The Name on the Marquee: WWF Superstars of Wrestling & Wrestling Challenge – January 1987

-Onto the B-show for the time being, it’s WWF Wrestling Challenge. We’ll skip over the first show of 1987, which was a year-in-review special that just recapped a bunch of stuff that, for the most part, I’ve already covered in greater detail before. So we’ll pick up at…

-Originally aired January 11, 1987.

-We’re in Tucson, AZ, the city with one silent letter in its name, but nobody is sure which one it is.

-Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon & Bobby Heenan.

RANDY “Macho Man” SAVAGE (Intercontinental Champion, with Elizabeth) vs. STEVE GATORWOLF
-Arm wringers are traded, but Savage fights Gatorwolf off with a knee and chokes him over the top rope. Front facelock by Savage into a snapmare, and he sends Gatorwolf into the turnbuckles as the crowd offers a half-hearted “Steamboat” chant. Gatorwolf fights back with chops and a war dance, but Savage stops him in his tracks and sends him over the top rope. Savage comes off the rope and onto the floor with a double axehandle (and nearly falls off). Back in the ring, Savage finishes off the poor man’s Chief Jay Strongbow with the elbowdrop.

WRESTLER’S REBUTTAL
-George Steele eats a page from the current issue of WWF Magazine.

-Let’s go to Australia, where Outback Jack is getting his face painted for a tribal ceremony.

TITO SANTANA vs. JIMMY JACK FUNK
-Funk gets an amateur takedown to start, but Tito faceplants him. They lock up but that doesn’t go anywhere. They try again and it still doesn’t go anywhere. Funk just gives up and rams Tito into the turnbuckle. Tito reverses an Irish whip and clotheslines Funk over the top rope. Funk re-enters and tries an arm wringer, but Tito reverses that. Funk drops Tito throat-first onto the top rope. Belly-to-belly suplex by Funk and a forearm from the second rope get two. Tito tries a backdrop, but Funk counters to a backslide. Tito reverses it for two and starts throwing punches. He gets the backdrop he wanted and slams Funk down. Tito faceplants him again and “rings the bell” (looking like you’re going for a piledriver, but then just thrusting your legs down to snap your opponent’s head & neck). Flying forearm gives Tito the win.

-Ken Resnick talks to Slick & Butch Reed. They’re going to get down and whatnot.

KAMALA (with Wizard & Kimchee) vs. JESSE CORTEZ
-Jack Tunney appears to make a ruling about the legality of Kamala’s top rope splash, but Bobby Heenan suddenly interrupts, throwing a fit about all of the inquiries being made about the Andre the Giant reinstatement hearing.

-Kamala disposes of Cortez rather easily with chops & chokes. Air Uganda finishes. But in happier news, if you sign up for the WWF Fan Club today, they’ll mail you your own membership card! Ah, happier times, when they only took time away from calling a match to plug ONE extraneous piece of shit, as opposed to 2009 commentary. “Matt Hardy with a clothesline, pay-per-view, mobile, website, DVD, magazine!”

-Koko B. Ware shows Ken Resnick how to kiss Frankie.

KING HARLEY RACE (with Bobby Heenan) vs. JERRY MONTI
-Bobby tells the fans to stand up and kneel, which will make your head hurt if you think about it long enough. Johnny V takes over commentary for the time being, and Junkyard Dog suddenly jumps in, promising to dethrone The King.

-Side headlock by Monti, but Race gets out of that with no trouble. Neckbreaker and a pair of kneedrops by Race. Powerslam almost finishes, but Race decides he’s not done yet and clotheslines Monti. Headbutts by Race for two, but he finally decides he’s done playing around, and the cradle suplex gives the King the win.

THE SNAKE PIT
-Jake walks out immediately and declares that since it’s his segment, he can make the fans wait for him as long as he wants. I’m guessing there was a snafu edited out here. Anyway, because one promo a week isn’t enough, here’s Butch Reed again to tell us how natural he is. Butch Reed wants Hulk Hogan! Okay, nobody ever mentions this, but this is another reason Hogan stayed on top forever. Every single heel made it a point to say they wanted a piece of him. I mean, it was like a default setting for heels cutting promos. If you had absolutely no feud to speak of at the moment, you threatened Hogan. And that just added to the fans’ perception that Hulk was the guy.

