WWF TV Taping: East Rutherford, NJ - January 5, 1987
by Scrooge McSuck
Taped from the Meadowlands Arena, we're doing something a little differently today. The night of World Wrestling Federation action on this date was a taping for their syndicated program, Superstars of Wrestling (three weeks worth, covering the January 17th, 24th, and 31st episodes for the 99% of markets who had Superstars on Saturday). Instead of covering each week of TV, I thought of experimenting with the formula and compiling all of what was taped on that day, not just for Superstars, but for other broadcast and home video purposes. We'll break things down into different sections: Feature matches, storyline driven moments/squashes, the interview segments, and other goodies, as we'll soon discover.
Let's Get Ready for Prime Time (and other Stories)...
Throughout every TV taping, the live crowd will be treated to matches that are either specifically for them ("dark" matches), or taped for later use, either for home video distribution via Coliseum Home Video (or years later when WWE unearthed content when never-before-seen footage was of interest), or for their non-canon programming, typically Prime TIme Wrestling. Some content would be broadcast on shows like All-American Wrestling, or specific markets, though that last one was much more rare than any other example used.
Billy Jack Haynes vs. "King" Harley Race (w/ Bobby Heenan)
Featured on the January 14th episode of Prime Time Wrestling. Both men have the wheels in motion for feuds that will bring them to WrestleMania III. I find it weird that they left in Fink's introduction that this was the opening event of the evening. Haynes is already in the ring while Race gets an entrance like a real star. Before the match, Heenan demands everyone get on one knee and show respect to the King of Professional Wrestling. Lockup to the ropes and Race pops Haynes in the face with a headbutt. Race with a shoulder block and Haynes pops right up, taking Race over with a back body-drop. Haynes grabs a side headlock and CRANKS IT UP. Race sends Haynes to the ropes to break and hits a high knee. Haynes avoids a headbutt, plants Race with a slam, and takes him over with a side headlock. Race forces a break in the corner and buries several shoulders to the midsection. Whip and Race catches Haynes off guard with a swinging neck breaker. Haynes takes a tumble out of the ring, and lands awkwardly on the steps. Race brings the fight to the floor, sending Haynes to the post. Haynes counters a piledriver, dumping Race on the arena floor. Haynes has Race take a comical bump from the apron into the ring, but Race cuts him off, targeting the back. Haynes reverses a whip to the corner and Race takes his signature bump to the outside. Haynes unloads with boots and right hands. Race shrugs him off with a headbutt, but he takes too long climbing the ropes and gets slammed down. Haynes with a press slam and the Full Nelson, but Heenan runs in for the disqualification at 9:15. Haynes tries putting the hold on Heenan, but Race saves. Fine match with some decent action, but a lame finish. Expect more of that. **½Sivi Afi vs. Frenchie Martin
Also featured on January 14th's Prime Time. Yes, SIVI AI vs FRENCHIE MARTIN. People paid good money to get this as one of the longest matches of the night. Aifi is just a prelim geek after he quickly flamed out as a knockoff Superfly Jimmy Snuka. Martin came aboard in the Fall of ‘86, scooped from Lutte International around the same time as Dino Bravo, Rick Martel, and Tom Zenk, but he's strictly enhancement talent at this point. Lockup into the ropes, Martin takes a cheap shot and Afi fires back. Martin grabs a side headlock and comes off the ropes with a shoulder block. Crisscross and Sivi Afi takes Martin over with a monkey-flip. Martin tries targeting the head, and that doesn't have much effect. Martin hides in the ropes and thumbs Afi in the eye. Whip is reversed and Afi with a hip toss, followed by an arm drag into the arm bar. Martin escapes and repeatedly jams a thumb into the throat. Afi fights out of a nerve hold, but runs into an elbow. The crowd doesn't seem too interested. Afi with the comeback and he has Martin begging off. The crowd FINALLY wakes up as Afi plays to them before dropping a headbutt across the "lower-abdomen". Martin side-steps a charge, sending Afi through the ropes. Afi drives a shoulder into the midsection and comes in with a sunset flip for three at 6:35. I didn't expect much from this, and they delivered on those expectations. ½*New (and Familiar) Faces 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. Unfortunately, this taping only has one for the live audience (another talent is featured every week via vignette, but that's cheating, so we'll cover that person at a later date), but lucky for us, that one is a pretty big one that's worth going into detail.
