Hall’s WWF House Show Review – 3.8.86

WWF House Show
Date: March 8, 1986
Location: Boston Gardens, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 16,390
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Lord Alfred Hayes

I’m a sucker for old house shows so let’s have some fun this week. We’re about a month before Wrestlemania II, which only meant so much as there was no idea of how big the show was going to become. It’s hard to say what’s going to take place here but you can get some rather good action on these things. Or something terrible. Let’s get to it.

Rene Goulet vs. Sivi Afi

Afi is basically Dollar Store Jimmy Snuka and he sends Goulet straight to the apron to start. Back in and Afi grabs a headlock takeover and grinds away before hitting a running shoulder. A headlock takeover takes Goulet over for a headlock and Afi cranks away. The headlock stays on as they get up and Goulet knocks him down with a knee to the ribs.

Goulet’s claw doesn’t get him very far so it’s a middle rope shot to the head for two instead. The claw goes on again and let’s talk about Wrestlemania a bit. Afi fights to his feet and Snukas Up, including a bunch of rams into the corner. The war dance sets up a running headbutt for two and a crossbody gets the same. A high crossbody finishes Goulet at 11:06.

Rating: C. This was the most generic, basic match that you could ask for and my goodness it’s sad to see how much Afi was just supposed to be a replacement Snuka. They looked alike and wrestled in similar gear but the fire and aura were just missing. Goulet was his usual reliable and boring self so this was only going so far.

Jake Roberts vs. Jose Luis Rivera

Roberts backs off to start and Rivera moves him around in a lockup as some police are walking around in the stands. A gutbuster (inverted backbreaker according to Monsoon) puts Rivera down though and we’re already in the chinlock. Rivera fights up and runs the ropes, only to get kneed back down. The chinlock goes on again before a slam puts Rivera down, where he rolls away from an elbow drop.

That lets Rivera go after the arm and yeah this isn’t going to be the most exciting match. Back up and a crossbody has Roberts slithering away, only to get caught by the arm again. Roberts breaks out of that and we’re already in the chinlock. Rivera finally gets up and hits a clothesline but Roberts gets the chase going. That’s enough for the knee lift to connect and the DDT finishes for Roberts at 10:29.

Rating: C. There wasn’t much to this and that’s not a big surprise as Roberts is only the most interesting in the ring most of the time. The big thing is that he was mainly just holding Rivera on the mat, which made for a rather dull match. That being said, the sliding around and DDT were both great and those parts worked well enough to make up for things.

Post match Rivera…doesn’t get the snake treatment. What a rip off.

Donna Christianello/Judy Martin vs. Crush Gals

Oh boy. Well this won’t go well for the non-Crush Gals (who are Chigusa Nagayo/Lioness Asuka). Shockingly commentary has no idea which Crush Gal is which (I’ll be going off what commentary refers to them as) as Nagayo starts with Martin, who runs away from a spinning kick. Martin’s top wristlock actually works and it’s off to Christianello, who is quickly taken down by the arm.

Nagayo lets go of the hammerlock and it’s back to Martin, who bails into the corner again. Asuka comes in and they fight over arm control until some kicks send Martin bailing out to the floor. Back in and Martin kicks away at Asuka, who comes out of the corner with a sunset flip for two. Christianello comes in without a tag and grabs a front facelock. That sets up a leg crank, but Asuka is right back up for the house cleaning, with Martin and Christianello bailing to the floor.

Back in and Martin knocks Asuka down, only for her to nip up and score with a double chop. Nagayo comes back in but gets kicked down, with Martin dropping her into a gutbuster for two. It’s back to Christianello to choke away and knee Nagayo in the head, with Asuka making the save. A shot to the throat is enough for Asuka to get the tag and clean house.

The dropkick and slam get two, followed by Nagayo’s middle rope elbow. A Sharpshooter (more of a not so great Scorpion Deathlock) goes on but Martin makes the rope. Asuka comes back in but accidentally clotheslines Nagayo, allowing Martin to stomp away. Christianello comes back in and gets double dropkicked into a giant swing (BIG pop for that) for the pin at 15:36.

Rating: B-. This was a weird one, as you could see that the Gals were having to hold back against the other team but the fans were loving the stuff they saw. You could tell that the Gals were miles ahead of them and that isn’t a surprise, as women’s wrestling was hardly important in America at this point. It was fun to see Martin and Christianello figure out what the heck was going on and it wound up working well, especially once the Gals got to turn it on.

