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Mr. Dufour’s Wayback Machine: November 22nd, 1985 Philly Spectrum
Loading...Mr. Dufour’s Wayback Machine: November. 22nd, 1985
Welcome everyone to another edition of Mr. Dufour’s Wayback Machine where we review classic WWF shows of wrestle-years gone by.
Today we travel back to November.22nd 1985 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. As previously stated, I find Spectrum shows to be pretty lackluster, but I came across a whole wack of Spectrum shows recently, so here we go!
Your current champions are:
World Title: Hulk Hogan
Intercontinental Title: Tito Santana
Tag Team Titles: The Dream Team
Your hosts for tonight’s action are Gorilla Monsoon and your drunken uncle: Dick Graham. Your ring announcer for the opening match is Mel Phillips.
Match #1: Moondog Spot vs King Tonga
We all have a wrestler who we root for, even though we know chances are they’ll be looking up at the arena ceiling when the ref counts “three”. That man is Moondog Spot. He had a run with the tag straps in 1981 as one half of the Moondogs. Interesting story, the Moondogs originally consisted of Moondog Rex and King. After winning the titles from Rick Martel and Tony Garea, Moondog King was denied entry into the U.S.A. Enter Moondog Spot, would became a tag team champion without actually winning the belts. The two would hold onto the belts for a short while until losing them back to Martel and Garea. Tonight he is facing King Tonga. He will eat your children.
Something odd that I’ve noticed, the announcers very rarely bring up title reigns “Pre-Hogan”. I’ve yet to hear Gorilla bring up the Moondogs being former tag champions post 1984. Spot threatens Tonga with his bone, so Tonga brings in a chair from the outside. Cooler heads prevail and the two lock up with Tonga later delivering a vicious chop that sends Spot to the floor. Tonga later goes to work on the arm of Spot and it’s been all Tonga in the early going. The crowd is already getting restless. The arm work continues until Spot catches Tonga coming off the ropes with a crescent kick. Spots brawls with Tonga for a bit before slapping on a reverse chinlock. Spot goes to the top rope to try and finish Tonga off, but takes too much time and gets tossed off the top rope. An abbreviated Tonga comeback ends when Spot tosses Tonga outside of the ring. Spot tries to prevent Tonga from entering the ring, but Tonga sunset flips Spot from the ring apron and gets the 3! the crowds pops for the finishing with a smattering of boos.
Result: King Tonga @ 14:38 via sunset flip
Rating:* 1/2. That felt every bit of 14 minutes. Spot and Tonga are both good workers, but that was a chore to get through
Match #2: Jose Luis Rivera vs Hercules
I don’t like Rivera’s chances. Hercules had recently come over from Puerto Rico after successful runs in Florida and Mid-South. I always thought Hercules had an amazing clothesline. Graham and Monsoon have a pretty funny exchange before the match starts:
Graham: Jose Luis Rivera could be in some trouble tonight
Monsoon: Rivera is ALWAYS in a lot of trouble Dick.
Hercules shows off his impressive strength by throwing Rivera to the floor after two consecutive lockups. Herc goes to work on Rivera’s arm with a standing arm lock before grabbing Rivera’s hair and throwing him to the mat. Rivera then tries a standing side headlock, but Herc picks him up ans shitcans Rivera across the ring. Hercules nails Rivera with some stiff knees and elbows. Herc drops an elbow but picks up Rivera at the count of two. Your nightmare has just begun Mr. Rivera. Hercules locks in a standing front facelock and lifts Rivera off his feet numerous times. Rivera gets a rope break and later delivers some shots in the corner and tosses Herc across the ring into the opposing turnbuckle, but runs into a knee while charging in. Herc nails Rivera with a forearm before delivering a big suplex. Again, Hercules picks up Rivera at the count of 2. Hercules then hits a belly to back suplex on Rivera and once more picks up Rivera at the count of 2. Rivera tries to mount some offence and attempts to backdrop Hercules coming off the ropes, but Herc drops an elbow to the back of the neck. We also get the first “Woooo” from Dick Graham of the evening, but a weak “Woooo” by Graham standards. Hercules goes on to press-slam Rivera, and I mean SLAM Rivera. Herc puts Rivera into a Torture-rack and mercifully it’s over.