UPDATE
-Gene Okerlund recaps the Savage/Steamboat saga. We see the throat injury, followed by Dr. Bob’s assessment of injuries. Ricky Steamboat cuts a promo from his house, where he emotionally struggles to finish a single sentence, but chokes and coughs.

-Blackjack Mulligan shows us his honey wagon, a fertilizing machine. He vows to throw King Kong Bundy in the machine and fertilize half of Texas with him.

KILLER BEES vs. MAGNIFICENT MURACO & COWBOY BOB ORTON (with Mr. Fuji)
-Orton & Blair start. Shoulderblock by Orton, but Blair hiptosses him. Muraco tags in as we begin talking about the Fan Club again. A full-sized poster and “a special kit containing a whole lot of things” will be ours. Wow, THINGS!

-Blair whiffs on a dropkick and rolls up Muraco for two. Brunzell tags in and they double-team Muraco to the contempt of referee Danny Davis. Bees work the arm, but Blair gets slammed down and Orton returns to capitalize. Series of punches, but he misses a dropkick in the corner and gets hammered by Blair. High knee by Brunzell and Blair comes in with an abdominal stretch. Muraco breaks it, but Davis doesn’t give a rat’s ass, so it’s all good. Muraco goes ahead and stays in there without making a tag, but since Davis knows that he meant to, it’s okay. He gets a two-count and Orton comes in without a tag. Slingshot suplex by Orton, but Blair starts to fight back, only to get his eyes raked. Heels switch off and Muraco drives Blair into the mat from the top rope. Double-teaming behind Davis’ back, but when they make a tag, Davis is conveniently distracted, and both Bees end up getting tossed to the floor. As usual, that’s the best thing that could happen to them. They emerge with the masks. One of the Bees comes in and rolls up Muraco right away, without even doing the usual switching off, but Danny Davis calls for the bell and gives the match to Muraco & Orton, due to “illegal masks.”

-JYD talks about all the good things he has going on with his life, including his baby girl, his beautiful new wife, and the hammer that came down on his ex-wife. What the hell kind of face promo is THAT? Blackjack Mulligan comes in to talk about the good things going on in his life, including his wife’s recent weight gain.

NEXT!

-Originally aired January 18, 1987.

-We’re relocating to Hershey, PA.

-Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon & Bobby Heenan.

BLACKJACK MULLIGAN & U.S. EXPRESS vs. RAY MILLER, JOE MIRTO, & STEVE LOMBARDI
-Weird to see Mulligan teaming up with his son’s replacement, Danny Spivey. Rotundo starts with Lombardi. He tries an amateur move, but Lombardi goes to the ropes. Rotundo atomic drops him into his partners’ boots. Double-dropkick by Lombardi as Outlaw Ron Bass drops in to tell everybody to look out. Noted.

-Spivey slams Mirto and Rotundo comes off the top rope with an elbow. Mirto gets a cheap shot against the ropes, but Rotundo comes back with a bodypress for two. Double-backdrop by the Express and Spivey sends Mirto into the turnbuckle. Rotundo re-enters and hiptosses Mirto across the ring. Miller tags in as a “We want Blackjack” chant erupts. Rotundo gives in and the crowd gives a SCARY pop for Mulligan as he cleans house. Hard elbow to the throat finishes off Miller and Blackjack gets the three-count.

WRESTLER’S REBUTTAL
-Randy Savage vows that the Dragon will be burned by his own fire.

“The Natural” BUTCH REED (with Slick) vs. MARIO MANCINI
-As a special surprise, Mel Phillips introduces “An individual undefeated for 15 years and the eighth wonder of the world, Andre the Giant.” Andre comes out to a standing ovation and smiles & waves to the fans, shaking hands with everybody in sight, although Slick blows him off. None of this is the special surprise, the surprise was that Mel Phillips managed to get through an introduction that long without screwing up. Anyway, Andre leaves without incident. I think the point there was to give Andre one final moment as a beloved face.

