WWF Championship Wrestling (June 8, 1985)

 

Original Airdate: June 8, 1985 (taped May 28)

From Poughkeepsie, New York; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino

Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff v Jose Luis Rivera and Sal Gee: The WWF Tag Team title is not on the line for this one. Sheik always looked so old and broken down to me as a kid, but he actually was still pretty mobile here in 1985. He deteriorated really quickly from there, though. George Steele shows up and tries to go after the champs here, but Captain Lou Albano manages to pull him away, as Sheik finishes with a camel clutch at 2:28. DUD

Lord Alfred Hayes is in the studio for Update, with a look at the growth in Jimmy Hart’s stable

George Steele v Mike Powers: George is still all hot and bothered that he couldn’t get his hands on the tag champs in the previous match, and he takes that out on poor Powers. Steele with a double-chickenwing at 1:57. DUD

Gene Okerlund catches up with Ricky Steamboat, who clarifies that, while he uses martial arts in the ring, his brand is completely ring legal

Spoiler v Joe Mirto: Spoiler with a claw for the pin at 3:05. Spoiler is one boring motherfucker. DUD

Okerlund catches up with Big John Studd, who promises to get rid of Paul Orndorff for Bobby Heenan

David Sammartino v Axe: Axe is some masked jobber, not the guy from Demolition, obviously. Sammartino with a cradle at 3:30. Bruno sounds subdued even when calling his own son’s match, gosh. DUD

Bobby Heenan guest hosts Piper’s Pit, with guest Tito Santana. Bobby wants to know if Tito would try and collect the $25,000 bounty on Paul Orndorff’s head, but Santana isn’t ‘interested’ in the cash. How nice to be Tito. “That’s why you’re a former champion, because you think like a loser”

Missing Link v Aldo Marino: Looking at this dude, it does not shock me at all that he left the promotion a few months later due to drug problems, reportedly. I’m kind of surprised that put him with Heenan, he seems more like a Mr. Fuji pairing. Link with a headbutt at 2:07. Link was bashing his head at him so hard that he busted himself open, like Goldberg with a dressing room door. DUD

Ricky Steamboat v Mr. X: Gosh, they were all about masked guys during this period. I assume they were all played by Jack Victory. Steamboat with a flying bodypress at 4:47. This was a really dull squash, Ricky was working like he was in Techwood. DUD

Gene catches up with Jimmy Hart, who wants to get King Kong Bundy a contract to wrestle Hulk Hogan for the WWF Title. Well, Bundy did eventually get that shot… though, it was Heenan who was in his corner. But, in the meantime, he’s focused on WWF Intercontinental Champion Greg Valentine, who is really into his fan mail. No wonder Bundy needed to switch managers to get that title shot. Greg laughs off the idea of Ricky Steamboat ever winning the Intercontinental title

BUExperience: This was fine, but the show has definitely lost a lot of steam since WrestleMania.