WWF TV Taping Double Feature: March 21, 1987 | Columbus, OH - March 22, 1987
by Scrooge McSuck
If you're reading this out of order, I covered WrestleMania III (held on March 29th, 1987) first and jumped back to these tapings because everything featured on these taping dates would be featured on TV FOLLOWING WrestleMania III. Yes, we're going to have four weeks worth of television in the can before we get a fresh taping cycle AFTER the biggest event in company history. I'm sure most of what we're going to cover won't have too much to do with WrestleMania III, with all the juicy stuff done in post-production, but for the sake of TV continuity, that is why we're taking this path instead of just going by the taping dates and dusting off our hands.
WWF Superstars of Wrestling Taping - March 21st, 1987
Taped from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV. The live crowd was treated to Hulk Hogan defending the WWF Championship against Hercules, with the bonus of Billy Jack Haynes and Andre the Giant being at ringside to give us a tease for WrestleMania III. In other "for the live crowd only" matches, Ricky Steamboat, The Junkyard Dog and Jake Roberts (subbing for Roddy Piper) defeated Randy Savage, Adrian Adonis and Harley Race when Roberts pinned Race, Jim Duggan pinned Nikolai Volkoff, and The Shadow (Randy Colley) pinned Lanny Poffo. It looks like we've only got one match taped for purposes other than Superstars syndication...George "The Animal" Steele vs. The Honkytonk Man (w/ Jimmy Hart)
Featured on the April 20th episode of Prime Time Wrestling. I feel like I get way too many matches like Honky vs George Steele or Honky vs Hillbilly Jim at these tapings throughout 1987 and 1988. I would say George Steele serves no purpose, but he's going to be a featured player on house shows for a little while longer. Steele with his usual antics, chasing Honky out of the ring with his wildman persona. Honky with his schtick and Animal gives a little shake in response. Steele approaches for combat and Honky powders again. Stele gives chase and we're still waiting for first contact. Honky nails Steele as he climbs back in the ring, trapping his legs in the ropes and gets some free shots. Steele gets free and grabs Honky with a double choke-lift. Jimmy Hart lures him out of the ring, and it's an ultra-cheap Count-Out at 4:18. I hope this wasn't advertised as one of the few matches fans could look forward to, because it was a complete waste of time.With Roddy Piper's retirement date set and the last TV taping writing off Piper's Pit, that means there's an opportunity for someone to fill that void with their own segment, and the person pegged for that spot... MISSY HYATT. Missy was relatively new to the business, having debuted in the second half of 1985 and quickly gained notoriety working alongside then-boyfriend John Tatum in World Class before moving on to Mid-South and joining up with Eddie Gilbert's "Hot Stuff International" stable. Missy definitely had the look, but not much of a promo, and those skills were exposed when they taped a series of segments for "Missy's Manor", with guests such as Harley Race and Bobby Heenan, the Can-Am Connection, and Honkytonk Man and Jimmy Hart. Though never broadcast, footage eventually surfaced on Missy's website, and each one is just awkwardly written with Missy's sexuality being the center of attention and presented in a babyface role which doesn't play as well to her strengths. Segments with the same guests were taped twice, and with the idea scrapped, Missy was offered a lowly position as a "Federette" (ring girl) which she declined and went back to working Mid-South before they were purchased by Jim Crockett Promotions.
The Honkytonk Man gets two squash matches across three weeks of TV (on top of the match taped for Prime Time!). Jimmy Hart is running around ringside with a sign that has "Ban the DDT" printed on it. Yes, they're pushing forward with more Roberts vs. Honky, and the gimmick is a write-in campaign that WWF uses to bolster their mailing list.
Poor Dynamite Kid is clearly not ready to be doing anything physical. Following a match with the Hart Foundation the Bulldogs came to the ring with Matilda to chase away Bret and Neidhart, but Davey Boy is the one leading the charge with Matilda while Dynamite just stands around waiting for the segment to be over. I don't know how he pushed on and kept working. I could imagine under modern standards and practices, he's put on the injured list and never taken off of it.
Frankie pooped on the ring following Koko B. Ware's match with Jimmy Jack Funk. Yeah, I'm that kind of guy, I have no shame.
