WWF Prime Time Wrestling (December 21, 1987)

 

Original Airdate: December 21, 1987

Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan from Caesars in Atlantic City, New Jersey

Junkyard Dog v Hercules: From Houston Texas on December 11. Hercules dodges a sneak attack, and throws a headbutt to send Hercules to the outside. Back in for a slugfest, but Dog dominates, and Hercules ends up on the outside again. Hercules keeps trying to find an in, but Dog keeps shaking his attacks off, until Hercules goes to the eyes, and uses a series of punches for two. Dog starts no-selling, so Hercules goes for the full nelson, but JYD is able to block. A slugfest results in a double knockout spot when both guys throw a clothesline, but Dog is up first. He tries a headbutt drop, but Hercules dodges. Hercules tries an elbowdrop, but Dog dodges, and whips Hercules into the corner. Dog follows in, but he’s way too slow, and Hercules hooks a leveraged cradle at 8:10. Really long for what it was. ¼*

The Young Stallions v The Conquistadors: From Boston Massachusetts on December 12. The heels immediately catch Jim Powers with a double team, and go to work, but he fights them off. He manages to get them to run into each other, and Paul Roma comes in to help clean house. The announcers get into a great conversation here about wrestlers ‘knowing how to fall,’ and how that doesn’t mean wrestling is fake, it’s simply knowing that you will fall plenty, and so you’re trying to minimize your potential for injury by ‘knowing how to fall.’ Good stuff, I always appreciate anything that adds that bit of legitimacy. The heels cut the ring in half on Roma, until Powers finally gets the hot tag, and runs wild. Powers gets a sleeper on, but it gets broken up, so Powers tags out - Roma diving in with a flying sunset flip at 15:27. Way too long. ½*

From Superstars of Wrestling, Craig DeGeorge brings Hulk Hogan out for a podium interview, and it’s time to make a decision about Ted DiBiase’s offer to buy the title. Hulk thinks about all the things he could do with the money, not just for himself, but for others, like those in need. And with that in mind, he takes off the title belt, and on behalf of all the Hulkamaniacs, he’ll respond to the offer with a “HELL NO!” What a jerk, he just said he’d be able to help kids with cancer and stuff, and he chooses personal glory instead? 

Ultimate Warrior v Iron Mike Sharpe: From Houston on December 11. Warrior with a press-drop at 5:31. Not a long match in the general sense, but too long to get across what it needed to be. Warrior should have just been gobbling guys up, especially guys like Sharpe. DUD

For Thanksgiving, Ted DiBiase reflected on all the fun he’s had throwing money around in the WWF

Jim Duggan v Rex King: From Fort Myers Florida on December 10. “Named after the family dog,” quips Heenan. Duggan with the three-point stance at 2:26. DUD

If You Only Knew music video

Sam Houston v Danny Davis: From Wrestling Challenge on December 13 (taped November 18) in Omaha Nebraska. Houston kick starts things, and they brawl all over the ring, scuffling on the mat. They spill to the outside, and Houston rolls him back in, but gets nailed from the high ground while following. They get into another scuffle on the mat, and Davis is actually dominating things. Meanwhile, Mr. Fuji split screens in, fuming that DiBiase is trying to buy the world title. The scuffling continues, and the referee ends up going down while trying to break them apart. That allows Davis to clobber Sam with the megaphone, and the referee recovers to count Houston out at 3:59. The style they worked made this look extremely amateurish, like two kids fighting in the schoolyard, more than a pro-wrestling match. It was intentional, but I didn’t like the choice. DUD

Harley Race v Jim Evans: From Fort Myers on December 10. Harley with the cradle suplex at 1:59. This was crap, even as squashes go. DUD

DeGeorge catches up with Brutus Beefcake, who wants to give Greg Valentine a haircut 

WWF Tag Team Title Match: Strike Force v The Islanders: From Fort Myers on December 10. Tito Santana starts with Tama, and they feel each other out, with Santana dominating. Tag to Rick Martel, but Tama railroads him into the heel corner, and Haku tags in. Rick fights him off with a pair of bodyslams, and he grounds Haku in a side-headlock, to a great reaction from the crowd. Tags all around, and Santana dominates Tama with a headlock as well. Back to Rick for another headlock, but Tama dumps him into the corner to shake it off, and he grabs a standing headlock of his own. Rick shoves him into Santana to force a break, and Rick uses a somersault cradle for two. Rick with a headlock, so Tama tries shoving him into Haku as repayment for earlier, but it backfires, and both Haku and Tama end up down on the outside. Tama begs off as he comes back in, but Martel shows no mercy, and attacks. Back to Tito for a double team, and an atomic drop gets Santana two. Tag to Rick for a stereo backelbow, but Tama railroads into the heel corner again, and tags. A criss cross allows Martel a Thesz press, but Tama saves at two. Martel stays focused with a headlock, but Haku is able to drop him with a side suplex to quickly shake it off. That allows Haku a two-alarm no-release backbreaker for two, and the heels take control, working Martel over. The announcers note that Martel has ‘good old American ingenuity,’ despite him being very notably from Canada. Like, he was literally the ‘Can’ in the Can-Am Connection! Hot tag to Tito, and Tama gets locked in a figure four, but Haku saves, and Roseanne Barr the door! Martel’s bald spot is pretty massive here. It spills to the outside, and Strike Force end up getting counted out at 11:27. I hate it when the referee counts a guy in despite the fact that he’s actively getting back into the ring. Like, isn’t the point of the countout to force the combatants back in? If the guy is literally on the apron and climbing in, you have to exercise some discretion there. Anyway, the crowd was really into Strike Force, and they gave them a solid match to sink their teeth into. * ½ 

BUExperience: I liked the tag title match, but the rest was completely dull, and they didn’t do anything interesting with the fact that they were at Caesars. Like, they literally could have been in the studio, considering they never even moved from the desk they were set up at. Fuck it, they may have actually been in the home studio here, and just pretending it was Atlantic City for all uniqueness of it.