Demolition (w/ Johnny Valiant) vs. Salvatore Bellomo & Mario Mancini
Featured on the January 17th episode. It seemed like a 50/50 chance new characters/wrestlers would get introductory vignettes, but Demolition are just thrown out there with zero hype, looking like a poor man's Road Warriors and the only reaction they get seems to be of disappointment when they reveal their faces. Demolition consists of Ax and Smash. Ax is Bill Eadie, having ditched the Super Machine character now that the entire "Andre is suspended" saga is over, while Smash is Randy Colley, formerly known as Moondon Rex. Just to squash it now, Colley only made two TV appearances under the paint, this match and the Challenge debut taped the following night. Don't worry, Colley would find more work throughout 1987, but we'll cover that in due time. The paint job on both men is horrendous, just random patterns, not to mention the weird hair colors and glitter all over the place. As a first impression, I'm shocked they were used at future tapings (Eadie's connections probably the only saving grace for the gimmick). Ax starts, working Bellomo over. Mancini tries his luck and he's not doing much better. Smash repeatedly slams Mancini face-first into the canvas before dumping him to the outside. Back inside, Smash sends Mancini to the ropes and hits a double axe-handle across the chest. Ax tags back in and they finish with the combo back-breaker and flying elbow at 2:25. Not much to get excited about. Weird for them to put JOHNNY VALIANT with these guys. We'll ignore he's already managing a team, but focus simply on how there's nothing about him or the team that feels like they belong together. Valiant is this loud, obnoxious clown, and Demolition is some Mad Max cosplayers.
In The Pit with Roddy Piper...
It's Superstars of Wrestling, so that means Piper's Pit is the weekly talk show for the time being. More often than not, the show rarely has a connecting thread from one week to the next, but this time around, all three Pit's recorded tied together, setting up a pay-off for the following taping cycle.January 17th: There's a giant trophy on the set. Piper introduces us to the President of the WWF, Jack Tunney, for today's special presentation. Tunney says it's to honor a special man on a special occasion. Tunney reads what is on the plaque, putting over Hulk Hogan for the third anniversary of his reign as the WWF Champion, and how much he's meant to the fans around the world. Hogan comes out, and doesn't seem to be at a loss for words. He puts over the training, saying the prayers, and eating the vitamins. Suddenly, Andre the Giant shows up, or as Roddy Piper introduces him, "Hulk Hogan's Best Friend." Andre says "three years to be a Champion is a long time", offers a very firm handshake, and walks off. Hogan has an uneasy look on his face, but only for a brief moment.
January 24th: Once again, the set of Piper's Pit has a trophy present. While still of decent size, it's not nearly as large as the one that was awarded to Hulk Hogan on the previous Piper's Pit. Also like last week, Jack Tunney is brought out for the presentation. This time the award is to honor "the all-time greatest athlete in the history of wrestling." This man is also the only undefeated man in the history of wrestling, the one-and-only ANDRE THE GIANT. Andre only has one thing to say… but before he can get that out, Hulk Hogan rushes out to put Andre over as the greatest athlete and role model. Andre glances at Hogan, takes a long look at the trophy, and puts it back down before making his exit. Hmm... things seem to be a little off with Andre lately.
January 31st: Oh come on, are we doing MORE trophy presentations? Nevermind, they have the trophies awarded to Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant side-by-side, just in case anyone missed that they're not of comparable size. Today's guest has been stirring up a lot of controversy over the awards. Jesse "The Body" Ventura, the Mike Wallace of professional wrestling, comes out to tell it like it is. Ventura says he isn't stirring up anything. He addresses the reinstatement of Andre the Giant. Andre wasn't at it, but Bobby Heenan was. He went out and found out what is coming down. Piper presses for answers, but Ventura isn't quite ready to reveal that knowledge. It's worse than Watergate and calls it the crown jewel. Ventura points out the size difference in the trophies. Andre gets the smaller trophy for 15 years of being undefeated compared to Hogan's 3-years as the WWF Champion. "Believe me, he has ducked some people." Piper has fought both men and neither has ducked anyone. Ventura says they can settle this by stepping in the ring, or we get Hogan and Andre out here for a discussion. Ventura promises to deliver Andre the Giant if Roddy Piper can deliver Hulk Hogan.
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.
