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WWF Superstars of Wrestling August 1st, 1987

August 1, 1987

From the Civic Center in Glens Falls, NY

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

In action this week will be Brutus Beefcake & The Rougeau Brothers, Ken Patera, and the Honky Tonk Man. Plus, the posedown between Butch Reed and Superstar Billy Graham and more





Bubba Kirk & Rick Renslow & Dave Wagner vs. The Rougeau Brothers & Brutus Beefcake

The Rougeaus hit Wagner with a double dropkick. Renslow comes in for a cheapshot and gets hit with a double dropkick himself. Beefcake and Kirk tag in as we get an insert prom from the New Dream Team as they tell Beefcake he will not get away for what he did to them. He hits a back suplex then tags out as the Rougeaus get the win with the Rougeau Bomb (1:54). After the match, Beefcake cuts Kirk's hair then spray paints a giant "B" on his chest.

Thoughts: Not much to the match other than Beefcake cutting the hair of Kirk at the end. This also continues the feud the three winners have against the New Dream Team.



WWF Update with Craig DeGeorge. We see a clip of the Fabulous Moolah losing her Women's Title to Sherri Martel at a House Show in Houston. Martel got the win after rolling through a slam attempt.



Bobby Heenan heads to the ring with King Harley Race and Hercules. He tells us that he has been in pain for months due to Ken Patera but will no longer worry about that as he can relax as he has found the newest member of the Bobby Heenan family, "Ravishing" Rick Rude. As he heads inside, Rude removes his robe then flexes as Jesse is in awe.


Mario Mancini & Rick Hunter & Jerry Allen vs. King Harley Race & Hercules w/ Bobby Heenan

Rude starts the match as he powerslams Allen, the man we fought in his MSG debut a week prior. Race tags and beats on Allen as we get Heenan in an insert promo saying that Rude will also help him sign Bam Bam as they are good friends. Back to the match as Hunter gets roughed up until Rude puts him away with a slingshot suplex (1:38). Jesse also puts over Rude as a National Arm Wrestling Champion.

Thoughts: Solid TV debut for Rude as the WWF continues to add more talent to the roster. Hercules and Race were just their are garnish, to borrow from Dusty Rhodes.



Gene Okerlund is with Hulk Hogan, who will be facing Killer Khan at the Cow Palace on August 25th. Hogan flexes to the side of the camera then he tells us how after Khan spit mist in his eyes, he spoke with Oliver North to devise a battle plan to take care of Khan and Fuji. Goofy promo from Hogan. Well, goofier than usual.



A Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase vignette airs. He asks the clerk at the hotel for the finest room but is informed that the Honeymoon Suite has been reserved for months and the people have already checked in but Virgil throws her enough money to let them have the room. We then see Virgil ordering the just married couple out of the room as DiBiase is off to the side telling us its not the clerks fault as she has her price, just like us. He also adds that in ten years that couple would probably want separate rooms. When we get back to the show, Jesse is laughing saying that guy probably didn't know what to do on his wedding night.



Ken Patera vs. Terry Gibbs

Gibbs sneak attacks Patera but that fails as Patera rams Gibbs head into the corner. Patera then roughs him up until he finishes him off with the bearhug (1:21). Patera poses to the crowd after the win, getting a decent reaction.

Thoughts: Quick squash as they are still trying to put over Patera. Its not really working.



Okerlund is now with The Islanders. Haku puts over the leadership they are receiving from Heenan and will get the belts. Tama then tells us what Heenan wants is what they get and they will get the belts. I never heard Haku speak for this long during a promo. It was odd.



Joe Malano vs. Honky Tonk Man w/ Jimmy Hart

Malano is built like a swimmer who stopped training a year ago. Honky stomps on Malano after hitting a back elbow match. Hart is then shown in an insert promo saying that he will sign Bam Bam, who will be making an announcement about this next week. Honky stays on the attack and takes Malano down with a clothesline before hitting the Shake, Rattle, and Roll for the win (2:22). After the match, Honky thanks the crowd then sings and dances for them as they boo.

