WWF Prime Time Wrestling (September 8, 1986)

Original Airdate: September 8, 1986

Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan from the studio

Jake Roberts v Sivi Afi: From New York City on August 25 1986, and we’re joined in progress, with Afi making a comeback. He delivers a bodypress for two, so Jake bails, and regroups on the outside. Back in, Afi takes him down in a hammerlock, but Jake throws a cheap shot, and delivers a stomachbreaker. Roberts with a short-clothesline and an inverted atomic drop, but Afi reverses a cradle for two. Jake cuts him off with a right hand, and a snapmare allows Roberts to trap him in a chinlock. Sivi fights to a vertical base, so Jake dumps him to the outside, and puts on another chinlock when Afi pulls himself back into the ring. He wears Sivi down for two, but a 2nd rope backelbow drop misses, and Afi makes a comeback. A headbutt drop sees Jake pop up and fall out of the ring as a sell, so Afi drags him back in, and dives with a flying splash on the way - only for Roberts to lift his knees to block! That allows him the DDT, and he makes an arrogant cover at 13:07 shown of 16:46. We can safely give this ¾*

From TNT, Gene Okerlund visits WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth at home. Nothing of particular note, but a fun segment, simply because the characters involved are all incredible 

Ken Resnick catches up with Paul Orndorff, and he’s pissed at Gorilla for talking shit about him, which Monsoon blames on Heenan brainwashing him

Hercules Hernandez v Billy Jack Haynes: From New York City on August 25 1986. Hercules has Slick with him here, very early in his run. Hercules wins a criss cross, and delivers a press-slam early on. Hercules with a turnbuckle smash, and a cross corner whip, but Billy rebounds with a clothesline, and delivers a press-slam of his own. Billy with chops to knock Hercules out of the ring, and he regroups with Slick out there. Inside, Billy delivers an atomic drop ahead of a pair of dropkicks, and a snapmare allows him a chinlock. Hercules escapes, so Billy switches to a side-headlock instead, but Hercules manages to dump him to the outside on the next escape. Billy takes a bump into the announce table on his way out, allowing Hercules to dive at him from the apron, and he whips Billy into the guardrail to firmly turn the tide. Hercules adds a chair shot to really make his point, and he works a bearhug on the way back in. Haynes fights free, and tries making a comeback, but Hercules quickly cuts him off with an inverted atomic drop. Hercules adds a vertical suplex for two, but Billy manages a bodyslam, only to miss a dive off the middle. Hercules tries a clothesline, but gets ducked, and both guys collide for a double knockout as Haynes comes out of the ropes. Billy musters a comeback from there, so Hercules uses a low blow to buy time, and drops him throat-first across the top rope. Hercules adds a kneedrop, and he chokes Haynes down in the corner, ahead of side suplex for two. Hercules throws a clothesline to set up an elbowdrop for two, and a backdrop follows. A pointed elbowdrop gets another two, just as time expires at 20:25. Kind of weird that they do a time limit expiration with the heel in control. Haynes wants five more minutes, and the referee obliges, so here we go. Why even bother having a time limit, then? Hercules stomps him down in brutal fashion, but a cross corner whip gets reversed, and Haynes makes another comeback. He goes for the full nelson, but Hercules is in the ropes, and Slick pulls him out of the ring to avoid another attempt. Hercules takes a walk from there, and it’s a countout at 22:52 (23:48 total). This was a totally solid and watchable match, it just went on for way too long. Twenty five minutes is just a long segment for this level of action. * ½ 

Paul Orndorff v Corporal Kirchner: From New York City on August 25 1986. Paul comes out to Real American, as a shot at Hulk Hogan. Sadly, this was an advertised match, so the crowd doesn’t pop for it. Some posturing to start, and Paul takes control, as Heenan stops by commentary to clarify that Real American was actually written for Orndorff first. Kirchner fights him off with a pair of dropkicks to send Paul to the outside, and Orndorff stalls out there to break the momentum. Inside, Paul pounds his way into control, and a vertical suplex sets up a pair of kneedrops. Paul goes to a chinlock, as Monsoon claims that Orndorff still hasn’t broken a sweat… just as they do a closeup on his sweaty face. Kirchner escapes and makes a comeback attempt, but Paul isn’t having it, and the piledriver finishes at 10:29. Orndorff was generating some serious heat, which made the match seem more interesting than it actually was. ½*

The American Express v Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff: From New York City on August 25 1986. Mike Rotundo and Sheik start, and they posture, with Mike dominating. Over to Dan Spivey to work a standing side-headlock, so Sheik forces a criss cross, but gets hit with an atomic drop. Dan adds a legdrop to the groin, but fails to cut the ring in half, and Volkoff gets a tag. He knocks Dan around with shoulderblocks, but runs into a backelbow when he goes to the well once too often. Volkoff fights him off in the corner and delivers a clothesline, but Mike catches a tag, and gets Nikolai in an abdominal stretch. So weird seeing him do that without using the ropes for leverage. Sheik interferes to break, and then drags Mike into the heel corner to choke with the tag rope. That turns the tide, and the heels work Mike over. Sheik gets him in the camel clutch, but Spivey saves. Mike fails to get the tag, and the heels go back to work, until he manages to fight Sheik off for the hot tag - Roseanne Barr the door! Dan hits Sheik with a bodyslam, but Volkoff blasts him with Slick’s cane, and Sheik covers at 13:28. This was fine. *

BUExperience: I mean, if you want to see a 25 minute Hercules/Billy Jack Haynes match, be my guest.