-Reed attacks before the bell and never lets up. Press slam and an elbowdrop give him the win.

-Ken Resnick talks to the Hart Foundation. They aren’t scared of wrestling the British Bulldogs; they’re scared of the way the Bulldogs carry on lengthy conversations with Matilda. They have a point. They also gloat about their recent non-title win from “Superstars,” insisting that Danny Davis had nothing to do with their triumph.

-Outback Jack isn’t worried about coming to the WWF because he has to deal with all of the crocodiles near his house.

CAN-AM CONNECTION vs. TERRY GIBBS & GLADIATOR
-Martel & Gibbs trade hammerlocks, but Martel catches him with a hiptoss. Zenk tags in and gets taken down. Mr. Fuji comes in to promise that the Can-Ams are going to go down as Zenk makes a comeback. Can-Ams double-team Gladiator. Zenk gets caught in the heel corner, but Gladiator accidentally knees his own partner. Zenk goes off the ropes and Gibbs hooks the leg to trip him up and the heels switch off on Zenk. Gladiator beels throws Zenk right into Martel for the hot tag. Dropkicks for everybody, double-dropkick for Gladiator. Powerslam by Zenk and he slingshots Martel on top of Gladiator for the three-count.

-Ken Resnick talks to Randy Savage, who vows that the Dragon will be burned by his own fire. So I hear.

HONKY TONK MAN (with Jimmy Hart) vs. TOMMY SHARPE
-Honky throws his silk scarf at the fans again and he deliberately pulls back so it doesn’t even clear the apron. Quite amusing. Sharpe rolls up Honky right off the bat for two. We actually get a head-in-the-box promo from the jobber, as Sharpe promises an easy victory, and we cut right back to Honky giving him the Shake, Rattle, and Roll for a quick win. Oh, and what the hell, he does it again. He dances around the ring and up the aisle, then stops to ram Sharpe into the barricade and give him a THIRD neckbreaker in the aisle.

PIPER’S PIT
-From “Superstars” the previous day. Hot Rod has a huge trophy and brings in President Jack Tunney, who reads a long, fawning tribute to Hulk Hogan, complete with assurance that he’s one of America’s greatest & beloved citizens, and a video package. And now, on the third anniversary of his acquiring the WWF Championship, here’s Hulk Hogan. Hulk gives his acceptance speech as we cut to the footage of Andre the Giant dumping champagne on his head and congratulating him in the locker room.

-Speaking of which, out comes Andre the Giant, who nods and says, “Three years to be a champion is a long, long time.” He shakes Hulk’s hand, and based on Hulk’s reaction, he shook it awfully hard. Andre walks away and Hogan goes right back to smiling and posing with his newly acquired trophy.

HILLBILLY JIM, PEDRO MORALES, & TITO SANTANA vs. DINO BRAVO & DREAM TEAM (with Johnny V)
-Three stars vs. three stars. Okay, now I’ve been doing these WWF TV reviews enough in the last few weeks that you should be able to tell me IMMEDIATELY who the referee is for this match.

-Bobby Heenan throws a fit about the trophy ceremony, saying Hulk doesn’t deserve a trophy for a three-year title reign, given that Andre has never received any awards for a 15-year undefeated streak.

-Jim catches Bravo with an uppercut and brings in Tito quickly. Tito shoulderblocks Bravo and punches & kicks are traded. Bravo whiffs on a press slam and tags in Beefcake. Series of forearms by Beefcake, but Tito catches him with a flying forearm…for a slooooowwwww two-count. And Beefcake doesn’t even kick out, Danny just stops at two. Valentine tags in and gets the advantage quickly for two. Shoulderbreaker gets a fast two-count. Valentine tries a bridge, but gets kicked in the breadbasket and shoved into the turnbuckles. Morales tags in and gets a forearm and an uppercut. Davis counts one and just plain stops to reprimand Jim for interfering (which Jim isn’t doing. The faces have had enough and Tito grabs the mic to announce that they’re not staying to finish the match. They walk out of the building and Davis counts them out to give Johnny V’s men the win. Good angle, as Davis’ incompetence is reaching a boiling point.

