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WWF TV Taping Double Feature: Tampa, FL - January 26, 1987 | Ft. Myers, FL January 27, 1987

by Scrooge McSuck

We're back with a double-header with the content taped for Superstars of Wrestling and Wrestling Challenge to fill the broadcast dates between February 7th and February 22nd. We're doing things differently this time because, unfortunately, there's not enough meat on the bone to cover both tapings on their own. Nothing taped for Prime Time Wrestling (or All-American), nothing taped for Coliseum Home Video. We're stuck with a handful of "star vs star" matches and interview segments, but we'll dig into every broadcast to cover what deserves some attention as we are heading down the road to WrestleMania III.

WWF Superstars of Wrestling Taping - January 26th, 1987

Taped from the SunDome in Tampa, FL. The live crowd was treated to plenty of additional content that was never repurposed for other broadcasts or home video, including Hulk Hogan defending the WWF Championship against Kamala, The Junkyard Dog and King Harley Race fighting to a double disqualification, and Ron Bass defeating Leapin' Lanny Poffo. The WWF did tape several matches specifically for the Montreal market, but don't get too excited. It's Dino Bravo beating Jerry Allen, and The Rougeau Brothers defeating Joe Mirto and Jim Haley. Trust me, even as prelim/squash level matches, if I had the Montreal episodes, I would have given them a look.

NEW FACES (KINDA) IN NEW PLACES... One of my favorite parts of each new taping cycle is to see who is coming in and who is on the way out. Last time we covered TV, we saw the debut of a new tag team, put together with pieces from two previously existing teams. Bill Eadie, formerly known as the Super Machine, and Randy Colley, formerly Moondog Rex, were rebranded as Ax and Smash of Demolition. What new WWF Superstars will make their in-ring debuts next?!

Outback Jack vs. Steve Lombardi

Taped for broadcast on February 7th. After months of silly vignettes filmed on location, it's FINALLY time for the in-ring (syndicated) debut of the man from Humpty Doo, Australia. I wish I could do a deep dive into Jack's career pre-WWF, but there doesn't seem to be one. He worked briefly in Stampede, though it might have been the WWF sending him there for reps as they try to figure out something for him for TV. It's very rare for the WWF and Vince McMahon to jump on something culturally relevant, with Outback Jack being an obvious attempt at capturing the same magic as Crocodile Dundee. Oh, and if you're wondering how to feel about him, HILLBILLY JIM gets to introduce him to the crowd and give him the rub as a goofy babyface we should all get behind. PANDERING. YUCK. OH MY GOD, WHAT IS THAT MUSIC?! Lockup to the ropes and a clean break. Jack shows off his chain wrestling ability, and it's fine, I guess. He no-sells a shoulder block and plants Lombardi with a slam. Lombardi cuts him off, showing off his brawling abilities. Outback with the comeback, hitting Lombardi with a clothesline, then again from behind for the three-count at 2:51. The audio sweetening here was ridiculous. Jack wasn't an embarrassment, but it wasn't what I would consider a strong first impression.

Demolition (w/ Johnny Valiant) vs. Sivi Afi & Mario Mancini

Taped for broadcast on February 14th. Yes, I'm aware we covered Demolition at the last set of tapings! Well, this is technically another debut. We've still got Ax and Smash, but there has been a casting change. Bill Eadie remains as Ax, but Randy Colley, the former Moondog, is out, and in his place is Barry Darsow, most recently seen in Jim Crockett Promotions as Krusher Khruschev. Colley would be repackaged again, but would be gone by the end of 1987, and actually started working in Continental as "Detroit Demolition". While not done here, I did notice a handful of times where Smash would use body paint over his tattoo. Maybe there was concern over recognizing him as Khruschev, but it stopped immediately. Smash starts, throwing Afi down and no-selling a shoulder block. Whip is reversed and Smash counters a body press with an inverted atomic drop. Ax in, pounding away on Mancini. Smash with a whip and double axe-handle, and the double-team finish ends Mancini's night at 1:20. They got in and out with little time to think about it, and it's for the best if you want to push Demolition as brawlers (and after a underwhelming debut from the last taping cycle).

In The Pit with Roddy Piper...

Superstars of Wrestling remains the home of Roddy Piper's #1 talk show... but for how long? We'll group all the Piper segments here for the sake of keeping everything organized. When they taped at the Meadowlands for the last set of episodes of Superstars, each segment was part of building up tension between Hulk Hogan and best-friend-to-the-end Andre the Giant.

