Universal Wrestling Federation (9.6.1986) Review

-Originally aired September 6, 1986.

-Your hosts are JR and Michael Hayes, and JR kicks things off by announcing the UWF now airs on KCOP in Los Angeles. Hands over your hearts, game show fans. KCOP was the station that saved Jeopardy! when KCBS dropped it with no warning in 1984, and without that, the show might not have gotten a season 2.

-Also, this is a small thing all things considered, but we’re in September now, and when JR reads this week’s lineup from the folder in his hands…the folder STILL has the Mid-South name and logo on it. That’s a day #1 change when you overhaul a company.

RICK STEINER (with Eddie Gilbert) vs. GARY YOUNG
-The commentators hype that referee Ron West has joined the UWF after years of officiating for other organizations. Shots fired, Crockett.

-Young gets off to a really strong start before getting mowed down with a clothesline. Steiner tries to finish it, but Eddie tells him not to pin the pan. So what follows is Steiner doing a single offensive move, going for the pin, Eddie tells him no, repeat, and Rick seems puzzled that Eddie won’t let him finish the match.

-Steiner goes for the kill AGAIN with a second rope fistdrop but misses. That looks like a fatal mistake, but Young gets distracted by Eddie Gilbert and goes after him, and Steiner recovers and puts Young away with a belly-to-belly.

JACK VICTORY & HOLLYWOOD JOHN TATUM (with Missy Hyatt) vs. JUMPIN’ JOE SAVOLDI & JEFF GAYLORD
-Savoldi surprises everyone with rapid fire punches to Victory. Tatum tags in and gets the arm wrung until he punches free. They double-team Savoldi, who makes his own comeback instead of tagging out, and pays for it when he finally goes for the tag and both opponents block it.

-Gaylord finally gets in there and we have a pier sixer. Gaylord gets a two-count in the fracas and Tommy Gilbert is suspiciously distracted by Savoldi while Victory and Tatum gang up on Gaylord, getting the win with a top-rope clothesline.

-Skandar Akbar demands that Jim Ross and Michael Hayes come to the ring because he has something important to say and BOTH of them need to be there for it.

-The world-changing news is that he’s signed one half of the Long Riders, Wild Bill Irwin, for singles competition.

WILD BILL IRWIN (with Skandar Akbar, One Man Gang, and Savannah Jack) vs. JEFF RAITZ
-Irwin comes to the ring and beats up Raitz while Akbar is still singing his praises. Gutwrench suplex by Irwin, and a big knee. Big boot finishes things for the new guy.

-We get a report on the WFIA wrestling fan convention in Houston in August. Bruce Prichard, Ted DiBiase, and Hacksaw Jim Duggan all received special awards for their valuable contributions to the UWF.

-We go to the UWF offices where Jim Ross shows off the UWF’s new computer, which processes data like wins and losses while also factoring in the nature of the wins and losses, and individual match stipulations to calculate the ranks for the top ten competitors, and you can also play Number Munchers on it. So here is the first computer-generated UWF Top Ten List.

#10. Buddy Roberts
#9. Steve Williams
#8. Chavo Guerrero
#7. Hollywood John Tatum
#6. The Missing Link
#5. Michael P.S. Hayes
#4. Ted DiBiase
#3. Hacksaw Jim Duggan
#2. One Man Gang
#1. Terry Taylor

LUMBERJACK MATCH: TED DIBIASE & “Dr. Death” STEVE WILLIAMS vs. FABULOUS FREEBIRDS
-Terry Gordy is sitting this one out entirely, and it’s Michael & Buddy working this one. Both Freebirds get knocked to the floor and shoved back in quickly. Referee gets order and it’s Williams vs. Roberts officially.

-Press slam by Williams, and Roberts gets tackled through the ropes. Roberts is bleeding hardway somehow and JR is at a loss to explain that.

-Hayes tags in and gets bodypressed by DiBiase. He gets knocked to the floor and knocked back in again. Hayes finally gets the ball rolling and bulldogs DiBiase. DiBiase backdrops out of an attempted piledriver and makes the hot tag (you bet it’s a TV match). All four men are in the ring. DiBiase powerslams Hayes, Williams stampedes Roberts. Chaos erupts as Hayes and DiBiase both end up on the floor and assorted brawls erupt among the lumberjacks. Hayes strangles DiBiase with a belt and uses it to crack DiBiase’s entire body like a whip. Referee calls for the bell and we have a DQ. Good match with great heat.

-Back from commercial, DiBiase is still getting his bearings and getting to his feet while the babyface lumberjacks surround him for protection. Freebirds suddenly return to the ring, and we have another fight, and that just brings back every lumberjack one by one, and they brawl. And brawl. And brawl. And brawl. And brawl. I have a feeling that there was a huge miscue with match times here because this is five solid minutes.

7.6

The final score: review Good

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