March 1, 1986
Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon
Tonight, the Funk Brothers will be in action. Also, we will see the Mr. T training video as he prepares to box Bob Orton for "Saturday Night's Main Event." Plus, the British Bulldogs, Ricky Steamboat & King Tonga and much more.
Terry Gibbs & AJ Petruzzi vs. Ricky Steamboat & King Tonga
Steamboat & Tonga are attacked from behind to start but they are quickly able to gain the advantage. They use a few contrived double-team moves then the match settles down. Tonga and Gibbs completely fuck up a snapmare then Petruzzi tags and Tonga hiptosses him down. He beats on him for a bit then tags Steamboat, who does the same then finishes him off with a flying body press (3:01).
Thoughts: The action was pretty bad in this match. Tonga had a bad performance in particular. The team of Steamboat & Tonga isnt going anywhere.
WWF Update with Lord Alfred Hayes. He shows us a clip of Gene Okerlund trying to interview Mr. T as he warms up. Mr.T yells at Okerlund to leave as he pounds on the heavy bag then states it will be a war and he will make Orton look like Okerlund when he is done with him.
Joe Mirto vs. Tito Santana
The crowd loves Tito. Then again, the Mid-Hudson Civic Center crowd always did. Bruno says he finds it hard to accept that Tito lost the Intercontinental Title and claims he always defended it against everyone. Well, he didn't and wrestled mostly in tag matches during this reign. Tito works the arm of Mirto to start as the announcers wonder whether or not Tito will find a partner to get the Tag Team Titles or stay in singles competition. Tito then targets the leg and finishes him off with the figure four (3:16).
Thoughts: The story of this match was on commentary, where they made us guess the direction Tito would take since losing the belt.
Gene Okerlund is with Hulk Hogan, who will teaming with the Junkyard Dog to take on the Funk Brothers at the March 8th Boston Garden show. Hogan said that he visited JYD in the hospital after he was attacked by the Funk's. Hogan started panting like a dog at one point and mentioned his feud with Don Muraco and King Kong Bundy. Lots of foreshadowing here by the Hulkster.
British Bulldogs w/ Capt. Lou Albano vs. The Gladiator & Barry O.
The crowd is in love with the Bulldogs at this point. Dynamite works over Barry, who quickly tags out. Davey tags in and the Gladiator takes him down briefly with a side headlock. Davey comes back with a backdrop then hits a delayed vertical suplex. The Bulldogs hit a double clothesline then Dynamite uses a snap suplex. Davey tags and dropkicks Barry out of the ring then presses Dynamite over his head and launches him at the Gladiator for a flying headbutt, getting the win (2:41).
Thoughts: The Bulldogs wrestling was so much different than any other team on the roster that it got them over huge with the crowd.
Okerlund is with Randy Savage, who will be facing Tito Santana at the March 8th Boston Garden show. Savage denies cheating to win the title and says that the IC Belt has never had this much prestige.
Steve Gatorwolf & Mike Saxon vs. Big John Studd & King Kong Bundy w/ Bobby Heenan
The Gatorwolf/Saxon pairing is quite odd to say the least. Studd shoves around Gatorwolf then tags Bundy, who does the same. Saxon tags in and the heels take turns kicking the shit out of him until Bundy hits hte avalanche then finishes him off with a splash, making the referee count to five (2:36).
Thoughts: They are building up Bundy as the unstoppable monster. He was also starting to be focused on a lot more than his partner, who was beginning to play second-fiddle to Bundy.
Piper's Pit with guests King Kong Bundy and Bobby Heenan. Piper gives Bundy a humanitarian award for putting Hulk Hogan in the hospital, thus curing the people that had to suffer through his matches. Bundy then congratulates Piper and Orton for beating up Mr. T. They all laugh about the injuries they caused Hogan and all of his fans. They gave away the SNME finishes here, which aired the same day as this show.
Okerlund is in the studio showing us the same Mr. T workout video from earlier in the show. He then shows us the injuries that he suffered from Orton and Piper on SNME. Okerlund then said that after the show, Mr. T told him he wants to box Roddy Piper. He then tells us that Hulk Hogan got destroyed by King Kong Bundy after his match against Don Muraco on SNME and wound up in the hospital then released the next day. Okerlund interviews the doctor, who said that Hogan suffered a concussion and injuries to his spine.
Nelson Veilleux & S.D. Jones vs. Terry & Hoss Funk w/ Jimmy Hart
After referring to him as Dory last week, he is now going by "Hoss." The match starts with Terry running away from Jones and tagging Hoss. Veilleux tags and Hoss takes him down to the mat. The Funk's then take Veilleux down with a double clothesline. They take turns beating the piss out of Veilleux until Hoss winds up in a tree of woe after missing a charge. SD comes in and he sends Terry into his brother as the crowd goes nuts. SD then tags in legally and headbutts Terry but ends up getting caught in a sleeper hold. SD fights out and hits another headbutt. Veilleux tags but gets suplexed then the Funk's take turns beating on him until Hoss puts him in the Boston Crab (5:38).
Thoughts: Long match to showcase Hoss Funk. Not much more to say other than that.
Okerlund is with Jimmy Hart and the Funk Brothers. Terry said that he would be champion if it wasnt for JYD then cuts a promo on JYD & Hogan that was pretty great.
Next week, we will find out the winners from the "Slammy Awards." Also, Paul Orndorff, the special "midget match," Hart Foundation, Corporal Kirchner & Danny Spivey, and an update on WrestleMania 2.
Final Thoughts: They did a good job hyping up SNME, WrestleMania 2, and the March 8th Boston show (which I will review) but nearly everything else was worth skipping over. They also found something interesting for Tito, who really floundered in his last run as IC Champion.
Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino and Vince McMahon
Tonight, the Funk Brothers will be in action. Also, we will see the Mr. T training video as he prepares to box Bob Orton for "Saturday Night's Main Event." Plus, the British Bulldogs, Ricky Steamboat & King Tonga and much more.
Terry Gibbs & AJ Petruzzi vs. Ricky Steamboat & King Tonga
Steamboat & Tonga are attacked from behind to start but they are quickly able to gain the advantage. They use a few contrived double-team moves then the match settles down. Tonga and Gibbs completely fuck up a snapmare then Petruzzi tags and Tonga hiptosses him down. He beats on him for a bit then tags Steamboat, who does the same then finishes him off with a flying body press (3:01).
Thoughts: The action was pretty bad in this match. Tonga had a bad performance in particular. The team of Steamboat & Tonga isnt going anywhere.
WWF Update with Lord Alfred Hayes. He shows us a clip of Gene Okerlund trying to interview Mr. T as he warms up. Mr.T yells at Okerlund to leave as he pounds on the heavy bag then states it will be a war and he will make Orton look like Okerlund when he is done with him.
Joe Mirto vs. Tito Santana
The crowd loves Tito. Then again, the Mid-Hudson Civic Center crowd always did. Bruno says he finds it hard to accept that Tito lost the Intercontinental Title and claims he always defended it against everyone. Well, he didn't and wrestled mostly in tag matches during this reign. Tito works the arm of Mirto to start as the announcers wonder whether or not Tito will find a partner to get the Tag Team Titles or stay in singles competition. Tito then targets the leg and finishes him off with the figure four (3:16).
Thoughts: The story of this match was on commentary, where they made us guess the direction Tito would take since losing the belt.
Gene Okerlund is with Hulk Hogan, who will teaming with the Junkyard Dog to take on the Funk Brothers at the March 8th Boston Garden show. Hogan said that he visited JYD in the hospital after he was attacked by the Funk's. Hogan started panting like a dog at one point and mentioned his feud with Don Muraco and King Kong Bundy. Lots of foreshadowing here by the Hulkster.
British Bulldogs w/ Capt. Lou Albano vs. The Gladiator & Barry O.
The crowd is in love with the Bulldogs at this point. Dynamite works over Barry, who quickly tags out. Davey tags in and the Gladiator takes him down briefly with a side headlock. Davey comes back with a backdrop then hits a delayed vertical suplex. The Bulldogs hit a double clothesline then Dynamite uses a snap suplex. Davey tags and dropkicks Barry out of the ring then presses Dynamite over his head and launches him at the Gladiator for a flying headbutt, getting the win (2:41).
Thoughts: The Bulldogs wrestling was so much different than any other team on the roster that it got them over huge with the crowd.
Okerlund is with Randy Savage, who will be facing Tito Santana at the March 8th Boston Garden show. Savage denies cheating to win the title and says that the IC Belt has never had this much prestige.
Steve Gatorwolf & Mike Saxon vs. Big John Studd & King Kong Bundy w/ Bobby Heenan
The Gatorwolf/Saxon pairing is quite odd to say the least. Studd shoves around Gatorwolf then tags Bundy, who does the same. Saxon tags in and the heels take turns kicking the shit out of him until Bundy hits hte avalanche then finishes him off with a splash, making the referee count to five (2:36).
Thoughts: They are building up Bundy as the unstoppable monster. He was also starting to be focused on a lot more than his partner, who was beginning to play second-fiddle to Bundy.
Piper's Pit with guests King Kong Bundy and Bobby Heenan. Piper gives Bundy a humanitarian award for putting Hulk Hogan in the hospital, thus curing the people that had to suffer through his matches. Bundy then congratulates Piper and Orton for beating up Mr. T. They all laugh about the injuries they caused Hogan and all of his fans. They gave away the SNME finishes here, which aired the same day as this show.
Okerlund is in the studio showing us the same Mr. T workout video from earlier in the show. He then shows us the injuries that he suffered from Orton and Piper on SNME. Okerlund then said that after the show, Mr. T told him he wants to box Roddy Piper. He then tells us that Hulk Hogan got destroyed by King Kong Bundy after his match against Don Muraco on SNME and wound up in the hospital then released the next day. Okerlund interviews the doctor, who said that Hogan suffered a concussion and injuries to his spine.
Nelson Veilleux & S.D. Jones vs. Terry & Hoss Funk w/ Jimmy Hart
After referring to him as Dory last week, he is now going by "Hoss." The match starts with Terry running away from Jones and tagging Hoss. Veilleux tags and Hoss takes him down to the mat. The Funk's then take Veilleux down with a double clothesline. They take turns beating the piss out of Veilleux until Hoss winds up in a tree of woe after missing a charge. SD comes in and he sends Terry into his brother as the crowd goes nuts. SD then tags in legally and headbutts Terry but ends up getting caught in a sleeper hold. SD fights out and hits another headbutt. Veilleux tags but gets suplexed then the Funk's take turns beating on him until Hoss puts him in the Boston Crab (5:38).
Thoughts: Long match to showcase Hoss Funk. Not much more to say other than that.
Okerlund is with Jimmy Hart and the Funk Brothers. Terry said that he would be champion if it wasnt for JYD then cuts a promo on JYD & Hogan that was pretty great.
Next week, we will find out the winners from the "Slammy Awards." Also, Paul Orndorff, the special "midget match," Hart Foundation, Corporal Kirchner & Danny Spivey, and an update on WrestleMania 2.
Final Thoughts: They did a good job hyping up SNME, WrestleMania 2, and the March 8th Boston show (which I will review) but nearly everything else was worth skipping over. They also found something interesting for Tito, who really floundered in his last run as IC Champion.