WWF at The Boston Garden
August 15, 1987
by Scrooge McSuck
With another batch of TV tapings in the books, time to take a look at more of the regional sports network coverage, and we've got quite a few shows in the next two weeks to blast through. The WWF ran Boston and the Spectrum on this day, and with different cards, so that should be fun. The WWF ran a double shot in Ft. Wayne, IN and Springfield, IL with Hulk Hogan defending against Randy Savage on top, with Killer Bees vs Demolition, George Steele vs Danny Davis, JYD vs Harley Race, and Roma & Powers vs Shadows as far as TV names featured. Also on the lineup sheet... DAVID SAMMARTINO IS BACK!
Lord Alfred Hayes is our main man on play-by-play, and he'll be joined throughout the night by the heel managers on the card; Johnny Valiant, Jimmy Hart, and Slick. I can't say I'm looking forward to any of them, but I just sat through a bunch of matches with Don Muraco, Jake Roberts and Lanny Poffo calling action together, so I'm prepared for the worst.
The Dingo Warrior vs. Barry Horowitz:
Welcome to the world outside of the C-loop, Mr. Dingo Warrior. Introduced from Queens, NY, The Dingo Warrior doesn't have music, he doesn't run to the ring, he's just a physically impressive specimen with face paint. Lockup and Warrior sends Horowitz crashing into the turnbuckle. Barry tries the top wrist-lock and that doesn't work out for him. Whip and Warrior sends him through the ropes with a shoulder block. You know you have watched WAY TOO MUCH mid 80's WWF when you recognize the match move-for-move from other guys doing the same thing (Terry Gibbs vs Ted Arcidi being one example). Warrior misses a dive into the corner, finally giving Horowitz an opening to get it going on offense. Warrior rallies, throwing a wind-up clothesline and jogging in place. Whip to the ropes, Warrior with the gorilla press slam and splash for the finish at 6:11. Horowitz did everything he could to make Warrior look like a million bucks, and Warrior, while limited, did his part as well as you could hope here. **"Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff vs. Nikolai Volkoff (w/ Slick):
Interestingly, in TV canon, Orndorff has yet to turn on Bobby Heenan (that episode of Superstars to broadcast the following weekend). I can never get myself hyped to watch a Nikolai Volkoff match, so hopefully we'll keep this one at a reasonable prelim length. Volkoff attacks Orndorff from behind with the flag pole and the referee is cool with it. Looks like Freddie Sparta and Mark Yeaton are our referees for the night. Orndorff fights out of the corner with right hands and comes off the ropes with a running knee lift. Watching Volkoff work is a real throwback to a bygone era (and I mean by the standards of 1987, not present day), and his "bumping" is beyond cringe. Volkoff with an odd stack-up and Orndorff with an ugly counter. Volkoff somehow salvages and turns it into a Boston Crab, but Orndorff counters that as well. Orndorff finally gets the big comeback going but Volkoff can't bother to sell for longer than 20-seconds at a time. Volkoff misses a charge, Orndorff off the top with an elbow, and a running clothesline finishes at 9:21. This was like watching a man carrying an air-conditioner up a flight of steps. ½*
Sivi Afi vs. "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase (w/ Virgil):
It amazes me to see Afi is still working the house show loop... and he sticks around in this role through the end of the year! I guess when you need bodies for three different touring lineups, you keep something extra around. Dibiase's push is still very fresh, so the ring isn't littered with trash. Lockup to the ropes and Dibiase gives a clean break! He's not as sportsmanlike on the second verse. Dibiase with repeated yanks of the hair and a pair of arm drags, completely outclassing Afi. Afi surprises Dibiase with a cross body, but is quickly cut off with a clothesline. Afi escapes a chin-lock and gets a rally going, but Dibiase catches him off the ropes with a powerslam and finishes with the Cobra Clutch leg sweep at 6:29. Post-match, Dibiase addresses the crowd that he was thinking of not bothering to show up, but he didn't want to disappoint people anticipating being witness to his greatness, then pays a woman to get in the ring and kiss his feet. A completely one-sided romp and exactly what it needed to be. **
Elimination Tag Team Match:
Bruno Sammartino, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and Tito Santana vs. The Honkytonk Man and The Hart Foundation (w/ Jimmy Hart):
What a random assortment of babyfaces for this match, and one of (if not the last) of the six-man tag team elimination attractions we would see before introducing the Survivor Series for November. We tease starting with Bruno and Honky, but wind up with Santana and Bret. Lockup to the ropes and Santana with the clean break. Bret doesn't show the same respect, pounding the midsection. Whip across the ring and Tito brings up a boot. Jake works the arm in a very rare Jake vs. Bret scenario. We tease the DDT, but Bret powders. Things settle down and Neidhart comes in, powering Roberts to the canvas with a test-of-strength. The heel squad takes turns working over Roberts, with Honky finally willing to get involved in the action. Jake counters a back body-drop with a knee lift and Honky charges chest-first into the turnbuckle. Jake doesn't go for a tag and instead unloads on Honky with his signature jabs and the short-arm clothesline. Honky blocks a DDT and a shoulder block sends Roberts to the floor. Jake wastes time going after Jimmy Hart, gets whacked with the megaphone, and counted-out at 9:52. Can't blame anyone but himself for that.