“EVERYBODY HAVE FUN TONIGHT”
-As seen on Superstars a while back, it’s the WWF’s montage of wrestlers who are now legends and Hall of Fame inductees, laid over the music of Wang Chung. That feeling you get watching this is called “cognitive dissonance.”

GEORGE “The Animal” STEELE vs. TONY NARDO
-Nardo doesn’t even have his jacket off when Steele comes in and just bites & beats on him for a while. He throws Nardo into the steps and goes back inside to chow down on the turnbuckles. He throws the foam into the camera, and it stays there, which is a surprisingly effective visual. Flying hammerlock, but Nardo miraculously doesn’t submit within three seconds, so Steele drops him, stomps on his arm, and does it again, and this time it gets the win.

-Here comes the Wizard to waste what’s left of my spirit with another promo as Kamala wanders around the set and growls.

-That’s all for Wrestling Challenge for now. Let’s go to next week, and this time, we’ll cover the entire weekend of syndicated programming, starting with WWF Superstars of Wrestling…

Originally aired January 24, 1987.

-We’re at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, NJ.

-Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Bruno Sammartino, and Jesse “The Body” Ventura.

“Mister Wonderful” PAUL ORNDORFF (with Bobby Heenan) vs. PAUL ROMA
-Pretty Wonderful…EXPLODES! Shoulderblock by Orndorff, but Roma gets a high kneelift that sends Orndorff to the floor. Back in the ring, they lock up and Roma begins working the arm with a wringer. They reverse it a few times, but Roma maintains the advantage. Orndorff fights him off and gets a drop toehold, but Roma counters with a hammerlock. Orndorff elbows out and stomps him in the corner. Clothesline by Orndorff, and he finishes things with the piledriver. It just struck me how funny it was that Orndorff wrestled on TV far more often than Hulk, which meant that even though he supposedly stole “Real American”, the fans heard it associated with Orndorff more than they did with the rightful owner. Discuss.

UPDATE
-Gene Okerlund compares the merits of Kamala & King Kong Bundy, apparently building to a heel/heel feud that never materialized.

-Back from the break, Paul Roma is starting to get to his feet, still dazed from the piledriver, and Steve Lombardi dashes into the ring and kicks his ass further, sending him over the top rope.

KOKO B. WARE vs. STEVE LOMBARDI
-Lombardi, on a roll, attacks Koko before the bell and just dismantles him for a two-count. Backbreaker gets another two-count. Punching and choking by Lombardi, followed by a slam. Neckbreaker by Lombardi gets another two. Lombardi gouges the eyes and rams Koko into the buckle, then chokes him with his boot. Uppercut and another slam by Lombardi. Lombardi goes to the second rope and misses an elbowdrop and Koko starts to Koko up with right hands and an Irishwhip. Backdrop and a series of lefts get a two-count. Powerslam gets another two. Neckbreaker gets another two. Hangman by Koko, followed by a clothesline for another two. Dropkick, then a missile dropkick, and Koko finishes with a splash for three. Man…we’re two years away from the emergence of the Brooklyn Brawler, so I’m curious as to what they had in mind that led to Lombardi being made to look like such a star this week.

-Ken Resnick talks to Adrian Adonis about Roddy Piper. Adonis goes on a non-sensical laughing rant about blind people and door #2. Ken Resnick actually did a far better job of putting the feud over in this segment than Adrian. I’m surprised that Ken didn’t stick around; I’ve actually become pretty impressed with him in these segments in the past few weeks.

-Holy shit, and NOW Lombardi is getting a few moments to cut a promo, warning Paul Roma to stay out of his way.

