WWF TV Taping: Anaheim, CA - May 12, 1987
by Scrooge McSuck
I was hoping for more arena shows between tapings, but I don't have enough of the card from the Spectrum that ran on May 9th, so we're back with more television action. We're taping three episodes of Superstars of Wrestling that will carry into the first week of June, as well as other content for stuff like Prime Time Wrestling (or exclusively for the house).
May 23rd, 1987: Vince McMahon, Jesse Ventura, and Bruno Sammartino welcome us to a special Memorial Day Edition of Superstars of Wrestling. The WWF Heavyweight Champion, Hulk Hogan, is scheduled to make an appearance! We throw it to a pre-tape of Okerlund with the Hulkster, and nothing else is advertised for the hour. I guess there's no need, when HULK HOGAN is on the agenda.
"Macho Man" Randy Savage (w/ Elizabeth) vs. Jerry Monti
Savage was a common opener for an episode, and seems to get some positive reactions from the crowd despite still having bad blood for Ricky Steamboat. Fink makes sure to introduce him as "the former" Intercontinental Champion. Savage is surprisingly playing by the rules. Inset promo from Ricky Steamboat saying he's a fighting champion. Savage dumps Monti, comes off the top with the axe-handle, and finishes with the elbow at 1:34.Update: Craig DeGeorge shows us footage of "Superstar" Billy Graham in action from the Fall of 1986. Unfortunately for Graham, his hip is completely destroyed and underwent replacement surgery and is rehabbing to make a return to the ring despite the predictions of the doctors.
Vignette of Killer Khan meditating while Mr. Fuji narrates. Why are we showing these NOW, after he's been wrestling on TV every week for the last month?!
Hillbilly Jim & Outback Jack vs. Dave Barbie & Rudy Ryder
Oh my goodness, don't we have enough bodies that we don't need to dig this deep into the roster depth chart?! Outback is sporting a shaved head, which I want to say was the result of a "rib" (or bullying) from the Dynamite Kid. I hate to say people deserve their misery in life, but Dynamite certainly earned it. Jim and Jack have nothing going on, making it worse, because neither has a reason to be on TV. Barbie is the "star" of his team and gets some offense on Jack before Ryder comes in, looking like a jabroni. Jim lays out Ryder with a big boot, drops an elbow, and Jack finishes with the bulldog at 2:25.Ladies Champion The Fabulous Moolah eats a WWF ice cream bar.
The One Man Gang (w/ Slick) vs. Jesse Cortez
The unadvertised debut of the Gang, recently one of the top heels in the dying days of Bill Watts' UWF (formerly Mid-South). You can immediately pencil him in as a Hogan challenger, and lord knows we need one after conquering Andre and Hogan's left working King Harley on the houses. Gang moves in immediately, clubbing away on Cortez. He takes Cortez over with a suplex and uses the leverage from the second rope to drive Cortez's face into the canvas. Second rope elbow drop finishes at 1:48. Impressive debut.BREAKING NEWS: Bobby Heenan has a new tag team!
Ken Patera vs. The Gladiator
Ken Patera is very much in the middle of a big angle with Bobby Heenan. Billy Jack Haynes cuts an inset promo putting over Patera as a man who is proud to be an American and he paid his dues for his prior transgressions. Nothing fancy as far as the work goes, Patera dominates and finishes with the bearhug at 2:04.The Snake Pit with Bobby Heenan. Heenan is sporting a neck brace and is accompanied to the set by Hercules and King Harley Race. The ex-con Patera is walking around all happy and his time will come soon. Hercules says he's the embodiment of the Gods and Patera is a regular man. Roberts says there's no right or wrong, so you live with the choices you make.