Bruno again wants some of Honky, who is comfortably hiding in his corner, flanked by the Hitman and the Anvil. Bruno goes for it and the plan works out as designed, despite the best efforts of Santana to prevent it. The trio take turns getting free shots on the Living Legend, taking advantage of their numbers to keep the referee distracted for some extra punishment. Neidhart charges into the corner and meets the buckle, allowing Bruno to get to his corner and bring in Santana. He runs wild, hitting Bret with a cross body press, but Neidhart saves. Heck breaks loose, with Bruno taking Honky to the floor. The Foundation tries to double-up Tito, but Bruno picks the ankle of Neidhart and Santana hits Bret with the flying forearm, eliminating him at 13:56.
Neidhart has the straps down as he goes to work on Santana. Tito fights to get to his corner, but Honky hangs on to the boot for dear life. Santana avoids an elbow from Neidhart and calls for the forearm, but Jimmy trips him up and Neidhart covers to eliminate Santana at 16:55. Bruno fights off an attempted double-team, laying it in with right hands. Honky goes for the legs to slow him down and keeps him on the canvas with a series of knee strikes. Jimmy again gets involved, accidentally bonks Neidhart with the megaphone, and Bruno covers for three at 19:47, leaving Bruno and Honky to battle it out. Honky puts the pressure on Bruno in the corner with mounted rights. Bruno sends Honky to the ropes, crisscrossing until landing a knee to the face, and Bruno is the last man standing at 21:19 with the clean fall over the Intercontinental Champion. A fun match from bell-to-bell with a hot crowd and some unique match-ups, and outside of Jake, everyone takes a pin (including Honky going clean), even if there's shenanigans connected to several of them. ***½
Brady Boone vs. Iron Mike Sharpe:
It's our coming-out-of-intermission prelim special. The more I'm watching, the more I don't want to watch Boone do his flip-a-dip stuff when he's working with guys that have a complete clash of styles, and considering the era, that's 80% of the heel locker room. Lockup and Sharpe sends Boone into the corner, very loudly, I might add. Sharpe misses a charge to the corner and Boone does the flip-a-dip routine before sending Sharpe out of the ring following a series of arm drags. I wonder if Boone is one of Vince's many attempts to find a "Mighty Mouse." He's short, but has a solid physique, but he's short and short is bad. It's very back-and-forth for a decent stretch, though Sharpe's strength advantage comes off as more important than Boone's pluckyness. Boone gets the late rally going with a series of kicks and a dropkick for two. Sharpe digs into his tights, loads the forearm brace, and covers Boone for three at 9:39. Wow, not much to say when you're doing jobs for Mike Sharpe and you aren't a relic of the pre-Expansion era like an S.D. Jones. *
Hillbilly Jim (w/ Little Beaver) vs. The One Man Gang (w/ Slick):
This is quite the interesting attraction, and we have LITTLE BEAVER at ringside! Hillbilly Jim mostly exists outside the syndication canon, which means random nonsense like this. Beaver comes out in full gear and strips down to his trunks like he's going to be wrestling. It doesn't take long for the comedy to begin, as Beaver bites Slick on his bottom and struts around while wearing his hat. Lockup and both men show off their strength. Jim stands firm on a pair of shoulder blocks and stuns the Gang with a big boot. Beaver is allowed to hang out on the apron for whatever reason... and we soon find out it's for him to interfere in clear view of the referee. It's going to be one of THOSE matches. Beaver whacks Gang with his shoe again, and Gang over-sells like he's doing a bad Dusty Rhodes impression. There is nothing happening and I keep checking the clock. Slick starts getting his shots in which only seems fair considering Beaver's excessive interference. Jim manages to trip up the Gang and Beaver splashes him... and THE REFEREE COUNTS. Jesus. Gang is going to challenge Hulk Hogan in major markets and they're doing THIS with him? Gang ends up taking the count-out loss at 12:46, but gets the last laugh by turning Beaver into a pancake. Good. Only positive part of the match. ¼*The Rougeau Brothers vs. Dino Bravo & Johnny Valiant:
Our final match of the night, and wow, Bravo and Valiant? What did I do in another life to deserve that?! Spoilers: Greg Valentine is working at the Spectrum. I won't say against who, but you can probably figure it out based on other results from this period. Jacques gets on the house mic and taunts Valiant about his hair. He surprises Johnny with a roll-up and sends the goof out of the ring with a dropkick. In 2-minutes, Valiant immediately made himself the least appealing performer of the night, he's just awful. Bravo tries his luck and gets hit with a cross body press. Bravo with the cut-off, hitting Jacques with an inverted atomic drop. Valiant and Bravo keep Jacques isolated as I contemplate hitting fast forward. Bravo with a gut-wrench suplex and leg drop and this crowd does not care for this one. Jacques avoids an elbow and brings in Raymond, who gets to run wild on Valiant. I guess bumping around is a positive, it keeps him from being too stupid. Bravo accidentally hits Johnny with a leg drop on a botched save and Raymond covers for three at 8:28. YIKES. It was kept under 10-minutes, there's the positive. ½*Final Thoughts: Well, this show went off the rails after intermission, but I was having a good time through the first half, with a satisfactory main event in that six-man tag team elimination. They weren't classics, but watching Ted Dibiase and The Warrior getting their starts in the WWF was a fun time, as well. If anything, I'd check out that tag, and then you can cherry pick the rest based on what you're interested in. Heck, maybe you'll find the Little Beaver shenanigans amusing.
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