WWF Prime Time Wrestling (November 18, 1986)

 

Original Airdate: November 18, 1986

Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan from the studio

Lanny Poffo v Sika: From New York City on September 22 1986. Even in this house show, we still can’t avoid a shouty Wizard promo, as he stops by the announce table to get his screaming in. Gosh. They circle each other for nearly three minutes before finally making contact, and it’s posturing from there. Sika takes control and works him over in dull fashion, until Lanny throws a dropkick. He briefly makes a comeback, but walks into a Samoan drop at 7:26. This was terrible, with nothing happening for long stretches, and what did happen being complete junk. -¼*

Brutus Beefcake v B. Brian Blair: From New York on October 20 1986. They feel each other out to start, dominated by Blair. Beefcake bails to regroup after nearly getting pinned in a cradle, but he gets caught with a side suplex for two once coming back in. Beefcake bails again, and tries to complain to the referee about hair pulling, but it goes nowhere, so Beefcake goes to the eyes. That goes somewhere, and Beefcake goes to work, hammering on Brian. Beefcake with a corner whip to set up a corner backelbow, and a snapmare sets up a pointed elbowdrop for two. Beefcake goes to a camel clutch, and an inverted atomic drop gets him two. Back to the clutch, but he doesn’t apply it properly, and Blair escapes. Blair goes on the comeback trail, but Beefcake rolls through on a bodypress, and pins Brian with a handful of tights at 10:33. *

We take another look at Bobby Heenan and Slick visiting Heenan’s bank during their transaction for Hercules. Classic segment, worth revisiting 

We take a look back at all the drama surrounding Roddy Piper, Adrian Adonis, Don Muraco, and Bob Orton. Again, great stuff, worth revisiting 

Davey Boy Smith v Iron Sheik: From Houston Texas on October 19 1986. Sheik attacks while everyone is expecting Nikolai Volkoff to sing the anthem, and Sheik pounds on Bulldog. He dumps Davey to the outside, but Bulldog takes control on the way back in, and holds an armbar. Davey with an atomic drop, but Sheik turns the tide back, and delivers a backdrop for two. A vertical suplex, but Smith hooks a small package for two to block, so Sheik quickly cuts him off by grabbing an abdominal stretch. He goes for the suplex again, but Smith reverses for two, and gets a sleeper on. Sheik throws an elbow to escape, and a gutwrench suplex sets up the camel clutch, but Davey makes the ropes to save himself. Sheik responds by hammering him, but Bulldog ducks a shot, and delivers a running powerslam for two. A shoulderblock follows, so Volkoff trips him up, and the referee calls the DQ at 6:06. *

Nikolai Volkoff v Tama: From Houston Texas on October 19 1986. Volkoff tries to bully him at the bell, but Tama holds his own, and wins a slugfest. Volkoff dumps him to the outside to slow him down, and he kicks at him as Tama tries climbing back in, but it backfires when Tama sweeps the leg. Tama with a headbutt drop to the groin, and a snapmare allows him a chinlock. Volkoff fights to a vertical base and into the ropes to escape, and he takes a cheap shot on the break. Volkoff drops him throat-first across the top rope, and he puts the boots to Tama until he falls out of the ring. Tama beats the count, so Volkoff gives him a pair of corner whips, and into a bearhug. Tama slugs free, so Volkoff tries a clothesline, but Tama ducks, and wins a criss cross with a sunset flip for two. A small package gets another two, and an atomic drop follows. Cross corner whip, but Volkoff reverses, and delivers a corner whip of his own - only to miss the charge in. That allows Tama a knife-edge chop, but a corner whip gets reversed, and Volkoff uses a 2nd rope axehandle for a leveraged pin at 5:51. ¾*

Pedro Morales v Bob Orton: From Boston Massachusetts on October 4 1986, and we’re joined in progress, with Orton stalling on the outside. Back in, Morales knocks him around a bit, until Bob bails to stall some more. Bob tries sweeping the leg from the floor, but Morales blocks the effort, and unloads some right hands. Bob grabs a cable and chokes Morales to turn the tide, and Orton hammers on him. Bob goes to a chinlock, but Pedro escapes, so Orton chokes him to make sure he gets the message. You could have had a nice chinlock, but no, you had to push it, Pedro. Orton with a vertical suplex for two, and a pump-splash is worth two. Bob tries upping the ante with a flying pump-splash, but Morales gets his knees up to block, and Pedro makes a comeback. A backdrop gets him two, and a small package is worth two. Morales with a cross corner whip, but Orton dodges the charge in. That allows him to go for a superplex, but Morales blocks, and dives with a flying sunset flip for two. Unfortunately for him, that effort is his last, as Orton hooks a cradle of his own, complete with a handful of tights, for the pin at 9:26 shown of 10:41. Man, so many of the matches during this period ran the same formula and spots with little variation. ¾*

Ken Resnick catches up with Jake Roberts, who is setting his sights on Randy Savage’s WWF Intercontinental title

The Dream Team v Tito Santana and Junkyard Dog: From New York on April 22 1985, and Greg Valentine is still the Intercontinental champion at this point. The babyfaces attack before the bell, and clean house. The dust settles on Brutus Beefcake and Dog, and a criss cross allows JYD a hiptoss, and he adds a pair of headbutts to drive Beefcake out of the ring. Back in, Beefcake forces Dog into the heel corner for a double team, but it backfires, and Tito gets a tag. The babyfaces hit Beefcake with a double backelbow, and a bodyslam follows, allowing Tito to ground him in a chinlock. Beefcake pops Tito with a brace he has on his arm to force a break, and that’s enough to allow the tag to Greg. The heels double team on the exchange, and that’s enough to turn the tide. The heels work Tito over, until JYD catches the hot tag, and runs wild. He nearly puts Greg away, but gets into trouble, and the heels go to work on Dog. Dog rakes Beefcake’s eyes to allow the hot tag back to Santana, and now Tito runs wild - Roseanne Barr the door! Tito catches Greg with a jumping forearm in the chaos for the pin at 15:30. Not poorly worked, but it dragged. Just too long for what it was. ½*

BUExperience: Most of the wrestling was decent, and the show long angle of Monsoon trying to force Heenan to pay off his debts to guys who slammed John Studd was entertaining, but overall this felt like a ‘nothing’ episode.