WWF Championship Wrestling 5/26/84

WWF Championship Wrestling

May 26, 1984

Your hosts are Gene Okerlund and Vince McMahon

Gene and Vince run down the card, which will feature Tito Santana vs. Tiger Chung Lee, the debut of “Mad Dog” Buzz Sawyer as he squares off against SD Jones. Plus, the Tag-Team Champions, Rocky Johnson & Tony Atlas go against Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch with the belts on the line and Piper’s Pit with guests Lou Albano and Cyndi Lauper.

SD Jones vs. “Mad Dog” Buzz Sawyer w/Capt. Lou Albano

This is the debut of Sawyer, who is pacing around the ring. On commentary, they are referring to Sawyer as “Bulldog.” He attacks SD immediately after the bell and tosses him outside then gets on all fours and barks like a dog. He bites SD on the apron then suplexes him back into the ring. Sawyer then does a lot of biting before SD breaks that up with a headbutt. Sawyer no-sells some offense and rakes the eyes. He tosses SD outside and bites his fingers. In the ring, Sawyer hits a belly-to-belly suplex. SD makes a comeback consisting of headbutts and punches before Sawyer catches him with a powerslam, getting the win (5:05). After the match, more biting from Sawyer who then yells at the cameraman before exiting the ring.

Thoughts: The crowd reacted well to Sawyer but this match wasn’t much at all, unless you love biting. Overall, I’d call the debut a success because the fans hated Sawyer, he even got pelted with garbage at one point after the match, and he did come off as a threat. I'm guessing that they changed his nickname to "Bulldog" due to the fact "Mad Dog" Vachon was still on the roster.

WWF Update with Vince McMahon. This week’s focus is on Andre the Giant. They show a clip of his ring entrance then mention is restaurant in Montreal. Not much to see here.

Lanny Kean vs. “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka

Snuka backs Kean against the ropes. He takes him down and Kean gets to the ropes. Snuka works a lengthy side headlock, occasionally breaking to perform a move. Backdrop by Snuka, who then hits Kean with a backbreaker. He drops the knee then goes up top and hits a diving headbutt for the win (4:53).

Thoughts: Dull squash match. Snuka is loved by the crowd though. Nothing else more to say.

Tiger Chung Lee vs. Tito Santana

Okerlund spells “Arriba” for us before the match. God, he was useless on commentary. That was probably the most informative he has been in months. Tito takes down Lee and works the arm for a bit. Lee escapes and gets a slam, but misses an elbow drop. Tito gets a slam and goes back to the arm. He works on the arm for a while, occasionally breaking for a move. Tito gets caught with a knee and Lee hammers away. He lands a chop from the second rope, getting two. Tombstone piledriver gets two. Lee kicks Tito in the head as he was laying against the ropes. Lee goes to bounce off the ropes but Tito comes running across the ring and hits the flying forearm for the win (5:59).

Thoughts: This picked up at the end but it was a nothing match. Tito has a lot of boring TV matches, which is odd seeing how he was a really good worker.

Piper’s Pit with Lou Albano. Piper is dressed as a punk rocker, expecting Albano to bring out Lauper. Albano then walks out by himself, saying that her flight was delayed. Piper is upset, stating that he dressed like this for nothing. Albano then mentions how Dave Wolfe might be involved in Lauper not being here as Piper goes off on a tirade, stating how no one embarrasses him, promising that Wolfe will be on the show next week.

WWF Tag-Team Championship Match

Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch vs. Tony Atlas & Rocky Johnson (Champions)

The look on Atlas’s face as he exits the curtains pretty much tells us the outcome of this match. Murdoch yells at his opponents to start things off. Rocky takes down both men with armdrags. Adonis sidesteps a monkeyflip but gets slammed. Rocky goes back to the arm as Adonis is able to escape and make the tag. Atlas tags in too and overpowers Murdoch. He works the arm for a bit. Atlas runs into an elbow and Murdoch sends Atlas into his corner. The heels work over Atlas, taking him down with a double elbow smash. Atlas fights back and takes Murdoch down with a headbutt but Adonis runs over and snaps his neck. Adonis tags but so does Atlas and Rocky cleans house. All four men are in the ring and Murdoch and Atlas go at it outside. Atlas presses Murdoch over his head and Rocky tries to hit him while he is in the ring but Adonis runs over and gets a reverse rollup for the win and the tag titles (4:57) ½*. The champs celebrate in the ring after the match.

Thoughts: The match was unremarkable to say the least but it was a rare televised title change, so that was cool. Also, the title change was necessary as the team of Atlas & Johnson was essentially terrible. They were not good in the ring and had no chemistry at all together. They were just two singles wrestlers stuck together. On the other hand, the team of Murdoch and Adonis worked well together. The WWF finally has a team worthy of the belts.

“Cowboy” Bob Orton vs. Billy Travis

Orton takes down Travis and puts him in a headscissors. He gives him a few knee smashes before hitting a double underhook suplex. Backdrop by Orton, who then hammers away on Travis. Slam by Orton and he then puts on a headlock as the announcers talk about everything else that happened on the show. Orton then places Travis on the top rope and hits the superplex for the win (3:13).

Thoughts: A dull squash that featured a few nice moves from Orton. The crowd was dead though.

Next week’s featured bout is Chief Jay Strongbow vs. Greg Valentine

Final Thoughts: Solid show. We had a much needed title change and the Piper/Albano/Lauper stuff is getting interesting. Buzz Sawyer debuted in what would be a very brief stay in the WWF. Some of the other matches were boring but overall, a good effort.