From The Shelf – WWF The Wrestling Classic

The Wrestling Classic
11-7-85
Chicago, IL

Your hosts are Vince McMahon and Lord Alfred Hayes.

First Round Match- Adrian Adonis w/Jimmy Hart vs. Corp. Kirchner
Kirchner with the early advantage on Adonis but Adonis catches Kirchner with a back suplex. Snap mare followed by a front elbow drop by Adonis. He goes to the chin lock but Kirchner fights out. Adonis blocks a suplex and he hits a DDT for 3.
Winner- Adrian Adonis *1/2 ( I can tell this show is going to be tough to review. With so many matches set for the card many of the matches are going to be like this where they have to stuff ten minutes into three minutes so there’s no time to develop a decent story. The match was fine for a sprint to kick things off. )

First Round Match- Dynamite Kid vs. Nikolai Volkoff
Volkoff is busying singing so Kid goes up. Missile dropkick by Kid gets 3!!!
Winner- Dynamite Kid SQUASH (That was a great idea. Volkoff had to get that Russian National Anthem in and Kid made him pay for it. This was perfect. )

Randy Savage declares himself the #1 wrestler in the world and he’ll prove it tonight.

First Round Match- Ivan Putski vs. Randy Savage w/Miss Elizabeth
Savage stalls for a bit to start and Putski overpowers Savage in the onset. Savage rakes the eyes and he throws some jabs. Putski hammers Savage to come back but Savage takes him down and rolls him up with his feet on the ropes for 3.
Winner- Randy Savage * ( Again, it just looked like they were going to get going but then the finish came abruptly because they need to pack so much stuff into this show.)

Nikolai Volkoff is upset and declares he will have the last laugh.

First Round Match- Ricky Steamboat vs. Davey Boy Smith
Hip toss by Davey and Steamboat catches him with the backslide for 2. Press slam by Smith gets 2. Front facelock by Smith and he hits another press slam for 2. Back to the facelock goes Smith and Steamboat comes back with a suplex. Big splash eats knees and Smith hits a dropkick. A second one by Smith but he misses a third and gets crotched in the ropes. The ref calls for the bell as Davey was injured.
Winner- Ricky Steamboat ** ( Damn man, what a lame finish and this match was criminally short. I would have loved to see another ten minutes or more of this.)

First Round Match- Iron Sheik vs. Junkyard Dog
Sheik attacks at the bell and he chokes JYD with his jacket. JYD fights back and knocks Sheik down with a head butt. A second one by JYD and Sheik bails. Back in, Sheik grabs the full nelson but JYD breaks and he hits a clothesline for 2. Snap mare and JYD misses the dropping head butt. Sheik grabs the Camel Clutch and he releases the hold after some time. Sheik works over JYD in the corner but JYD comes back with a head butt for 3!!!
Winner- Junkyard Dog *1/2 ( Not bad as Sheik made for a great foil for JYD so JYD got a huge pop for the win. )

Terry Funk says he wants to beat Paul Orndorff in the finals and declares he will be fighting Roddy Piper for the world title.

First Round Match- Moondog Spot vs. Terry Funk w/Jimmy Hart
Before the match, Funk tells Spot that he doesn’t want to wrestle him and tells Spot to leave together so they could have a draw. They begin to leave and Funk nails Spot from behind. He tries to enter the ring but Spot stops him. Funk backdrops Spot into the ring and Funk doesn’t get back in the ring in time!!!!
Winner by Count-Out- Moondog Spot NR ( Another clever finish with Funk getting outsmarted by a moron and his plan completely backfiring on him. Fun for the little segment it was meant to be.)

First Round Match- Tito Santana vs. Don Muraco w/Mr. Fuji
Muraco fires away to start and he rakes the face of Santana. Crossbody by Santana gets 2. Sunset flip by Santana gets 2. Backslide by Santana gets 2. Santana works the arm of Muraco but Muraco drops Santana in the ropes to come back. Clothesline by Muraco and he hits a knee drop for 2. Powerslam by Muraco gets 3. BUT WAIT!!! Apparently, Santana’s leg was in the ropes so Santana gets a small package for 3!!!
Winner- Tito Santana ** ( Decent sprint but the finish was really ugly as the camera completely missed Santana’s leg being in the ropes and the ref never told Muraco the match was continuing, so he kind of got screwed here. )

Bobby Heenan says there is $50,000 up for grabs for the individual who takes out Paul Orndorff tonight.

