wrestling / Video Reviews
WWF Superstars of Wrestling (1.24.1987) Review
Image Credit: WWE/Peacock
Loading...-Originally aired January 24, 1987.
-We’re at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, NJ.
-Your hosts are Vince McMahon, Bruno Sammartino, and Jesse “The Body” Ventura.
“Mister Wonderful” PAUL ORNDORFF (with Bobby Heenan) vs. PAUL ROMA
-Pretty Wonderful…EXPLODES! Shoulderblock by Orndorff, but Roma gets a high kneelift that sends Orndorff to the floor. Back in the ring, they lock up and Roma begins working the arm with a wringer. They reverse it a few times, but Roma maintains the advantage. Orndorff fights him off and gets a drop toehold, but Roma counters with a hammerlock. Orndorff elbows out and stomps him in the corner. Clothesline by Orndorff, and he finishes things with the piledriver. It just struck me how funny it was that Orndorff wrestled on TV far more often than Hulk, which meant that even though he supposedly stole “Real American”, the fans heard it associated with Orndorff more than they did with the rightful owner. Discuss.
UPDATE
-Gene Okerlund compares the merits of Kamala & King Kong Bundy, apparently building to a heel/heel feud that never materialized.
-Back from the break, Paul Roma is starting to get to his feet, still dazed from the piledriver, and Steve Lombardi dashes into the ring and kicks his ass further, sending him over the top rope.
KOKO B. WARE vs. STEVE LOMBARDI
-Lombardi, on a roll, attacks Koko before the bell and just dismantles him for a two-count. Backbreaker gets another two-count. Punching and choking by Lombardi, followed by a slam. Neckbreaker by Lombardi gets another two. Lombardi gouges the eyes and rams Koko into the buckle, then chokes him with his boot. Uppercut and another slam by Lombardi. Lombardi goes to the second rope and misses an elbow drop and Koko starts to Koko up with right hands and an Irish whip. Backdrop and a series of lefts get a two-count. Powerslam gets another two. Neckbreaker gets another two. Hangman by Koko, followed by a clothesline for another two. Dropkick, then a missile dropkick, and Koko finishes with a splash for three. Man…we’re two years away from the emergence of the Brooklyn Brawler, so I’m curious as to what they had in mind that led to Lombardi being made to look like such a star this week.
-Ken Resnick talks to Adrian Adonis about Roddy Piper. Adonis goes on a non-sensical laughing rant about blind people and door #2. Ken Resnick actually did a far better job of putting the feud over in this segment than Adrian. I’m surprised that Ken didn’t stick around; I’ve actually become pretty impressed with him in these segments in the past few weeks.
-Holy shit, and NOW Lombardi is getting a few moments to cut a promo, warning Paul Roma to stay out of his way.
CAN-AM CONNECTION vs. COWBOY BOB ORTON & MAGNIFICENT MURACO (with Mr. Fuji)
-Yeah…he’s the referee for this match.
-Four-man brawl top start and it goes for a while. Things finally settle down with Martel & Orton in the ring. Frankensteiner by Martel gets a slow two-count. Slam by Martel and Orton gets pinballed in the corner. Muraco tags in and gets rolled up by Zenk, but Danny Davis doesn’t bother counting.
-Muraco gets the advantage and rams Zenk into Orton’s boot. Zenk starts to come back with flying headscissors, but gets punched down. Double-teaming by the heels as Danny Davis takes a few moments to do some pre-emptive warning toward Rick Martel. Heels continue double-teaming and clear Martel from the ring. More double-teaming by the heels, but Martel trips Muraco from the outside and the Can-Ams make their comeback. Naturally, the moment they have a clear advantage, Danny Davis calls for the bell and declares the match a double-disqualification. Your Wrestlemania III curtain jerk rematch is set.
-Ken Resnick talks about the new WWF house show craze, bunkhouse battle royals, where participants can wear whatever they want to the ring. He talks to Leaping Lanny Poffo, who has found some success by wearing a full suit of armor.