I'm breaking from my normal habit of ONLY mentioning what is taped for the live audience, but we have one angle getting heavy focus on TV that is 100% pre-taped content added in post-production, and it's everyone's favorite angle of 1987: THE KEN PATERA STORY. All three episodes of Superstars that covers this taping cycle features segments on Ken Patera, going over his professional background, his relationship with Bobby Heenan, and the topic of his incarceration (well, the basic notes version, like "he threw a rock through a window", and left out "brutally beat up an arresting officer"). Now Patera is a changed man who has seen the error of his ways and vows to rid the world of people like Bobby Heenan. Gene Okerlund lays it on thick, with comments about criminals of far worse convictions getting off light while Poor Mr. Patera had the book thrown at him.
Pre-tapes give us a window into some of the feuds we can expect to see more of either on TV or on the house show loop; Brutus Beefcake vs. Adrian Adonis, NEW Dream Team vs. The Rougeau Brothers, more from Billy Jack Haynes vs. Hercules, Jake Roberts vs. The Honkytonk Man, and Tito Santana vs. Butch Reed. As for Hulk Hogan? King Harley Race is being slotted in for some of the bigger markets.
The NEW Dream Team (w/ Johnny Valiant) vs. Nick Kiniski & Tommy Sharpe
Taped for broadcast on the April 11th episode of Superstars. Brutus Beefcake is nowhere to be seen, as Greg Valentine and Dino Bravo are quite literally introduced as the NEW Dream Team. Bravo's also in the process of bleaching his hair, but he's not quite there yet. Not only do we have that minor change in direction, but we can also shine a light on NICK KINISKI, son of Gene, a former multi-time World Champion and Hall of Famer... but Nick? He's not very good at this, getting started in the second half of 1985 and retiring 5-years later. Bravo starts with a side headlock and shoulder block. Kiniski and Bravo manage to botch an arm drag and Kiniski throws a pretty terrible dropkick immediately after. Bravo cuts him off with an inverted atomic drop, but Valentine quickly gives up control. Sharpe tags in and gets about 10-seconds of shine before Valentine puts him in his place. Bravo with a gut-wrench suplex and leg drop. Valentine and Bravo take turns beating the tar out of Sharpe until Bravo puts him away with the side slam at 3:14. There definitely seemed like an emphasis that their styles were more complimentary, as even the most casual person could identify with the original Dream Team that Valentine did 90% of the work and Brutus added little else than punchy-kicky filler work... oh my goodness, am I complimenting something Dino Bravo related?!Kamala & Sika (w/ Mr. Fuji & Kim-Chee) vs. Jerry Allen & Jesse Cortez
Taped for broadcast on the April 18th episode of Superstars. The Wizard (Curtis Iaukea) is gone, so Mr. Fuji has stepped in to take over the contract of the Ugondon Headhunter... and Sika, as well, I guess. Sika has been such a non-factor in 1987 that this feels like a mega-demotion for Kamala more than anything. Sika starts and gives Allen a few shots before raking the eyes. Kamala tags in and Allen tries using shoulder blocks that don't have much effect. Kamala shows off his leapfrog and lands a crescent kick, sending Allen to his corner to tag in Cortez. Kamala doesn't give him anything as our Wild Monsters take turns picking him apart until Kamala finishes with his signature splash at 2:06. Post-match, Kamala teases coming off the top rope, but he's talked down by Fuji and Kim-Chee. I can think of plenty of worse options than putting these guys together as a tag team attraction.Demolition (w/ Mr. Fuji) vs. Paul Roma & Jim Powers
Taped for the April 25th episode. The Fink makes sure to note that Demolition has their new manager, officially closing the chapter where they were poorly paired up with Johnny Valiant. Just TYPING "Demolition with Johnny Valiant" feels like some weird re-booking that doesn't make sense. Also, is this the peak of Mr. Fuji's managerial career? He's got the contracts of Demolition, Kamala, and Sika, and we're knocking on the door of another protege making their debut. Ax starts, sending Powers to the canvas like a scrub. Whip to the ropes and Ax with a clothesline, followed by a slam. Smash with a snap mare and clubbing blows across the chest. Powers counters a back body-drop and tags in Roma. He unloads with some rights but Smash hangs back on a dropkick attempt. Decapitation elbow finishes at 2:26. We're still a few months from establishing Roma and Powers as a semi-legitimate team, but they were geeked here, and Demolition looked good doing it.The Islanders & Sivi Afi vs. "The Natural" Butch Reed, The Iron Sheik, and Nikolai Volkoff (w/ Slick)
