WWF at Copps Coliseum (March 13, 1988)

Original Airdate: March 13, 1988 

From Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Your Hosts are Craig DeGeorge and Nick Bockwinkel 

Opening Match: SD Jones v Johnny V: We have an odd, dark gray mat here. Usually by 1988 they were pretty uniform with their rings, but the mat and posts are wrong here, and the ropes are too loose. Jones dominates in the early going, so Johnny bails following a bodyslam. Johnny manages to get control and put the boots to him, and he sends Jones to the post on the outside. Johnny with a bodyslam of his own on the way back in, and he throws a knee ahead of a ropechoke. Jones randomly stops selling and makes a comeback, so Johnny tries hustling to the top rope for a dive, but Jones slams him off for two. Johnny tries a backdrop as a last ditch effort, but Jones blocks with a headbutt for the pin at 6:42. Nothing to this one, but it was quick and got the crowd into things well enough. ½*

The Killer Bees v The Bolsheviks: Nikolai Volkoff attacks B. Brian Blair to kickstart the match, but Blair fights him off, and an atomic drop knocks Nikolai into a punch from Jim Brunzell. Boris Zhukov comes in without a tag, but Blair dodges the double team, and the heels knock heads. Tag to Jim, and Brunzell gets Volkoff in a wristlock. The Bees take turns with it, but Volkoff plants an elbow on Blair, and makes the tag out. The commentary team is surprisingly decent here. I wasn’t expecting much, but they are actually giving interesting analysis for the most part. Zhukov misses a charge in the corner, allowing the tag back to Jim, and Brunzell gets Zhukov in a wristlock on the mat. The Bees take turns working the wrist again, until Volkoff takes a cheap shot at Blair, and Zhukov is able to capitalize. The heels take control on Blair, and they cut the ring in half, until Brian manages to catch Volkoff with a jumping forearm. Hot tag to Jim, and Brunzell runs wild on Zhukov. Dropkick gets two when Volkoff saves, and Roseanne Barr the door! Jim gets a sleeper on Boris, but Volkoff manages to save, and Brunzell is pinned at 11:20. Solid tag wrestling. * ¾ 

Dino Bravo v Koko B. Ware: Dino with a bodyslam early on, but he fails to keep control, and Koko sends him to the outside. Inside, Koko dodges an attack in the corner, and uses a cross corner whip to set up a monkeyflip, but Bravo counters with an inverted atomic drop. Dino capitalizes with chops to send Koko to the outside, and Bravo follows to feed him the rail out there. Inside, Bravo with a piledriver for two (with DeGeorge noting the irony of using that move on Koko), and Dino works a chinlock from there. Clothesline gets him two, so he goes back to the chinlock, but Koko escapes, and uses a 2nd rope bodypress for two. Bravo fights back with another piledriver, but Ware is able to counter with a backdrop this time, and he makes a comeback. Fistdrop gets him two, but a corner charge misses, and Bravo drops him with a sidewalk slam at 7:47. *

Greg Valentine v Brutus Beefcake: Greg is hesitant to get in, so Beefcake forces him inside, and goes to work. Beefcake just hammers on him and hammers on him for a good five minutes, until Greg finally manages to get a shot to the throat in to turn things around. Greg dives with a flying axehandle, and he unloads some tomahawk chops, in between mocking Beefcake’s strut. Greg works a headvice next, as Bockwinkel gets into an interesting explanation of how the hold is more effective on a guy with a large neck than a skinny one. Greg works a knucklelock into a pinning predicament for two, but Beefcake blocks the figure four. Greg responds by going upstairs again, but Beefcake blocks the flying axehandle this time, and the Barber makes a comeback. Sleeper looks to finish, so Jimmy Hart dives in to save. Brutus deals with him, but Greg gets ahold of the megaphone in the chaos, and whacks Beefcake with it for the DQ at 11:22. Not an especially interesting match. ¾*

Noriyo Tateno v Leilani Kai: Kai tries powering her into the ropes, but Tateno uses speed to catch her with a high knee, and Kai hides out in the corner. Bockwinkel thinks all this ‘up in the air’ action is nyet good, and he’s no fan of when guys like ‘the English Bulldogs’ do it. Tateno works the arm, but Kai fights her off, and uses a snapmare to set up a bodyscissors. Tateno escapes and gets a figure four on, but Kai reverses into the ropes, as Bockwinkel makes some interesting points on the difference between male and female wrestlers general flexibility making holds such as that less effective for the women. Maybe that’s why Charlotte Flair needs the bridge. Tateno tries a toehold, but Kai makes the ropes again, and she cracks Tateno during a criss cross. Tateno tries a dive off the middle, but Kai dodges, and Tateno wipes out. That looked very awkward. It’s enough to give Kai control, however, and she goes to work. Tateno makes a comeback, and a butterfly suplex gets her two. Bodypress, but Kai ducks, and delivers a bridging northern lights suplex for two. Tateno returns with a bridging fisherman suplex, but Judy Martin is distracting the referee, so no count. Tateno stays focused with a 2nd rope clothesline, but Jimmy Hart puts Kai’s foot on the ropes at two. That allows Kai to attack, but a miscommunication ends in Kai and Jimmy knocking heads, and Tateno scores the pin at 13:06. This wasn’t really my thing. ¾*

Don Muraco and George Steele v One Man Gang and Butch Reed: Brawl to start, with the babyfaces cleaning house. The dust settles on Muraco and Reed, and Steele is there with a cheap shot almost immediately. But, they’re babyfaces, so it’s cool. Don works a wristlock that goes nowhere, and Steele and Gang tag in next. Steele uses his teeth to work Gang’s arm, and he passes to Don for more of the same. Don tries a backdrop, but Gang blocks, and that’s enough to turn the tide. The heels go to work on Muraco, and the crowd is surprisingly engaged for such a boring match. Like, seriously, we’re thirteen minutes in, and nothing of note is going on. Steele finally comes in to trigger another brawl, and Roseanne Barr the door. The heels get control again, and they isolate Don, but mess up a double team, allowing Muraco to splash Reed at 17:51. This was rough going for an eighteen minute match. DUD

Main Event: Hulk Hogan and Bam Bam Bigelow v Ted DiBiase and Virgil: The heels attempt attacking before the bell, but Hogan and Bigelow clean house. The dust settles on Bigelow and DiBiase, and Ted tries a series of chops, but loses a criss cross when Bam Bam throws a shoulderblock. Tag to Hulk, and the crowd is just on fire for him. Hulk with a cross corner clothesline, so Virgil runs in, but Hulk knocks their heads together to put a stop to that bit. Headbutt from Bigelow on the exchange, and Ted tries begging off, but Bam Bam responds with an atomic drop. That allows the babyfaces to pinball DiBiase, and stereo big boots follow. Hulk takes Ted on a tour of turnbuckle smashes, and a clothesline finds the mark, as a fan tries throwing in the towel for DiBiase. Andre the Giant takes a more direct route: he attacks Hulk, and chokes him out - allowing Ted to take control. The heels go to work on Hogan, until Bam Bam catches the hot tag, and he runs wild on DiBiase. Andre trips him up to put a stop to it, allowing the heels to turn the tide back, and Virgil chokes Bigelow in the corner. Bam Bam fights back with a press-slam, so Ted runs in, but Hulk cuts him off. Hulk lands a legdrop on Virgil during the chaos, and Bam Bam punctuates it with a splash at 10:08. *

BUExperience: A pretty weak card on paper (aside from the main event), but the crowd was hot for every bit of it, and it was an easy watch, even if not an especially ‘good’ or memorable show.

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