Goody Bag 71: WWF 1986

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Tito Santana v Randy Savage: From a live event in Boston Massachusetts on January 11 1986. Stalling from Savage to start, with Santana dominating him whenever they do engage. Tito gets him in an armbar, until Savage manages a cheapshot on a ropebreak, and Macho goes to work. Elbowdrop gets him a two count, so he works a chinlock. Santana fights to a vertical base, so Savage takes a shot at Tito’s taped up left leg, putting the champion down for two. Back to the chinlock, wearing Santana down for a kneedrop for two. Kick to the gut gets another two, so Tito gutpunches him to trigger a comeback effort. Randy goes to the eyes to cut him off, however, and a flying axehandle gets the challenger two. Randy with a clothesline for two, and it’s back to the chinlock. The referee checks the arm, and the overzealous timekeeper actually sounds the bell. They keep going, with Savage trying a straddling ropechoke, but Santana dodging. That allows the champion a proper comeback, but Macho manages to dump him to the outside, and he dives with a flying axehandle out there. Randy tries pulling him in, but Santana fights him off in the process, and nails the challenger with a 2nd rope elbowsmash. Tito puts the boots to him, and a jumping forearm knocks Macho to the outside. Tito goes after him, so Savage shoves Miss Elizabeth into harm’s way, and then dumps Santana into the first row when the champ takes the bait. Savage hustles back in, and Santana can’t beat the count at 13:03. This started off kind of slow, but built into a really good match by the end. **

Bruno Sammartino and Paul Orndorff v Roddy Piper and Bob Orton: From a live event in Boston Massachusetts on January 11 1986 (aired February 24 on Prime Time Wrestling). Big brawl to start, with the babyfaces cleaning house. The dust settles on Orndorff and Piper, with Paul taking him to school. Over to Bruno to get his shots in, but Piper gets hold of a chair as they brawl on the outside, and he whacks Bruno with it. Inside, the heels double up on him, but Bruno is so fired up that it doesn’t take. Back to Orndorff for a flying axehandle on Piper, and he goes for the piledriver, but Orton nails him with the cast to block it. That leaves Paul loopy, and Roddy hooks the leg for two. The damage is done, however, and the heels go to work on Orndorff. Paul backdrops his way out of a piledriver attempt from Orton to allow the hot tag to Bruno, and Roseanne Barr the door! Bruno and Piper spill to the outside, and Roddy manages to beat the count in for the win at 8:40. This was fun in its way, and the crowd dug it, but it wasn’t much from a workrate perspective. ¾*

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Tito Santana v Randy Savage: From Championship Wrestling on February 22 1986 (taped February 8) in Boston. Feeling out process to start, and Savage tries a flying axehandle, but Santana blocks. That allows Tito a bodyslam, and he sets up for the jumping forearm, but Macho bails before he can deliver it. Santana chases, and delivers an atomic drop for two on the way back into the ring. Savage goes to the eyes to buy time, and it’s enough to turn the tide. He blasts Tito with an elbow for two, and a clothesline gets another two. Randy tries the flying axehandle again, and lands it this time for two. Randy dumps him to the outside for a flying axehandle on the floor, and Jesse Ventura is immediately calling him out for it since he won by countout the last time, and thus didn’t get the belt. His commentary (along with partner Gorilla Monsoon) feels so natural and conversational - there isn’t a forced note in there. Santana fights him off and dives with a 2nd rope elbowsmash, but Randy is in the ropes at one. Cross corner whip works, but the charge in hits Savage’s knee, and Macho covers for two. Tito manages a small package for two, but gets cut off when Savage throws a backelbow. Kneedrop, but Santana dodges, and Macho’s wheel is busted. Tito goes after it, softening him up for the figure four, but Randy manages to make it into the ropes to save himself. Tito stays on him with a vertical suplex, but Randy blocks another figure four attempt, and he bails to the apron. Tito goes after him, so Savage pulls something out of his tights, and pops Santana with it for the pin at 10:29. This was a solid match, though they didn’t really do a great job of getting over that referee Danny Davis screwed Tito out of the title. Other than being out of position at one point, he was pretty straight. And even being out of position is not exactly uncommon. I get that it was meant to be subtle, but there is such a thing as too subtle. ** ½ (Original rating: *)