Jim Neidhart vs. Scott McGhee

Jimmy Hart is here with Neidhart, who shoves McGhee around to start but gets rolled up for a fast two. A test of strength goes to Neidhart, who even bites McGhee’s head. The sunset flip gives McGhee two and Neidhart is not looking pleased. A charging McGhee crashes out to the apron and Neidhart sends him to the floor as Hart annoys commentary. Back in and Neidhart pulls him from the mat by the hair as commentary talks about the Wrestlemania boxing match. McGhee gets up and reverses a suplex into one of his own. Neidhart has had it and hits a powerslam for the pin at 5:58.

Rating: C. Just a squash here, as Neidhart beat the fire out of McGhee in the end, with that powerslam working as always. It wasn’t a great match or anything more than a way to fill out the card, but it wound up being all you could have expected. Neidhart as a singles guy was never good, but he would be getting back into the tag picture rather quickly.

Bret Hart vs. Ricky Steamboat

Jimmy Hart is here with Bret, who jumps Steamboat during the introductions. Back up and Steamboat whips him chest first into the buckle, allowing Steamboat to take off the entrance gear. Bret is sent hard into the corner and some chops to the head connect, followed by the armbar. Steamboat lifts him up by the arm and then sends the shoulder into the corner.

Another armbar cuts off Bret’s comeback and Steamboat works on the arm while Jimmy accuses him of some tights pulling. Back up and Bret tries a suplex, with Steamboat backflipping out, only to get dropped with a neckbreaker. Bret slowly hammers away with a headbutt and Steamboat is sent crashing to the floor.

A suplex brings Steamboat back in for two and Bret grabs the headlock. Steamboat fights up and gets in a slam, only for the splash to hit raised knees. They head outside with Bret slamming him on the floor and a Neidhart style running powerslam gets two back inside. The middle rope elbow misses though and Steamboat gets another two off another suplex.

Steamboat knocks him into the corner and strikes away, even shoving the referee out of the way. The referee gets crushed in the corner (the fans are VERY happy) so Bret’s clothesline gets the visible pinfall. Back up and Bret hits a crossbody but Steamboat rolls through for the pin at 15:10.

Rating: B. Oh yeah of course this worked. This was originally penciled in for Wrestlemania but instead Hart was put in the battle royal and the singles spot was given to….Hercules? Anyway, of course this was good as there was almost no way it wasn’t going to work, as there is just so much talent involved that it had to be good. Hart was still getting to showcase himself and who was going to make that happen better than Steamboat?

Intercontinental Title: Tito Santana vs. Randy Savage

Savage, with Elizabeth, is defending after stealing the title from Santana last month. Naturally Savage stalls to start and heads outside to yell about his greatness. Savage finally comes in for the opening bell and then sprints outside as Santana wants to start fast. Back in and Savage runs, then runs again, with Santana giving chase on the third, finally catching Savage for the first contact over a minute after the bell.

Santana hammers away on the floor with Savage being sent out into the crowd. Back in and Santana kicks him in the head over and over, with Savage being knocked outside again. Santana throws him back inside, where it’s time to work on Savage’s leg. Savage uses the trunks to throw Santana outside though and we get a breather.

Back up and Savage hammers away, setting up a ram into the corner for more right hands. That just earns him an atomic drop, with the fans getting even more into the comeback. The threat of the Figure four has Savage bailing again but Santana throws him right back in for more choking. Santana throws the referee down though and that’s a DQ at 7:18.

Rating: B. This was a case where the crowd was what mattered the most, as the fans wanted to see Santana take Savage’s head off. That’s where everything worked out rather well, with Santana knowing exactly how to do the fired up comebacks and look awesome in the process. Savage looked just good enough out there to look like he survived and it was a very entertaining match with more to come.

Dump Matsumoto/Bull Nakano vs. Velvet McIntyre/Dawn Marie

Say it with me: not THAT Dawn Marie. McIntyre backs Nakano into the ropes to start so Nakano shakes the ropes a lot. A wristlock and armbar work a bit better for McIntyre before it’s off to Matsumoto. Marie is quickly shoved down and McIntyre is knocked down just as fast.

Nakano comes back in for some choking but McIntyre hits a running crossbody for a quick two. It’s back to Marie, who is sent face first into Nakano’s boot, allowing Matsumoto to choke a bit more. The chinlock doesn’t last long and it’s back to McIntyre, who pulls Nakano into a victory roll out of nowhere for the fast pin at 8:25.

Rating: B. This was much better with the visitors getting to do a lot more of their stuff, as McIntyre and Marie were willing to hang in there with them. It was a better match than the other women’s tag (which wasn’t bad either) and Matsumoto felt like a star out there. Good match here, as this show is on a roll.

