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.
Are you going to do a re rant of the Rumble?
ReplyDeletePretty sure Scott re-ranted it when he was doing all these Raw's.. On a related note, I've always loved the original rant with the stuff about Taker/Yoko.
ReplyDeleteScott do you like Luger or not? Because it seems like you flip flop in between constantly. Or is it a time period thing?
ReplyDeleteHa, jokes on you. He stopped recapping Raw a month ago. Right now he's sticking with NXT which is a smart move.
ReplyDeleteWhy in the hell would someone put this crap on tv?
ReplyDelete83% of the show is jobber matches and exactly zero angle advancement.
Oh I thought these were new rants.
ReplyDeleteSeriously. Complain about Raw today all you want, and most complaints are valid, but at least half of the 3 hours usually range from good to great, maybe more on a good week.
ReplyDeleteWait, why are they bleeping the 'WWF', I thought they resolved that?
ReplyDeleteI can't believe they haven't cleaned that stuff up for reairing.
King Tonga is Haku, right?
ReplyDeleteIt varies weirdly enough. Maybe they just don't want to bother with all the other stuff that needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteYeah I imagine it'll come together over time, but it is annoying. It was a major sticking point for a lot of people and certainly myself.
ReplyDeleteTJ: Vince on Letterman in 1989
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19NUeL6imrQ
These are reposts from when I was subscribing to the WWE.com version of Classics on Demand. They killed the service when RAW got to February 1994, so when the Network starts showing them, I pick it up from there. The Jan 94 ones I've been posting would have been written in 2010 or so.
ReplyDeleteYep, it's because the Attitude Era spoiled the living hell out of wrestling fans. Now, nothing is every good enough. It's like a drug addict chasing that first high. Sorry guys, it's never coming back!
ReplyDeleteIsn't this a rant from a few years back? I think Scott stopped doing them sometime in February and he's reposting the ones leading into the new.
ReplyDeleteToday's Raw has great action though it can get stale at times. This stuff here? Man, I can't think of any reason to keep watching these things.
ReplyDeleteDifferent time. The Monday Night Wars pushed everyone into dissolving the idea of scrubs and doing nothing but name vs. name matches.
ReplyDeleteThat, and unless you're silly enough to watch the whole thing, Raw hasn't been boring in months.
ReplyDeleteI grew up on Crockett so squash matches aren't the problem. The problem is these are boring jobber matches that aren't building to anything.
ReplyDeleteFor example, The Road Warriors would destroy some poor guys then get on the mic and talk about beating up the Horsemen in a few weeks, or whatever. These are just matches then the show ends.
The WWF was definitely weak in the angle department, but when you only have 12-14 names to really build around, and you're taping 4 weeks at a time, you're boned. The only thing Superstars had at the time was constantly reminding everyone of what the goings on were, and the countless Live Event updates with promos hyping local cards. Raw was an "for all audiences" show that couldn't do those fine touches, and just went out there with one big moment/match, and then "here's some guys who might be doing stuff."
ReplyDeleteIt's half and half most of the time. Nothing truly awful happens much anymore but whatever's not good is just dull or has been done to death do to how many hours of original content per week.
ReplyDeleteI understand the limitations but that doesn't mean it doesn't suck. Actually, it's kind of sad. This was probably the best they could do at the time which makes me wonder why they even bothered. Was running all those shows really necessary if they were in such dire straits?
ReplyDeleteIf I was a couple years older, I probably wouldn't be a wrestling fan. This was awful.
ReplyDeleteI've said this before but Bruno is the fucking drizzling shits on commentary. I can't believe they stuck with him this long, especially as Ventura had already demonstrated how great he was.
ReplyDeleteThey taped so much at once to save money, and were renting out 1,000 seat gyms (sometimes heavily papered) for Superstars and Challenge tapings at the time. They were really in the shitter.
ReplyDeleteAs stale as RAW can get at times, at least you're getting a couple of ***+ matches a night, so that part is OK.
ReplyDeleteYou going to have the SNME that aired that weekend? Bundy squashes Hogan after a match; Piper whips Mr T after the T-Orton boxing match. A lot of WM 2 set up on that show.
ReplyDelete"Next week: Week four of the tapings, I'm guessing! Can it get any more boring than this week? STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT!"
ReplyDeleteActually, the next week is a live episode back in Bushkill with IRS on commentary and the Luger/Hart coin flip.
Rumble that year was a Saturday night so this raw was two days after a ppv. Also very in the can.
ReplyDeleteYes. Should be up on Tuesday night.
ReplyDeleteAlso have the Slammy Awards and the Boston Garden show
He was completely useless on commentary
ReplyDelete1994 was awesome at the time...
ReplyDeleteIf you'd hung on for Mr Backlund you still would have ended up a fan
ReplyDeleteYep, never seen that Hoss Funk guy before, no sir. Never change, Vince
ReplyDeleteI prefer to watch the hulu edit, because it cuts out a lot of the crap. When the crap is cut out, Raw is generally pretty good.
ReplyDeleteI hope John Paul had a kid who joined the wrestling business.
ReplyDeleteI always pictured Vince going up to Dory and saying "pal...what kind of name is dory?? Youre gonna be my hoss!"
ReplyDeleteI think it was a rib
ReplyDelete"How the hell did MOM go on to challenge for the tag titles at Wrestlemania?"
ReplyDeleteBecause they were ON A MISSION, son!
The Steiners must've been in the serious dog house. They remained on the roster until May, but were a complete after-thought on TV as soon as the calendar flipped to 1994.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I always figured too. Vince comes up says Dory is a fag name and then thinks for the manliest name possible and Hoss Funk is born.
ReplyDeleteRusso booking is as deadly as crack, TBF.
ReplyDeleteWatched this show this morning. Pretty boring.
ReplyDelete