WWF Wrestling Challenge (January 11, 1987)

 

Original Airdate: January 11, 1987 (taped December 10, 1986)

From Tucson, Arizona; Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan

Randy Savage v Steve Gatorwolf: The WWF Intercontinental title is not on the line here. Nor should it be - fuck Gatorwolf! Macho with a flying elbowdrop and an arrogant cover at 2:21. DUD

Wrestlers’ Rebuttal is George Steele saying that Miss Elizabeth is pretty. Who exactly is rebutting that opinion?

Outback Jack vignette 

Tito Santana v Jimmy Jack Funk: Funk with a takedown into a waistlock right away, but Santana quickly escapes. They do some posturing, and Tito sends him into the corner, before dumping Funk over the top. Back in, Santana grabs a wristlock, but Funk uses an atomic drop to escape, and he drops Tito across the top rope. Funk with a belly-to-belly suplex to set up a 2nd rope fistdrop for two, but Tito reverses a backslide for two. Santana throws rights, and a backdrop follows, then a bodyslam. Funk begs off, but Tito keeps coming, and delivers a facebuster. Santana with an earringer, and the jumping forearm finishes at 4:19. Gosh, Funk looked terrible here. He couldn’t even take things like backdrops smoothly. ¾*

Ken Resnick catches up with Butch Reed, who mostly just makes noises with his mouth. Not unlike Brick in Anchorman

Recently, Bobby Heenan read President Jack Tunney the riot act for letting info leak out about Andre the Giant’s reinstatement hearing

Kamala v Jesse Cortez: Bobby doing everything he can to change the subject to dodge Monsoon’s questions about Andre is some effortless hilarity. Kamala with a flying splash at 0:58. DUD

Resnick catches up with Koko B Ware, who really loves that bird. Word for ‘father’ sound like ‘bird’

Harley Race v Jerry Monti: Johnny Valiant sits in for Bobby here, since Heenan is with Race, and Junkyard Dog split screens in to cut a promo on Harley. Race with a cradle suplex at 1:59. Not a lot doing here. DUD

Jake Roberts hosts the Snake Pit, with guest Butch Reed. A lot of Reed this week. He’s all about his natural body and skill. Noted

Gene Okerlund is in the studio with a recap of the Randy Savage/Ricky Steamboat feud. Gosh, they just replayed these same clips over and over again

Blackjack Mulligan vignette 

The Killer Bees v Don Muraco and Bob Orton: Orton is wearing a ‘WrestleMania 2’ t-shirt, which just feels like an odd choice. He starts with B Brian Blair, but loses a pair of criss crosses, and passes to Don. Don throws a knee during the lockup, and he pounds Blair into the neutral corner. Blair manages a small package for one, and he gets a tag off to Jim Brunzell. The Bees double team, and Brunzell bodyslams him, but the referee (Danny Davis) is out of position on a cover. The Bees dominate Muraco for a bit, but Blair gets caught in a Samoan drop, and Bob catches the tag. Blair dodges him in the corner, allowing the tag back to Brunzell for a high knee. The Bees with a combo, so Don comes in and clobbers Blair to break up an abdominal cradle. That allows the heels to take control on Blair, so the Bees do an illegal switch with the masks, and Roseanne Barr the door. Don gets hooked with a slingshot sunset flip, but the referee decides to disqualify the Bees over the mask deal at 5:34. It’s hard to sell me that Davis is a dirty referee when he’s exercising good judgment. ½*

Resnick catches up with Junkyard Dog, who promises to beat his wife less in 1987. Well, that’s progress. And then Blackjack Mulligan crashes the party, apparently upset that his wife gifted him a Timex instead of a Rolex

BUExperience: This one didn’t do much for me, but it certainly wasn’t terrible.