-Outback Jack visits the Sydney Opera House.
RANDY “Macho Man” SAVAGE (Intercontinental Champion, with Elizabeth) vs. TOMMY SHARPE
-Savage actually gets into a bit of an incident with a fan on the way to the ring, and now in a horrible mood, he dashes right in, sends Sharpe over the top rope, and then over the barricade. He tosses him back in the ring and slams him down, and finishes with the flying elbow. Sharpe has had a pretty shitty couple of weeks.
PIPER’S PIT
-Jack Tunney is back this week with another trophy, this time for Andre the Giant. Tunney’s speech this time around is incredibly terse, with no fawning or video package. Andre enters to accept the trophy, and there’s a subtle problem for those who paid careful attention…Last week, when Andre walked out for Hogan’s trophy ceremony, Hogan’s trophy was so damn big that it actually blocked out Andre’s face. And that was for a three-year title reign. Now, after Jack Tunney’s short speech, Andre is honored with a trophy for his 15-year undefeated streak, and the camera has no problems getting a clear shot of his face this time around.
-Piper gives Andre the microphone to make his acceptance speech, and out comes Hulk Hogan to make the speech for him. Good intentions, but you can see how that might seem a little rude. Andre’s eyes move back and forth between the trophy and Hulk, and he finally just puts down the trophy and walks away. Hulk and Piper lead the crowd in a round of applause, but then they just walk away, both looking confused.
-Honky Tonk Man & Jimmy Hart visit the Heartbreak Hotel in Memphis. Honky announces plans to open a restaurant in Memphis, where he’ll serve Honkyburgers. I bet Doug and Skeeter hang out there a lot.
HART FOUNDATION (with Jimmy Hart) vs. TONY GAREA & SCOTT MCGHEE
-Danny Davis walks over to the Harts’ corner to say hi to everybody and pat them on the back before the match, almost causing Vince’s head to explode. Hart starts with McGhee and gets hiptossed and armdragged every which way. Garea comes in to work the arm, but Hart rakes the eyes and sends him into the Anvil’s foot. Anvil comes in and hammers Garea down. Biting by both Harts as we cut to Matilda growling and barking. Vince’s “That was Matilda!” afterward deserves some kind of special medal for obviousness.
-McGhee tags back in and cleans house on both members of the foundation, but gets caught off the ropes by Hart who turns it into a backbreaker and slingshots Anvil on top of him. Hart Attack gets the win.
-Wrestlemania III is coming March 29…I might have to check that out.
BLACKJACK MULLIGAN & U.S. EXPRESS vs. OUTLAW RON BASS, JIMMY JACK FUNK, & GLADIATOR
-Spivey & Funk start. They trade arm wringers but Funk goes to the eyes. Spivey press slams Funk. Armdrag and Rotundo tags in as Jesse Ventura announces that he’s concluded his investigation of the Andre the Giant reinstatement hearing and says he’s going to reveal what he’s found on the next episode of Piper’s Pit.
-Bass tags in and takes control of Rotundo. Funk tags in and fires kicks. Bass returns and elbows Rotundo down. Rotundo starts to mount a comeback and they engage in fisticuffs for a few moments. Funk tags back in and gets caught in a sunset flip for two. He cuts off an attempted hot tag, and Bass tags in to taunt Mulligan. Mulligan comes in to give him whatfor, only to be stopped by the referee, and that leads to triple-teaming in the heel corner. Funk tags back in and takes a dropkick. Gladiator tags in, but Mulligan comes in and pounds him down, then finishes quickly with an elbow.
-Ken Resnick talks to Nikolai Volkoff & Iron Sheik. Iron Sheik boasts about the numerous Shampoo-in-chip reigns that they’ve had as singles wrestlers and as a tag team. “Hulk Hogan, everybody knows referee was your cousin when you take my belt!”
