart and Danny Davis come out as they proclaim that no matter what the Hart Foundation will roll on as Neidhart calls Okerlund "stupid" after he said the British Bulldogs are more powerful than ever. Funny stuff from the Hart Foundation.



Next week's featured match will be Brutus Beefcake vs. Johnny V. Also in action will be the Can-Am Connection and Adrian Adonis. Plus, the debate between Ken Patera and Bobby Heenan.



Final Thoughts: Not a bad show but some of the new characters and feuds are not really clicking. Having Hogan go up against the Heenan Family is not all that exciting seeing as he already ran through Orndorff and Andre. And the Patera stuff never amounted to much either. The Duggan push remains strong as that is actually working.



Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Thursday: RF Video Shoot Interview with Larry Zbyszko, Disc One
Friday: RF Video Shoot Interview with Larry Zbyszko, Disc Two
Friday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 4/26/87
Sunday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 5/2/87
Tuesday: WWF Saturday Night's Main Event 5/2/87










Comments

  1. I am sorry sir, but I would prefer dishonesty when it comes to Paul Roma's promo.

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  3. "It's like I've already said"

    Prepare to hear that about a half dozen times from Patera during next week's debate.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Careful. or he'll beat you like a red headed stepson.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Honestly, Larry is pretty great in this

    ReplyDelete
  6. Patera was really out of place in 80s WWF as was Blackjack Mulligan.

    ReplyDelete

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