WWF Prime Time Wrestling (March 7, 1988)

 

Original Airdate: March 7, 1988

Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan from the studio

Hercules v Jerry Allen: From Topeka Kansas on February 17. Hercules with a torture rack at 6:49 to finish this lengthy squash. DUD

Jim Duggan v Ron Bass: From New York City on February 22. Joined in progress, with Bass holding a leveraged abdominal stretch. Duggan escapes, and hooks a small package for two, but Ron cuts him off, and holds a chinlock. Duggan gets the ropes, so Bass hammers on him, but Jim gets fired up, and starts coming back on him. A shoulderblock gets him two, and Duggan goes to a chinlock of his own to catch a breath, and wear Ron down. Duggan unloads with more punches, and a turnbuckle smash rattles Ron. Bass catches him with a cowbell shot out of the corner for two, so he comes in with the bullwhip, and chokes Hacksaw with it. Duggan goes for the 2x4, but Bass chokes him down again, and the referee is just letting this all go. Duggan finally gets hold of the 2x4 and fights free of the choke, and they spill to the outside for a double countout at 5:47 shown of 15:16. That was some bonkers officiating there. There was too much cut out of this to assign it a rating, but what was left was entertaining enough.

Craig DeGeorge is in the studio for Update, with a look at WrestleMania IV

Vanna White is ready for WrestleMania

From Wrestling Challenge, DeGeorge brings Randy Savage out for a podium interview, and Macho’s secret weapon in the tournament is that he has Miss Elizabeth in his corner

WrestleMania IV ad

Bad News Brown v John Stewart: From Topeka on February 17. Brown with an enzuigiri at 3:12. DUD

Gene Okerlund catches up with Bob Uecker, both of whom are excited about working with Vanna White at WrestleMania 

Scott Casey v Barry Horowitz: From Topeka on February 17. Gorilla implies that Horowitz is gay here, which I’m pretty sure is not true. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. And then they get into a long conversation about all of the ‘graduates’ of the ‘Garvin School of Self Defense.’ This drags on forever, until Casey hooks a crucifix at 9:57. DUD

Jake Roberts v Dino Bravo: From New York on February 22. Joined in progress, with Bravo holding a chinlock. Jake escapes, and goes on the comeback trail, but time expires at 3:12 shown of 19:23. Why even bother showing this?

DeGeorge catches up with Heenan and the Islanders

Brady Boone v Iron Mike Sharpe: From Philadelphia Pennsylvania on February 6. Really bringing the star power to Philly tonight. Boone dominates early on, but ends up in a standing headlock. Boone forces a criss cross to escape, and a bodypress connects for two, so Mike bails. Sharpe manages to pound him down on the way back inside, and he goes to work on Brady, but Boone reverses a series of turnbuckle smashes. Cross corner whip works, but the charge in doesn’t, and Mike backdrops him for two. Again, but Boone counters with a sunset flip for two, so Mike chops him back down. Another backdrop, but Boone dodges, and rolls him up for two. Takedown gets two, so Mike dumps him to the outside to buy time. Mike follows to beat him up on the outside, but a clothesline misses on the way back in, and Boone rebounds with a jumping backelbow. That allows Brady a kneelift, and he makes a comeback, so Sharpe pulls a weapon out of his tights, and pops Boone with it for the pin at 9:03. ½*

From Wrestling Challenge, DeGeorge brings Ted DiBiase and Andre the Giant out for a podium interview, and the name of the game is still Andre clearing the path for Ted in the tournament

DeGeorge is in the control center for the WrestleMania IV Report

WrestleMania IV ad

Demolition v The Young Stallions: From Wichita Kansas on February 16. Smash starts with Paul Roma, and Smash wrecks him. Roma tries a rollup, but Smash blocks, and delivers a shoulderblock. Another, but Roma is ready with a hiptoss this time, and he takes Smash to the mat in an armbar. Tag to Jim Powers for some double teaming, and he grabs a wristlock. Back to Roma, but Smash railroads him into the heel corner, and Demolition double up as Ax tags in. Roma manages to get Ax down in a hammerlock, and he passes to Powers for an armbar. Ax powers Powers into the heel corner to tag Smash, and Demolition use quick tags to put Jim into trouble. He manages to sneak a tag to Roma, but the heels immediately cut him off, and start working him over. That tag was a pointless sequence, like they suddenly remembered the wrong guy was taking the heat segment, or something. Anyway, Powers gets the hot tag, and Roseanne Barr the door - ending in Ax pinning Powers at 9:57. Vince considers this a sign that Strike Force will certainly retain at WrestleMania. Can someone check his math there, please? The match was a solid days work. *

BUExperience: I don’t fuck with this.