Result: Hercules @ 8:39 via torture-rack
Rating: ** 1/2. Lol wow did Rivera ever earn his money tonight. That was a total ass-kicking by Hercules. He looked like a monster, and what a great way to debut a new star to the crowd. They were all over Hercules and very into the match.
Match #3: Big John Studd (With Bobby Heenan) vs Hillbilly Jim
Studd and Heenan get into the ring first and the crowd is all over them. Heenan grabs the mic from Phillips after being announced and adds in “Manager of the Year”, before dropping the mic. Lol what a dick. Hillblly Jim gets a big reaction like he always does. Jim was Andre the Giant’s frequent tag partner during Andre’s war against the Heenan Family. A loud “weasel” chant breaks out before the match starts and Heenan is livid on the ring apron.
The two trade a series of clubbing blows before Jim attempts to slam Big John Studd, but Studd manages to grab a hold of the ropes and bails to the outside. Studd gets back into the ring and they run the exact same spot as before, this time ending with a Studd knee to the gut. Studd actually comes off the top rope with a clubbing blow to the back of Hillbilly Jim’s head. Studd then locks in a bearhug. Hillbilly Jim actually reverses the bearhug. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. Studd gets out of it with a thumb to the eye. Studd tries to pick Jim up for the slam but is unable to get Jim up. Jim then goes to work on the lower back of Studd. This match is way better than it has any right to be. Jim again goes for the slam, but Studd hits him in the head with a forearm. Studd finally hits a bodyslam on Hillbilly, but hurts his back in the process. The crowd has been really into this match. The two brawl to the outside, but only Hillbilly Jim makes it back into the ring before the count of 10.
Result: Hillbilly Jim @ 8:48 via count out
Rating: ** 1/4. Again, this was way better than it had any right to be. Heenan and Studd were such a great pairing. The two told a good story and the crowd really enjoyed it. Man they hated Heenan.
Match #4: Barry O vs Corporal Kirchner
Barry O is of course, the brother of Cowboy Bob Orton Jr, and the uncle of Randy Orton. He’s not a terrible wrestler or anything, but he’s light years behind Bob Orton Jr. He would later accuse the WWF of sexual harassment. So there’s that. Corporal Kirchner was the WWF’s attempt to fill the void of Sgt. Slaughter. They had heard Kirchner was a former USA paratrooper while doing jobs as “RT Reynolds” on television. He’d struggle with drug problems before exiting the company in 1987.
The two lock-up and Barry tosses Kirchner to the mat. The two tries it again and this time Kirchner tosses Barry, which causes Barry to bail to the outside. Kirchner hits a hiptoss when Barry gets back into the ring and starts to work of the left arm of Barry. Barry hits back this feet, but a bodyslam and elbow drop allows Kirchner to go back to work on the arm of Barry. While Kirchner is working on the arm of Barry O, Graham and Monsoon talk about the next match : Muraco and Fuji vs Santana and Steamboat. Monsoon calls it an international incident adding that it’s “two Hawaiians, a Jap and a Mexican”. Did they happen to walk into a bar? Barry hits some shitty looking offence and takes control. Kirchner gets thrown to the outside and suplexed back into the ring. Kirchner makes a short comeback but gets thrown over the top rope. Barry then hits a running powerslam for 2. Kirchner gets sent back to the arena floor. While Barry is arguing with the ref, Kirchner grabs Barry’s legs from the outside and crotches Barry on the steel post and repeatedly slams Barry’s leg into it. A monkey-flip, atomic drop and Samoan Drop later and that’s all she wrote.
Result: Corporal Kirchner @ 12:13 via Samoan Drop
Rating: **. An ok match. Nothing special. It’s what you’d expect from a Barry O vs Corporal Kirchner match.
