Universal Wrestling Federation (8.16.1986) Review

-Originally aired August 16, 1986.

-Your hosts are Jim Ross & Michael Hayes. Hayes complains about DiBiase’s sneak attack from last week, and Jim Ross calls bullshit, pointing out that there’s only one way to get to the commentary area and DiBiase was directly facing him.

GUSTAVO MENDOZA vs. GARY YOUNG
-Young takes Mendoza down and applies a side headlock. Armdrag by Young, but Mendoza stunguns him. Mendoza looks to finish with a flying elbow, but he crashes and Young backdrops him. Dropkick by Young gets two, bodypress gets two, and Mendoza dodges a dropkick. He misses the flying elbow again, and Young comes off the second rope with a bodypress for three. A tad sloppy in the last minute.

-Jim Ross is with Eddie Gilbert, John Tatum, and Missy Hyatt in a hotel room. Eddie and Missy drop a few more hints that they’re an item, and that Tatum is fifth wheel here.

STING & THE NEW RICK STEINER (with Eddie Gilbert & Missy Hyatt) vs. BRETT WAYNE SAWYER & THE GLASSMAN
-Sting & Eddie are the champions, but Eddie is opting to sit this one out and let Rick wrestle this match, which even Michael Hayes finds odd. John Tatum also isn’t with the entourage, which the commentators find equally odd. And there’s a slight hint of some whipping here, as Eddie Gilbert announces that Hot Stuff & Hyatt International is being renamed Hyatt & Hot Stuff International. The Glassman is best described as “We have Koko B. Ware at home, kids.”

-Steiner powerslams Glassman with a brutal impact, and a splash gets a quick, easy win for HHSI. I actually kind of suspect that the sole reason for Glassman to be here was for a guy who looked like Koko to get squashed.

ONE MAN GANG (with Skandar Akbar) vs. JEFF REITZ
-Gang smashes Reitz and slams him down. Big splash finishes.

-One Man Gang demands that Terry Gordy get to the ring and defend his UWF Heavyweight Title, accusing the champ of ducking him. Terry Gordy answers the challenge immediately, even though Michael Hayes really, really seems to dislike that idea. Hacksaw Jim Duggan storms to the ring to get a piece of Gordy, which brings Hayes to the ring, which brings Buddy Roberts to the ring, which brings Terry Taylor to the ring, which brings Ted DiBiase and Jeff Gaylord to the ring, and Jim Ross demands a commercial break so we can settle things down.

-Order is restored, but Gang and Akbar won’t leave the ring, so Ken Mantell comes to the ring and says Gang can have a title match if he signs a contract and waits for a scheduled match. Also, there’s an army of security guards waiting at ringside, and he tells Gang that if he doesn’t leave the building completely, security will make them exit.

UWF HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE: TERRY GORDY (Champion, with Michael Hayes) vs. HACKSAW JIM DUGGAN (with Ted DiBiase)
-Ken Mantell lays down the law and says Hayes and DiBiase both have to leave because seconds at ringside have caused nothing but trouble lately.

-The seconds oblige and Duggan comes out swinging, trying to make it a quick victory with a spear, but Gordy rolls out to the floor to evade. Back in, Gordy sends Duggan into the ropes and Duggan shoulderblocks him hard enough to send him to the floor. Gordy gives Duggan a knee to the gut. Duggan fights back but misses a spear and crashes into the corner.

-Gordy goes for a sleeper, but Duggan rakes the eyes to break. Duggan tries a new-ish glory kneedrop and misses, and Gordy targets the leg as we pause for a commercial break.

-Back from the break, Duggan gets a series of sudden two-counts. Gordy piledrives him for two. Gotta be honest, I’m kind of understanding the newsletter readers at the time who were complaining that Jim Ross needed to dial it down SLIGHTLY.

-Gordy applies the Dreaded Oriental Spike, but Duggan makes the ropes to force the break. The men collide on a double shoulderblock. Gordy heads to the top rope but gets Flair-slammed, and the two guys just keep brawling as TV time runs out without a winner.

7.6

The final score: review Good

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