WWF Prime Time Wrestling (April 20, 1987)

 

Original Airdate: April 20, 1987

Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan from the studio

George Steele v Honky Tonk Man: From Las Vegas Nevada on March 21. Lots of stalling from Honky to start, with George not doing much to get it going other than flailing his arms from time to time. Honky suckers him into getting tied in the rope, and he puts the boots to the prone Animal. Steele gets free and throws Honky around, so Honky bails. Steele chases, and goes after Jimmy Hart while he’s out there, and doesn’t notice that he’s getting counted out at 3:50. This barely qualified as a match. I was hoping for another hidden gem, like Honky’s surprisingly strong match with Koko B. Ware a few weeks ago, but no such luck. DUD

Craig DeGeorge is in the studio for Update, featuring Brutus Beefcake calling Adrian Adonis a ‘walking garbage disposal unit’

The Ken Patera Story, Part 3! Gene Okerlund explaining the legal process here is something else, as is Patera blaming everything on Heenan. I mean, I get it. Turn it into an angle. I really do get it. The logic. But this just didn’t work, and it didn’t help that Patera looked bad. Heenan losing his mind back in the studio is incredible stuff, though, and almost saves this whole angle

Outback Jack v Raider: From Columbus Ohio on March 11. I have no idea who is under the mask here, but he’s a pretty big dude. Jack with a bulldog at 1:32. DUD

Gene catches up with Koko B. Ware, who wants to go out wilding. Let’s not follow that

Moondog Spot v B. Brian Blair: From Landover Maryland on July 20 1985, and previously aired on the August 6 1985 episode of Prime Time. Joined in progress, with Blair using an atomic drop to send Spot to the outside. Back in, Blair gets a hammerlock on, but Spot escapes, so Blair bodyslams him. Brian continues to dominate, focusing on the arm, until Spot manages to catch him with a knee, and Blair is in trouble. Spot with a series of turnbuckle smashes, and an inverted atomic drop follows. Blair tries a bodypress for two, but Spot cuts him off by toppling a bodyslam attempt, and grounds him in a chinlock. An endless chinlock. Blair finally manages a jawbreaker to escape, and he looks to make a comeback, to Spot is still swinging. Blair wins a slugfest, and hits a clothesline, as he goes on the comeback trail. Blair with a kneedrop and an elbowdrop for two, and a hip attack knocks Spot out of the ring. Blair forces him back inside for a corner whip, but the charge in misses. That allows Spot to try a cross corner whip, but Brian reverses, and Blair heads upstairs with a flying sunset flip at 12:56 shown of 15:09. This was basically complete. It wasn’t terrible, just too long, with the chinlock spot acting as a real albatross. ¾*

Gene catches up with WWF Tag Team Champions The Hart Foundation and Danny Davis, and it’s kind of weird that Jimmy Hart is still bragging about winning the tag title. It’s been three months! It’s especially funny knowing that there would be so many teams in the later lineage of the title who didn’t even hold it for three months, and these guys are still bragging about winning them like it just happened

Recently (relatively, this was over a year old), Don Muraco and Mr. Fuji visited the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and took in the sights. They take a meeting with a talent agent, who literally laughs them out of his office. This was okay, but long

DeGeorge catches up with Miss Elizabeth, who has been having a hard time living with Randy Savage since he lost the Intercontinental title

WWF Intercontinental Champion Ricky Steamboat and wife Bonnie celebrate the title, and the announcement of Bonnie’s pregnancy. I sure hope the Dragon can figure out a good work/life balance

Recently, DeGeorge tried catching up with Savage as Macho arrived at an arena, but Randy is too mad to talk

Elimination Match: Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, and Billy Jack Haynes v Paul Orndorff, Adrian Adonis, and Hercules: From Boston Massachusetts on March 7. Crazy heat for everyone involved here, especially Hogan and Piper. The babyfaces attack to kickstart things, and they clean house. After some stalling, the dust settles on Hulk and Hercules. Hercules hammers him into the corner, but a cross corner whip gets reversed, and Hogan follows in with a clothesline. Tag to Billy, and he looks to unload, but Hercules gets a tag off to Paul before Haynes can get too much in. A criss cross allows Billy a shoulderblock and a bodypress for two, but Paul manages to put him down. Over to Adonis, but Haynes catches him with a backdrop, and follows with a bodyslam. Tag to Roddy, but Adrian bails to Paul before contact is made. They get into a test-of-strength, and Roddy gets the better of it, before passing to Hulk for a 2nd rope axehandle. Hulk stays on Paul with a wristlock, and it’s over to Billy, who stays on the arm. Paul railroads into the heel corner to allow Hercules a cheap shot, and all three heels trap Haynes in their corner. Hercules tags in to properly hammer, but a turnbuckle smash gets reversed, and Haynes throws chops. Cross corner whip, but Hercules reverses, and throws a solid clothesline on the rebound. A bodyslam hits on the way to tagging Adonis in for a splash. The heels work over Billy, but Adonis doesn’t notice a blind tag to Piper, and Roddy goes to town! That draws everyone in, and Roseanne Barr the door! In the chaos, Piper and Adonis brawl to the outside, and both are counted out at 12:04. Piper refuses to leave, and wants more of Adonis, but Jimmy Hart leads Adrian away, and Piper takes a ‘final’ bow in the Boston Garden, on his way to his retirement match at WrestleMania. Paul distracts Hogan to allow Hercules a sneak attack, and Hercules unloads. Tag to Paul for some pounding from him as well, and a trio of pointed elbowdrops hit, but a fourth misses. Hercules comes in to try and cut Hulk off, but Hogan bashes their heads together. Backdrop on Paul, but Orndorff blocks, and drops an elbow to the leg of the Hulkster. The heels try another double team, but it backfires this time, and Hogan schoolboys Paul at 16:52. I pegged this as coming down to Hogan and Orndorff, so I’m a little surprised. Paul is upset, and beats up both Hogan and the official in response, as Hercules unloads on Billy in the background, and pins him at 17:49. If not Hogan/Orndorff, I’d have thought it would end with Hulk getting to beat Adonis… I did not predict Hercules to get to the very end. Anyway, Hercules puts a battered Hogan in a torture rack, and he drops him to pin, but only gets two - triggering the HULK UP!! Fists of Fury! Turnbuckle Smashes! Clothesline! Legdrop! 19:30! Basic, but entertaining, and loaded with star power. *

BUExperience: The six-man was a lot of fun, but everything else was not interesting, and there was a lot of filler.