Colling It In The Ring: WWF House Show 2/8/1986

World Wrestling Federation House Show
Date: 2/8/1986
From: Boston, MA

Opening Contest: Lanny Poffo vs. Paul Christy: The fans are restless early on as Christy kept an arm lock on Poffo for several moments. Poffo gets control with a hip toss and goes to the arm lock himself making for a slow start. Christy cheap shots Poffo and knocks him to the floor following a few strikes. Christy knocks Poffo off the apron a few times to prevent Lanny from entering the ring. Poffo drops Christy across the top rope and finally enters the ring and clubs away on Christy in the corner. Poffo tosses Christy to the floor and hits an impressive springboard axe handle to the floor. Poffo continues his attack with a dropkick and hits a middle rope moonsault for the win. (*. It’s an incredibly boring ten minutes of action, but Poffo’s offense at the end was an entertaining end to the match. It’s largely rest holds aside from that, though.)

Second Contest: Sivi Afi vs. Barry O: Afi comes off the ropes and dropkicks Barry followed by an arm drag for the early offense. Afi attempts a cross boy but Barry catches him to hit a back breaker instead. Barry heads to the top rope but Afi doesn’t go near him so Barry has to come down and continue with strikes. Barry hits a power slam but Afi doesn’t stay down for long. Barry tosses Afi over the top to the floor and Barry taunts the fans. Afi isn’t impacted by being sent into the turnbuckle but an eye rake does the job. Afi sunset flips into the ring but Barry goes back to another eye rake. Afi counters a suplex attempt with one of his own for a two count. Afi drops Barry to the canvas with a chop and comes back with a series of strikes. Barry avoids a splash by getting his knees up. Barry goes to the top but Afi press slams Barry to the canvas. Afi hits a top rope cross body and gets the three count. (*1/4. Similar to the first match in terms of lack of entertainment. Barry O was effective in getting some heat for himself, but the match itself was difficult to get into.)

Third Contest: George Steele vs. Tiger Chung Lee: Lee is hitting Steele with a kendo stick but Steele grabs it from Lee and whacks him a few times before breaking the stick over his knee. Steele chases Lee around the ring until Lee bails to the floor. Lee sends Steele shoulder first into the corner and stomps on Steele to maintain control of the match. Steele flips out on the floor yanking the guard railing down and wants to bring it into the ring but instead Lee rams Steele into the railing! Steele has something in his tights and nails Lee in the head with it. I’m assuming it was brass knuckles. Steele was biting on the turnbuckle which allows Lee to get a few shots in. Steele reveals the middle turnbuckle sending Lee into it head first and that’s good enough for a three count. (*1/4. There was minimal wrestling involved here but Steele was kind of entertaining here and the brawling was non-offensive.)

Fourth Contest: Big John Studd vs. Hillbilly Jim: Studd gets a few shots in on Jim until Jim blocks a right hand and fights back with a few strikes of his own. Jim attempts a scoop slam but Studd is able to prevent the execution of the move. Jim backs Studd into a corner with several overhand strikes and a head butt only for Studd to stop Jim with a strike. Studd power slams Jim rather easily and taunts the fans. Studd splashes Jim a few times in the corner and locks in a bear hug. Jim fights his way out but Studd keeps control with a knee lift. Jim nails Studd coming off the middle rope with a strike to the midsection. Jim attempts a scoop slam but Studd bails to the floor. They are brawling on the outside and Jim attempted another slam but Studd avoided it. Jim sends Studd face first into the ring post and wins by a count-out. (1/2*. I get the power slam angle, but it didn’t help this match at all. Both men are restrictive in the ring and that made for a lackluster showing.)

Fifth Contest: WWF Intercontinental Champion Tito Santana vs. Randy Savage: Neither man is able to get a clear advantage in the opening moments of the match. Savage cheap shots Santana with a thumb to the eye and bails to the floor when Tito goes after him. Tito goes to the floor as well and they brawl for a moment. Savage goes for an axe handle off the top into the ring but Tito hits him in midair and delivers a scoop slam. Savage goes to the floor when Santana comes off the ropes. Tito chases again but gets attacked entering the ring by Savage. Tito blocks a boot attempt and atomic drops Savage for a near fall. Savage stops Santana with an eye rake. Savage keeps Santana on the mat with a running axe handle for a near fall. Savage drops Tito with a clothesline but Santana kicks out at two. Savage goes to the top rope and this time hits a double axe handle, but only gets a near fall on the cover. Savage goes to the top and axe handles Santana on the floor. Santana fights back sending Savage face first into the corner and hammers away on Savage with forearm strikes. Tito comes off the middle rope to drop Savage with an elbow strike but can’t get a three on the pin attempt.