February 7th: As established on the episode broadcast on January 31st, Roddy Piper promised to deliver Hulk Hogan if Jesse Ventura could produce Andre the Giant. We don't waste time, with Hulk Hogan coming out first. Ventura introduces the undefeated 8th Wonder of the World, Andre the Giant, and he's not alone, he's got Bobby Heenan with him! "What are you doing with him?!" Hogan's disbelief continues, putting Andre over as the man he looked up to and the hero to everyone around the world. Heenan cuts Hogan off, saying that Andre is tired of Hogan and all that he stands for. Andre gets a trophy for being undefeated, a smaller trophy than what Hogan received to commemorate 3 years as Champion, and Hogan had to steal that moment too. Hogan pleads for answers, but Andre coldly tells Hogan to get his hands off him and challenges him to a Championship Match at WrestleMania. Hogan continues to struggle with the reality of what is going on, so to add insult to challenge, Andre tears the shirt and the cross from Hogan's chest, leaving him an emotional wreck. "You can't leave like this man!" Piper wipes the blood off Hogan's chest, calmly calling attention to it, and we fade to black to end the segment. How can the WWF fill the Pontiac Silverdome? Well, I think we found the solution.

February 14th: The Pit continues to be the dedicated home to Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. Piper goes over all of what transpired on the set over the last few weeks, including the trophy presentations and Jesse Ventura stirring the pot at the last taping cycle. Piper then recaps what happened "the next week" (wise of him to not say last week) where Andre came out with Bobby Heenan to challenge Hogan for the WWF Championship. Piper followed Hogan back to the dressing room, and all he could do was sit with his head down. Hogan comes out, torn shirt in one hand and the broken chain and cross in the other. Piper wants to know about Andre, but all Hogan knows is that Heenan got to him, and now jealousy and greed got the best of him. Hulk knew he could never be as big as Andre, but wanted to fight for everything Andre believed in. When he tore the shirt and cross off, he also dug deep and ripped his heart out as well. Piper isn't concerned about these emotions, he wants a simple answer to a simple question, will Hogan accept Andre's challenge for WrestleMania III? "YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

The Junk Drawer:
This is where we throw the stuff that helps us identify what stars are doing as far as active or teased storylines are concerned, often done with appearances via squash matches. Someone comes to the ring to tease an upcoming match? Noted. Someone picks a fight with another wrestler after a match? Noted. Someone teases a babyface or heel turn? You get the point.

Butch Reed and Tito Santana continue to tease bad blood. At the last set of tapings, Tito Santana slammed Slick following a match, and this time around, following a Butch Reed squash match, Slick addressed Santana, saying what happened to Reed's opponent is going to be the same thing that happens to him. Santana and Reed would start working against each other on the house show loop towards the end of February.

Speaking of Tito Santana, prior to a scheduled match with Terry Gibbs, everyone's favorite referee, Danny Davis, once again became the center of attention. Following the result of the title match between the British Bulldogs and the Hart Foundation (covered below in our feature presentations), President Jack Tunney made the decision to suspend Danny Davis "for life". Santana and Davis continued to jaw back and forth until Jimmy Hart came to the ring and took Davis back to the locker room. Hmm...

This is a tough one to place, because it technically happened in the building where Superstars taped, but Gene Okerlund taped an interview with Roddy Piper where the Hot Rod announced that his match at WrestleMania III would be his last, as he plans to retire and move on to a career in Hollywood. I guess that means the end of Piper's Pit, as well. Piper took a 4-5 month sabbatical after WrestleMania 2, came back late in the Summer, and was only around as a top babyface for 7-8 months before "retiring." I can only imagine what Piper would do if he stuck around, and how it might change plans for other top guys, but I've never been one to dive into ridiculous fantasy booking, so we'll move on...

Superstars in action who weren't part of the feature matches, interview segments, or anything else we've covered so far... Intercontinental Champion "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Hercules, The Killer Bees (with JTTS Jimmy Jack Funk on the opposite side of the ring), Bob Orton and The Magnificent Muraco (with Lanny Poffo on the losing team), Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, The Can-Am Connection (Tiger Chung Lee camping out on the apron with his partner taking the L), Billy Jack Haynes, The Dream Team (hello to Paul Roma!) and Koko B. Ware (beating Jose Luis Rivera dressed up as The Red Demon). The TV viewers were constantly reminded of the ongoing rivalries thanks to cut-aways and pre-tape promos, but the live crowd were treated to a bunch of squashes without much excitement to them.