Non-Title Match: Hulk Hogan vs. "Cowboy" Bob Orton (w/ Mr. Fuji)
Wow, we're still trotting Fuji out there with Orton? I'm surprised, I figured with Demolition, Kamala, Sika and Killer Khan, he was overbooked already. It's our once-a-year "Hogan works syndication" match, and at least he has a quality opponent instead. Lockup to the corner and Orton drives a shoulder into the midsection. Hogan fights out of the corner with a series of rights. Whip to the ropes, Orton tries to hang back to avoid a right but Hogan follows up with a clothesline, sending Orton over the top rope and spilling over the guardrail! Back inside, Orton gets hung up in the corner and takes a chest-first bump to the turnbuckle. Hogan with a slam and series of elbow drops. Whip to the ropes and AXE-BOMBER for two. Fuji hops on the apron, buying Orton time to recover and attack from behind. He connects with a back breaker and sends Hogan to the floor, where Fuji greets him with several strikes with the cane. We come back from the commercial, with Orton still in control. Vince really lays it on about Hogan soaking up the power of the vets who made the ultimate sacrifice. Hogan mounts the comeback, sending Orton from corner-to-corner, but Orton cuts him off. The ropes are broken which are definitely affecting Orton's offense. Hogan with the REAL come back. Whip to the corner, big boot and leg drop finishes at 8:16 (shown). This might be the longest syndication match I've ever seen from the WWF (at this point). Good stuff, nothing special, but a real treat compared to the usual stuff you would get on these shows. **½
May 30th, 1987:
Vince McMahon, Jesse Ventura and Bruno Sammartino welcome us and promise us the following; The Can-Am Connection vs The Islanders! Brutus Beefcake! Dino Bravo! The Honkytonk Man! We're also going to see Ricky Steamboat and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan.
The Can-Am Connection vs. The Islanders
Opening with a feature, that's always nice. In recent weeks, the Islanders have had face-v-face matches with the Rougeau Brothers and Killer Bees, showing more aggression with their actions along the way. Martel and Haku start by trading holds and jockeying for position. We cut to an inset promo that is just Tama cackling and Haku standing there like he might rip your nose off. Haku plants Martel with a slam but is caught by surprise with a small package for two. Whip reversed and Martel with a twisting body press for two. Zenk works the arm as Bobby Heenan makes his way to ringside. He's a distraction to the Can-Am Connection, which means only one thing… THE ISLANDERS ARE THE NEWEST MEMBERS OF THE HEENAN FAMILY! Zenk takes a good beating and a diving headbutt from Tama knocks him out on the floor for the count-out at 3:52. More angle than match, and wow is the Heenan Family getting extra large; Bundy, Orndorff, Hercules, Race, and now the Islanders (as well as Andre the Giant waiting in the wings). The Islanders were lost in the shuffle as babyfaces, so this should help them stand out.UPDATE: George "The Animal" Steele tours the factory that manufactures the Ice Cream Bars.
The Honkytonk Man (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. Bill Anderson
Jimmy Hart is still carrying the "Ban the DDT" protest sign to continue a feud with Jake Roberts that isn't doing much business on the houses because Ken Patera is subbing for Jake all over the place. Honky with all his schtick. We get an inset promo of Jimmy Hart encouraging the fans to vote and ban the DDT. Honky finishes with the Shake Rattle ‘N' Roll at 2:45. This one dragged a little longer than necessary.Mr. Fuji and Killer Khan are still putting in the work at the Dojo or Sumo Hall.
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan vs. Iron Mike Sharpe
Duggan's still feuding with the Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff...or so we think! Is Sharpe wearing blue trunks?! That seems out of the ordinary for him at this point. Duggan gives Sharpe about 5-seconds of offense and finishes with his running clothesline at 1:53. This would be Duggan's final televised appearance until late-September. Shortly after this set of tapings, Duggan and the Iron Sheik were arrested for drug possession, with Duggan also booked for driving while intoxicated, and both released from the company. Duggan was able to work his way back into good graces, but Sheik's tenure with the WWF was mostly done (with a pop in here and there) until the Spring of 1991 when he was renamed Col. Mustafa.SPECIAL REPORT: Superstar Billy Graham goes under the knife (with footage shown!) and falls down while rehabbing with his walker. Insert Nelson "HAHA" gif… even though the character didn't exist yet, but who cares.