Thoughts: Honky's heel act was quite enjoyable.



DeGeorge is now on the podium with Rick Martel. He asks Martel about his partner, who quit, as Martel tells us it was hard to take. They will not mention Zenk by name. Martel then tells us he is not a quitter and does not care if he is by himself as he will fight the Islanders for what they have done. He then puts over the crowd for being behind him. They are going to continue this feud without Zenk and even here it seemed set up to give Martel a new partner.



Howard Finkel welcomes Okerlund to the ring as he is the host of the posedown. Both competitors eventually make it to the ring. Okerlund goes over the rules, which has the guys do four poses each, and tells the fans that they are the judges, which will be based off of their noise. They pose and it is boring until Reed attacks Graham, going after his hip. Graham fights back and tosses Reed to the floor. Graham goes nuts in the ring, as do the fans, while we see Reed and Slick head up the aisle. The segment wasn't much but the crowd was really into it and it was a smart idea to have this take place in a WWF town like Glens Falls.



Outback Jack tells us about the dangers of Killer Khan's mist, comparing it to mace.



Killer Khan w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Eric Cooper

Khan immediately knocks down Cooper then stomps away. Fuji is shown in an insert promo telling us he will sign Bam Bam because he signs all of the "big men." Back to the match as Khan sprays mist into the face of Cooper then hits a backbreaker setting up for the top rope knee drop and the win (1:13).

Thoughts: Quick match to put over Khan and his mist. The only thing Jack did good in the WWF was putting over Khan's mist.



Okerlund is with Mr. Fuji, who tells Hogan to be on his toes when he faces Killer Khan. Demolition then walk in as they talk about their match against Ken Patera & Billy Jack Haynes. That match never happened as Patera got hurt and was replaced by George Steele. These Cow Palace matches actually took place before a "Wrestling Challenge." The Demolition interview was unmemorable and they are usually entertaining with Okerlund.



Next week in action will be Jake Roberts, Demolition, Hart Foundation, George Steele, and the One Man Gang.



Final Thoughts: Not a bad show at all. Rude made his TV debut, DiBiase had another great vignette, and they are at least doing a good job of building up Khan as a challenger to Hogan by focusing on the mist. Also, they made a big advancement in the Bam Bam storyline as they made it appear that Hart was the frontrunner, with an announcement next week.



Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Thursday: RF Video Shoot Interview with Kevin Steen
Friday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 8/2/87
Sunday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 8/8/87
Tuesday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 8/9/87

Comments

  1. Those Million Dollar Man skits were so good you could see the dollar bills just shoot out of the screen.


    Even if Ted Dibiase was shit in the ring which he obviously wasn't i still think he makes it to the top regardless, that's how good the gimmick was.

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  2. That gimmick was so simple yet so brilliant.

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  3. I remember Dibiase saying that when they were in discussions, he wasn't told the gimmick, only that
    A) it was amazing
    B) if Vince could have a gimmick it would be that one

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  4. I think I must have seen this one back in the day, seems familiar.
    I miss the storytelling week to week. Even simple things like the drama over who will be Bam Bam's manager. Now, we never know what to look forward to on next week's Raw when the current one ends. Each Raw seems to exist in it's own boring vacuum. The "tune in next week" aspect is really gone.

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  5. Its like RAW is written like a sitcom

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  6. But sitcoms are entertaining. (And not 3 hours.)

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  7. What is their obsession with pose downs? This may be the first one but they still kept booking them. Ok, I know why but still

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  8. Yeah, besides Vince, who finds these compelling or entertaining.

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  9. I think the pose downs got replaced by contract signings. Both never end peacefully.

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  11. A few years ago, I wasn't keen on Oliver Humperdink as a babyface manager - but it would be interesting to see how I feel about that now. How long until the infamous Slick/Bigelow confrontation?

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  12. It should be noted around 1988 - some Indy guys released a best of Bam Bam tape of some of his Japanese stuff. It was called Bam Bam Bigelow and friends.

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  13. If only Raw was written like Dallas

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  14. So if Outback Jack had the Million Dollar Man gimmick, he would have gotten over, mate?