Santana runs into a high knee in the corner and Savage lays across the top rope exhausted. Savage attempts to get a cover but Santana kicks out and Savage lands on the referee. Santana has an inside cradle only managing a near fall. Savage decks Santana but misses a splash attempt. Savage is holding his left knee in pain and Santana goes on the attack with several kicks to the injured leg. Santana yanks Savage out of the corner and locks in the figure four in the middle of the ring! Savage is reaching for the ropes but is clearly in a lot of pain. Savage rolls the hold over and reaches the ropes to break the hold. Santana brings Savage into the ring from the apron with a suplex. Savage appears to have grabbed something out of his tights. Santana prevents Savage from leaving the ring. Savage goes to the apron and has a metal object. Santana attempts a back suplex from the apron but Savage decks Santana with the metal object and pins Santana! Savage has won the WWF IC Championship! (***1/4. Thankfully there is a good match to makeup for the brutal start to the show. They kept an excellent pace and the action was good, too. The finish sets up likely rematches and I’d like to see those.)

Backstage, WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage is interviewed saying he is really proud of what he accomplished. He says this is bad news for Hulk Hogan. Savage says that Tito Santana never hurt him once in that match. With pain comes glory and with glory comes pain. They are hyping up Savage as a number one contender to WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan.

Sixth Contest: Hart Foundation vs. Killer Bees: Bret Hart and Brian B. Blair kick off the tag bout. Blair sends Hart to the floor to get out of a hammerlock position. Brunzell tags in and continues to work over the left arm of Hart. Blair tags in and nearly pins Hart with an inside cradle, but keeps control working over Bret’s left arm. Neidhart tags in to try his luck with Blair. Neidhart sends Blair into the ropes and delivers a knee lift to the midsection. Hart gets a few cheap shots in until Brunzell makes the save. Hart delivers a back breaker on Blair and a quick leg drop. Blair gets stuck in the corner and is double teamed by the Hart Foundation. Neidhart locks in a bear hug but isn’t going to get a submission. Hart kicks Blair in the gut to maintain control and tags in Neidhart as Blair can’t get anything going on offensively. Blair avoids a dropkick hanging onto the ropes and Neidhart crashes to the mat. Brunzell gets the hot tag and hammers away on Neidhart. Brunzell atomic drops Neidhart and connects with a dropkick. Brunzell knocks Bret to the floor but as he is running the ropes Hart knee lifts Brunzell from the apron. Neidhart maintains control of the bout with a few stomps.

Brunzell is across the knee of Neidhart as Hart comes off the middle rope to deliver a forearm drop. Neidhart sends Brunzell to the floor where Hart delivers a scoop slam and gets away from Blair. Blair gets a few strikes on Neidhart as he protects his partner. Neidhart controls Brunzell with a front face lock on the canvas. Neidhart spears Brunzell in the corner dropping Brunzell in the corner. Bret connects with a standing dropkick but Brunzell manages to power out at two on the cover. Brunzell nails Hart with a standing dropkick but can’t make the tag. Blair gets the tag and Neidhart sends Hart flying off the apron. Blair has a sleeper hold on Neidhart but isn’t able to knock Neidhart out with it. Blair collides with Neidhart in the ring and both men are down. Hart hits a middle rope elbow drop on Blair and gets the win despite not being the legal man. (**1/4. There was some solid action throughout the match, but it never got out of first gear it felt like. It was a little too basic for my liking, but compared to the other stuff on the show, it was a decent match.)

