WWF Wrestling Challenge August 16th, 1987

August 16, 1987

From the Lacrosse Center in Lacrosse, WI

Your hosts are Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon

In action tonight will be Superstar Billy Graham, Koko B. Ware, and Rick Rude





Barry Horowitz vs. Superstar Billy Graham

Graham overpowers Horowitz, who is doing all of the work here. We get an insert promo from Butch Reed telling Graham he is proud after attacking him during the posedown and will attack his injured hip. Back to the match as Graham hits a backdrop then catches Horowitz in a bearhug for the win (1:40).

Thoughts: Graham was essentially immobile here as Horowitz bumped his ass of to make things look passable. This crowd was not that into Graham.



Craig DeGeorge gives us an update on the "Battle for Bam Bam" as he tells us he can do dropkicks and cartwheels. We then get a clip of Freddie Blassie who is unable to tell us which manager would be best for Bam Bam. A waste of Blassie here if you ask me and it did nothing to intrigue of the storyline.



One Man Gang w/ Slick vs. Billy Beauman

Gang attacks Beauman to start as the announcers talk about Gang being fined for attacking referees and wrestlers a few weeks ago after one of his match. Gang destroys Beauman as Slick is shown in an insert promo telling us that he will sign Bam Bam and put him together with Gang. Back to the match as Gang continues to beat the crap out of Beauman until putting him away with the front suplex (2:52).

Thoughts: They are gearing up Gang for the house show circuit against Hogan as he was being portrayed as a monster. I liked Gang here and too bad he couldn't have done more with that character.



Gene Okerlund is with Jake Roberts and asks him about his recent surgeries while mentioning how the Honky Tonk Man hit him with his guitar. Roberts then tells Honky he is an easy man to find and he has been stirring up while awaiting a rematch. He tells us that his biggest goal is to abuse the Honky Tonk Man, like he did to him. As usual, solid stuff from Jake.



Clips of the Don Muraco/Bob Orton split, with Gorilla officially telling us that they are done as a team. Too bad no one cared as they were booked as afterthoughts for this feud.



Brian Costello vs. Koko B. Ware

Koko hits a monkey flip and a pair of armdrags to start. The crowd is behind Koko here, who is now working the arm. Koko hits a dropkick after blocking a reverse rollup and follows that with a powerslam as the announcers mention Koko singing the title track of the "Piledriver" album. Costello backs Koko in the corner and tries a headbutt but that fails as Koko drops an elbow then goes back to the arm. Koko keeps playing to the crowd, who is really cheering him on, then there is a big miscommunication spot as Costello ducked his head while Koko ram him over. Koko then hits a missile dropkick while landing on Costello before getting the win with the Ghostbuster (3:24). Koko dropped Costello right on his head with that one.

Thoughts: The last 30 seconds or so of the match broke down with Costello fucking up left and right. I don't think Koko was too happy here. Anyway the crowd was firmly behind Koko, who got the biggest face reaction on the show.



Okerlund is now with newly crowned WWF Women's Champion "Sensational" Sherri Martel. She tells all the women in the WWF that this belt belongs to her while egging on the others to try and beat her. Sherri then tells us that she has the best body and is the best wrestler and can cook the best as well. She closes by telling us she is so happy that she parties every night with the belt. Given her history that was probably a shoot. Good promo by Sherri. We were not used to them by the WWF women's wrestlers at this point either.



We are shown the Hart Foundation vs. Jim Powers & Paul Roma match from the 8/8 edition of "Superstars of Wrestling" where Mr. T as the enforcer overruled the match in the favor of Powers & Roma when he saw Hart cheat on a rollup.



DeGeorge is on the podium with "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Virgil. DiBiase cuts off the introduction and says that everyone knows who he is and that he is wealthy. He then tells the crowd he is better than the crowd as they are poor, unlike himself. DiBiase then tells the crowd they all have a price and he will show us how generous he is by giving away $300 then calls a lady up as he makes fun of her for looking poor. DiBiase tells her she can make $300 by barking like a dog then tells her to get down on all fours and bark in front of him. She obliges and barely makes any noise so DiBiase tells us that he wants to hear a high-pitched bark. The lady does so and earns $100 then gets another $100 each of two other barks. DiBiase then asks Virgil if she earned the money as he says no as DiBiase agrees and calls the crowd all a bunch of poor "dog faces" and "suckers" as the woman walks away without any money. This stuff really was genius. A simple and effective way to get heel heat and a great gimmick for house shows.



Now, we are shown David Wolff as he talks about producing the "Piledriver" album. He mentions calling Rick Derringer then talks about how well the wrestlers sung as he hypes it up.



"Ravishing" Rick Rude w/ Bobby Heenan vs. Sonny Rogers

Johnny V. has replaced Heenan on commentary. Before the match, Rude tells the men in the audience to be quiet so the ladies can see him remove his robe. Match starts with Rude slamming Rogers then taunting the crowd as he flexes. He then catches Rogers with a clothesline as we get an insert promo of Rude, with the camera zoomed in on his abs as he opens his robe. Rude then picks up Rogers and makes him submit to the backbreaker (0:57).

Thoughts: They are no starting to build up Rude's heel persona as he begins his ascension up the card. Rude looked good in the ring here.



Lanny Poffo & Mark Richards vs. Kamala & Sika w/ Mr. Fuji & Kimchee

We get an insert promo from Fuji to start but we see a photo of Bam Bam in its place as he tells us Bam Bam can be a "volcano." Poffo tags out after getting roughed up then Sika hits Richards with the Samoan drop and holds him down so Kamala can hit a top rope splash for the win (2:00).

Thoughts: Not much to this as Kamala & Sika were afterthoughts at this point.



Okerlund is with Mr. Fuji, who tells us that Killer Khan loves to be tortured. Khan comes out as Fuji tells us that all the "little Hulksters" will see Hogan get tortured. Okerlund keeps asking Fuji about Khan's training as Fuji tells us that he teaches him martial arts and hits him hard when he screws up as Khan is hitting himself. Fuji cut a more serious promo than usual here. It was alright I guess.



The medics are shown taking Richards out of the ring on a stretcher.



Next week in action will be Ted DiBiase, Randy Savage, Demolition, Brutus Beefcake, and the Junkyard Dog.



Final Thoughts: Not a bad show at all. We saw the TV debut of DiBiase's fan out of the crowd gimmick. We also got to see newer acts like the One Man Gang and Rick Rude pushed as well. The WWF was starting to build a nice collection of upper card heels at this time, which was a desperate need.



Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Saturday: RoH The Tradition Continues 10/16/03
Sunday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 8/22/87
Tuesday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 8/23/87
Thursday: Highspots Shoot Interview with Brickhouse Brown
Friday: WWF Sam Houston Coliseum (Paul Boesch Retirement Show) 8/28/87