"The King" Harley Race (w/ Bobby Heenan) vs. Joe Mirto
Despite working regularly against Hogan on the houses, there's no angle, so he's just part of the big picture of Heenan vs. Patera for TV canon. Race with the chin-strap for his crown is certainly a silly look. Race pops Mirto with a knee and plants him with a powerslam. Everything looks awkwardly done, I can't quite explain it. Race with the belly-to-belly suplex and pulls Mirto up at two. Race with headbutts and the fisherman suplex for three at 1:52.The Snake Pit with The One Man Gang and Slick. Jake says a manager's job is to find the best talent he can find, and Slick has gotten himself one of the largest men Jake's ever seen. Slick puts over Gang's move from the second rope (that bulldog-type face buster) and calls it the Master Blaster. It's more devastating than the DDT! Gang starts screaming and name-drops Hulk Hogan. He's going to demolish and destroy!
We're shown the majority of a match between Brutus Beefcake and Dino Bravo from Wrestling Challenge. More on that later.
Outlaw Ron Bass cuts a generic promo, which suggests that Blackjack Mulligan has finally packed his bag and gone back to the dude ranch.
Non-Title Match: Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs. Dusty Wolfe
Steamboat is still our reigning Intercontinental Champion, and still has Randy Savage nipping at his heels, but it feels like his momentum is stalling out. We get an inset promo from Danny Davis talking about Steamboat's "fighting Champion" stuff. Steamboat isn't a good "squash match" worker. His execution and work is fine, but I don't need him milking matches like he's working Mid-Atlantic. Flying chop to the top of the head for three at 3:42.
June 6th, 1987:
Vince, Ventura and Sammartino with us one more time, advertising appearances from Koko B. Ware, Demolition, Ken Patera, Kamala and Sika, Brutus Beefcake and MORE! This definitely reeks of "Week 3" of the taping cycle.
Demolition (w/ Mr. Fuji) vs. Paul Roma & Jim Powers
I swear, we've seen Demolition squash Powers and Roma a handful of times already, and we're not even halfway through 1987! We're still a bit away from Roma and Powers getting a soft push and a team name. We get an inset promo from Powers and Roma, talking up about their previous encounter and asking for this rematch. Powers gets a little shine on Ax, sending him out of the ring with a pair of dropkicks. Cross body press (with an assist from Roma) on Smash for two! They take turns working the arm but Smash cuts off Powers and it's all Demolition. Roma with the tag, running wild briefly before Ax lays him out with a clothesline for three at 2:54. A fun little match. Roma and Powers lost, but got a little shine in defeat.UPDATE: Recap of last week's Islanders vs. Can-Am Connection match. We follow that with a promo from Bobby Heenan and the Islanders. Mostly a generic promo.
Koko B. Ware vs. Tiger Chung Lee
Koko is probably lowest on the depth chart for "name" talent featured. He's working with "Dangerous" Danny on the loop, who is smug and issuing open contracts as a mid-card attraction. Inset promo of Koko shilling the ice cream bar and offering Frankie a bite. The canned reactions are too much for this one. It's Koko vs. TIGER CHUNG LEE. Poor Koko is on the defense way more than he should be. He strings some offense together and finishes with the missile dropkick at 2:30.Kamala & Sika (w/ Mr. Fuji & Kim-Chee) vs. Sivi Afi & Don Adams
Like Demolition, Kamala and Sika are just filling out the ranks with no feud on the horizon. Sivi Afi is STILL THERE. Sivi is moving at half-speed at best with Kamala no-selling everything he tries. Adams doesn't have any luck and quickly put away with the Samoan drop and big splash combo at 1:15. Post-match, Kamala is talked down from coming off the top with another splash. BOO!SPECIAL REPORT: Week 3 of the Superstar Billy Graham comeback story, with more graphic footage of his surgery! HURRAY FOR LUNCH TIME!