Ricky Steamboat returns from injury, squashing Barry O. I was surprised to see that Steamboat was off the road for a solid 5-6 weeks to sell the angle that aired on the November 22nd episode of Superstars. Of course, the angle was taped 3-4 weeks ahead of time, but Steamboat kept working until a week or so before the episode broadcast. Steamboat also appeared on the January 3rd Saturday Night's Main Event, as a surprise in the corner of George Steele, who was wrestling Steamboat's rival, Randy Savage, for what felt like the 87th time for a TV audience (that includes regional network coverage, of course).
Following a squash match, Hercules and Bobby Heenan issued a challenge to Billy Jack Haynes to try and break Hercules' Full Nelson. Haynes obliges, willing to let Hercules put him in the hold. Heenan is his usual antagonistic self, distracting Haynes long enough for Hercules to jump him from behind for a quick beatdown before putting the weakened Haynes in the Full Nelson. It's Haynes' fault for believing everything would be on the up and up.
The saga of referee Danny Davis continues... The Killer Bees fought the thrown-together team of Iron Mike Sharpe and Terry Gibbs and controlled most of the action, but during the match, Davis refused to count a pin attempt from the masked Bees, falsely accusing them of doing an illegal switch-a-roo when there hadn't been. The match drags a little longer and the frustrated Bees eventually win after having ditched their masks. If you thought this was it for Danny Davis at the taping, just wait a little bit. He's ALL OVER THIS TAPING.
While Jacques and Raymond Rougeau have their match against a duo of enhancement talent, newcomer Dino Bravo makes his presence known before joining the FRENCH commentary. Are we sowing the seeds of a feud between all the guys from Quebec? Time will tell!
In the "they did this for a reason?" department, we got a short spot between matches where Steve Lombardi, getting ready for his scheduled match, assaulted a defeated Paul Roma and threw him out of the ring. For the next 2-3 weeks on the house show loop, Roma vs Lombardi would be regularly featured in the preliminary matches.
Lastly, here's the Superstars who were in action that for whatever reason weren't used as a feature, part of any storyline advancement. It's a short list, and quite impressive how many of them are in that weird transition: Kamala (still doing some houses with Hogan, but clearly Hogan has bigger fish to fry with WrestleMania III announced and fast approaching), Paul Orndorff (another Hogan casualty, having wrestled Hogan regularly for the last 5-months), Jake Roberts (working houses with King Kong Bundy, but no major angle taped on syndication), Adrian Adonis (in the middle of a huge program with Piper, who spent all the taping hyping up the tension between Andre and Hogan on his Pit segments), and Koko B. Ware... well, one of those names is not like the others.
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.
The Can-Am Connection vs. The Magnificent Muraco & Bob Orton (w/ Mr. Fuji)
From the January 24th episode. The Can Am Connection (Rick Martel and Tom Zenk) made their TV debut in November of ‘86, but only worked a handful of matches since then, so they're still very new to the audience (Martel previously worked for the company, pre-National expansion, but most fans at this time probably weren't familiar with any of that). Muraco and Orton went from being Adrian Adonis' heavy/accomplice in his feud with Piper to guys hanging around the mid-card with little direction in the span of about two-months. All four men brawl before the bell can ring. Oh look, DANNY DAVIS is the referee! Fuji takes a shot at Zenk with the cane on the floor. Martel takes Orton over with a hip toss, followed by a hurricanrana for a two-count. Orton gets lost looking for his corner and gets whacked around before tagging in Muraco. Zenk surprises him with an O'Connor Roll, but Davis doesn't count, nor does he attempt to make Zenk and Martel switch out. Zenk reverses a whip to the corner and takes Muraco down with a flying head-scissors. He tries again and Orton assists in blocking the attempt. Muraco and Orton dominate, dumping Martel and hitting Zenk with a double-clothesline. Martel trips Muraco up from the outside and Zenk hits Orton with a dropkick. Heck breaks loose with all four men in the ring and Davis throws the match out at the 4:00 mark as the Can-Am Connection clears the ring with dropkicks.The Hart Foundation (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. Tony Garea & Scott McGhee
