Random Network Reviews: The Big Event

The Big Event
August 28th, 1986 | Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Attendance: 74,000

So technically, this wasn’t a Pay-Per-View but it’s listed under that section on the WWE Network, so its fair review game. The Big Event was a pretty cool deal since it was held in front of a WrestleMania type massive crowd. What we have here is another show that I’ve never had the chance to see before so I’m looking forward to it more than usual. The big main event for the show is Hulk Hogan vs. Mr. Wonderful, which was a red hot feud at the time.

The opening shot of the show features a helicopter shot of Toronto, intercut with clips of the event tonight. I’m guessing this wasn’t aired live. Mean Gene gives us our introduction and runs down part of the card. Commentary consists of Gorilla Monsoon, Johnny V and Ernie Ladd.

The Killer Bees vs. Jimmy Jack Funk and Hoss Funk w/ Jimmy Hart
I have zero recollection of Jimmy Jack Funk being in the WWF. This has a thirty minute time limit, making me pray we don’t get a draw here. The Funks do everything slowly, while the Bees work at a much quicker pace. Jimmy Hart does not fit with the Funks at all. He was better with more flashy teams that fit his huge personality. The Bees work some of their double team stuff, which was kind of innovative for the time. Jim Brunzell goes for a sleeper, but the heels use UNDERHANDED tactics to break it. This is pre-recorded as it cuts to the Bees doing their mask trick. How were these guy faces? No wonder Iron Sheik wants to humble Brian Blair. They end up doing their switcheroo and using that to win.

Winners: The Killer Bees in 6:43
Completely standard fare. Not the best opener since it wasn’t very exciting but the Killer Bees were pretty over. I don’t understand but this was an era where Hulk Hogan was the biggest star and he used to do tons of underhanded things. *

Don Muraco w/ Mr. Fuji vs. King Tonga
Haku/Meng looks incredibly youthful here. Tonga fires off some quick slams, causing Muraco to regroup outside. Commentary surprisingly discusses Tonga wanting to be known as Haku. He works the arm for a while and it’s so strange to see him working as a face. Mr. Fuji proves the worth of a heel manager by tripping Tonga before he gets in some cane shots. Muraco moves to my least favorite move, the DREADED trapezius hold. It’s the laziest rest hold possible. From that, we go to the Figure Four as this has been boring. Tonga begins to fight back with a slam and some chops. He nails a cross body but the time limit expires.

Time Limit Draw in 15:00 (11:23 shown)
No wonder this was so boring. They were just trying to get to the tie limit so they rested a fair amount. The cross body at the end was pretty but this was painfully dull. ¾*

Ted Arcidi vs. Tony Garea
We are absolutely flying through these with no entrances or backstage stuff. Ted Arcidi is built like a tank. Like a more muscular Rusev. Garea tries to use the speed advantage to no avail. Arcidi flexes a bunch and wins with a freaking bearhug.

Winner: Ted Arcidi in 2:41
Pretty much a squash. Despite being the jobber here, I know Tony Garea more than Ted Arcidi. I feel like Vince McMahon had a raging hard on for a guy with Arcidi’s look. A squash, but not a fun one. ¼*

Finally we get something to break up the matches coming at rapid fire. Mean Gene interviews Jimmy Hart. Man, Hart’s hair is smooth as hell in this time period. Hart complains about having his pants pulled down by Junkyard Dog, leading to this match.

“Adorable” Adrian Adonis w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Junkyard Dog
I feel like the “Adorable” Adrian Adonis gimmick was ahead of its time. JYD gets theme music and an entrance, making everyone else seem like a jobber. He beats up Adonis early, busting him open and nailing his trademark headbutts. JYD is so pumped, he manhandles the referee who doesn’t DQ him. Why the hell not? He blatantly tossed you across the ring. He goes down again, allowing Hart to hit JYD with a spray can, which he no sells. Both guys brawl outside for a bit and get in at the nine count. JYD tosses Adonis into Hart, sending him outside and somehow, that’s a countout.

Winner via countout: Junkyard Dog in 4:12
I didn’t hate this throughout. It wasn’t great by any means, but it was energetic the crowd was hot. Then we got the ridiculously dumb finish. If both guys get in the ring, the count stops and if one is sent back out, you don’t start over from nine. Whatever. *¼

Dick Slater vs. “Iron” Mike Sharpe
I love me some Mike Sharpe. He needs to open a wrestling school, specializing in loud selling. Right on cue, Sharpe is loud as hell. “OH NONONO!” He bails after one move, but judging by his reaction, it must’ve hurt like hell. We cut to a neckbreaker, Russian leg sweep and elbow from the top that finishes this.

Winner: Dick Slater in 2:46
Pretty much a squash, so nothing really to see here. Well, except to enjoy Mike Sharpe’s selling. ½*

Mean Gene interviews Bobby Heenan who will be competing tonight. Gene gets in a weasel crack which makes the fans chant it. Heenan is excellent.

Super Machine, Big Machine and Captain Lou Albano w/ Giant Machine vs. King Kong Bundy, Big John Studd and Bobby Heenan
For those unaware, the Machines are Ax of Demolition fame, Blackjack Mulligan and Andre the Giant. Studd gets worked over early, but avoids the body slam because ONLY ANDRE CAN SLAM HIM! DIDN’T YOU SEE WRESTLEMANIA 1? Bobby Heenan looks hilarious in his Andre the Giant like attire. He only wants the tag when one of the Machines is completely down and worn out. One of the times that Bobby does this, Albano tags in and they get into an entertaining exchange. Heenan gets points for taking the HBK buckle bump. The heels double team Albano, bringing in the Giant Machine for the DQ.