CAN-AM CONNECTION vs. COWBOY BOB ORTON & MAGNIFICENT MURACO (with Mr. Fuji)
-Yeah…he’s the referee for this match. Four-man brawl top start and it goes for a while. Things finally settle down with Martel & Orton in the ring. Frankensteiner by Martel gets a slow two-count. Slam by Martel and Orton gets pinballed in the corner. Muraco tags in and gets rolled up by Zenk, but Danny Davis doesn’t bother counting. Muraco gets the advantage and rams Zenk into Orton’s boot. Zenk starts to come back with flying headscissors, but gets punched down. Double-teaming by the heels as Danny Davis takes a few moments to do some pre-emptive warning toward Rick Martel. Heels continue double-teaming and clear Martel from the ring. More double-teaming by the heels, but Martel trips Muraco from the outside and the Can-Ams make their comeback. Naturally, the moment they have a clear advantage, Danny Davis calls for the bell and declares the match a double-disqualification. Your Wrestlemania III curtain jerk rematch is set.

-Ken Resnick talks about the new WWF house show craze, bunkhouse battle royals, where participants can wear whatever they want to the ring. He talks to Leaping Lanny Poffo, who has found some success by wearing a full suit of armor.

-Outback Jack visits the Sydney Opera House.

RANDY “Macho Man” SAVAGE (Intercontinental Champion, with Elizabeth) vs. TOMMY SHARPE
-Savage actually gets into a bit of an incident with a fan on the way to the ring, and now in a horrible mood, he dashes right in, sends Sharpe over the top rope, and then over the barricade. He tosses him back in the ring and slams him down, and finishes with the flying elbow. Sharpe has had a pretty shitty couple of weeks.

PIPER’S PIT
-Jack Tunney is back this week with another trophy, this time for Andre the Giant. Tunney’s speech this time around is incredibly terse, with no fawning or video package. Andre enters to accept the trophy, and there’s a subtle problem for those who paid careful attention…Last week, when Andre walked out for Hogan’s trophy ceremony, Hogan’s trophy was so damn big that it actually blocked out Andre’s face. And that was for a three-year title reign. Now, after Jack Tunney’s short speech, Andre is honored with a trophy for his 15-year undefeated streak, and the camera has no problems getting a clear shot of his face this time around.

-Piper gives Andre the microphone to make his acceptance speech, and out comes Hulk Hogan to make the speech for him. Good intentions, but you can see how that might seem a little rude. Andre’s eyes move back and forth between the trophy and Hulk, and he finally just puts down the trophy and walks away. Hulk and Piper lead the crowd in a round of applause, but then they just walk away, both looking confused.

-Honky Tonk Man & Jimmy Hart visit the Heartbreak Hotel in Memphis. Honky announces plans to open a restaurant in Memphis, where he’ll serve Honkyburgers.

HART FOUNDATION (with Jimmy Hart) vs. TONY GAREA & SCOTT MCGHEE
-Danny Davis walks over to the Harts’ corner to say hi to everybody and pat them on the back before the match, almost causing Vince’s head to explode. Hart starts with McGhee and gets hiptossed and armdragged every which way. Garea comes in to work the arm, but Hart rakes the eyes and sends him into the Anvil’s foot. Anvil comes in and hammers Garea down. Biting by both Harts as we cut to Matilda growling and barking. Vince’s “That was Matilda!” afterward deserves some kind of special medal for obviousness. McGhee tags back in and cleans house on both members of the foundation, but gets caught off the ropes by Hart who turns it into a backbreaker and slingshots Anvil on top of him. Hart Attack gets the win.

-Wrestlemania III is coming March 29…I might have to check that out.

BLACKJACK MULLIGAN & U.S. EXPRESS vs. OUTLAW RON BASS, JIMMY JACK FUNK, & GLADIATOR
-Spivey & Funk start. They trade arm wringers but Funk goes to the eyes. Spivey press slams Funk. Armdrag and Rotundo tags in as Jesse Ventura announces that he’s concluded his investigation of the Andre the Giant reinstatement hearing and says he’s going to reveal what he’s found on the next episode of Piper’s Pit.

