WWF Wrestling Challenge (March 22, 1987)

 

Original Airdate: March 22, 1987 (taped March 11)

From Columbus, Ohio; Your Hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan

WWF Tag Team Title Match: The Hart Foundation v The Young Stallions: Bret Hart and Paul Roma start, and Hart takes him down for a pointed elbowdrop right away. Hart grabs a headlock, but Roma escapes, and wins a criss cross with a backdrop. He adds a dropkick before tagging Jim Powers, who unloads on the Hitman in the corner. Bret fights him off long enough to tag Jim Neidhart, and the tide has turned. The champs work Powers over, and Roma never even gets the hot tag before they put Powers away with the Hart Attack at 2:35. This was essentially a squash. ¼*

Craig DeGeorge catches up with Roddy Piper, who recalls all the guys he feuded with who are no longer around. But, he’s still got another piece of business to close, and he’s growing his hair out to give Adrian Adonis some extra incentive for WrestleMania

Koko B. Ware v Johnny K-9: Butch Reed split screens in, threatening Koko for WrestleMania. Gorilla, the moron, claims that Koko’s glove is ‘tape due to an obvious injury.’ Yeah, super obvious. Ware with a brainbuster at 2:12. DUD

Gene Okerlund catches up with Andre the Giant, who is sweating through his shirt so badly that he might already be world champion of that Depends if Mike Rotundo was still in the territory at that point

Jim Duggan is mopping up backstage, in preparation for cleaning up the WWF

King Kong Bundy v Mario Mancini: Johnny Valiant sits in for Bobby here, as he’s busy with Bundy. Meanwhile, Hillbilly Jim split screens in, warning Bundy not to touch his midgets. Bundy with a splash at 0:46. DUD

Jesse Ventura catches up with Mary Hart, who will be the guest timekeeper at WrestleMania

Okerlund catches up with WWF Champion Hulk Hogan, who is past shock and into the rage stage about Andre

Okerlund catches up with Aretha Franklin, who will be singing America the Beautiful at WrestleMania 

The Can-Am Connection v Iron Mike Sharpe and Terry Gibbs: Don Muraco and Bob Orton split screen in here, and I still don’t get why they turned Muraco babyface, he’s just such a good, natural heel. The Connection with a combo on Gibbs at 2:38. ¼*

From Superstars of Wrestling, Roddy Piper hosts Piper’s Pit, with guest President Jack Tunney. Jack is out to show off the new XL version of the WWF Title, made to fit Andre the Giant, if he wins at WrestleMania. That was a great misdirection. That all draws Andre and Bobby Heenan out to try it on, and you know, it looks great on him

Jake Roberts hosts the Snake Pit, with guest WWF Champion Hulk Hogan. Jake has the XL title belt, and notes that they never made a custom belt when he was defending against other giants like Bundy, so clearly even Tunney doesn’t believe he can do it. This was a good segment

Okerlund is in the control center for the WrestleMania III Report

Heenan catches up with Bob Uecker to make sure Bob has been practicing announcing Andre as the new champion

Hercules v Jim Young: Billy Jack Haynes split screens in, noting that he isn’t backing down from Hercules, basically because his dad told him not to. Cool. Hercules with the full nelson at 0:41. DUD

Okerlund catches up with WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage, who is ready to get rid of Ricky Steamboat once and for all

BUExperience: They were in overdrive with WrestleMania build, and it was great.