Also taped for broadcast on April 25th. This is the closest we have to a "Star vs Star" match, with Sivi Afi's washed corpse filling in a spot so someone can take the loss without too much shenanigans. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan is seated in the front row because HE BOUGHT A TICKET, PAL. Nikolai Volkoff starts singing the Soviet anthem and Duggan hops the rail to cut him off, then proudly waves his ticket around. THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS! Once everything settles down, we have Haku starting with the Iron Sheik. Lockup and Haku with a side headlock, followed by a shoulder block. Crisscross and Haku with a sunset flip for two. Volkoff tags in and the Islanders take turns working the arm. Afi is cut off with a Greco-Roman Eye Rake. Reed shoots him into the ropes and connects with an elbow, followed by a slam. Afi decides he's had enough and tags in Tama, who gets worked over for a moment before bringing in Haku. He runs wild on all three men and makes the mistake of tagging in Afi again. Sheik punts him on a back body-drop attempt and Reed sends him to the canvas with a gorilla press slam for the three-count at 2:55. Post-match, Slick's Army continues putting a hurt on the Island Express until Duggan makes the save. Just a "get out there and do something" match with the babyfaces mostly ignoring whatever heat the heels were attempting to build.What About Wrestling Challenge?...
Taped from the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, AZ. Since Wrestling Challenge is a secondary show for syndication, this section will be much shorter than what we could farm from the Superstars taping, especially when we're taping so far ahead of time and clearly punting. As mentioned earlier, they re-taped some of the Missy's Manor segments that were ultimately scrapped, Hulk Hogan (with BLACKJACK MULLIGAN in his corner) defended the Championship against Harley Race (subbing for King Kong Bundy, and with Andre in his corner) and Tito Santana took on Butch Reed. We have one match to cover that wasn't taped for syndication or other WWF programming...Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat & Billy Jack Haynes vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage (w/ Elizabeth) & Hercules
Featured on the Randy Savage Unreleased DVD. This match has commentary from Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan, so I'll assume it was broadcast internationally. Savage wants nothing to do with Steamboat under fair circumstances, so Hercules starts, asking for a test-of-strength and suggesting Steamboat is Chicken. Steamboat agrees to the challenge and Hercules sends Steamboat to his knees. Steamboat battles back to his feet, only to get thrown to the canvas with a handful of hair. Hercules misses an elbow drop and gets worked over a bit until powdering as soon as Haynes tags in. Savage gets caught in a side headlock and Haynes comes off the ropes with a shoulder block. Hercules with a distraction from the apron, allowing Savage to nail him from behind. Whip to the ropes and Hercules pops Haynes with a clothesline. Haynes blocks a suplex and slam attempt before sending Savage to the canvas with a press slam. Hercules cuts off a tag attempt, dropping knees across the back. Whip to the corner and Haynes pops out with a clothesline. Savage keeps Haynes from his corner, slapping on a front face-lock. He takes a shot at Steamboat and dumps Haynes to the floor, where Hercules greets him with an introduction to the guardrail. Back inside, Haynes surprises Savage with a clothesline and tags in Steamboat. He runs wild on both men with a flurry of chops. Savage reverses a whip to the corner and sends the Dragon over the top rope. Steamboat re-enters with a sunset flip but Savage saves. Whip to the ropes, Steamboat ducks an elbow and hits Savage with a cross body press for a two-count. Haynes with the tag, laying it in on Hercules and sending him to the canvas with a press slam. Heck breaks loose with all four men in the ring. Savage is thrown over the top rope and Haynes grabs a Full Nelson. Savage comes back in with a double axe-handle and referee Jack Kruger calls for the lame Disqualification at 11:52. Solid action with one weak-as-heck finish.The Snake Pit continues to limp along as one of the least interesting interview segments, with promos taped for "The Outlaw" Ron Bass (April 12th episode) and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan (April 26th). With Wrestling Challenge being less of a concern for preservation, I do not have footage of the Ron Bass segment, but the Duggan interview is a total nothing-burger. It always fascinated me how much Vince loved these types of weekly segments and how little of them were worth remembering. Yes, Jake is a great promo, but does that make him a great interview segment host?