Now For Our Feature Presentation(s)...
Now for our section where a match is worth recapping in detail, because they (often) feature Superstar vs Superstar match-ups. DISCLAIMER: You might see matches pop up from time to time that don't quite hit the same as far as star vs star is concerned, but I'm allowed to bend the rules from time to time, especially in an era where they liked to sneak guys into tag matches where there's an obvious enhancement talent among the talent under contract.

WWF Tag Team Championship Match: The British Bulldogs (c) vs. The Hart Foundation (w/ Jimmy Hart)

Taped for broadcast on February 7th. We've covered this several times on Da Site, but it's always worth a look when it comes up. The intros cut to Davey bringing Matilda into the ring to hide the fact that Dynamite Kid is not physically able to do ANYTHING, not even get to the ring on his own. Controversial referee(™) Danny Davis calls for the opening bell during the chaos. Jimmy Hart bonks Dynamite with the megaphone while Davey controls despite being in a 1-on-2 disadvantage, planting Neidhart with a slam and Bret with a delayed suplex, followed by a DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER. Davis spends time on the floor yelling for Dynamite to get up and conveniently exits the ring as Davey hits the running Powerslam for a visual fall on Neidhart. The Foundation finally cut off Superman from Leeds, England, hitting him with a double DDT and finishing with the Hart Attack at 2:57. The Hart Foundation are the NEW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS. More angle than competitive match, but what was here was fantastic and we finally paid off the crooked Danny Davis angle. After controversial decisions and behavior, it finally came into play with a Championship on the line, resulting in new Champions (Yes, Davis also got involved on the recent Saturday Night's Main Event, but that was rarely canon with the Superstars of Wrestling presentation).

Non-Title Match: The Hart Foundation (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. The Islanders

Taped for broadcast on February 21st. Before the match, Jimmy Hart introduces everyone to the newest member of the Hart Foundation, DANNY DAVIS! He comes out in wrestling gear (pinstripe trunks and white shirt) and he has nuclear heat after what took place earlier in the taping with screwing over the Bulldogs and being suspended from referee duties by Tunney. Tama and Bret start. Lockup and they go right into the international, with Tama getting the upper-hand. Haku with an assisted hip toss to drop Tama across the body of Bret, followed by an elbow drop. Neidhart with a knee to the back of Tama to turn things around. The Foundation controls with some lethargic double-team work in the corner, but they do bust out a double DDT with extra spice on it. They keep taking advantage of Dave Hebner's incompetence. Haku with a hot tag straight out of 1978 (as in no real build to it), running wild with kicks and chops. Anvil takes a rough one in the ropes as Haku tries dumping him out. Bret gets laid out with a reverse crescent kick. Tama goes to the top, but Danny Davis trips him up, causing a mid-air wipe out, allowing Neidhart to sneak in and steal the three-count at 4:34. Paced oddly slow for what we've come to expect for syndication. The bottom line is the extra bit of trouble for everyone with Jimmy Hart AND Danny Davis lurking around ringside.

WWF Wrestling Challenge Taping - January 27th, 1987

Taped from the Lee Civic Center in Ft. Myers, FL. As always, Wrestling Challenge is the second-rate taping, so we won't have nearly as much content to cover as we do Superstars of Wrestling. With this cycle being particularly weak for interesting content for Superstars, I'm afraid to see what slim pickings there will be for the Ft. Myers faithful. The live crowd was treated to Hulk Hogan defending the WWF Championship against Kamala (who is listed as a substitute for Hercules), and Randy Savage defending the Intercontinental Championship against Ricky Steamboat. The latter was featured on international television, but I do not have a copy, so we'll just assume it was a pretty good match with a weak finish.

First, a run down of talent featured in action who didn't have something else going on at the taping that is worth mentioning... Demolition (with SD Jones on the losing team), "Adorable" Adrian Adonis (who feels like such a non-factor as Mania III draws closer), The Can-Am Connection (beating the JTTS squad of Lombardi and Mike Sharpe), Billy Jack Haynes (going over Tiger Chung Lee), The Killer Bees (with Jose Luis Rivera working as the Red Demon), The Junkyard Dog (squashing Barry O), and The Magnificent Muraco and Bob Orton (with Salvatore Bellomo still there). Anyone else featured in a squash match either worked another match, appeared during a match, or something else covered, so if you want a complete list of matches and jobbers, you know TheHistoryofWWE.com has it all covered.