The Hart Foundation v The Killer Bees: From Prime Time on March 10 1986 (taped February 8) in Boston. Bret Hart and B. Brian Blair start, and they feel each other out. Over to Jim Brunzell for more feeling out, and Blair tags in to surprise the Hitman with an inside cradle for two. Blair armdrags him into an armbar, but Hart manages a tag to Jim Neidhart. Neidhart uses his power to get control of Blair, and Bret comes in with cheap shots to punctuate it. The Foundation go to work on Brian, until Anvil misses a dropkick, and Brunzell gets the hot tag. He runs wild on Neidhart, and a dropkick sets up a spinning toehold, but Hart comes in to save. That buys Neidhart time, and he whips Brunzell into a cheap shot from the Hitman to turn the tide. The Foundation pick up on their new victim, until a miscommunication results in them colliding, and Blair gets the tag. He gets Neidhart in a sleeper, but Bret saves, and both legal men are left looking at the lights. Bret sneaks in again with a 2nd rope elbowdrop on Blair, and he steals a pin at 15:08, despite not being the legal man. This was fine, and good use of the tag formula, but not a particularly interesting piece of business. * ¼ 

Cage Match: Bruno Sammartino v Roddy Piper: From Boston on February 8 1986. Bruno comes in all fired up, and just goes crazy on Piper from the get-go. Piper is busted open within forty seconds, and Bruno grabs the posters Roddy brought with him, and literally tries to shove them up his ass. That’s quite a thing. Piper goes low to turn the tide, and he unloads on Sammartino a bit, but Bruno blocks him from getting out the door. Piper responds by sending him into the cage to bust him open as well, and we get a slugfest, won by Bruno. He goes for the door, but Piper grabs the ankle to block, so Sammartino pulls a chair in. He brains Piper with it a couple of times, and that’s enough for the escape at 8:39. Kind of a nothing match, but it was suitably violent, and paid off the angle nicely. ¾*

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Randy Savage v Tito Santana: From Boston on March 8 1986. Stalling from Savage to start, until a frustrated Santana decides to chase him, and he grabs Macho when Randy tries taking the high ground. Tito unloads on him on the outside, and back in, Santana keeps the fury coming. Atomic drop sends Randy over the top, and Tito is right on him with an elbowsmash from the apron. Santana works the leg as they head back inside, but Macho holds the ropes to block a figure four attempt, and he dumps his challenger to the outside to buy time. Macho follows with an axehandle on the floor, and then a flying version on the way back inside for two. Kick to the face gets two, so Savage takes him into the corner for a ten-punch, but Santana fights him off with an inverted atomic drop. Tito mounts a comeback, and lands the jumping forearm, but lets off the cover for some reason. He adds an elbowdrop for two, and tries for the figure four again, but Randy bails to avoid it. Tito runs him back in, but gets overzealous, shoving the referee for a DQ at 7:16. These two had reliably great chemistry, but this was kind of abbreviated. * ½ 

WWF Title Match: Hulk Hogan v Randy Savage: From Boston on May 24 1986. Savage's WWF Intercontinental title is not on the line. I think the real title on the line here is Tanning Booth Champion, though. Stalling from Randy as we get going, and Hulk powers him around once they engage. More stalling from the challenger, and he tries a cheap shot, but Hulk is wise to him. Hogan with a bodyslam to set up a trip of elbowdrops, and an atomic drop sends Savage to the outside on Hogan’s terms. Hulk follows, so Macho uses Miss Elizabeth as a shield, causing the Hulkster to back off. Hogan holds the high ground in the ring, and Savage comes in trying a choke, but Hogan fights him off. Hulk with a cross corner clothesline, and a vertical suplex sets up a bootrake, so Macho bails. Hulk chases again, but loses the high ground, and Savage clobbers him on the way inside. That allows Randy a flying axehandle for one, so he tosses Hulk to the outside to allow him a flying axehandle on the floor to get more traction. Randy sends him into the barricade next, and another flying axe finds the mark on the way back in, getting two. Clothesline connects for two, so Savage goes up with the flying elbowdrop, but it triggers a HULK UP!! at two. Fists of Fury! Big Boot! That sends the challenger to the outside, however, and Hulk goes out to roll him back in, and he full on threatens to deck Elizabeth out there. What a hero. Inside, Hulk tries a backdrop, but gets clobbered. Criss cross sees Hogan try a clothesline, so Savage hits the deck, and Hulk runs into the referee! That allows Mahco to knock Hogan out of the ring, and he dives at the champion with the title belt! That busts the Hulkster open, and he’s counted out at 13:57. This was really fun, and so much more lively than their WrestleMania main event. Though, a lot of that is probably down to the crowd, as the fans in Boston were hot for this, compared to the burned out casual fans that filled the stands in Atlantic City. **

