WWF Superstars of Wrestling (May 9, 1987)

 

Original Airdate: May 9, 1987 (taped April 23)

From Worcester, Massachusetts; Your Hosts are Vince McMahon, Bruno Sammartino, and Jesse Ventura

Ricky Steamboat v Tiger Chung Lee: The WWF Intercontinental title is not on the line. I love how time used to move more slowly back then… they still announce (and make a big deal about) Steamboat as the ‘new’ champion, well over a month after he won it. The titles were prestigious, and who held them meant something. Steamboat with a flying tomahawk chop at 3:25. DUD

Craig DeGeorge is in the studio for Update, and Bobby Heenan is in a neckbrace, following the fight with Ken Patera last week. You know it’s serious, because he didn’t even co-host Prime Time to sell it

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, and Butch Reed v Paul Roma, Jim Powers, and Joe Mirto: Jim Duggan is not in the house, so they sing the anthem with no risk. Outback Jack split screens in here, white knighting for America in Duggan’s absence. Reed with a press-drop on Mirto at 2:28. Afterwards, Slick sings the Soviet anthem with soul. DUD

WWF Champion Hulk Hogan, still bloody from his last battle with Harley Race, swears revenge. And this time, it’ll be in a no rules environment 

Jake Roberts v Rick Gantner: Honky Tonk Man split screens in here, showing off his newest hit ‘Snake Skin Blues.’ Jake with the DDT at 1:25. DUD

Gene catches up with Billy Jack Haynes, who is demanding a rematch with Hercules

Brutus Beefcake vignette, putting over his new Barber gimmick

Killer Khan v Mike Richards: Mr. Fuji split screens in here, noting that even he’s afraid of Khan, so good luck to everyone else. Sounds like Fuji’s biting off more than he can chew, with Khan, Demolition, Kamala, and Sika. No wonder he ended up so loopy. Khan with a flying kneedrop at 2:43. DUD

DeGeorge catches up with Ron Bass, and he’s not just disparaging Blackjack Mulligan anymore, but his whole family now. What did poor Barry do?

George Steele like WWF Ice Cream Bars

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Koko B. Ware, B. Brian Blair, and Jim Brunzell v Steve Lombardi, Pete Doherty, and Terry Gibbs: Koko is sporting one of the Killer Bees’ masks here, but I’ll try to figure out the play-by-play as best I can. Lanny Poffo split screens in here, basically just talking up the babyface team. That’s jobber behavior. Koko with a brainbuster at 2:51. DUD

Bret Hart v Davey Boy Smith: Criss cross goes Davey's way with a hard shoulderblock that sends Hart to the outside, and he unloads on him in the corner upon re-entering. Bret blocks an Irish whip and slugs at the Bulldog, and drives a knee to take him down during another criss cross. Legdrop and an inverted atomic drop follow, and a backdrop sets up a pointed elbowdrop. Davey tries a crucifix during another criss cross, but Hart drops him like a Samoan, and follows up with another pointed elbowdrop - only to get reversed going into the corner. Smith cross corner whips him to set up a hairpull-slam, and a forearm smash follows. That draws Jim Neidhart onto the apron to protest, and Bret is able to throw a dropkick thanks to the distraction. Meanwhile, Dynamite Kid brawls with Neidhart on the outside, and Davey is able to counter a tilt-a-whirl into the running powerslam at 3:44. Obviously they'd have far better singles matches with each other later on, but this was a good little quickie. ** ½ 

Gene catches up with Jimmy Hart, who will make sure Danny Davis takes care of George Steele. Yeah, fuck him, and his ice cream bars

Gene catches up with Honky Tonk Man, who refuses to work for free. So, he’ll do a job for money? Pin him, pay him

Ken Patera accepts Hercules’ challenge to a match

BUExperience: Bret/Bulldog is good (shocker), and the rest is entertaining enough, though nothing really happened this week, mostly just namechecking the existing angles.