WWF at Boston Garden (March 5, 1988)

Original Airdate: March 5, 1988

From Boston, Massachusetts; Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Lord Alfred Hayes

Opening Match: SD Jones v Steve Lombardi: Jones hooks a hammerlock right away, so Lombardi hides out in the ropes, as Monsoon makes his usual jokes about the ‘Terry Garvin school of self defense.’ That generation had a weird sense of humor. Criss cross allows Jones a hiptoss, and he works a wristlock from there. Lombardi forces another criss cross, so Jones dumps him to the outside, and Lombardi stalls. Inside, Lombardi outsmarts him through another criss cross, and gets SD in a chinlock. Lombardi works him over in dull fashion, and a clothesline gets him two, before he goes back to the chinlock. Turnbuckle smash, but Jones no-sells, and it’s comeback time. Sunset flip gets him two, but he telegraphs a backdrop, and Steve hooks an inside cradle at 8:02. Nothing special here, just a very simple opener. ¼*

Sam Houston v Danny Davis: Davis stalls on the outside early on, and Houston works a wristlock once Danny engages. Davis manages to turn the tide, and he bootrakes Sam, then cross corner whips him, as Jimmy Hart stops by the commentary desk to gloat. Davis with a clothesline for two, and a legdrop to the arm follows, but Sam makes a comeback. Bodypress, but Davis avoids it, and Sam goes over the top. Or, well, to be more accurate, Houston just overshoots it, and goes flying over the top like a moron on his own volition. That allows Davis to suplex him back in, and Sam’s done at 9:00. Another dull match. ¼*

The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers v Demolition: Jacques Rougeau starts with Smash, and Ax is quick to come in for a double team, but Raymond Rougeau saves, and the babyfaces get the better of it. The Brothers double up on Smash for a bit, but Jacques gets caught in the wrong corner, and bad things happen. Demolition work Jacques over, as Mr. Fuji swings by the commentary desk to rant about… something. He’s getting so over the top with the accent that he’s gone beyond basic comprehension at this point. Raymond manages to take Ax down for a standing toehold, but Ax pops him in the jaw, and bodyslams him. That allows Demolition to get Ray in their corner for another beating, and they cut the ring in half until Ray manages to backdrop Ax to block a piledriver, and Jacques gets the hot tag. Jumping backelbow looks to finish Smash, but the referee is distracted by Ray and Ax brawling. Ax manages a cheap shot on Jacques, and Smash capitalizes with a cover at 8:10. I like both of these teams, but this was junk. ½*

Harley Race v Ultimate Warrior: Well, this is certainly a combination. Warrior powers him around early on, and a corner whip ends in Race taking a bump over the top. Race takes another bump on the apron after trying to climb back in, but manages to catch Warrior with a low blow once back inside. Race hammers him, but Warrior stops selling, and unloads with ferocious chops. Clothesline knocks Harley over the top, but Race catches Warrior with a piledriver on the way back in. Headbutt drop follows, so Warrior tries a charge, but Race sidesteps, and Warrior takes a spill to the outside. Harley sends him into the post before trying a suplex back in, but Warrior counters with a rollup at 4:47. That was a weird finish, since when did Warrior beat guys with flash pins? Race was game to bump all over the place to make Warrior look good, but Harley was looking old and lethargic here. ¾*

Dino Bravo v David Sammartino: This is Sammartino’s second to last match for the WWF. I didn’t realize he was still around at this point. And no wonder, he hadn’t been on TV since the summer of 1986. Bravo uses power to dominate him, and a bodyslam sets up an elbowdrop for two. Bravo works a chinlock, until David escapes, and uses a sunset flip for two. Sammartino with fists of fury, and an inside cradle gets him two. Bodyslam sets up a kneedrop for two, but a whip into the ropes gets reversed, and Bravo drills him with a sidewalk slam at 5:26. ¼*

Jake Roberts v Ron Bass: Bass works a headlock early on, so Jake bails, suckers him into a chase, and nails him with a kneelift when Bass takes the bait. DDT, but Bass manages to block, and Ron bails to regroup. Inside, Bass wants to slug it out, but Jake gets the better of that, and grabs an armbar. Bass forces a criss cross, but Roberts outsmarts him again, with Bass getting increasingly frustrated. Jake with a series of jabs to send Bass back to the outside, but Ron manages a corner whip to turn the tide on the way back in. Another one rattles the ring, and Bass puts the boots to the back until Jake bails. Bass drags him back in for more abuse to the back, until Jake tries a desperation shoulderblock, but it backfires, giving Bass two. Roberts tries a bodyslam, but the back gives out, and Bass topples him for two. Jake manages to dump him to the outside to buy some time, and it’s enough to buy him a countout victory at 10:55. Not the flashiest match, but good psychology. Definitely the most interesting match on this show thus far, that much is for sure. * ½ 

WWF Women's Tag Team Title Match: The Jumping Bomb Angels v The Glamour Girls: Judy Martin with a sneak attack to get this going, but she loses a criss cross, and Itsuki Yamazaki bodyslams her. Tag to Leilani Kai, but she doesn’t fare any better, and the Angels dominate their challengers. The various commentators consistently not knowing which of the Angels is which is never not annoying. I mean, I can’t tell them apart that easily either, but I’m not getting paid to. But then, I can barely tell the Glamour Girls apart, either. The Girls get control and work Yamazaki over, until a dive misses, and Noriyo Tateno gets the hot tag. She runs wild, and a backslide retains at 11:49. This was fine in a technical sense, but not my cup of tea. *

Main Event: Six-Man Tag Team Cage Match: Honky Tonk Man, Bret Hart, and Jim Neidhart v Tito Santana, Rick Martel, and Randy Savage: We’re getting the mesh cage here, not the more familiar blue bars. I thought that became standard after 1986. All team members must escape in order to win, which is unique. I’d just let two guys on the opposing team escape, destroy the remaining guy three-on-one, and then waltz out the door. Everyone brawls to start, and Bret goes for the escape first, but Martel cuts him off. Tito slips out, Neidhart slips out. Okay, maybe now the match will start telling an actual story we can get into here. The babyfaces whip Honky and Hart into one another, and they climb. Tito makes it out, but Honky cuts Macho off, and now he’s alone in there. Bret holds Randy for Honky to nail with a 2nd rope axehandle, and then Honky holds him for Bret to dive at with a flying axehandle. They keep working Savage over, and Bret easily walks out the door, but Honky wants to deliver more punishment. He drops an elbow before going for the door, but Macho cuts him off, and sends Honky into the cage! The crowd is crazy hot for Savage. Honky goes to the eyes and tries another escape, but Randy cuts him off again. Macho knocks him off the top rope, and that’s enough to allow him to escape at 8:17. Lots of great workers, but it was just a brawl, with very little direction. ½*

BUExperience: This was a pretty boring and skippable house show, though the star power of that main event might trick you into thinking you’d see a hidden gem. Don’t fall for it.

DUD