WWF Wrestling Challenge (September 28, 1986)

 

Original Airdate: September 28, 1986 (taped September 17)

From Salisbury, Maryland; Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan

Koko B Ware v Gladiator: Ernie Ladd and Jimmy Valiant are gone, after just a single set of tapings. Good riddance. And good riddance to Lord Alfred Hayes as the ring announcer, too. Koko now has Frankie the bird, as well as a parrot printed on his tights and entrance jacket. He’s going all in. Koko with a brainbuster at 2:52. The brainbuster looked great, but this was a dreadful squash otherwise. DUD

Wrestlers’ Rebuttal is Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, and Slick insulting Americans 

Paul Orndorff v Lucius Brown: Brown is a pre-fame Virgil, in his professional debut. And we get Johnny Valiant sitting in with Gorilla, since Bobby is at ringside with Orndorff. Great. Orndorff with a piledriver at 2:03 - with Valiant telling him to “sell it, daddy, sell it.” Thanks for your help, John. Orndorff’s continued use of Real American to troll the fans is fantastic heeling. DUD

Ken Resnick brings Ricky Steamboat in to discuss getting dropped on his head by Jake Roberts. He didn’t like it

Honky Tonk Man v Terry Gibbs: This is Honky's TV debut, as a babyface. And they make a big deal out of him right away, with WWF Champion Hulk Hogan split screening in to put him over. Sadly, the crowd doesn’t seem to have gotten the message, as they’re pretty unenthusiastic about him. Honky with a flying fistdrop at 2:19. Honky was trying, but he was destined to fail as a face. DUD

Resnick welcomes Lanny Poffo, who has a fresh perm, since 1986. He doesn’t have a feud to hype, so he talks about the Special Olympics instead. Randy Savage was always a big booster for the Special Olympics, so I guess it ran in the family

Butch Reed v Mike Kelly: Kelly is another appearance for pre-fame Shane Douglas, and Reed was a newcomer, having just debuted on Superstars the day before this aired. Reed and Kelly are dressed like a tag team here. Butch with a stomachbreaker (or ‘inverted backbreaker,’ per Gorilla) at 2:40. DUD

Jake Roberts hosts the Snake Pit, with guests the Hart Foundation and Jimmy Hart. They’re still pushing ‘the nasty boys’ as a nickname for the Foundation, which I don’t think lasted much longer. Roberts remains a good heel interviewer, but there wasn’t much said here

Wizard is on the island of Samoa, where Sika is eating various wildlife. The guy just casually munching a still flopping fish is something. Wizard remains terrible and grating

The British Bulldogs v Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff: The WWF Tag Team title is not on the line. Davey Boy Smith starts with Sheik, and they trade off on the mat a little. Davey manages a bodyslam, and he passes to Dynamite Kid for an atomic drop. Kid tries a backdrop, but gets blocked, and Sheik delivers one of his own. Tag to Volkoff, and the heels work him over. Kid reverses a suplex on Sheik to allow the tag to Smith, and he backdrops Sheik on the way in. A vertical suplex follows, but Volkoff breaks the cover after a running powerslam. Tag to Kid, and both he and Sheik go flying over the top. Kid tries suplexing him back in, but Slick sweeps the leg, and Sheik topples him for the pin at 4:45. * ¼ 

Resnick brings Sheik, Volkoff, and Slick in, though it’s obviously pre-taped, as they aren’t even pretending they’re just coming from the ring. Volkoff giving stock market advice feels odd for a supposed communist 

BUExperience: A fun episode this week. Heenan taking over on color commentary immediately enhances the show tremendously.