Ken Patera vs. Jimmy Jack Funk
(checks notes) We're getting TWO Ken Patera matches out of three weeks of taping? We are truly blessed. You've seen one Patera squash, you've seen them all (though Jimmy Jack gets a little bit of offense). Patera finishes with the bearhug at 2:39. This match also had the honors of being featured on the home video "The Ken Patera Story."The Snake Pit with... OUTBACK JACK?! The crowd boos too. I'm surprised they left that in instead of dubbing it in post. Jack with an absolute nothing-burger of an interview. Apparently, the crocodile on the back of his vest was named Irving, and he can't say anything bad about people like Bobby Heenan because he's never mixed it up with him. Woof. This was somehow worse than a Salvatore Bellomo promo. Sources reveal that this was originally taped as an appearance from Slick's army, including the Iron Sheik, but was pulled for reasons we went over earlier.
Tito Santana & Billy Jack Haynes vs. Terry Gibbs & The Raider
It's our traditional "throw some stars together as a team to get them on a show" match. Billy Jack is still feuding with Hercules, and Tito is working the loop with Butch Reed, though that feud has cooled considerably. Ventura questions if the Raider is "Al Davis under a mask." Standard work. Haynes gets the Raider to submit to the Full Nelson at 1:43.Killer Khan is still training. Mr. Fuji is getting way too much screen time this week.
Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake vs. Tim Patterson
With Adrian Adonis' sudden departure, Beefcake is stuck in a weird holding pattern where he isn't quite feuding with the New Dream Team (they're working with the Rougeau Brothers), and the matches with Johnny Valiant are one-sided acts of humiliation with no meat to the bone. Nothing impressive about a Beefcake squash match; he's rough around the edges with every move and things drag. Sleeper finishes at 2:40 and Patterson gets a light trim post-match.We wrap up the final episode of the taping with pre-tapes from Ricky Steamboat and the Honkytonk Man hyping up their match next week on Superstars. OH???
BONUS CONTENT: With three episodes of Superstars of Wrestling covered, we'll take a look at content taped for other programming, as well as anything worth mentioning from the Wrestling Challenge taping that took place on May 13th from San Diego, CA.
Tito Santana vs. "The Natural" Butch Reed (w/ Slick)
Taped from Anaheim for broadcast on the May 25th episode of Prime Time Wrestling. The Dream Trio of Craig DeGeorge, Jesse Ventura and Bruno Sammartino are calling the action. Lockup to the ropes and referee Kruger has to get between them. Santana avoids a cheap shot in the ropes and unloads with rights, sending Reed to the floor. Crowd with a loud "Tito" chant to frustrate "The Natural". Santana hangs on after a cheap shot and forearm strikes to unload with a pair of dropkicks, knocking Reed over the top rope. DeGeorge is GOD AWFUL at play-by-play, for those curious. Reed plays "hide the gimmick", teasing a loaded fist. He finally pops Tito while the referee is out of position to take control. Lots of choking and short right hands from Reed. Tito teases a comeback but Reed cuts him off by grabbing the tights and sending him through the ropes. Reed follows, sending Tito into the guardrail and hitting the taunt button. Santana counters a suplex, landing on top of Reed for a two-count, but Reed remains the aggressor. Tito with elbows to the midsection to break the chin-lock. Santana puts Reed down with a shoulder block, but a second move off the ropes is countered with a high knee. Reed with a piledriver for two. Santana counters a second attempt and nails Reed coming off the second turnbuckle. Tito stomps away and mounts Reed with a flurry of right hands for two. Tito with the Figure Four applied but Reed gets to the ropes to force the break. Reed fights off a second try for the hold and unloads with rights as the bell rings at 18:10. Reed continues dishing it out despite the referee's attempts to break it up, but Tito is standing tall after clearing Reed from the ring with the flying forearm. Oh, and it's a TIME LIMIT DRAW. Possibly the best singles match Butch Reed had in the WWF. I'm surprised they went this hard for a TV taping. ***The Anaheim taping doesn't feature much else. There's a Main Event for the live audience of Hulk Hogan defending the Championship against Harley Race, and prelim matches featuring Sam Houston defeating Steve Lombardi and Tom Magee going over THE MAGNIFICENT MURACO. Moving over to the San Diego taping, we have a few matches taped for International TV that are not available to me at the time of this writing; Danny Davis pinning Tito Santana (after the use of a foreign object) and The Shadow pinning Paul Roma. Sam Houston got another look, going over Terry Gibbs, and a couple of matches taped for All-American and Prime Time that were just extended squashes.