First Round Match- Bob Orton vs. Paul Orndorff
Atomic drop by Ordorff sends Orton shoulder firs into the post. Orndorff works the arm of Orton and he charges in the corner but eats knee. Orton drops Orndorff in the ropes and Orndorff comes back with a sunset flip for 2. Front elbow to the back of the neck by Orton gets 2 and he goes to the chin lock. He converts it into the head scissors but Orndorff is able to escape so Orton gets the backslide for 2. Orton goes for the crossbody but misses and gets crotched. Orndorff fires away and connects with a back elbow. Orndorff continues to fire away but Orton nails Orndorff with the cast for the DQ.
Winner by DQ- Paul Orndorff **1/2 ( I was enjoying the match as it brought a different energy than anything else on the card so far and it was a very physical contest but the DQ finish abruptly ending things before it could really take off. )

Terry Funk freaks out backstage, claiming he should still be in the tournament.

Quarterfinal Match- Dynamite Kid vs. Adrian Adonis w/Jimmy Hart
Arm drags by Dynamite and Adonis quickly bails. Back in, Adonis catapults Kid into the corner and he slams Kid for 2. Suplex by Adonis gets 2. Chin lock by Adonis but Kid breaks with a back suplex. Big splash misses and Adonis begins to work the leg of Kid. Sharpshooter by Adonis but Kid goes to the ropes to break. Kid catches Adonis with the sunset flip for 2. Adonis kicks the leg of Kid to bring him back down and Kid blocks the bulldog, sending Adonis shoulder first into the post. Knee drop by Dynamite and he hits a clothesline. Kid goes up and hits a second rope knee drop for 2!!! Suplex by Kid and he hits a dropping head butt. Kid goes after Hart, allowing Adonis to catch Kid with the O’Connor roll for 2. The force of the kickout sends Adonis into Hart and Kid covers for 3!!!
Winner- Dynamite Kid *** ( Hey, some good leg work, some hot near falls, and enough time to tell a decent story and you have the best match of the tournament so far. )

Jesse Ventura says three heads are better than one and he says he informed the Macho Man of the flaws of the rest of the tournament participants.

Quarterfinal Match- Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage w/Miss Elizabeth
Savage attacks from behind to start and Steamboat fights back with chops, forcing Savage to bail. Back in, Savage fires away and Steamboat catches him with a head scissors bringing Savage to the floor. Atomic drop on the floor by Steamboat and Savage comes back with a back suplex. Savage goes up and leaps but Steamboat nails him in the midsection on the way down. Steamboat suplexes Savage back in and he goes up again. Crossbody off the top by Steamboat gets 2. Chops by Steamboat and he goes for a back suplex but Savage nails Steamboat with a foreign object to block and he covers for 3!!!
Winner- Randy Savage **1/2 ( It was criminal how much this match got short changed. It was the excellence you would expect from these two condensed into five minutes and the first sign of the magic these two would have together over the next year and a half. )

Quarterfinal Match- Moondog Spot vs. Junkyard Dog
Dog attacks as JYD was entering the ring and he goes up. Second rope splash misses and JYD hits some ramming head butts. Head butt by JYD and he makes the count himself for 3. The ref never showed up for the match but the decision is official anyway.
Winner- Junkyard Dog DUD ( This is one of those matches that got the infamous minus five star ratings from Meltzer but this was too short to be considered one of the worst matches ever. The missing ref and counting the pin himself was absolutely stupid though, so this whole thing was just weird. )