The Snake Pit with Jake "The Snake" Roberts

Like the last taping cycle, Piper's Pit was such a big deal, that they were broadcast on both Superstars of Wrestling and Wrestling Challenge for the weekends of February 7th-8th and 14th-15th. I guess it should come as a mild surprise that the segment taped for the February 22nd episode of Challenge was also featured earlier that weekend for Superstars. Just another example of Challenge being the skippable show. Anything REALLY important is going to transfer to Superstars. Jake says there's a lot of strange people with strange names, and nothing more strange or stupid than "The Honkytonk Man." Honky says his mama named him that because he was born on a pool table in Memphis, TN. Jake taunts Honky with the snake, asking him to show off his talent. Honky says he will sing the song that Elvis Presley stole from him, "It's Alright Honky Tonk Mama." Roberts promises to hold back Damian and let Honky make an idiot of himself. Roberts is a liar, scaring Honky off with the snake after all. Honky comes back out and BLASTS Roberts across the head with the guitar, then continues to smash him across the back until the thing finally breaks. The story goes the guitar was not properly gimmicked, and the impact of the blow did serious damage to Roberts' neck, and judging by how many times Honky had to whack him over the back to get the thing to break apart, I'm not as skeptical for that as I normally would be from pro wrestler stories. Just like that, Jake Roberts has officially shifted to the babyface side of the roster, with Honkytonk Man as his first feud as we head towards WrestleMania III.

Hillbilly Jim & The Rougeau Brothers vs. The Dream Team & Johnny Valiant (w/ Dino Bravo)

Taped for broadcast on February 15th. Is Dino Bravo trying to recruit the Rougeau Brothers to his cigarette smuggling operation, and that is why he's mad at them? Also, why is a guy with the Canadian flag all over his trunks wearing a jacket with "New York City" on the back? No wonder everyone considers Dino Bravo the worst. Hillbilly Jim and The Hammer start. Jim offers a handshake, but Valentine responds with kicks to the midsection. Jim responds with an atomic drop and Raymond comes in, connecting with a dropkick. They trade strikes, with Raymond getting the better of the exchange. Beefcake and Jacques now. Crisscross and Jacques counters a hip toss with a back-slide for two. Valentine ducks a blind cross-body press and tags in Valiant. He comes in and is immediately cradled by Jacques for three at 2:42. The Dream Team and Bravo jump all over the winners, dumping them out of the ring, but Jim and the Rougeaus regain composure and chase Valiant's geeks out of the ring.

Moondog Spot vs. "The King" Harley Race (w/ Bobby Heenan)

Also taped for the February 15th broadcast of Challenge. With Randy Colley/Rex repackaged and unrecognizable without his big beard and hair, Spot is on his own, and you can probably guess that he isn't long for the world at this point. Jumping ahead in the timeline, Spot was finished with the company by the time WrestleMania III took place. Lockup to the corner and Race pops Spot with a headbutt. Whip is reversed and Spot charges into the corner with a knee. Race avoids a second knee and finishes with a fisherman brain-buster at the 35-second mark. Not only are you a geek, but a geek who loses in under a minute! Did this need to be included? Maybe not, but since it gave me a chance to address Spot's future with the company, I'm cool with that choice.

George "The Animal" Steele vs. "The Natural" Butch Reed (w/ Slick)

Taped for broadcast on February 22nd. It feels like Steele got thrown on the feature match more often than others, usually doing a lame DQ/CO finish in under 2-minutes. Steele rushes the ring and makes a move for Slick because he's an unpredictable ANIMAL. Slick continues being a distraction, allowing Reed to get the jump. Steele shrugs off the attack and does his goofy antics. Steele is distracted again, and we basically run through the same sequence of "action". Slick pokes Steele with the cane, so Steele exits the ring and chases him from ringside, taking the count-out loss at 1:28. Meanwhile, Koko B. Ware is conveniently positioned backstage and leads Steele back to the ring. Steele chases Slick out of the ring and Koko comes off the top rope with a missile dropkick on Reed. Well, at least we know there's SOME beef between Koko and Reed so their match at WrestleMania III wasn't completely random.

Final Thoughts: I think the best I can come up with here is that taping cycles can be quite unpredictable. When we taped from the Meadowlands and Hershey earlier in the month, it felt like there was much more happening other than "squash match to fill TV". This is an example where the broadcast of the content is juiced up with tons of promos and interviews to go with the footage. We did get the big Andre the Giant reveal and Danny Davis' saga finally leads to something significant, so it's not like NOTHING happened, but it was a low effort taping for the most part, with Challenge being particularly weak with only two attractions for the live audience to go along with some subpar content.

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