WWF Prime Time Wrestling (March 30, 1987)

 

Original Airdate: March 30, 1987

Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan from the studio. They openly acknowledge that this was taped before WrestleMania III, so Bobby both is and is not the manager of the world champion

Ron Bass v Lanny Poffo: From London Ontario Canada on March 16. Lots of posturing to start, with Poffo using his speed to avoid getting clobbered. Bass eventually manages to nail him, and they go to the outside, where Poffo gets fed the post, then dumped into the first row. Bass goes to work (in dull fashion), until Poffo finally make a comeback. A somersault senton splash gets him two, and an Oklahoma roll is worth two. Poffo goes up with a 2nd rope splash for two, so Bass dumps him to the outside to buy time. Poffo keeps coming, and hooks a backslide for two, so Ron goes to the eyes, and tags him with a jumping backelbow for the pin at 14:58. This was punishingly long for what they were doing out there. ¼*

Fuji General! Apparently, over on Tuesday Night Titans, Don Muraco had been going around bragging about what a great actor he is. So, Vince McMahon challenges him to prove it, which Don attempts to do by creating his own soap opera ‘Fuji General.’ Could they not have found an actress under fifty years old to play the love interest? Anyway, this is pretty funny, with both Don and Mr. Fuji hamming it up, and being goofy

Demolition v Dan Spivey and Jerry Allen: From London on March 16. Boy, they really had nothing for Spivey at this point, did they? Gorilla wonders if Johnny Valiant paints their faces for them and, if not, who does. Yeah, Gorilla’s right, this is the kind of stuff Okerlund should be investigating! This drags on for much longer than it needs to here, before Allen eats a clothesline at 10:02. Didn’t even respect him enough for the finisher, ouch. DUD

Gene Okerlund catches up with Blackjack Mulligan who doesn’t even consider Ron Bass a Texan! He’s probably from New Mexico, or somewhere! Damn, this is getting serious

From Superstars, Roddy Piper hosts Piper’s Pit, with his farewell episode. He takes down all the artwork, and gives his reasoning for retiring: his kids miss him. He’s been spit at, stabbed, shot at… but none of it bothered him as much as his little girl saying she doesn’t want him to go anymore. Good farewell speech from Piper here

Honky Tonk Man visits Elvis’ recording studio, but he’s unimpressed, since Elvis is a jobber compared to Honky

Sivi Afi v Red Demon: From Toronto Ontario Canada on March 15. Afi with a flying bodypress at 4:44. It’s clear they were really, really hoping Afi would be their new Jimmy Snuka, but it just wasn’t happening. DUD

King Kong Bundy v Jake Roberts: From Saturday Night's Main Event, aired March 14 1987 in Detroit Michigan. Jake actually tries working a wristlock with the mammoth Bundy to start, but gets swatted away. Jake changes gears to a stick-and-move routine, but stupidly agrees to a test-of-strength, and nearly gets pinned during it. You know, for a master of psychology, Roberts is making literally all the wrong choices in this one thus far. Bundy hammers him in the corner before slapping on a front-facelock. You know, I don't think anyone has ever tried it, but if the ropes are out of reach, and you can't find a counter, I'm pretty sure a finger up the butt would totally break that hold. Something to think about, for all you aspiring young wrestlers. Jake mounts a comeback, so Bobby Heenan steals the snake to distract him, and Roberts has to abandon the match to go after it - allowing Bundy to jump him. King Kong with a few shoulderblocks, but the Avalanche misses, and Jake unloads a series of jabs, followed by a clothesline. He goes for the snake, so the referee objects, and Roberts makes the mistake of decking him - getting disqualified at 6:14. Again, for a master of psychology, he's pretty fucking dumb. I guess he was still getting used to wrestling as a full fledged face. Dull match. ¼*

Blackjack Mulligan and Dan Spivey v Tiger Chung Lee and Salvatore Bellomo: From Dayton Ohio on March 10. One minute Spivey is slumming it in a tag team with jobbers, now he’s the weak end of another team getting featured. Though, ‘team’ might be overstating it a bit. Did they ever even tag beyond this? Mulligan puts Lee away at 3:55. DUD

Gene catches up with Outback Jack to discuss music

Frank Tunney Sr Memorial Tournament Quarterfinal Match: The British Bulldogs v Demolition: From Toronto Ontario Canada on March 15. Demolition kick start, and isolate Dynamite Kid right away. They go to work, as poor Gorilla has a difficult time telling Demolition apart. So do I, since they haven’t settled into their familiar paint and hair yet. Davey Boy Smith gets the hot tag, and runs wild, but Johnny Valiant trips him up. That provokes Kid to toss in a chair, and Smith unloads with it for the DQ at 4:39. They were on autopilot here. DUD

BUExperience: Demolition v Bulldogs sounds intriguing on paper. It was not. Neither was anything else.