Before the next match we get a backstage interview with Kal Rudman with Mr. Fuji and Muraco. Kal was in the music business and like Dick Graham, was an employee of the PRISM Network. He’d sometimes do color commentary with Graham. Lol Kal is an interesting fellow. He had an annoying habit of laughing at the heels during interviews and would always hold the mic too close to the heels face. He’d always calls the heels out on the bullshit. This is the most awkward thing ever. The three are standing so close to each other and Rudman has the shit-eating grin on his face the entire time while Fuji says a bunch of words that I can’t understand. Muraco grabs the mic and goes on to praise Fuji’s growing stomach and man boobs. Muraco claims that Fuji ate 10 bowls of rice and 17 pounds of raw fish yesterday. Rudman’s grin has broken into full on laughter at this point. Muraco is really struggling to keep from breaking out in laughter as well while cutting his promo. Rudman then calls Muraco the greatest wrestler he’s ever seen. What in the blue hell did I just watch?
Match #5: The Magnificant Muraco and Mr. Fuji vs Ricky Steamboat and WWF IC Champ Tito Santana.
This should be fun! Santana had a couple of months left in his final IC title reign at this point. Man is the crowd ever pumped for this match! Loved Steamboat’s old music by the way. Santana gets into the ring while Steamboat is still slapping hands with the fans outside and gets double teamed by Fuji and Muraco. Steamboat climbs onto the ring apron and gets his head slammed into the steel post and drops to the ouside.
Muraco follows Steamboat outside and again slams Steamboat’s head into the post. Steamboat is busted open and down on the arena floor. Gorilla Monsoon actually gets up from commentary to go check on Steamboat. Meanwhile in the ring, Fuji and Muraco continue to gang up on Santana. Steamboat is in rough shape and gets carried to the back by WWF officials. It looks like we have ourselves a handicap match. It’s all Muraco and Fuji as expected, until Muraco misses an elbow drop. Santana staggers to his feet and looks to make the tag, but nobody is there! Santana says “screw it” and goes to town on both Fuji and Muraco, bot receiving bodyslams. The crowd is jacked! Fuji goes back to his corner and Santana hits a backdrop on Muraco before going to work on the arm, albeit briefly as a Muraco thumb to the eye allows Fuji to be tagged in. Fuji charges at Santana but receives a hiptoss for his troubles. Fuji tags out eventually, and again Muraco charges Santana only to get a hiptoss and an arm bar for his troubles. Santana hits Muraco with three straight shoulder tackles, but receives a Fuji knee to the back when going for a forth. Muraco misses a top rope kneedrop and Santana slaps on the figure-four leg lock on Muraco! Fuji breaks the hold and starts choking Santana in the corner, BUT HERE COMES STEAMBOAT!!! Steamboat tags himself in and goes to town on Fuji and Muraco! Steamboat chases Muraco around the outside and back into the ring. Fuji tries to chop Steamboat, but Ricky school boys Fuji! 1-2-3!!!!! Post match, Fuji and Muraco double-team Steamboat only for Santana to make the save. Graham finishes it off with a loud “Woooo!”
Result: Steamboat and Santana @ 13:48 via school boy
Rating: *** 3/4. What a fantastic match! My only gripe was Santana got in a bit too much offence for someone in a handicap match, but other than that it was wonderful. The crowd was red hot, especially for Steamboat’s return.
Match #6: The Hart Foundation vs Cousin Junior and Uncle Elmer
Brighter days would be ahead for the Hart Foundation. Cousin Junior isn’t too bad, but Uncle Elmer is just a disaster. The crowd loves them, so that’s all that matters. Junior and Elmer dance in the ring before the match. Some pretty impressive fancy footwork from Cousin Junior. Uncle Elmer shakes his ass at the Hart Foundation. And with that, let’s move on to the action.