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  15. ... (looks around) ... gay people? Please don't throw trash at me.

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  16. Looking back, I can't imagine the Humperdinck unveiling drew much of a pop. Am I wrong?

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  17. I noticed on the network they blur out "Wrestling" in Superstars of Wrestling. Why is that?

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  18. I thought it was an effective swerve after weeks/months of teasing Bigelow as a heel. But Humperdink himself was miscast as a babyface and came off as a poor man's Lou Albano to an unfamiliar WWF audience.

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  19. Extant1979 - Extreme SuperstarJune 23, 2015 at 10:10 PM

    They lost the rights to the name "Superstars of Wrestling"

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  20. I'm guessing Ted was finally sold when Vince got around to telling him, "Oh, and we'll give you a limo to take you everywhere and comp you 5-star hotels just so we can sell this gimmick."

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  21. It's not blurred on the new episodes of Prime Time they put up last week.
    As for why, some promoter owned it (a promoter who sued TNA for some reason). It's allegedly why the show's named was shortened in 1992, but the blurring thing didn't start until 2006.

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  22. The Ghost of Faffner HallJune 23, 2015 at 11:04 PM

    "G'day! ou say the honeymoon suite is taken? Would this American hundred dollahs change your mind, mate? See, everybody's got a price for Outback Jack, mate!"

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  23. They were trying to redo Randy Savage's unveiling of Elizabeth but instead of the manager being a stunning young woman it was acfat middle age man.

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  24. MaffewOfBotchamaniaJune 24, 2015 at 5:16 AM

    ''Malano is built like a swimmer who stopped training a year ago.''

    Now THAT'S a line.


    BTW, Smart Mark Video's shoot with Steen is way better than his RF. Unless you've made your mind up already, I'd recommend switching.

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  25. I am almost done with the RF one. It's not bad but it's all due to Steen. Lauderdale is the worst interviewer of all-time.

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  26. But that was the story outside the story--the big takeaway was that Bigelow was on the good guys' side.

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  27. Ted almost went to Crockett at the time. Here is what happened as explained in my shoot interview recap:

    "DiBiase now talks about how he signed with the WWF. He said Mid South was on fire when Bill Dundee was brought in too book things but that he hot-shotted everything and when that stopped working, it plummeted. He went back to Japan and told Bruce Prichard to put in a word for him in the WWF as he had an interview with them. While in Japan, Watts sold his territory to Crockett. DiBiase said that he had a meeting with Crockett but before that, Prichard called him and said before he signed anything to talk with Vince McMahon first as he wants to bring him into the WWF. DiBiase met with Crockett who asked him what it would take to sign him. DiBiase said that he wanted what Luger was making as he was a better worker and put in more time and that if he is not worth every penny to them as Luger was, then they did not need him. Crockett then agreed to give DiBiase the same deal as Luger and DiBiase even got them to agree to let him work in Japan too. A week went by and still no call from Vince as DiBiase was still mulling over whether or not to sign with Crockett, who had no idea that the WWF was interested. Vince then calls up DiBiase and tells him about an idea he has but wants to discuss it in person. DiBiase flies to see him and Vince tells DiBiase that this idea has never been done before and that he knows he can pull it off but refused to give him the idea until he officially signed because he did not want to give away the idea for free. Vince had to take a call then Pat Patterson came in and told DiBiase that this idea his what Vince would create for himself and ensured him that DiBiase will fully back him and push him with everything he has. DiBiase went home and called Terry Funk, who told him to pack his bags and go with Vince. DiBiase flew up again, this time with his wife, and Vince put him up in a luxury hotel and had a chauffeur drive him around to all of the expensive restaurants and the theatre as he wanted DiBiase to actually be the Million Dollar Man. When asked if the other guys resented him for this, DiBiase said that they might have but he never saw it and in general most guys never got mad at someone for taking a great opportunity."

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  28. MaffewOfBotchamaniaJune 24, 2015 at 11:05 AM

    It's beyond belief Rob found someone worse than him.

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