WWF Prime Time Wrestling (May 12, 1986)

Original Airdate: May 12, 1986

Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan in the studio

George Steele v Jim Neidhart: From Detroit Michigan on April 26 1986. It’s interesting, even this far into the Hulkamania era, they still hadn’t settled on a uniform look for their shows. Here, we have no turnbuckle pads, a different colored (and textured) mat, and don’t even get me started on the set up for the commentators. Anvil does some stalling to start, and suckers Steele into a chase, allowing Neidhart to tie him up in the ropes as George chases. Steele fights him off with some biting, but Jim reverses him into the corner, and George takes a unique bump off of it. Neidhart brings a chair in (which he steals from a female fan, in a funny bit), but the referee gets it away from him, and the distraction allows Steele to nail him for the pin at 3:51. Thank goodness this was short, because I was legitimately worried that we were getting some fifteen minute snoozefest here. Still, DUD

Back in the studio, Bobby complains about all the animals in the WWF. There’s bees, snakes, and here he is with a gorilla! And that’s not even touching on all the various ‘dogs’ running around the promotion - bull, moon, junkyard, you name it

Bret Hart v Sivi Afi: From Detroit Michigan on April 26 1986. Oddly, Neidhart was wearing red earlier, and Hart is in black with blue trim. I get that it isn’t a tag match, but it’s still weird that they wouldn’t be sporting matching gear. Bret stalls in the early going, but loses a criss cross to a drop-toehold, and Afi works a crossface. Bret counters to a hammerlock, and what’s with the announcers calling Afi ‘Samoan’ all the time, like it’s his first name. Afi escapes the hammerlock and starts to move, so Bret bails to break the momentum, and does more stalling. Afi grabs a standing side-headlock as Hart comes back in, so Bret forces another criss cross - only to get rolled up for two. That botched that one badly - looked like Afi expected him to block it, but Bret went down into the cradle, and they just sort of collapsed. They saved it well enough, though. Bret bails for more stalling, but manages to throw a knee as he re-enters, and the Hitman pounds him. Cross corner whip rattles the ring, and Hart uses a snapmare to set up a 2nd rope pointed elbowdrop. Legdrop follows for two, and another snapmare sets up a chinlock. Afi escapes, and throws a shoulderblock, but loses a criss cross when Hart throws a clothesline. Elbowdrop follows for two, so Hart tosses him to the outside, but Afi rebounds with a slingshot sunset flip for two. Bret cuts him off, but makes the mistake of trying turnbuckle smashes, which he obviously wouldn’t if he’d just listened to these racist commentators. Get a hearing aid, Hitman! Afi tries a corner splash, but Hart dodges, and a bodyslam sets up a 2nd rope elbowdrop - Afi rolling out of the way! Afi with a headbutt drop to the groin, and a jumping axehandle sets up a headbutt drop to the chest for two. Bodyslam sets up a pump-splash for two, as this poor geezer referee looks to be on the verge of a heart attack. Afi with a vertical suplex to set up an elbowdrop, and a somersault senton splash is worth two. Atomic drop and a pair of shoulderblocks find their mark, but a third one gets countered with a backbreaker, and Hart scores the pin at 10:33. This was solid. * ¾  

Gorilla grills Bobby about where King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd are, since we haven’t seen them on this program in ‘a while.’ They were literally on just last week! He’s lucky he wasn’t doing the show with Jesse, Ventura would have destroyed him about that one

Gene Okerlund tries to talk to Jake Roberts, but Jake is more interested in freaking him out with his snake instead

Next, we get the ‘pilot episode’ for Don Muraco and Mr. Fuji’s new TV series, Fuji Vice. The idea here is a beach side detective show, and it’s as great as you’re thinking it is. And, of course, by ‘great’ I mean ‘absolutely abysmal.’ But, in a great way. Definitely falls into the ‘so bad, it’s good’ category, but it also knows how bad it is, and leans into it. More than just ‘leans into,’ it’s fully intentional. It’s like the movies within movies in Boogie Nights. I’m not sure if I need something like this on a wrestling show (especially from heels), though

Back in the studio, Gorilla calls it ‘Fuji Trash,’ but Heenan compares it favorably to Gone with the Wind. If by that he means ‘too long,’ then yes

Corporal Kirchner v Iron Mike Sharpe: From Detroit Michigan on April 26 1986. The announcers note that American flags are going up ‘all over’ the arena, but I literally don’t see a single one. Is there some sort of official rule that wrestling announcers need to think of their listeners as complete morons? Kirchner dominates him, working the arm, until Mike bails. Inside, they trade wristlocks, dominated by Kirchner, until Sharpe bails again. “Both men possess all the good wrestling skills,” note the geniuses in the booth. Inside, Kirchner works a standing side-headlock, until Mike forces a lengthy criss cross - won by Mike with a hiptoss. Kirchner quickly fights back with a pair of dropkicks, however, and Sharpe ends up on the outside. He decides to walk out, but ends up coming back, just in time for Kirchner to pound him. Dropkick, but Sharpe dodges, and the tide has turned. Mike with a backdrop for two, but Kirchner reverses a turnbuckle smash. Avalanche, but Sharpe sidesteps, and Kirchner takes a bump to the outside. Mike pounds him on the way back in, but loses a criss cross when Kirchner throws a bodypress for two. Sunset flip gets two, so Mike pounds him down to keep control. He manages a turnbuckle smash this time, and then snaps Kirchner’s throat across the top rope for good measure. Cross corner whip, but Kirchner reverses, and delivers a monkeyflip. Small package gets him two, and a samoan drop finishes at 10:29. This was competent. *

