WWF Superstars of Wrestling July 4th, 1987

July 4, 1987

From the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, IN

Your hosts are Bruno Sammartino, Jesse "The Body" Ventura, and Vince McMahon

The featured matchup this week is Killer Khan vs. Outback Jack. Also in action this week will be Randy Savage, Kamala & Sika, Tito Santana, and Brutus Beefcake.





Sonny Rogers vs. Randy "Macho Man" Savage w/ Elizabeth

Rogers surprises Savage with a rollup but gets clotheslined shortly after that. Savage hits a double axe handle then yanks him up after two then dumps him outside and hits another one then  rolls him back inside and sets him up for the flying elbow smash as he gets the win (1:41).

Thoughts: Savage got a lot of cheers here, especially after winning. Not even blowing off Mr. T. could get him heel heat.



WWF Update with Craig DeGeorge. This week's focus is on Ken Patera and the beatdown he suffered last week on Superstars at the hands of the Heenan Family. We are then shown footage from the locker room as Billy Jack Haynes and Brutus Beefcake tell Patera, whose back is covered in welts after getting whipped with a belt, that they are on his side. Patera is then shown in a promo telling the Heenan Family that they have created a monster while mispronouncing words such as "humiliated." After this segment, they show Patera in the WWF Magazine as he holds his high school diploma as Jesse makes fun of him.



Jim Powers & Mario Mancini vs. Kamala & Sika w/ Mr. Fuji & Kimchee

Powers tries to use his speed to get the best of Sika but misses a dropkick then gets chopped down. Kamala tags in and goes on the attack as we are shown an insert promo from Mr. Fuji, telling us that he will be managing "Bam Bam" as the announcers wonder who he is talking about. Back to the match as Sika hits Mancini with a Samoan Drop then tags Kamala, who gets the win with a splash (1:55).

Thoughts: Quick match to put over Kamala & Sika but the real story was about this "Bam Bam" that Fuji was talking about.



Gene Okerlund, wearing sunglasses, is with the Honky Tonk Man and Jimmy Hart. They hype their match next week against Jake Roberts as Honky guarantees victory. Actually, Jake never wrestled this match as he was replaced by Bruno Sammartino. Jake was still hurt at the time.



Another "Million Dollar Man" vignette is shown. DiBiase cannot believe that people put morals and value ahead of money and tells us that everyone has a price. We are then shown DiBiase and Virgil enter a public pool that is filled with children. DiBiase then bribes the guy running the pool to kick everyone out, even saying that he pays more taxes in a month then their parents pay in a year (Seems like a line Vince would write). Virgil yells at the kids to leave as DiBiase tells us not to get mad at the pool manager as he has a price, just like everyone else. Great stuff and it is easy to see how the WWF got over this gimmick. It was tremendous.



Terry Gibbs vs. Tito Santana

At this point, Santana was starting to grow his mullet out. Santana starts the match by working the arm of Gibbs. He hits a few armdrags and hip tosses then Gibbs comes back with some basic heel offense. Gibbs gets two with an elbow drop but Santana fights back. He dropkicks Gibbs then gets the win with a flying forearm (2:42).

Thoughts: Santana had nothing going on at this time but that was all about to change in the next couple of months.



Okerlund is with the Can-Am Connection. Martel warns the Islanders that they will not get away with what they did to them and in Boston, they will show how they are not pushovers. Zenk promises the Islanders they will not be smiling after their match. Another match that never took place as Zenk quit the day before the show and was replaced by the Junkyard Dog.



We are shown footage of Superstar Billy Graham's workout video. After it airs, Butch Reed is with Craig DeGeorge and says he is not impressed as they try to build up this feud.



Outback Jack vs. Killer Khan w/ Mr. Fuji

Khan beats the crap out of Jack to start. Jack ducks a clothesline and comes back with a forearm smash and some other strikes that all look terrible. He then knocks Khan with a sorry excuse of a clothesline. Khan ducks underneath the ropes as the ref holds Jack back then gets up and super kicks Jack before spitting mist into his face. Jack rolls around like he has been pepper-sprayed then hits a backbreaker before putting him away with a flying knee drop (2:10). After the match we get a slo-mo replay of the mist and Khan did it perfectly as it went directly into Jack's eyes. Jack is then shown being carried to the back with a towel over his face.

Thoughts: This match was really awful but I at least give Jack credit for selling the mist. It was the only thing about this match that didn't suck. Speaking of Jack, this was the beginning of the end for him as he was essentially a TV jobber after this match.



Snake Pit with guests the Killer Bees. Good reaction for the Bees here, who are wearing their masks. Jake asks them about beating the champs last week as they talk about waiting two years for a title shot. They promise to counter Danny Davis and Jimmy Hart with masked confusion. Jake then picks up the snake to show them as the Bees then leave. They have now built up the Killer Bees as the #1 contenders.



Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake vs. Chris Curtis

Curtis cheapshots Beefcake after a break but ends up getting knocked down. Beefcake hits a clothesline then catches him with a sleeper for the win (1:11). After the match, Beefcake puts on his coat and pulls out the clippers as he cuts some hair, setting Jesse off. He gave Curtis one shitty haircut by the way. He then sprays the top of Curtis' head with pink spray then surprises him with a mirror when he wakes up as Curtis flips out when he sees his new hairstyle

Thoughts: Beefcake continues to get over the barber gimmick as the fans are really digging the haircuts at the end of the match.



DeGeorge is with Danny Davis, who wants to talk about Jack Tunney giving Mr. T a referee's license. DeGeorge then says that next week, Tunney will show us why Davis was suspended as a referee.



Now, we are shown another clip of the Jumping Bomb Angels as they wrestled the Glamour Girls from the 6/24 "Wrestling Challenge" tapings in Louisville, KY. That match was shown on the 7/20 edition of "Primetime Wrestling." Vince promises us that we will see more of them in the coming weeks.



Frankie DeFalco & S.D. Jones vs. The Islanders w/ Bobby Heenan

Loud "weasel" chant by the crowd. Match starts with Haku beating on DeFalco. We are then shown an insert promo by Heenan, who promises that "Bam Bam" will be the newest member of the Heenan Family. S.D. is in and gets in some offense, including an atomic drop on Tama. DeFalco tags but Tama clotheslines him then he puts DeFalco away with a top rope splash after a powerslam from Haku (2:29).

Thoughts: More intrigue here as to who exactly was this "Bam Bam" the managers were talking about. The Islanders looked good in this match.



Okerlund, without the shades, is with Jake Roberts, who talks about his match against the Honky Tonk Man in Boston. Jake tells us that it will be stormy in Boston and that Honky will be unable to see what is going on and is now in a no-win situation. Good promo from Jake but those poor fans in Boston must have been pissed. The card for that show was terrible.



Next week in action will be Ken Patera, Hercules & King Kong Bundy and King Harley Race, Can-Am Connection, and Jake Roberts. Plus, an update on the medical condition of Outback Jack.



Final Thoughts: This show had some good stuff, like the Million Dollar Man vignette and the hype about "Bam Bam." They put over Khan strong with the mist, although you can debate if he was even worth pushing at this time. However, the company doesnt have any hot feuds and too many older guys (Graham, Patera) are getting pushed the hardest on TV. They continue to struggle finding their groove.


Here is my schedule for the next several days:

Saturday: RoH Beating the Odds 9/6/03
Sunday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 7/5/87
Tuesday: WWF Superstars of Wrestling 7/11/87
Thursday: Shoot Interview TBD
Friday: WWF Wrestling Challenge 7/12/87