WWF at Philadelphia Spectrum (January 10, 1987)

 

Original Airdate: January 10, 1987

From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Dick Graham

Opening Match: Scott McGhee v Terry Gibbs: Certainly an opening match anywhere in the country. Stalling to start, as Gibbs jaws with the fans. McGhee hits a bodypress for two, and Terry backpedals into the corner, but McGhee drags him out for a stomp the groin. Gibbs begs off, as Gorilla complains that he can’t get cable at his new house in Morristown. McGhee goes to an armbar, but Gibbs dumps him to the outside, turning the tide. Inside, Gibbs works a bearhug, but a charge in the corner misses, and McGhee hooks a sunset flip at 8:52. Dull stuff, and with no star power, to boot. ¼*

Don Muraco v Koko B Ware: Posturing to start, with Muraco looking to get a grip on Koko, but Ware keeping things moving. Ware throws a dropkick to put Muraco on the outside, so Don comes in swinging, but Koko pops him with a headbutt, and takes Don to the mat in a side-headlock. A bodypress misses, resulting in Koko wiping out in the ropes, and Don hits him with a 2nd rope thumb spike drop for two. Don dumps him to the outside from there, and he hops out to drop Koko across the guardrail. Koko beats the count to the apron, so Muraco snaps his throat across the top rope, and puts Ware in a chinlock. Koko escapes, so Muraco tries a charge in the corner, but misses. That allows Koko to go on the comeback trail, and he gets Muraco in a sleeper. Don fades, and Koko goes up with a missile dropkick, but Muraco is in the ropes at two. Koko keeps coming with a snapmare into mounted punches for two, but time expires at 16:41. They went home way early for a twenty minute time limit there. ½*

The Dream Team v The American Express: The Express attack to kick start the match, and clean house. The dust settles on Greg Valentine and Dan Spivey, and Dan plants a backelbow on him. Dan goes after the leg for a bit, and passes to Mike Rotundo for more of the same. The Express dominate Valentine, but Mike loses him, and Brutus Beefcake gets the tag. Beefcake tries a kneedrop, but Mike dodges, and the Express put the hurt on Beefcake’s leg. A blind tag to Greg tries to sucker Spivey, but Dan is wise to it, and clobbers the incoming Hammer. Mike with a dropkick for two, and he holds Greg in a front-facelock from there, but Valentine manages to drop him across the top rope to force a break. Quick tag to Beefcake, and the heels are able to turn it into control. They work Rotundo over, but he manages a side suplex on Beefcake, and Spivey catches the hot tag. He runs wild, and Beefcake eats a dropkick, followed by a Russian legsweep for two. In comes Greg, but Mike cuts him off, and Roseanne Barr the door. A double team from the heels, and Dan is done at 15:44. Nothing special, but good, solid tag team wrestling. These guys could do it in their sleep. I’d also venture to say that this team was the best use of Beefcake in his entire career, and while I get why they broke him off, and while I understand that he had success as a single, this was the best fit for him as an actual worker. * ¾ 

George Steele v Honky Tonk Man: Stalling from Honky to start, but he manages to get Steele tied up in the ropes, and puts the boots to him. Steele gets free, and messes up Honky’s hair, then delivers a few turnbuckle smashes. George eats a buckle and shoves the stuffing in Honky’s face, but gets reversed into the exposed steel, and Honky capitalizes with a series of axehandle drops. Steele responds by grabbing a chair, but the referee objects, so George shoves him for the DQ at 5:13. I was expecting terrible, and I got terrible. -¼*

Dino Bravo v Paul Roma: They trade wristlocks to start, and Roma gets an armbar to get control. Bravo gets into the ropes to force a break, and he kicks Paul in the gut, then tosses him over the top to turn the tide. Bravo with a vertical suplex for two, and he goes to a headvice, then a legdrop. Bravo with a sidewalk slam for two, and a bodyslam sets up a splash, but Roma dodges. Paul makes a comeback, and a dropkick sets up an elbowdrop for two. Bodypress, but Dino dodges, and side suplexes him at 5:59. ½*