Ricky Steamboat v Jake Roberts: From Boston on June 27 1986. Brawl on the outside right away, dominated by Steamboat. He rolls him in, but eats a kneelift from Jake on the way, and Roberts adds a kick to the gut to keep the hurt on the part. DDT, but Ricky blocks, and fights him off with rights and lefts. Belly-to-belly suplex sets up some mounted punches, and Jake wisely gets out of there. Back in, Ricky keeps the attack going, not losing any momentum. Turnbuckle smash and a 2nd rope punch set up a fistdrop, and Steamboat adds a facebuster to set up a kneedrop. Criss cross allows Jake to throw a punch to the throat, and that finally slows Steamboat down. Jake stays on him with an inverted atomic drop, and he works the Dragon over. Chinlock looks to put it away, but Ricky keeps fighting, so Jake unloads on him with mounted punches instead. He opens up the snake bag, and looks to knock Ricky silly with a kneelift, but Ricky dodges, and Jake takes a nice bump. That’s enough to allow Steamboat to make a comeback, but Jake lifts his knees to block a splash. They spill to the outside, where Jake tries using the post, but Steamboat reverses. He rolls Roberts in to finish, but that gives Jake the countout win at 13:28. Shouldn’t Jake rolling in break the count? But then, there are better hills to die on than the on/off enforcement of certain rules in pro-wrestling. This had a lot of intensity, and felt like a real war, even if it wasn’t anything amazing. Strong psychology throughout here. ** ¼ 

WWF Title Match: Hulk Hogan v Randy Savage: From Boston on June 27 1986. Savage's WWF Intercontinental title is not on the line. Randy attacks before the bell, stripping Hulk of the title belt, and diving off the top to nail him in the back with it. Macho with a turnbuckle smash, and he chokes the champion down as the blitz continues. Savage with a flying axehandle on the stunned Hulkster, but Randy gets distracted dealing with Miss Elizabeth, and Hogan recovers. He unloads on Macho for a bit before dumping him over the top, and Hulk follows to ram him into the post out there! Inside, Hulk connects with a clothesline, and a side suplex follows. Hulk keeps knocking him around, so Liz bails up the aisle, heading to the dressing room for whatever reason. Did she need to take a shit, or something? Hulk with a cross corner clothesline and a vertical suplex to set up an elbowdrop, and a slugfest ends with Randy tied in the ropes. Macho manages to dump Hulk to the outside for a flying axehandle, and Randy adds an elbowdrop on the floor. Macho sends him into the barricade before rolling him in for the flying elbowdrop, but it only gets two, triggering the HULK UP!! Fists of Fury! Cross Corner Whip! Big Boot! Bodyslam! Legdrop! 7:13! I thought the finish was a little too basic (Hulk just made his usual comeback, and put the Intercontinental champion away without much fuss), but the match was all action. ** ¼ 

Ricky Steamboat v Jake Roberts: From Boston on August 9 1986. Steamboat is very cautious in the early going, and Jake gets him in a wristlock. Ricky throws elbows to escape, and they keep feeling each other out, with Jake able to dominate with use of cheap tactics. He frustrates the Dragon at every turn, until Ricky explodes, and unloads on him on the outside. A chop against the post gets dodged, however, and Steamboat cracks his hand against the steel. Jake goes to work on the hand, until Steamboat gets fired up again, and sends him into the barricade. Ricky feeds him the announce table next, and Dragon keeps control with a facebuster on the way back inside. Backhand gets two, and a flying tomahawk chop finds the mark. Turnbuckle smash, but Jake shoves him into the referee to buy time. Jake delivers a short-clothesline, but the referee is still down, so no count. Roberts stays on him with a stomachbreaker, but still no referee to count. Roberts goes to revive him, but that allows Steamboat to recover with a rollup at 17:20. This was solid work, but kind of on the dull side, compared to the hotter match from June. *