Corporal Kirchner vs. Iron Mike Sharpe

Sharpe jumps him to start fast and stomps away in the corner as I’m impressed by the referee’s mustache. Kirchner is right back with a monkey flip into some dropkicks. Sharpe bails to the apron for some stalling so let’s talk about the Wrestlemania cage match. Back in and Kirchner takes him down without much trouble, meaning it’s a shot to the ribs. A test of strength actually goes to Sharpe, with Kirchner having to kick him in the ribs for the escape.

Sharpe gets in a clothesline though, allowing commentary to talk about Sharpe’s love of showers getting him locked in a building overnight. Kirchner is sent face first into the mat a few times but comes up with a crossbody for two. A small package gets the same but Sharpe knocks him down and loads up the arm brace. Kirchner blocks the forearm though and hits Sharpe in the head with his own forearm (that’s a new one) for the pin at 9:54.

Rating: C. Kirchner is someone who was trying but there was just no way to really make it work. It’s similar to Sivi Afi replacing Jimmy Snuka, as Kirchner was nothing more than a knockoff Sgt. Slaughter. It’s not like the match was bad, and it helped to have Sharpe out there, but it was only going to be able to get so far.

Ted Arcidi vs. Barry O

This is the debut for Arcidi, who is billed as the World’s Strongest Man, and he’s from Boston to make it even easier to cheer for him. Arcidi powers him around to start and puts Barry on top to show off a bit. A cheap shot lets Barry send him into the corner so Arcidi is back with a big shove. The bearhug is broken up so Arcidi hits a clothesline, followed by the bearhug for the win at 3:24.

Rating: D. Yeah there’s no way around it with Arcidi, who was not good and it just wasn’t going to work. Arcidi looked great and he had massive muscles but that doesn’t make you a good wrestler. Barry was doing what he could out there but there is only so much you can do with that kind of a boulder across the ring.

Hulk Hogan/Junkyard Dog vs. Funk Brothers

The Brothers have Jimmy Hart with them and Hart mocks Gorilla Monsoon with the megaphone, even getting Monsoon to take off his sunglasses and stand up. The fans just go NUTS for Hogan and Dog’s entrance and the Brothers bail out to the floor. Back in and Dog chokes Hoss with the chain, leaving Hogan to beat on Terry. Dog leans over so Terry’s head can be sent into his and we settle down to Terry getting punched in the face.

Terry misses a charge into the post so he tries to headbutt Dog, which works as well as you would expect. Hoss comes in and runs the ropes as Dog watches, with Terry joining in to keep up the confusion. It’s off to Hogan, who is sent into the corner but Dog gets in the way of the impact to keep Hogan safe.

Hogan slams both of them with ease as the fans are eating up every single bit of this stuff. Terry finally gets in a chair shot to Hogan, plus a branding iron to the bad ribs. Hoss stomps away but Hogan fights back on Terry with a bunch of right hands. It’s already back to Dog, who is knocked down by Hoss and dropped again with a double forearm.

Dog suplexes his way out of trouble and brings Hogan back in, with Terry going after the ribs. Terry chokes with some tape and the referee doesn’t see the tag, with Dog coming in for the save anyway. Hart is pulled in so Terry chokes Dog with his lariat. Hogan runs back in to clothesline Terry for the pin at 11:30. Even commentary acknowledges that Terry wasn’t legal but they don’t care.

Rating: B. This was the definition of a fun main event, with the Funks being as perfect of a pair of villains as you could have for these good guys. Dog was a charisma machine and Hogan was Hogan so what more could you need? They were just doing goofy stuff here and it worked well once the Funks took over, with Hogan only using a clothesline for the finish. It wasn’t some classic but I had a great time with this one.

Post match the winners glare at the Funks and Dog puts on a fan’s Hogan mask.

Replays and farewells wrap us up.

 

Results
Sivi Afi b. Rene Goulet – High crossbody
Jake Roberts b. Jose Luis Rivera – DDT
Crush Gals b. Judy Martin/Donna Christianello – Giant swing to Christianello
Jim Neidhart b. Scott McGhee – Powerslam
Ricky Steamboat b. Bret Hart – Rollup
Randy Savage b. Tito Santana via DQ when Santana shoved the referee
Velvet McIntyre/Dawn Marie b. Dump Matsumoto/Bull Nakano – Victory roll to Nakano
Corporal Kirchner b. Iron Mike Sharpe – Kirchner hit Sharpe with his own forearm
Ted Arcidi b. Barry O – Bearhug
Hulk Hogan/Junkyard Dog b. Funk Brothers – Clothesline to Terry

 

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8.5

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

This is one of the reasons I love doing these random shows as you have no idea what you might wind up getting. In this case, it was a heck of a show with some rather surprising guest stars. I had a lot of fun watching this show and there were only a few week spots. It’s rather surprising as early 1986 isn’t the most fondly remembered time, but dang this was a good show. Certainly a lot better than Wrestlemania.