WWF Prime Time Wrestling (February 2, 1987)

 

Original Airdate: February 2, 1987

Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan from the studio

Paul Orndorff v George Steele: From New York City on January 19. Bobby tears up a poster of Miss Elizabeth to upset George before the bell, and Paul immediately capitalizes, going to work. Steele fights him off with a turnbuckle smash, and he starts eating the buckle, which Gorilla clarifies is his ‘fetish.’ Steele sends Paul into an exposed top turnbuckle, so Heenan distracts him, and George chases him around for a while. Paul recovers, and chokes Steele with some electrical cable, but he misses a charge in the corner, and Steele goes after the arm. Heenan thinks fast by flashing another poster, and George takes the bait. The referee tries to cool him off, so Steele slugs him, and that’s a DQ at 5:43. DUD

Ron Bass v SD Jones: From New York City on January 19. Bass attacks to kick start the match, and the announcers are immediately all over the referee for allowing it. Considering this is the same idiot who allowed Steele to use the exposed buckle and Orndorff to use a cable in the last match, that seems like the least of his misdeeds. And they think poor Danny Davis is crooked? Bass works him over, but Jones catches a second wind, and knocks Ron out of the ring. Inside, Jones grabs a headlock, but Bass fights to a vertical base, so Jones throws a bodypress for two to win a criss cross. Back to the headlock, but Bass keeps fighting, and eventually lands a clothesline, then a modified facebuster at 6:55. DUD

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Outback Jack vignette 

Can-Am Connection vignette

Tiger Chung Lee v Jerry Allen: From New York City on January 19. Really putting the main event level stuff on here for the 100th episode, I see. Tiger with an elbowdrop at 7:31. No and thank you. DUD

Ken Resnick catches up with Butch Reed, who Slick is guiding to the top like a navigator. He’s a shit navigator then

Frenchy Martin v Brad Rheingans: From New York City on January 19, in Brad's WWF debut (save for a one-off back in 1980). Joined in progress with Martin in control. A disheveled Martin almost looks like Randy Savage. They should have told people he was Randy Savage, might make this shit match a little more tolerable. Brad with a gutwrench suplex and a 2nd rope shoulderblock at 9:36 shown of 16:49. ¼*

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Mike Rotundo, Dan Spivey, and Blackjack Mulligan v Jimmy Jack Funk, Ron Bass, and Gladiator: From Superstars, taped January 5 (aired January 24) in East Rutherford New Jersey. One guess who does the job here. Jesse Ventura wants to know if Mulligan ever washes his gear, to which Vince McMahon claims he has no clue. Well, maybe he should take a more hands on approach to that sort of thing before jobbers start getting rashes. Could have saved everyone a lot of trouble in 1996. Blackjack blasts Gladiator with a jumping backelbow at 3:22. DUD

The Islanders v Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff: From the February 1 Wrestling Challenge, taped January 6, in Hershey Pennsylvania. Haku and Volkoff start, and Haku catches him with a bodypress for two. Tag to Tama for some double teaming, so Sheik takes a cheap shot from the apron, which, frankly, fair. They were double teaming, why can’t Sheik get in on the action? Sheik tags in and tries a vertical suplex, but Tama reverses, and tags out. Haku throws a dropkick at Sheik, and a bodyslam ahead of a tag to Tama for a flying splash. That draws Volkoff in, and Roseanne Barr the door. That allows Slick to slide in a nail Tama with his cane, and Sheik covers at 2:13. ¼*

From Superstars, we get Roddy Piper hosting Piper’s Pit, and once again he’s got some trophies on set. He brings Jesse Ventura out, and Jesse wants to talk about why Hulk got a bigger trophy than Andre the Giant, when Andre’s been undefeated for fifteen years, and Hulk hasn’t even been around that long. So they get into a shouting match, and Jesse challenges him to settle it in the ring, which Roddy is quite happy to do. But instead, Jesse suggests they get Hulk and Andre together right here next week, and see what happens then. Great segment

Gorilla catches up with Andre, who agrees to meet Hulk on Piper’s Pit next week on Superstars

Hercules v Jim Parks: From Superstars, taped January 5 (aired January 17) in East Rutherford New Jersey. Hercules puts this away quickly with the full nelson at 1:27. As it should be. Squash those jobbers, this ain’t Crockett. Afterwards, Heenan throws out a challenge to anyone who thinks they can break the full nelson. That draws Billy Jack Haynes out, and he’s on the verge of breaking the hold, so Heenan and Hercules beat him down before he can. Simple, but effective, angle. DUD

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Junkyard Dog v Harley Race: From Saturday Night's Main Event in Hartford Connecticut on January 3 (taped December 15 1986). Harley lives up to the 'Race' part of his name in the pre-match promos, as he wants to make Dog bow down in servant hood to him. Well, that's awkward. Dog refuses to bow at the bell, so Race attacks, and drops an elbow for two. High knee and a kneedrop are worth two, but a whip into the corner is reversed, and the Dog headbutts him down. Race rakes the eyes to keep control, and hits a belly-to belly suplex to setup a falling headbutt - only to hurt himself on JYD's hard head. So... much... racism. Dog with a series of headbutts and a cross corner whip to put Harley on the outside, and he steals the King's cape and crown. That doesn't sit well with Bobby Heenan, however, and he attacks the Dog from behind - getting Race disqualified in the process at 6:00. Not much to this one, but it was more about furthering the angle than anything else, and that's fine for TV. ½*

We take a look back at episode one of Prime Time, back when Jack Reynolds and Jesse Ventura were the hosts

BUExperience: This was the 100th anniversary episode, and based on the strength of it, you’d think they were going to dump this show soon. Woof. And it’s WrestleMania season!