WWF Title Match: Hulk Hogan v Paul Orndorff: From Houston Texas on October 19 1986. If Hogan gets disqualified, he loses the title here. Hogan is sporting a blue Hulkamania shirt, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen. Orndorff attacks as Hulk climbs into the ring, and unloads on the champion. Hulk dodges a pointed elbowdrop, allowing him to come back, choking Paul with the t-shirt, and taking a shot at Bobby Heenan for good measure. Orndorff strikes the throat to buy time, so Hulk grabs a chair, but ends up thinking better of it. Hulk punches him out of the ring instead, so Heenan distracts him, allowing Orndorff a sneak attack. They spill to the outside, where Orndorff happily uses the chair, but Hogan beats the count. Inside, Orndorff with a pointed elbowdrop, and a backbreaker gets him two, but triggers the HULK UP!! Fists of Fury! Bodyslam! Legdrop! But instead of making the cover, he dumps Orndorff to the outside to get some revenge with the chair, but the referee intervenes again. Well, that was pointless. Back in for the big boot, but Orndorff falls out of the ring, so no cover. Hulk nails him with the chair this time when the referee isn’t looking, and he leaves Orndorff for dead to take the countout at 6:07. They weren’t drawing in Houston at this point, and the crowd was pretty tiny (under two thousand people), but damned if the people who were there didn’t make up for the people who didn’t show up. What a bullshit match, though, quick and not especially interesting. Especially for a world title main event. Odd way to try and build up a market. ½*

Bret Hart v Raymond Rougeau: From New York City on October 20 1986. Raymond stomps Bret’s sunglasses before the bell, triggering a charge from the Hitman, but Rougeau is ready with a backdrop. Criss cross ends in Rougeau delivering a monkeyflip, so Bret bails to regroup. Back in, Hart forces another criss cross, but gets stomped while trying a monkeyflip of his own. Bret goes to the eyes to buy time, and he manages an inverted atomic drop to capitalize. Pointed elbowdrop follows, and Hart dumps him to the outside, then hammers him in the corner when Raymond scraps back in. Bret with a backbreaker for two, so he tries a chinlock. Rougeau escapes with a sunset flip for two, but Hart cuts him off, and delivers a few turnbuckle smashes. Rougeau fights back with a piledriver for two, and Raymond goes on the comeback trail. Atomic drop leaves Hart in a heap in the corner, but the Hitman manages to sweep Rougeau into a leveraged pin at 8:33. Nothing much to this one. ½*

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Randy Savage v Ricky Steamboat: From Boston on November 1 1986. Posturing to start, with Savage stalling, and Steamboat getting frustrated. Ricky manages a takedown into an armdrag, but Macho makes the ropes to save himself. Randy grabs a handful of hair to try and turn thing around, but Dragon keeps hold of the arm, and takes him back to the mat in another armbar. Ricky with a bodypress for two between armbars, and a nice sequence sees Steamboat hit a bodyslam before going back to the armbar. Savage finally gets desperate enough to pull a foreign object out of his tights to nail Steamboat with, and a clothesline finds the mark, but he aggravates the arm Steamboat had been working on. Nice selling from the champion there. Bodyslam, but Steamboat counters with an inside cradle for two, so Randy elbows him for two. Upstairs for a flying axehandle, but Steamboat blocks, so Randy punches him to knock the challenger to the outside. Macho chases with an axehandle on the floor, and a bodyslam follows out there. Savage tries a vertical suplex back in, but Ricky topples him for two. Randy tries a piledriver, but Steamboat backdrops him to block, so Macho pulls the weapon out again to bash him for some time. That allows Randy a high knee to set up a straddling ropechoke, but Steamboat dodges! That allows Dragon a knife-edge chop for two, and a vertical suplex gets another two. Atomic drop gets two, so Steamboat goes up with a flying tomahawk chop. Shoulderblock follows for two, and another one gets another two. Third one, but Macho sidesteps, and Dragon goes over the top. Randy tries a flying axehandle on the outside, but Steamboat dodges, and Randy injures his knee on the landing. Steamboat rolls in, but Savage’s knee is in a bad way, and it’s a countout at 14:27. This was a little slow in the early going, but really picked up. It wasn’t at the same level as the WrestleMania match, and kind of reminded me of Bret Hart/Davey Boy Smith at SummerSlam, with lots of good sequences that ultimately end in them going back to a mat-based hold again. ** ½ 

