Goody Bag VII: Assorted Coogies

Hulk Hogan and Ricky Steamboat v Randy Savage and Honky Tonk Man: From January 5 1987, taped for the international version of Wrestling Challenge. Savage goes crazy and starts throwing chairs into the ring before the bell, but that doesn't stop the faces from pinballing Honky around anyway. Steamboat desperately wants Savage to tag in, but Randy is all talk, and refuses. Alls well, they just keep gleefully kicking Honky's ass, but Hogan forces a tag to Savage. Macho hides on the floor, but Hogan drags him in - only for Macho to immediately scurry for a tag to Honky to avoid Steamboat again. The Dragon backdrops Honky, and a snapmare sets up a chinlock - as Savage continues to carry the entire match with his antics. Poor Honky is just getting murdered here, full stop. He briefly manages to get something in on Hogan with a ten-punch count, but the Hulkster shrugs him off with an inverted atomic drop, then cross corner clotheslines him. Steamboat with a sleeper, and now suddenly Savage is mister big shot with a cheap shot from the apron! He tags in with a flying axehandle, and immediately goes for the throat of the Dragon. The heels cut the ring in half on Steamboat, but the Dragon manages to fight off Honky long enough for the hot tag - Roseanne Barr the door! Big boot on Savage leaves him dead, but Hulk wants to give Steamboat his chance, and tags. The Dragon unloads on Macho, and a flying tomahawk chop hits, but Honky shoves Ricky down off the top as he goes up again for the DQ at 11:00. That allows Savage to grab the ring bell, but Hogan shoves him off the top rope to prevent him from using it, and Steamboat gets hold of it! Randy escapes before he can use it, however, so they settle for beating up Honky and Jimmy Hart instead. Fun stuff, with Savage brilliantly playing the cowardly heel, and everyone hitting their marks. ** ½

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Honky Tonk Man v Bret Hart: From Prime Time Wrestling on July 18 1988 (taped June 22), during the first of several attempts to test the waters for separating the Hart Foundation, and pushing Bret as a single. Hart looks like he's wearing a diaper underneath his gear tonight. I'm sure he was excited about this title shot, but that's just gross. Bret hammers him for a quick backelbow to start, and a series of turnbuckle smashes leave Honky dizzy. Hart continues to pound him, but misses a corner charge, and Honky starts attacking the shoulder to capitalize. Ten-punch wears Hart down, but Honky misses a corner charge of his own, and the Hitman throws a dropkick as he starts mounting his comeback. Rollup gets two, and a bodyslam sets up a 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrop - only for Jimmy Hart to knock Bret off the ropes with his megaphone! That earns him a beating from Jim Neidhart, so Honky goes out to save - Bret following for the lame (albeit predictable) double countout at 8:05. Not the best, as Hart looked off his game here. One of the worst televised Bret Hart matches I've ever seen from his WWF period, in fact. ½*

Sabu v Lightning Kid: From NWA Grandslam in Minneapolis on April 17 1993, just prior to Kid's WWF debut. Feeling out process to start, and man, if you think Kevin Dunn's production style annoys us today, you'll be longing for his car crash technique after five minutes of this show. Who uses soft fades every time they change the camera angle? I feel like I'm watching a Nicholas Sparks adaptation here. 'The Arabian and the Kid,' coming soon to a theater near you! Sabu controls on the mat, and hits a slingshot legdrop for two, then a standard legdrop is added for two. He grabs a side-headlock, but Kid escapes, and wins a criss cross with a dropkick. Spinheel kick follows, but a corner dropkick misses, and Sabu drops an elbow for two. Sabu controls with a backdrop, so Kid tries a desperation charge, but ends up bumping to the floor - Sabu following with a somersault plancha that ends up hitting some poor guy in the front row as much as it does Kid. What a pro. Though, in all fairness, the promoters should have positioned those seats much further back if they weren't using rails. But then, that doesn't excuse what happens next, as Sabu decides to hit a springboard moonsault - hitting that same fan, and what looks like a kid too. What an asshole. Unless it was a midget. That would make it understandable, then. Oliver Humperdink rams Kid into the post out there to draw blood, and Sabu delivers a sunsetbomb off the apron as Kid tries climbing back in! Back in, Sabu hits a spinheel kick to setup a slingshot moonsault, but a flying version hits Kid's knees. Kid unloads a ten-punch and some lightning kicks, then snapmares Sabu over to setup a trip to the top - only for Sabu to bring him down with a rana instead! Again, but Kid counters into what looks like it was supposed to be a powerbomb, but Sabu slips, and ends up falling right on his head. Ouch! No matter, Kid hits a pair of sliding legdrops for two, and a vertical suplex sets up a flying somersault senton - only for Sabu to roll out of the way! He goes up, but Kid dropkicks him off and to the floor, then head fakes him before diving with a springboard bodypress! He follows with another wild spot in the form of a flying spinheel kick out there, and he rolls Sabu in for a corner dropkick - only for Sabu to pull the referee into the flight path! That brings Oliver back in for a double team, until Jerry Lynn runs in for the save, and the whole thing is ruled a no contest at 14:07. The spots were way ahead of the game in 1993, though a modern fan would likely be turned off by the sloppiness that plagued this at every turn. Today, we get to see guys do these types of moves on a regular basis, and their execution is crisp and smooth. In 1993, however, there were very few workers doing this kind of stuff (especially in the United States), and the ones who did weren't necessarily very polished. Still innovative and interesting, though not as much of a blow away as I imagine it would be to someone who saw this for the first time in 1993. ***

Rick Rude and Steve Austin v Sting and Brian Pillman: From WCW Saturday Night on January 8 1994 (taped December 13). Austin taunts and stalls Pillman to start, but trying to sucker Brian to the outside fails, so Steve tries sweeping him, but Pillman slugs back! In, Brian head fakes his way into a 2^nd rope flying clothesline for two, and Austin bails to break the momentum. Tag to Rude on the way back in, and he hammers Brian with chops, but gets caught with a sunset cradle for two. Rude pounds him down in the corner for getting uppity, but Brian keeps coming with a 2^nd rope bodypress for two, and he tags out to Sting! The crowd pops big for the Stinger, and he blitzes Rude with a flapjack and an atomic drop. The faces pinball Rude in the corner for two, and Sting grounds him in an armbar, but Rick powers into the corner in the hold, and tags. Steve tries capitalizing with a double-team, but Sting fights both guys off. Well, what do you expect? Austin's never had much luck against guys in pink and black. Steve manages a side-headlock, but a criss cross ends in Sting press-slamming him, and Steve is so disoriented that he tries tagging former partner Pillman in! Brian plays along before knocking Steve off the apron, but Austin is able to regroup with a backelbow on Sting as he comes back in. Tag to Rude for a backbreaker and a bearhug, as he helps cut the ring in half on Sting, but the Stinger reverses a tombstone piledriver for two! Tag to Pillman, and he comes in hot on Austin - Roseanne Barr the door! Missile dropkick looks to finish Steve, but the referee is distracted, and Robert Parker comes in with a cheap shot - allowing Austin to score the pinfall at 12:00. Fun little TV match! ** ¼