WWF Superstars of Wrestling (October 4, 1986)

 

Original Airdate: October 4, 1986 (taped September 16)

From Baltimore, Maryland; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon, Bruno Sammartino, and Jesse Ventura

Koko B Ware v Randy Barber: Koko split screens in here, introducing us to Frankie. Vince refers to him as ‘brother,’ which is, frankly, a lot better than a lot of the words he might have used if this was WWECW. Jesse, however, lowers the bar, telling us the ‘B’ starts for ‘Buckwheat.’ Well, I’m sure that’s the most controversial thing that will ever come out of Jesse’s mouth. Koko with the brainbuster at 2:17. DUD

Gene Okerlund is in the studio for Update, giving us a look at Hillbilly Jim playing his guitar on Tuesday Night Titans

Sika v Mario Mancini: Wizard split screens in here to split my ears. Sika puts this away at 1:39. DUD

Ken Resnick catches up with Tito Santana, who is offended that Harley Race is trying to make him bow down to him

Honky Tonk Man v Ron Shaw: We’re still trying to make Honky Tonk Man: Babyface a thing here. Mr. Fuji split screens in here to heel on him, since he’s a babyface, darn it. Honky with the flying fistdrop at 2:54. DUD

Resnick catches up with WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage, who lets George Steele know that he better not expect anything ‘special,’ because he’s not getting the title

Paul Orndorff v Don Hastings: Orndorff is doing the ‘Real American’ deal here, and he split screens in to insist that it’s his music, and Hulk stole it from him. Kind of a weird direction, I always thought Paul was just openly trolling Hogan, not that he felt the music was his. Paul with the piledriver at 2:22. DUD

Roddy Piper, on crutches, visits the ruins of his Piper’s Pit set, and vows vengeance on Adrian Adonis. And he punctuates it by wrecking the set for the Flower Shop with a baseball bat - all while barely maintaining a vertical base. Good stuff here, no one could do this kind of hobbled intensity like Piper

Randy Savage v Dan McGuire: The Intercontinental gold is not on the line for this. Superstar Billy Graham split screens in, promising to go after the title. He didn’t even wrestle another match until well in 1987, so I guess he just wanted to give Randy a good heads up. Savage with the flying elbowdrop at 1:52. DUD

Ventura catches up with WWF Champion Hulk Hogan, who tries to one up Jesse in the goofy headwear department. Achievement unlocked

The Moondogs v The Killer Bees: Rex and B. Brian Blair start, as Jesse accuses Hogan of being jealous of his Hollywood success, to which Vince retorts: “Jesse… no one is jealous of anyone in Hollywood doing walk on parts.” That was delivered perfectly by McMahon, brutal. The Moondogs use a cheap shot to turn things around on Jim Brunzell, but Jim catches Rex with a dropkick during a criss cross. The Moondogs try to double team, but it backfires, and the Bees put it away at 2:57. Afterwards, the Moondogs get in each other’s faces, and I sense dysentery in the ranks. DUD

Resnick catches up with the Machines, who promise Piper Machine will join them in Boston

BUExperience: Having only one pay per view in 1986 means that this show feels like it doesn’t have anything to build towards a lot of the time. It has good angles and programs, but it feels like a lot of it is treading water, since everything moved a lot slower back then.