WWF Tag Team Title Match: The British Bulldogs v The Hart Foundation: From Boston on November 1 1986. Dynamite Kid and Bret Hart start, and Bret pounds him right into the heel corner right away for a double team, but Kid fights them both off! The Foundation bail to regroup, and the dust settles on Davey Boy Smith in there with Bret. Smith with an atomic drop, but a corner charge misses, and Hart uses a rollup for two. Tag to Jim Neidhart, and a criss cross ends in Smith throwing a dropkick. He grabs a standing side-headlock, but a few shoulderblocks backfire when Jim catches him with a bodyslam, and tags Bret for a slingshot splash for two. Hart with an inverted atomic drop to set up a pointed elbowdrop, and a backbreaker follows. Back to Neidhart for a matslam for two, and back to Hart for a backbreaker/2nd rope elbowdrop combo for two. The Foundation work Davey over, until he powers out of a sleeper from the Hitman, and press-drops him right across the top rope. Hot tag to Kid, and Roseanne Barr the door! Snap suplex on Bret sets up a headbutt drop once the referee restores order, and he grabs a sleeper of his own, but Anvil saves. That leaves Kid, Hart, and the referee all down, and Neidhart puts Bret on top. He goes to revive the official, and it results in a very dramatic two count! Neidhart stays on Kid with a bodyslam before putting Bret back on top for another dramatic two, so Jim goes to argue with the official, and Davey rolls Neidhart up at 13:42. Classic style tag wrestling here, and man, Bret really did have ‘excellence of execution.’ Everything that guy did looked great. ** ¾ 

The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers v The American Express: From Boston on December 6 1986. Raymond Rougeau starts with Mike Rotundo, and we get a nice criss cross, ending in Ray delivering a hiptoss, but missing an elbowdrop. Mike with a bodyslam, but he misses an elbowdrop of his own, and both guys make tags. Dan Spivey gets Jacques Rougeau in a wristlock, but Jacques fights free, only to miss a dropkick. Dan capitalizes by taking it to the mat for an armbar, and he passes back to Mike for an armbar of his own. Jacques manages a blind tag out, but Mike is wise to it, and avoids getting clobbered. Raymond manages a takedown, and he passes to Jacques for a combo, and the Brothers go after the leg. They take turns working it, but Dan gets the tag, and bodypresses Jacques for two. Spivey with a clothesline for two, and a bodyslam sets up an elbowdrop, but Jacques rolls out of the way. Piledriver, but Spivey backdrops, so Jacques hangs on with a sunset flip for two. Tag back to Mike for a hiptoss on Raymond, but a dropkick misses, and Ray uses a somersault cradle for two. Ray works a rolling short-armscissors for two, but Mike leverages into a cradle for two, with the announcers making excuses for his accidentally grabbing the rope in the process. “I’m sure he didn’t mean to do that,” Gorilla assures us. I don’t know, after years of watching IRS matches, I’m pretty sure he did. Mike gets a sleeper on, but Jacques dives off the middle with a save, allowing Ray a sunset flip for two. Tags all around, and Jacques tries a kneedrop, but Spivey dodges. That allows him an abdominal stretch, but Ray saves, and Roseanne Barr the door! The referee tries restoring order, but there’s no use, so he throws the match out at 11:56. This was okay, but felt like it overstayed its welcome a bit. * ½ 

WWF Title Match: Hulk Hogan v Kamala: From Boston on December 6 1986. Some measuring to start, and a criss cross sees Kamala use a leapfrog! Okay, pack it in, ain’t no one topping that one here. Hulk goes for the bodyslam, but his back gives out, allowing Kamala to take control. Kamala with a bodyslam of his own, and he pounds on the back of the champion. Hulk dodges a shot and delivers a high knee, followed by a forearm smash. Hulk with a series of rights and lefts, so Kimchee hops onto the apron, allowing Kamala a sneak attack. Kamala gets hold of a weapon to nail the Hulkster with, and the champ is busted open. Kamala goes to work on him, and boy, Hulk really let loose with the blade tonight. Hogan was underrated when it came to that. Kamala goes upstairs for a dive, but Hogan distances himself, and Kamala has to abandon the move. Kamala turnbuckle smashes him instead, and uses a knife-edge chop to set up a splash for two. Kamala keeps hammering him, but it’s time for the HULK UP!! Fists of Fury! Cross Corner Clothesline! Big Boot! Bodyslam! Legdrop! 7:38. This wasn’t anything good, but they knew exactly what buttons to push with the fans, and it delivered what it needed to. ½*