The faces gets the early advantage as Junior works the arm on Neidhart. The arm work continues as Elmer gets tagged in. The Harts eventually get the advantage with a knee to the back of Cousin Junior. During the match they pan to a shot of the crowd. Graham remarks “look at all those beauties, and that’s just the guys. Hard to tell anymore”. Awesome. I think I have a Spectrum show with Graham doing commentary with Rudman somewhere. It’s about as ridiculous as you’d imagine. The two work on Junior until Elmer gets the hot tag. He slaps a bearhug on Anvil but a rake to the eyes causes Elmer to tag right back out. Junior hits his running butt splash but Bret breaks up the count. While the ref is trying to get Elmer back into his corner, Bret nails Junior with a cowbell and Anvil makes the cover for the 3.
Result: The Hart Foundation @ 9:41 via more cowbell
Rating: **. The Harts did what they could with a limited opponent. It wasn’t a bad match or anything. It was a nice stepping stone for the continued rise of The Hart Foundation.
Match #7: David Sammartino vs Ron Shaw
This is the infamous match that David Sammartino throws because he was unhappy with his position in the company. It hilarious how Graham and Monsoon go on about what a young pro David Sammartino is before the match, not knowing what awaited. Ron Shaw is a big guy, but a preliminary guy on MSG/Spectrum/Garden shows and a job guy on syndication. David gets a nice response from the crowd.
Shaw immediately starts clubbing the back of Sammartino, followed by a series of bodyslams. Shaw actually pulls up the head of Sammartino at the count of 2 during a pinfall attempt. It has been ALL Ron Shaw. Shaw continues to deliver body slam after body slam. Shaw then throws Sammartino into the ropes and catches David in a bearhug. David tells the ref he gives up immediately. The ref waves it off and Shaw just sort of drops him. Graham and Monsoon are confused as to what happened, as are the crowd and the ref. Shaw lays the boots to David, as Monsoon claims that David did not submit and the ref made a mistake. The crowd chants “bullshit” and I agree. I love how Monsoon completely throws the ref under the bus for this lol.
Result: Ron Shaw @ 2:37 via bearhug
Rating: DUD. David Sammartino is an embarrassment. That’s all that needs to be said.
Backstage we get Kal Rudman interviewing Bobby Heenan about the main event match between Andre the Giant and King Kong Bundy. This should be amazing. Rudman holds the mic almost against Bobby Heenan’s lips. Heenan casually moves Rudman’s hand away. Ha! The mic gravitates but the face of Heenan again, and Heenan again moves it away. Heenan goes on about the exploits of Bundy as the camera moves in on Heenan, completely cutting Rudman out of the shot. Rudman asks Heenan what will happen if Andre goes after him. Heenan replies that he’s so quick, he can shut off the bedroom light and be in bed before the room is dark. Rudman was acting like such a shithead .
Match #8: Andre the Giant (With Hillbilly Jim) vs King Kong Bundy (With Bobby Heenan)
Here’s your final match of the evening. Heenan and Bundy have a ton of heat with the crowd. Heenan grabs the mic from Phillips and once again proclaims himself manager of the year. The crowd loses its shit for Andre and Hillbilly.
The match starts off with Bundy losing various quick confrontations with Andre, ending with Andre slapping on a Cobra Clutch. Bundy escapes to the outside, but is greeted with a series of Andre chops. Bundy eventually kicks Andre in the sternum and takes control. I should mention, some fan has a “Andrea the Girl” and a “Bundy is the real giant” sign in the third row of the hard camera shot. Oh you Philly fans. Bundy locks in a front facelock and takes Andre to the mat. Andre finally gets Bundy to the corner and rams his posterior into the stomach of Bundy. A series of chops and headbutts have Bundy staggered in the corner. Andre goes for a corner charges but Bundy pulls the ref in the way. That couldn’t have felt good . Hillbilly gets into the ring to check on the ref, but Heenan attacks from behind. Heenan goes to hit Andre with a pair of brass knuckles, but Hillbilly recovers in time to stop him. He sends Heenan ass over tea kettle while Andre continues to fight with Bundy.
Result: Andre the Giant@ 9:14 via DQ
Rating: **. Heenan saved this match. It was your typical Andre vs Bundy match, but Heenan was on fire, as was the crowd. Matches like this prove why Heenan was unmatched in his field.