Seventh Contest: Don Muraco vs. Ricky Steamboat in a martial arts match: Steamboat ducks a clothesline and kicks Muraco to the floor. Steamboat ducks a chop attempt and kicks Muraco to the floor a second time. Muraco yanks Ricky down by his hair to get out of a headlock position. Steamboat runs the ropes ducking various strikes and tosses Muraco around the ring before hitting a scoop slam and controls Muraco with a headlock on the canvas for a near fall. Mr. Fuji trips Steamboat as he was running the ropes and Muraco attempts an elbow drop but misses. Steamboat slams Muraco and goes back to the headlock. Muraco drops Steamboat with a fireman’s carry to get some momentum in his favor. Muraco dumps Steamboat over the top to the floor where Steamboat hit his back on the apron. On the floor, Muraco grabs a chair but tosses it away and chops Steamboat to the floor. Muraco catapults Steamboat into a chair held by Fuji. Muraco sends Ricky into the ring post and it appears Steamboat is busted wide open likely from the chair shot.

Muraco brings Steamboat into the ring from the apron with a suplex. Muraco takes off his belt and begins to whip Steamboat and chokes Ricky. Muraco exposes his knee and delivers a knee drop to keep Steamboat on the canvas. Muraco goes back to choking Steamboat with the belt. Muraco chokes Ricky with the belt looking to knock Steamboat out, which appears to have been successful. Steamboat prevents his arm from dropping three times and begins to make his comeback. Ricky hammers away on Muraco a few time and chops Muraco but misses a wild attempt and Muraco decks Steamboat with a clothesline. Muraco lifts Steamboat up and attempts the tombstone but Steamboat uses his legs to break free. Steamboat chops Muraco a few times to knock Muraco off his feet. Steamboat works over Muraco with strikes in the corner and Muraco drops to his knees. Steamboat drives Muraco face first into the canvas. Ricky heads to the top rope and leaps off hitting Don with an overhand strike. Muraco backdrops Steamboat over the top but Ricky holds on and kicks Fuji away. Muraco decks Steamboat with a strike and attempts a suplex but Steamboat counters with a rollup and wins the match! After the match, Muraco attacks Steamboat to leave him laying in the ring. (**. Nothing spectacular here but the brawling was fine during the bout. The crowd was into the match from the get-go it seemed like so that’s always a plus.)

Roddy Piper comes out wearing some Chicago Bears gear and hangs up a couple of Chicago Bears posters on the cage.

Main Event: Roddy Piper vs. Bruno Sammartino in a steel cage match: Bruno enters the cage and goes right after Piper sending him head first into the cage a few times. Bruno hammers away on Piper before sending him again into the cage. Piper is already busted wide open. Bruno stuffs one of the posters down Piper’s throat. Bruno chokes Piper with his own shirt and continues to send Piper into the cage. Bruno slams the back of Piper’s head against the canvas. Bruno tries to leave through the door but Piper gets up and low blows Bruno from behind. Piper gets a running head start and kicks Bruno a few times. Piper delivers an elbow drop to the groin area of Bruno. Piper uses his shirt to choke Bruno on the canvas. Piper tries to escape through the door but Bruno prevents Piper from leaving the cage. Piper sends Bruno head first into the cage. Bruno gets up in time to prevent Piper from leaving again. Piper begins to climb the cage but Bruno grabs Piper’s foot and yanks Piper back into the ring. Bruno decks Piper into the cage with a right hand. Piper runs across the ring to stop Bruno from leaving the ring. Bruno stops Piper from leaving the ring by pulling his trunks down. They begin to trade strikes in the ring with Bruno sending Piper into the cage again. Piper stops Bruno from escaping through the door. Piper stomps on Bruno several times to keep Bruno on the canvas. Piper decides to climb the cage and is met with a low blow. Piper is shaking on the canvas as Bruno goes for the cage door. Piper is struggling but has the leg of Bruno. Bruno whacks Piper with a wooden chair and escapes the cage to win the match. (**3/4. I enjoyed this a lot more than I was expecting to. Piper was playing a great heel role here as even I felt great happiness with Bruno just beating the crap out of Piper and busting him open early. It was a relatively short cage match, but seemed like they accomplished a lot here. A good way to end the show.)

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6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

A brutal undercard was made up for by the final four matches. Savage/Santana is the match of the night and the cage match was a lot of fun to watch, too. I’d say it’s an average show overall and you can see the Savage/Santana match on YouTube.