Goody Bag 90: Teaming in the Dark

 

Hulk Hogan and Junkyard Dog v Paul Orndorff and Adrian Adonis: From Hartford Connecticut on August 27 1986, as a dark match from the first Wrestling Challenge tapings. Orndorff attacks Hogan to kickstart things, but a brawl on the mat goes sideways for him. That draws Adrian in, but Hulk handles them both, and Dog comes in to even the fight anyway. The crowd is just on fire here. The dust settles on Hulk hitting Orndorff with a high knee to send him to the outside, so Paul pulls him out with him. That draws Adonis and Bob Orton over, but Hulk shakes them all off, and hits Orndorff with an atomic drop on the way back in. The babyfaces pinball Orndorff in their corner, and Dog tags in to throw a series of headbutts to clear the ring. The dust settles on Dog and Adonis, and Adrian takes a corner whip that flips him over the top. Dog follows, but here are Orndorff and Orton - JYD quickly learning that he’s no Hulk Hogan when outnumbered like that. Hulk himself comes over to help, but gets fought off, and the heels go to work on JYD. Adrian misses a clothesline, allowing Dog a headbutt, and he tags out. Hulk unloads on Adonis in the corner, and a cross corner whip follows. Back to JYD for a stereo backelbow, but he gets reversed into the corner, and Adonis puts a sleeper on. Here’s an idea: maybe, I dunno, don’t tag out to JYD anymore? Hulk gets the hot tag after Dog gets worked over for a while, and Orndorff is in big trouble. Adrian comes in, and Roseanne Barr the door, we’ve got a kettle on. Jimmy Hart tries to attack Hulk, but it goes nowhere, and Hogan hits Adonis with the legdrop at 9:18. Basic, but very energetic, and with a tremendous crowd. * ¼ 

WWF Tag Team Title Match: Demolition v The Rockers: From Rochester New York on June 5 1990. Crush and Shawn Michaels start, and Crush powers him around to assert dominance. Tag to Smash, but he runs into a takedown, and Shawn holds a front-facelock for a second before tagging. Marty Jannetty uses his speed to get Smash in his own front-facelock, but Smash powers out, so Jannetty dropkicks him. Jannetty grabs a standing side-headlock, so Smash tries a side suplex, but Jannetty lands on his feet. Tag to Shawn with a flying bodypress for two, but he gets dumped to the outside, where Crush is ready to attack. Crush presses him back into the ring, and the champs go to work on Michaels. Jannetty gets the hot tag, and Roseanne Barr the door! A dropkick on Smash gets two, and a 2nd rope bodypress is worth another two, but a shot from Crush puts Marty into trouble. The champs go for the finisher, but Shawn saves. Demolition get rid of him, and hit Marty with the move, but here comes Michaels with a dive to break the pin at two! The Rockers hit Smash with stereo superkicks, and then stereo flying fistdrops, but Crush saves at two. Shawn with a rollup on Smash, so Ax hits him from the outside, and Smash covers at 8:12. This was pretty basic stuff most of the way through, but it kicked into high gear for the final third, and it was great. * ¼ 

Bret Hart and Ultimate Warrior v Kamala and Papa Shango: From Regina Saskatchewan Canada on October 13 1992, the day after Bret won the WWF Title for the first time. Warrior and Kamala start, with Kamala stalling. Bret comes in instead, and he grabs Kamala in a waistlock, but Kamala railroads into the corner to escape. Avalanche, but Bret sidesteps, and puts him in an armbar. Kamala is in the ropes quickly, and he calls for a test-of-strength. Bret obliges, so Kamala tries a cheap shot, but Hart ducks it, and stomps the bare foot. Kamala responds by tagging out, and Papa has better luck, hammering Hart into the corner for a choke. Shango works on him, but an avalanche misses, and Bret is able to tag out. Warrior comes in all fired up on Papa, so Kamala comes in, but gets bodyslammed for his trouble. Warrior hits Papa with a jumping shoulderblock and a splash at 6:17. Bret may have been the world champion here, but the booking made Warrior look like the star. DUD

Randy Savage and Mr. Perfect v Giant Gonzalez and Mr. Hughes: From Lowell Massachusetts on August 18 1993, with Perfect subbing for Undertaker. Macho is in his awful red/white/blue gear, to show solidarity with Lex Luger. I never liked that look on him, probably because I associate it with the Macho Midget deal. Perfect and Hughes start, and Hughes powers him around at the bell. There appears to be a blood stain on the mat, which is pretty surprising for 1993. Tag to Giant, and he hammers on Perfect. You’d think this would be an obvious invitation for Perfect to do some dramatic overselling, but he doesn’t. The heels cut the ring in half on Perfect, until Macho catches a hot tag… and immediately gets beat up in the heel corner. They work Randy over, until Hughes misses an avalanche, and Perfect gets the hot tag. He runs wild on Hughes, so Giant takes a cheap shot from the apron. That draws Macho in with a flying axehandle on Hughes, and Perfect hooks a small package at 7:06. The structure of this match was really odd, with the heels gaining control immediately, and then Macho not even getting any shine at any point. DUD