WWF Wrestling Challenge (10.11.1986) Review

-Originally aired October 11, 1986.

-Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan. Gorilla boldly proclaims that this week will be a happening.

NON-TITLE: RANDY “Macho Man” SAVAGE (Intercontinental Champion, with Elizabeth) vs. BILLY JACK HAYNES
-We’re definitely in hour three of this taping, as even Elizabeth doesn’t get much of a reaction. We get pre-taped words from Elizabeth, right up until Savage throws a tantrum because she’s talking without him knowing about it.

-Both men jockey for position until Haynes misses a dropkick. Savage is on top of things with an axehandle for two. Clothesline by Savage gets another two, as Savage just wants to win this and get out as fast as he can. Haynes fights back with a clothesline as the crowd finally wakes up. Full nelson looks to finish, but Savage dropkicks the referee while caught in the hold. Danny Davis hustles to ringside and immediately calls for the bell, giving the victory to Savage by DQ because he says it’s Haynes’ fault that Savage collided with the referee. Match was something from the Mid-South template, as they just crammed a ten-minute match into a four-minute frame, and kudos to them for reviving a sleepy crowd.

WRESTLERS’ REBUTTAL
-Ricky Steamboat dislikes managers at ringside because you know damn well they aren’t REALLY there to offer guidance, just interfere.

-Magnificent Muraco and Cowboy Bob Orton are now wearing kilts as they rewatch their assault on Roddy Piper.

-We go to the following week on Superstars, where Piper hobbles out on crutches and destroys the entire set with a baseball bat, ensuring that the Flower Shop segment can’t happen anymore. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, my favorite thing in pro wrestling logic is that interview segments can’t happen anymore if you knock over the set. Two Broke Girls didn’t get cancelled, some guy just wandered onto the set and toppled a wall, so they couldn’t do it anymore.

-Ken Resnick interviews The Machines, and AGAIN, Andre isn’t even there, and there’s just no reason for these guys to exist when Andre isn’t part of the unit.

KILLER BEES vs. BUTCH COOPER & BARRY O
-Bees double-team as we get pre-taped words explaining “Masked Confusion,” and their logic is that the heels cheat, so the Bees are going to cheat because their opponents have no room to talk.

-Barry O takes over with a backbreaker on Brunzell, but he survives and makes the hot tag to Blair. Barry O gets cleared from the ring, and Cooper gets finished off with a dropkick for three. Brunzell threw one of the all-time great dropkicks, but even in 1986, a dropkick as a finisher looked a bit outdated.

-Ken Resnick talks to King Harley Race. Harley actually makes a go at trying to make the King gimmick somewhat serious, as he talks in his old school style while wearing his ridiculous crown and cape and says the ring was full of other wrestlers at his coronation because they knew that Race was their superior, and that’s why he’s calling himself the King.

HART FOUNDATION (with Jimmy Hart) vs. MARIO MANCINI & NICK KINISKI
-Commentators are trying to get “Greaseball” over as a chant against Bret(t). Also, Gorilla notes that he likes to call Bret(t) “The Master of the Execution of Wrestling Holds,” which could use some punching up.

-Jobbers work the arm of the Anvil, but Anvil just hoists up Mancini and tosses him across the ring. Hart Attack finishes.

SNAKE PIT
-This is a famous segment for what you DON’T see. Jake welcomes Hulk Hogan, and they have a debate about the power of their respective pythons. Jake asks “Would you ever turn your back on a man that you’re afraid of?” Hulk simply says “No,” turns around, and walks off. End of segment. So originally they taped another Snake Pit segment with Hulk and Jake getting into an escalating words, culminating in a DDT for the Hulkster, and Jake would get a heel-of-the-month run against the champ, but enough fans chanted “DDT” and popped when he hit the move that the plan was called off on the spot, and Hulk and Heel Jake never crossed paths again.

TITO SANTANA & PEDRO MORALES vs. KENT GLOVER & STEVE LOMBARDI
-Lombardi takes a beating while Heenan throws a tantrum about Tito and Pedro cutting promos in Spanish. Glover tags in and falls victim to a backbreaker for a quick loss.

TOMA vs. MOONDOG SPOT
-Camera gets a nice tight shot of a Federette looking like she totally hates her job. The Federettes were an odd “Who are you doing this for?” idea. What new audience do you attract with pretty ring attendants?

-We get pre-taped words from Superstar Billy Graham, who promises that he’ll be back on the scene shortly…well, after major hip surgery that leaves him only slightly mobile, but he’ll be back. So not much happens in this match until the incredibly obvious finish comes at 90 seconds in, as the respective tag team partners hit the ring and brawl.

-The Wizard cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuts aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa prooooooomooooooooooooooooooo.

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

Fun episode with a lot of different stories brewing.