Jake Roberts v King Kong Bundy: Posturing to start, but Jake doing lots to try and get control, but just kind of getting shrugged off by Bundy. Jake gets desperate, and walks himself into a bodyslam, allowing Bundy a cover for two. Bundy with a stomp, so Jake throws a punch to the gut, but Bundy shrugs him off. Bundy with a series of forearms, and a backelbow finds the mark. Bundy with a ropechoke, so Jake tries the DDT, but Bundy backdrops him. Elbowdrop, but Jake dodges. He goes to the DDT again, but Bundy blocks, and dumps him to the outside. Jake responds by going for the snake, but Bundy nails him, and delivers a bodyslam on the floor, as both men get counted out at 6:59. Pretty slow and not very interesting, but there was some decent psychology. Jake was never lacking in that department. ½*

Davey Boy Smith and Junkyard Dog v The Hart Foundation: JYD is subbing for Dynamite Kid here, and the WWF Tag Team title is not up. Davey starts with Bret Hart, and they posture. Davey toys with him by using his power, so Bret passes to Jim Neidhart, and they match power with each other, measuring one another. Davey gets the better of it with a drop-toehold into a toehold, but Jim makes the ropes. Neidhart regroups, and calls for a test-of-strength, but Davey wrenches it to a wristlock, and passes to Dog. Dog with a wristlock of his own, so Bret tries to interfere, but it backfires. Dog with a series of headbutts on Neidhart, and Smith tags in with a flying axehandle. Davey works an armbar, but Jim throws a knee to break, and a cheap shot from Bret turns the tide for the Foundation. They work on Bulldog, until Davey manages to crotch Bret across the top rope with a press-drop, and he gets the tag to Dog - Roseanne Barr the door! Dog with a powerslam on Neidhart, but Bret saves at two. That allows Jim a small package on JYD, but Davey rolls it over at 13:17. Solid, though not especially engaging. ¾*

Jose Luis Rivera v Barry O: Gorilla makes note that Barry has put on “about twenty pounds of muscle in the last month or so,” which feels like an outright admission of steroid usage. Barry uses that weight to dominate early, but misses a charge in the corner, and Jose goes after the arm. Barry goes to the eyes and uses a turnbuckle smash, then tosses Jose to the outside. Jose beats the count, and catches Barry with a knee, followed by an atomic drop. He looks for a follow up, but Barry catches him with a clothesline for two. Backdrop, but Jose counters with an inside cradle for two. Barry tries a vertical suplex, but Jose reverses for the pin at 3:49. It looked like the inside cradle was supposed to be the finish there, but the referee missed a cue, and stopped the count at two despite Barry not kicking out. Even the announcers were confused by it, since Jose clearly had him pinned. ½*

Main Event: WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Randy Savage v Ricky Steamboat: Steamboat is subbing for Andre the Giant here. Steamboat grabs Savage before the champion can get his entrance gear off, and the Dragon unloads. Steamboat with a flying tomahawk chop, and a few standard tomahawks send Macho to the outside. Steamboat doesn’t let him regroup, chasing Randy to the outside, and dragging him back in. Savage forces a chase, and manages to clobber Steamboat with an axehandle on the way in, then throws a hangman clothesline. Randy with a flying axehandle for two, and he wins a slugfest, followed by a turnbuckle smash. Macho tries a backelbow, but misses, and Steamboat armdrags him. Another armdrag, and the Dragon chokes him for a bit. Ricky snaps the champ’s throat across the top rope, and he wants to straight up choke Macho some more, but the referee intervenes. Steamboat with a knife-edge chop, and he unloads in the corner, but a cross corner whip gets reversed, and Ricky takes a bump over the top. Savage won’t let him back into the ring, and the champ hops out to nail him with a high knee on the floor. Randy smashes him into the announce table, but one into the rail gets blocked, and Steamboat sends him into it! Inside, but Steamboat brings a chair with him. The referee intervenes, so Steamboat nails him instead, and that’s a DQ at 6:14. I wasn’t expecting a clean finish, but would it have killed them to do something different than the exact finish we saw in the Steele/Honky match earlier? Good intensity throughout here, though. **

BUExperience: A very skippable show. 

DUD