Quarterfinal Match- Paul Orndorff vs. Tito Santana
Santana with the early advantage, as he controls Orndorff on the mat with a head scissors. Orndorff breaks the hold with a jackknife roll-up for 2. Hammerlock by Orndorff but Santana goes to the ropes to break. Atomic drop by Orndorff and he begins to work the injured leg of Santana. Orndorff knocks Santana out of the ring with a hard forearm and they begin to brawl on the floor. Both men get counted out, which means Junkyard Dog gets a bye to the finals.
Match ends in a Double Count-Out ** ( I appreciate them focusing the match on the bad leg of Santana but the finish was lame and made both guys look like morons for not getting back in the ring to settle their business. )

WWF Championship- Hulk Hogan © vs. Roddy Piper
Piper attacks to start and he dumps Hogan to the floor. Hogan pulls Piper out and they slug it out on the floor. Hogan tosses Piper into the front row and they head back in. Thrust to the throat by Piper and Hogan comes back with a corner clothesline. Back suplex by Hogan and he hits some elbow drops. Piper fires back and leaps off the second rope but Hogan catches him in the Bear Hug. Piper pokes the eye to break the hold and Piper fires away for 2. Sleeper by Piper and Hogan’s arm only goes down before he powers up and dives to the floor to force Piper to break the hold. Hogan blocks a bulldog and he shoves Piper into the post. Back in, they slug it out and Hogan hits a big boot. Piper sends Hogan into the referee and he grabs a chair. He nails Hogan in the back with the chair and he goes to drive it into Hogan but Hogan blocks. Hogan nails Piper with the chair and he grabs a sleeper. Bob Orton comes out and attacks Hogan with the cast for the DQ. Paul Orndorff chases Orton and Piper away with a chair to save Hogan.
Winner by DQ and Still WWF Champion- Hulk Hogan **1/2 ( A typical, by the numbers Hogan/Piper match from that time period which means it was fun but they didn’t go too crazy to captivate the audience. The parade of bad finishes continue though. )

Semifinal Match- Dynamite Kid vs. Randy Savage w/Miss Elizabeth
Savage stalls to start and he lands a cheap shot on Kid. Kid overpowers Savage and he catches Savage with a backdrop. Crossbody by Kid but Savage rolls into the ropes to prevent the cover. Savage blocks a sunset flip and they clothesline each other. Savage goes up but Kid dropkicks him and follows up. Superpex by Kid and Savage packages Kid for 3!!!
Winner- Randy Savage ** ( Another criminally short match. Imagine the classic they could have had with fifth teen to twenty minutes. This show is just frustrating me to no end. )

Hulk Hogan and Paul Orndorff declare they are united against Roddy Piper and Bob Orton and that they a surprise for the two of them.

The Wrestling Classic Final- Randy Savage w/Miss Elizabeth vs. Junkyard Dog
Savage stalls to start and back in, JYD throws a head butt to the back of Savage. Atomic drop by JYD and he grabs a bear hug. Savage rakes the eyes to break the hold and JYD continues to pound the back of Savage. JYD works over Savage and Savage comes back with a clothesline for 2. Savage dumps JYD and he goes up. Double axe handle off the top to the back by Savage and he rams JYD back first into the post. Savage goes up and hits another double axe handle to the floor onto JYD. Savage nails JYD in the back with a chair and he chokes JYD on the barricade. Back in, Savage goes up and leaps but JYD nails him on the way down. Ramming head butts by JYD and he pulls Savage out of the corner. Head butt by JYD causes Savage to get tied up in the ropes. JYD works over Savage and Savage rakes the eyes to come back. JYD backdrops Savage to the floor and Savage gets counted out!!!
Winner of the Wrestling Classic by Count-Out- Junkyard Dog **1/4 ( Longest match of the show and Savage bumped his ass off here for JYD but the match was pretty dull and JYD was lazy in engaging Savage in anything that could be considered exciting. )

4.0

The final score: review Poor

The 411

Man this show was a chore to sit through. The tournament was a huge dissapointment considering the quality of talent involved, as almost all of the matches were condensed to five minutes or less and the only two men that got to shine throught the tournament were Savage and Dynamite. Junkyard Dog winning the tournament ended up being irrelevant and the whole show just felt pointless and a complete waste of time. This show totally underachieved and is certainly one of the most forgettable of the Hogan era. Take a pass on this one.