Winners via disqualification: King Kong Bundy, Big John Stuff and Bobby Heenan in 7:49
Another in a string of boring contests, but Bobby Heenan and Captain Lou Albano made this rather more fun than nit would have been if it was just a normal tag match. *¼

Snake Pit Match
Jake Roberts vs. Ricky Steamboat
Ricky Steamboat and his Chicago Bulls entrance theme is badass. A Snake Pit match is just no disqualification, though the original plan was to have a snake and komodo dragon at ringside. Crazy. We start hot with Steamboat getting in some fast paced offense. It slows down as Steamboat works the arm. Jake looks so damn youthful here compared to the early 90’s. Thing spill outside, which is what I want to see from my no DQ matches. Roberts gets a chair but it’s Ricky who uses it! It makes sense since Roberts injured him with a DDT on the concrete a while back. Steamboat fires off some shots in the ring as the crowd is hot for him. He takes a terrible looking bump over and out, which is disappointing since Ricky is usually crisp. Roberts sends Ricky into the post, and we’ve got BLOOD! Roberts starts to methodically pick apart Ricky, who is fighting valiantly out of desperation. Jake has the DDT blocked but still takes down Ricky. He is too cocky though, so Ricky rolls him up for the win.

Winner: Ricky Steamboat in 10:21
Match of the night so far. It wasn’t the greatest of grudge matches since Steamboat worked slow early on, but it featured a chair shot and blood, so that was sweet. I also liked how the finish wasn’t definitive and left the door open for more. ***¼

Billy Jack Haynes vs. Hercules
Throughout the broadcast, Johnny V and Ernie Ladd haven’t been good on commentary. However, they sit this match out for some reason, leaving Gorilla Monsoon alone, but he just sounds bored. These are two relatively powerful guys clubbing away at each other, though they surprise with some agile spots. Hayes gets two on a headbutt but his full nelson is countered. This surprisingly ends when Hayes uses a backslide. Odd.

Winner: Billy Jack Haynes
Another nothing match. They seemed to try but it came off as boring. Partially because they didn’t do anything special and partially because Monsoon was alone on commentary. *

The Dream Team vs. The Rougeau Brothers
The Dream Team use their SNEAK ATTACK early on but the tables are quickly turned. The Rougeau Brothers were pretty damn good if I remember correctly. Ray tricks me as I think he’s going for a headbutt to the groin, only to just sit on Brutus. The Hammer looks like he is on the other team, since his attire matches the Rougeaus. The Dream Team begin to work heat on the future Mountie, who does a good job of playing the face in peril. Actually, I was wrong as the heat moves to Ray. Johnny V spends time saying that he’d love to be down in the ring now. The heat lasts a while, but that’s kind of what tag wrestling is all about. Depravation. Jacques does his thing, hitting a sweet double dropkick. Hammer manages to apply the Figure Four, but it’s broken up. He then gets sunset flip as he tries it again, but it’s over.

Winners: The Rougeau Brothers in 14:55
Solid tag match. They worked the formula well and the crowd was into it. The heat segment was rather dull at times though, which hurt things. **¾

Harley Race vs. Pedro Morales
Both of these guys were the top Champions in the world in the early 70’s. It’s the back half of the 80’s now though and both guys look like they need to retire. During the 1986 King of the Ring Finals, these two met, with this being their rematch. They work some stuff outside before Morales gets a near fall with an ugly sunset flip inside. From out of nowhere, Race gets a rollup with his feet on the ropes and wins.

Winner: Harley Race in 4:22
Pretty heatless throughout and incredibly boring. Both guys were WAY past their primes. ¼*

WWF Championship
Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Paul Orndorff w/ Bobby Heenan
When you think of Hulk Hogan opponents drawing big crowds against him, I feel like Paul Orndorff is overlooked. Being the great heel that he is, Orndorff gets in a SNEAK ATTACK, but the crowd goes nuts as Hogan turns things around. The referee pulls him off by pulling whatever hair Hogan has, which is strange. Since this is heated, they rumble outside for a short while. Bobby Heenan does what he does best by making Hogan chase him, allowing Orndorff to take advantage. It’s the little things that managers did. Mr. Wonderful hits a suplex on the outside that Hogan sells well. Orndorff gets near falls inside with elbows and knee drops. He thinks he wins after a nonchalant cover, but Hogan’s leg is under the ropes. HULK UP TIME! The referee goes down as Hogan tries for a piledriver. Heenan enters, nailing Hogan with a stool. WHO THROWS A STOOL? I MEAN HONESTLY. Orndorff covers and the referee calls for the bell.

Winner via disqualification: Hulk Hogan in 11:05
Strange finish but t kept both guys strong. Solid Hulk Hogan match a sit kept me entertained throughout. The heat was serious too as the fans were molten throughout. ***

Mr. Wonderful puts on the World Title because he thought he won. The DQ is from when Orndorff knocked out the referee by mistake. He gets pissed at the result and attacks Hulk Hogan, but that obviously doesn’t go well.

4.0

The final score: review Poor

The 411

I’d consider this to be relatively normal by 80’s standards. A lot of stuff I’ve seen from that time period is middle of the pack with some really good and some really bad. With two hours and double digit matches, a lot of this is filler. That makes it an easy pass for most matches but the main event is pretty cool, as well as the Snake Pit match. The two hour run time meant nothing stayed too long and it was an easy watch.