-Bass tags in and takes control of Rotundo. Funk tags in and fires kicks. Bass returns and elbows Rotundo down. Rotundo starts to mount a comeback and they engage in fisticuffs for a few moments. Funk tags back in and gets caught in a sunset flip for two. He cuts off an attempted hot tag, and Bass tags in to taunt Mulligan. Mulligan comes in to give him whatfor, only to be stopped by the referee, and that leads to triple-teaming in the heel corner. Funk tags back in and takes a dropkick. Gladiator tags in, but Mulligan comes in and pounds him down, then finishes quickly with an elbow.

-Ken Resnick talks to Nikolai Volkoff & Iron Sheik. Iron Sheik boasts about the numerous Shampoo-in-chip reigns that they’ve had as singles wrestlers and as a tag team. “Hulk Hogan, everybody knows referee was your cousin when you take my belt!”

-End of the show. Evening came and morning followed, and for Sunday, we go back to Wrestling Challenge…

-Originally aired January 25, 1987.

-We’re back in Hershey, PA.

-Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon & Bobby Heenan.

JUNKYARD DOG vs. AL NAVARRO
-Danny Davis doesn’t even wait for JYD to get in the ring before yelling at him for something. Lock-up goes to the ropes and Davis yanks JYD off Navarro. Navarro capitalizes with cheap shots, but gets knocked over with the single punch from the Dog, and Davis gives a SLOOOOOW two-count. Navarro gets a lucky shot in and goes for the pin, and Davis hauls ass to give him a fast count, but JYD manages to kick out. The crowd is basically begging JYD to snap and kick the referee’s ass, and JYD almost does it, but gets attacked from behind by Navarro again. JYD rallies with a headbutt, and the Thump gets the three-count…eventually.

DEMOLITION (with Johnny V) vs. SIVI AFI & JERRY ALLEN
-This is Demolition 1.0, where you can look at them for just a second and know immediately that yes, it’s Demolition, but then when you actually pay close attention, you suddenly realize that it’s not quite what you remember. Let’s go through the subtle-but-many differences…

#1. Smash is Moondog Rex; although not evident in crowd reaction here, most accounts say that the fans chanted “Moondog” at him during some matches, and he was quickly replaced by Barry Darsow.

#2. Different manager. Johnny V didn’t make much sense as a manager for them because he already had a tag team, and besides, the personalities didn’t quite mesh. The more logical choice, Mr. Fuji, stepped in a few months later.

#3. Fur boots.

#4. Painted hair; Ax has purple hair & Smash has green. Actually it looks kinda cool. I would have kept it that way.

#5. Weird facepaint designs. Ax is black & blue, while Smash, as Wrestlecrap cheerfully pointed out, seems to have a slice of pizza painted on his forehead.

-Ax starts with Allen. Shoulderblock and Ax just pounds him right down. Smash tags in and rams him into the turnbuckle. Ax pounds Allen some more and Sivi Afi comes in and takes his share of pounding. Afi BADLY screws up a sunset flip and gets pounded into oblivion, then thrown out of the ring (and he screws up falling out of the ring, too). Ax throws him into the barricade and Smash pulls him back in. Afi is able to make the tag and Allen mounts a little token offense before missing a charge and taking a Parts Unknown Hammer. Decapitator gives Demolition the duke.

-The U.S. Express talks about how Danny Spivey’s knee injury may work to their advantage.

KAMALA (with The Wizard and Kimchee) vs. NICK FOLEY
-Another turn at Job Duty for the future hardcore legend, and Mel Phillips earns his pay by announcing him as “Nick Failey.” Gorilla tries to stir shit with Bobby Heenan to continue teasing a Kamala/Bundy feud. Meanwhile, Foley/Failey gets chopped and slammed into oblivion, and the splash gives Kamala the win. Kamala goes up top, and, against Kimchee’s wishes, jumps off and splatters all of Mankind.

-Ken Resnick talks to Hillbilly Jim, who thanks the fans for all of their support. Not to talk bad about the guy, but how often was Jim involved in an actual FEUD, exactly?