Heenan hides behind a house plant to “make Kirchner feel more at home.” What a kind man! Gorilla thinks Kirchner should find himself a good tag partner, so Bobby suggests the Cub Scouts

Gene catches up with the Dream Team, who are still sore about losing the WWF Tag Team Title to the British Bulldogs at WrestleMania 2, but they’re ready to get their gold back soon

Bobby notes that he “likes the way Jake handles that snake.” He must have loved Heroes of Wrestling, then

Jake Roberts v Scott McGhee: From Detroit Michigan on April 26 1986. Why do commentators always seem so surprised by opening bells? Jake dominates at the (surprising) bell, and delivers a bodyslam. He barrels into him with a shoulderblock, but McGhee comes back with a pair of bodyslams, so Jake bails to kill the momentum. Back in, McGhee tries a wristlock, so Jake tries to get the snake out while in the hold, but Scott keeps him away from the bag. Jake fights to a vertical base and throws a knee to escape, so McGhee keeps on him with a bodypress for two. McGhee goes for a takedown, but Jake keeps blocking him, and he whips Scott into the corner. Roberts with a stomachbreaker, and an inverted atomic drop follows. Jake works a chinlock, but McGhee fights to his feet, so Roberts kicks him in the gut to keep control. Corner whip backfires when McGhee rebounds out with a clothesline, however, and he adds a matslam. Side suplex sets up a 2nd rope kneedrop for two, but Jake fights him off, and the DDT finishes at 7:01. This was long for what it was, but it wasn’t bad. *

Tony Atlas v Hercules Hernandez: From Detroit Michigan on April 26 1986. We’re joined in progress for this one, since apparently this is just too big of a can’t miss to skip out on. The work through a test-of-strength, won by Atlas. He manages an atomic drop, but Hercules comes back with an inverted version - the announcers noting that Tony “feeling that his stomach is up in his chest area.” His stomach? Hercules with an elbowdrop for two, and he rakes the eyes, but that backfires when it fires Tony up. Atlas makes a comeback, but a dropkick misses, allowing Hercules to apply a torture rack. Atlas makes the ropes, so Hercules tries a backdrop, but Tony counters with a sunset flip at 5:27 shown of 9:31. Huh, I wasn’t expecting Atlas to get a TV win over Hercules at this point. I think this may actually be the last televised non-squash win he ever got in the promotion, actually

Gorilla taunts Bobby by showing off a spread in the latest WWF Magazine featuring a profile on Jimmy Hart

The Killer Bees v Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff: From Detroit Michigan on April 26 1986. B. Brian Blair and Sheik start off, and I’m not even going to go there. Lots of nothing for the first few minutes, just posturing. Jim Brunzell tags in and grounds Sheik in a chinlock, but Sheik powers him into the heel corner to escape, only for Jim to dodge a double team. That allows Jim to whip Sheik into the Bees corner, and Blair tags in to work a mat-based headlock. The Bees zero in on the leg, but a cheap shot from Volkoff puts a stop to that, and the heels double up on Brunzell. Jim manages a sunset flip on Nikolai for two, but he can’t reach for the tag, and the heels cut the ring in half. The announcers note that there is a man in the crowd who “has a big American flag, and keeps waving it patriotically.” As opposed to? Jim escapes a bearhug from Volkoff to allow the tag to Blair, and he comes in hot. Atomic drop on Volkoff gets two, so Sheik takes a cheap shot, and Nikolai topples Blair for two. Tag to Sheik for a clothesline, and a backdrop follows. Gutwrench suplex leads to the camel clutch, but Brunzell saves before Blair quits. “He had to do it, otherwise it was all over.” Because that makes the cheating okay? Blair escapes an abdominal stretch and manages a vertical suplex on Sheik, and Jim gets the hot tag - Roseanne Barr the door! The Bees dump Volkoff over the top, allowing Jim to put Sheik in a sleeper. Sheik fades, but Volkoff manages to save, and Sheik topples Brunzell at 11:43. *

Heenan has been tearing every page of the Magazine that doesn’t feature him out, only to find that the only photos of him are of WWF Champion Hulk Hogan abusing him at WrestleMania 

BUExperience: They were all in on what looked like quite the fun Detroit house show, but why not feature the Hulk Hogan/Randy Savage title match that headlined it? Solid episode this week.