WWF at Madison Square Garden (June 14, 1987)

 

Original Airdate: June 14, 1987

From New York, New York; Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Lord Alfred Hayes

Opening Match: The Can-Am Connection v The Shadows: I mean, I get that squash matches are good and important, but if it’s going to be a squash then be a squash. Every match I’ve seen with these two masked jobbers has been fifteen minutes at a minimum. Roseanne Barr the door, and the Connection outsmart the Shadows at 19:27. I wish these two would just disappear into the shadows already. Afterwards, Bobby Heenan is out, and makes a challenge on behalf of the Islanders. The Connection are game, so the Islanders come out to throw down, but security intervenes. ¼*

Hercules v Billy Jack Haynes: We’re joined in progress, with Billy chasing him out of the ring. Hercules stalls on the outside, but still eats a backbreaker after getting back in. Hercules manages to blast him with a clothesline off the middle to turn the tide, and Hercules works him over in rather dull fashion. Hercules gets the full nelson on, but Billy escapes, and chucks Hercules across the ring. Haynes makes a comeback, but a slugfest ends with time expiring at 20:44 shown of 22:55. This was long and dull. ½*

The Islanders v The Young Stallions: The Islanders wear bowties now, to properly get over their new heel attitudes. Tama and Paul Roma start, and Paul grabs a hammerlock, so a furious Tama gets into the ropes, and flips out. He’s embracing the heel turn wonderfully. A criss cross ends in Roma hiptossing him, and a bodyslam follows. A dropkick connects as well, and Tama wisely bails to break the momentum, as well as strategize with Haku and Bobby Heenan. Back in, Tama tries suckering him into accepting a handshake, but Roma is too smart, and hits him with an atomic drop. Tag to Haku, but he can’t get control on Roma either. That Paul Roma is simply unstoppable! Tags all around, and Jim Powers gets Tama in a wristlock. Tag back to Roma for more wristlock action, as the Stallions control Tama with quick tags. The Stallions land stereo dropkicks for two, so Tama resorts to hair pulling to get Jim in the heel corner - only for a double team to backfire. That allows Powers to armdrag Tama into an armbar, and back to Roma for a wristlock. The Islanders are finally able to successfully double team Roma, but Haku misses a splash after tagging in, and Paul gets fired up again. Jesus. Haku goes to the eyes to cut him off, and a bodyslam sets up a headbutt drop, but Roma dodges. Tama tries a cheap shot, but Roma ignores it, so the heels beat him up but good. And that, finally, gets him down. The motherfucker was no selling like Scott Norton against a cruiserweight. The heels go to work on Paul, until Powers gets the hot tag. He runs wild, but Roma doesn’t really come in to properly get the fire running, and the Islanders catch Powers with a combo at 20:06. Lengthy, but solid work throughout, and I was really enjoying the Islanders as heels. Particularly Tama, he’s great. * ¾ 

Paul Orndorff v Junkyard Dog: Some posturing early, with Orndorff playing mindgames. Dog gets a wristlock on, until Paul manages to escape, and he bails to break the momentum. Back in, Dog gets a hammerlock on anyway, but Orndorff escapes, and cradles for two. Dog keeps coming, so Bobby Heenan trips him up, and Orndorff cradles for two. Dog still keeps coming, but walks into a hotshot at 9:46. DUD

Main Event: WWF Title Texas Death Match: Hulk Hogan v Harley Race: Hats off to Howard Finkel warning the crowd that anyone in the first few rows is staying ‘at their own peril.’ Love it. Race attacks before the bell, but Hulk backdrops him over the top. Hogan chases after him with punches on the outside, and Harley eats the guardrail. Inside, Hulk unloads with mounted punches, and a chop sends Harley back to the outside. Race catches the champion with a mulekick on the way back in, and he goes to work, putting the boots to the Hulkster. Race with a piledriver for two, and a snapmare sets up a headbutt drop. A gutwrench suplex gets Harley two, but a cross corner whip gets reversed, and Race takes a bump over the top. Hogan chases, but gets distracted by Bobby Heenan, and Harley sends him into the post. Race uses a chair out there, but a headbutt drop on the floor misses, and Hulk takes him in for a big boot. Hulk keeps coming with an atomic drop, and a clothesline knocks Harley out of the ring - Race taking a nice bump into a stack of chairs on the way. Hulk follows to post his challenger, and Hulk uses the chair, before unloading punches in the aisle. Race goes low to set up a piledriver on the floor, and now the headbutt drop out there works. Race grabs the title belt and whacks Hulk with it on the way into the ring, but a flying headbutt drop misses, and Harley lands on the belt! Hulk brains him with the belt from there, and that’s enough for the pin at 9:59. This was a lot of fun, with some really wild stuff for 1987 in the WWF. Race was bumping like a complete lunatic here, too. ** ½  

Outback Jack v Jose Estrada: I’m not acknowledging bootleg Bad News Brown. Jack with a swinging bodyslam, then a backdrop, and finally a bulldog at 4:46. DUD

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, and Danny Davis v Davey Boy Smith, Dynamite Kid, and Billy Jack Haynes: Haynes is subbing for Koko B. Ware. The babyfaces run in to kickstart things before the introductions are over, and they clean house. The dust settles on Bret and Davey Boy, and Smith powers him into the corner, so Bret bails. Inside, Hart and Smith trade wristlocks, dominated by the Bulldog. Tag to Haynes for an earringer, and he grounds the Hitman in a chinlock. Tag to Kid for a clothesline for two, and a matslam gets another two. Back to Davey for a crucifix, but Hart counters with a Samoan drop, and he tags to Anvil. Jim misses an elbowdrop on the way in, allowing Haynes to tag back in, and armbar the Anvil. Tag to Kid for an armbar, so Jim goes to the eyes, and Bret takes a shot from the apron to leave Kid looking up at the lights. That allows Davis to tag in, but he gets too cocky, and nearly gets knocked silly by Kid. The heels work Kid over, but he gets away from Davis, and tags Haynes. Haynes comes in with a press-slam on Danny, and he goes for the full nelson, but Bret saves right away. That allows the heels to take control of Haynes, and they work him over now. Davey finally gets the hot tag, and he runs wild - Roseanne Barr the door! The babyfaces dominate, and Davey press-drops Kid onto Bret for the pin at 21:04. This was well formatted, with Bret doing all the heavy lifting on the heel side, and good timing on the hope spots. * ½ 

BUExperience: Good house show here, with a main event that delivers, and two fun tag outings. 

**