If you skipped out on Superstars of Wrestling, the Wrestling Challenge taping cycle mirrors pretty much everything we covered, right down to stuff like showcase matches for the newly established NEW Dream Team, Kamala and Sika, and Demolition. Even the same JTTS crew working the same formula, just mixed around a bit. With how deep the roster was, it feels like they only utilized the same 60% for both tapings, with a real "this stuff doesn't matter" feel to all of it. There's a couple of matches I can find some material to work with, so we'll check them out before we officially wrap things.
The British Bulldogs & Tito Santana vs. Jimmy Jack Funk, Barry O, and The Gladiator
Taped for broadcast on the April 12th episode. Interesting that we're treating the Tito/Bulldogs coalition like it's something we should expect to continue following WrestleMania III, but that will not be the case. Dynamite is not moving very well, so I don't expect him to do much, if anything. Santana starts with Barry O. Santana with a waist-lock and school-boy roll-up. Davey comes off the top rope and works the arm. Whip to the ropes, Davey ducks a clothesline and hits a cross body press for two. Dynamite tags in, hits a headbutt, and tags Santana back in. Jimmy Jack tries his luck and is immediately cut in a headlock. Davey with the delayed vertical suplex. Whip to the ropes and a double elbow connects for a two-count. Jimmy Jack drops Santana across the top rope and the heel side gets a few seconds of shine before the Gladiator proves he's the most inferior of the trio. Davey runs wild, including a DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER. Gladiator takes a butt-ugly bump off a back body-drop and Santana finishes with the flying forearm at 3:59. Yep, Dynamite worked about 8-seconds and never left his corner of the ring.The Islanders vs. The Rougeau Brothers
Taped for the April 26th episode of Wrestling Challenge. It's always interesting to see face vs face matches and if either team is going to turn up the notch to get some heat. The Rougeau Brothers having a house-show program built in with the NEW Dream Team means they're more a priority than the Islanders, but I still don't expect a decisive finish. Haku and Raymond start. They have a friendly feeling out process. Haku counters a waist-lock with an elbow and Raymond responds with a right hand. Whip to the ropes and Ray with a Thesz Press for two. Haku takes Jacques over with an arm drag and the Islanders take turns working the arm. Whip to the ropes and Jacques launches Tama in the air with a monkey-flip. Raymond hops on Haku with a sleeper, but gets thrown like a drunk girl riding a mechanical bull. He hops on Haku's back again, and this time Tama saves, coming off the top with a double axe-handle. Tama with a side slam, followed by a double headbutt. Whip to the ropes. Raymond ducks an elbow and hits Haku with a body press for two. Tama with the cut-off, using a double handful of hair to slam him face-first to the canvas. Jacques gets the tag and lays into Tama with rights. Whip and a dropkick, followed by a knee drop for two. Haku makes the save from an abdominal stretch, and THAT irks Raymond enough to have him chastise Haku for his conduct. It turns into a donnybrook, with all four men brawling at ringside, giving us the predictable Double Count-Out at 6:08. That's almost like going 20-minutes when it came to timing out matches for syndication. The work was fine, though we never built a proper hot tag.Final Thoughts: This was certainly a most forgettable couple of days of taping TV. As far as arena-shot footage is concerned, the most interesting topic over the two days is bringing in Missy Hyatt and the segment failing so spectacularly that the entire concept was scrapped. Everything else is either a holding pattern of pre-existing feuds or some reshuffling of the tag team division, with Mr. Fuji getting quite the workload in the Spring of ‘87. I've been a naughty boy and looked ahead for the next taping period, and thank goodness, we're going to tape for sweeps month, so we'll have plenty to talk about.
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