-We take a look at Hercules winning a squash on Superstars with the full nelson. He calls out Billy Jack Haynes to come to the ring and try to break the full nelson. Billy Jack is game and comes to the ring. He insists on taking the full nelson, although suddenly, Heenan seems nervous about it. He steps in to try to stop it, but Haynes gives him a hard shove for doing so, and Hercules takes that as his cue to start kicking some Oregonian ass.

KILLER BEES vs. DAVE VANCE & BARRY O
-Mel Phillips introduces Barry as hailing from Las Vegas, so Barry helpfully steps in and corrects him. He’s from “the FABULOUS Las Vegas, Nevada.” Brunzell wrestles without his mask, but Blair keeps it on. Blair wrings O’s arm and turns it into a hammerlock. They trade reversals until O elbows out. Blair rams him into the turnbuckle and slams him down. Armdrag and Brunzell comes in to assist with double-elbows for two. Brunzell monkeyflips O as Danny Davis drops in to explain his disqualification of the Bees for wearing “illegal masks,” explaining that nobody makes a fool out of Danny Davis.

-Vance tags in and gets dropped down quickly. Blair tags in to work the legs. O comes back in to try to mount some offense, but Brunzell drops him with a high knee. Vance returns but gets backdropped. Bee Sting finishes; as Bobby surmises, “He used his brains for that move.”

PIPER’S PIT
-Same Pit we just saw, with Hogan interrupting Andre’s ceremony.

-Honky Tonk Man looks at Elvis’ private jet, the Lisa Marie. Honky complains that it’s too small, and now that he’s in the big time, he needs a 747 jet to carry him everywhere.

JACQUES ROUGEAU (with Raymond Rougeau) vs. MAGNIFICENT MURACO (with Mister Fuji & Cowboy Bob Orton)
-And big surprise, your referee is…Oh, it’s Dave Hebner, actually. Okay. Lock-up, but the big story here is Bobby Heenan on commentary going on a visceral tirade about what a crappy trophy Andre got considering how much more he’s accomplished than Hogan. Even worse, Andre’s ceremony was interrupted by Hogan. Gorilla is absolutely bewildered by the rant and basically tells Heenan to STFU.

-Meanwhile, Jacques has Muraco trapped in a side headlock, but Muraco breaks free and drops Jacques with a sidewalk slam. He takes control as Gorilla asks Heenan why he cares so much about a guy that he’s always hated. Heenan refuses to answer. Jacques locks in a sleeperhold as a brawl erupts between the tag team partners on the floor. Jacques goes out to help his brother, but Fuji attacks with the cane and a donnybrook erupts on the floor until the referee counts everybody out. Post-match, the Rougeaus manage to steal the cane and Fuji gets bodyslammed on the floor.

RICKY “The Dragon” STEAMBOAT vs. TIGER CHUNG LEE
-He’s baaaaaaa-aaaaaaaack…Chunger takes him down with a shoulderblock, but Dragon dropkicks him out of the ring. Back in, Steamboat gets a flying bodypress for two. Armdrag into an armbar, but Lee breaks free and trips him up. Slam by Lee, but Steamboat armdrags his way back into control. Lee gives him a crescent kick and stomps on his neck, and Steamboat begins gasping for air. Lee continues attacking the neck as Elizabeth drops in and assures everybody that what Randy Savage did to Steamboat was an accident. Steamboat fights back with chops, but has a coughing fit in a nice bit of selling. Heenan is still going off about the trophy ceremony, as Gorilla clarifies that Andre has actually received a whole mess of awards and honors from the WWF over the years, and every time they tried to do a public ceremony, Andre requested that it be changed to a private function. Anyway, Steamboat finishes with the flying bodypress as he continues his road to the Intercontinental Title.

-And here’s Randy Savage to talk to Ken Resnick. Resnick brings up what happened on “SNME” and Savage sounds like he’s going to kill him for bringing it up. He also promises that the Dragon will be burned by his own fire.

That’s the show. Check out Game Show Utopia…it’s the beer that makes Milwaukee famous.

The 411: Yeah, you can get better WRESTLING elsewhere, but for sheer storytelling, this promotion was unbeatable in 1987.
Final Score:  6.9   [ Average ]