Cpl. Kirchner & Sivi Afi vs. The Magnificent Muraco & "Cowboy" Bob Orton (w/ Mr. Fuji)
Taped for broadcast on the June 17th episode of Prime Time Wrestling. I was tempted to just list Kirchner and Afi as "The Replacements" but that joke was already beaten into the ground in Quarter 1 of 1986. Muraco and Afi start. Lockup into the corner and Afi manages to knock Orton and Muraco into each other. Afi no-sells being rammed head-first into the turnbuckle and the Temu Express take turns working the arm of the Ace. Orton with a leverage move, sending Kirchner to the floor for Muraco to whack with Fuji's cane. Back inside, Kirchner blocks a suplex and counters with his own. Afi runs wild for about 10-seconds before running into a boot. Muraco with a swinging neck breaker while Heenan and Monsoon nod-off on commentary. Kirchner with a clothesline and dropkick, knocking Muraco into his corner. Orton shrugs off a headbutt and connects with an inverted atomic drop. Combo flying clothesline and back suplex for a near-fall. Kirchner brings up the knees on a splash attempt and Afi with the cold tag. He hits Muraco with a series of headbutts, but Muraco cuts him off with a powerslam and finishes with the reverse piledriver at 7:19. Afi and Kirchner couldn't get anything going out there, poor execution and the crowd didn't buy into them at any point. ½*Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake vs. Dino Bravo (w/ Johnny V)
Taped for broadcast on the May 24th episode of Wrestling Challenge, and our only match from the three episodes we'll be covering. SWEEPS MONTH IS OVER, BABY. Beefcake's look improved immensely when he ditched the generic barber's jacket for his more outrageous pre-match attire. Lockup to the ropes, Barber blocks a cheap shot and returns fire. Beefcake with an atomic drop, hip toss and slam, sending Bravo to the floor to rethink his strategy. Back inside, Bravo with a blatant yank of the hair. Whip to the ropes, Bravo with a boot to the midsection and a gut-wrench suplex. He plants Beefcake with a slam and comes off the ropes with an elbow. SIDE SLAM AND A BEAUTY! The Rougeau Brothers cut an inset promo as Beefcake starts his comeback. Valiant hops on the apron and gets popped for his troubles. Sleeper applied on Bravo, but Valentine runs in for the DQ at 3:51. The NEW Dream Team puts a beating on Beefcake until Jacques and Raymond make the save. Not the unwatchable mess you would expect from two guys like Beefer and Bravo.Final Thoughts: Not much of a taping for Superstars after a beefy month of Sweeps content. The One Man Gang is the new big heel that is already gunning for Hulk Hogan, and hey, Hulk Hogan wrestled on Superstars, which is always worth checking out just for the rarity of Hogan working TV. The Islanders turning heel and siding with Bobby Heenan was our big heat moment, and the rest of the three weeks worth of TV was standard filler, and the less said about what was taped for Wrestling Challenge, the better.
Sound Off!
Comment about this article on Da' Wrestling Boards!