From January 24th. OKAY, I KNOW, this is a stretch, but throw me a bone. Tony Garea is a former 5-time Tag Team Champion and on his last legs as an in-ring worker, and Scott McGhee was a regular on the regional cards, but rarely used on TV. The Foundation won the titles at the last taping of 1986, so see, we do have a reason to highlight this match! Oh look, DANNY DAVIS is the referee again! No wonder he's being so difficult, the man is clearly overworked. Bret and McGhee start. Lockup and Bret grabs a side headlock. Crisscross and McGhee with a hip toss, followed by a pair of arm drags. Garea tags in and has the eyes raked. GOOD JOB, TONY. Neidhart pounds away with forearms across the back. Bret gets an extensive choke on Garea as Davis jerks around with Neidhart. Garea manages to sneak out and avoid doing the job. McGhee gets about 10-seconds of offense before Bret catches him in mid-air and connects with a back breaker. Neidhart with a sling-shot splash, pulling McGhee up at two. Hart Attack finishes McGhee at 2:43. Perfectly fine action for the rush-job this was.Blackjack Mulligan, Mike Rotundo and Danny Spivey vs. Ron Bass, Jimmy Jack Funk, and The Gladiator
One more from January 24t...what? Fine, I'll be a little more strict with the feature presentation, but COME ON, LOOK AT THIS! How am I going to pass up something this ridiculous for a random Six-Man Tag Team Match?! Fink actually introduces Spivey and Rotundo as the U.S. Express. I say that a bit surprised because there's been zero consistency with it. Sometimes they're that, sometimes the American Express, and sometimes nothing. Mulligan's repackage from the Machines took shape a little sooner than Eadie's, and boy is this man beyond washed at this point in history. I wonder which one of the heels is taking the loss in this match. Spivey and Jimmy Jack start. They trade wrist-locks and Funk rakes the eyes. Whip to the ropes, Spivey ducks a clothesline and tosses Funk with a press slam. Rotundo comes off the top with an elbow and knocks Funk into his corner, allowing Bass to tag in. Rotundo charges into the corner and gets knocked to the canvas with a shoulder block. Whip and Bass buries a knee to the midsection. Based on an inset promo, it feels like Bass vs Mulligan is a program we should look forward to on the house show loop. Funk and Bass take turns working over Rotundo. Rotundo stuns Funk with a dropkick, leading to a tag to the Gladiator. Mulligan unloads with rights and the diving elbow puts him away at 3:35. Well, when it was The U.S. Express 2.0 vs Bass and Jimmy Jack, it was fine stuff. Then we got Mulligan doing 15-seconds of work, which is about what he was capable of on the house shows.Tito Santana & Pedro Morales vs. The Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff (w/ Slick)
Featured on the January 31st episode of Superstars. Yes, Morales is still kicking around the prelims, though he rarely puts anyone over when doing jobs (if you know, you know). Santana has fallen on hard times since losing the Intercontinental Title early in 1986. Sheik and Volkoff were getting a renewed push, and seemed to be groomed to challenge the Bulldogs for the Tag Titles. It's easy to forget two of these men are former holders of the WWF Heavyweight Championship. Santana and Morales interrupt the Soviet anthem and clean house. Morales and Volkoff start officially, and woof, I'm so glad they'll probably do like 30-seconds of nothing before tagging out. Morales throws left hands and Volkoff doesn't bump. I just called whatever match they might have. Santana with a dropkick, and Volkoff takes his one bump of the match. Sheik with a knee to the back to turn things around for the Foreign Fanatics. Whip and Sheik with a clothesline for two. Santana blocks a suplex and takes Sheik over with one of his own. Morales with the hot tag, throwing left hands. SHOCKER. Morales with a back breaker but Volkoff saves. Heck breaks loose with everyone in the ring. Slick whacks Santana with the cane and it's a cheap disqualification at 3:14. Afterwards, Santana chases Slick into the ring and plants him with a slam. THE NATURAL Butch Reed comes out looking steamed at Santana manhandling his manager.Haku vs. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine (w/ Johnny Valiant)
Another from the January 31st episode, and hey, I'm not reaching this time! We actually got TWO matches of stars vs stars on the same episode! Take a shot, the referee is Danny Davis. Lockup into the corner and Valentine unloads with chops. Haku no-sells elbows and returns fire. Whip to the ropes and Haku with a dropkick. Brutus Beefcake has made his way to ringside. Haku with a slam and jumping elbow drop. They trade forearms, with Haku getting the better of the exchange. Tama is now at ringside as well. Valentine whacks Haku with a short-clothesline and drops a forearm across the back of the neck. Haku blocks the Figure-Four, sending Valentine into the corner. Haku tosses Valentine to the outside, where he's met by a friendly camp. Haku brings him in with a suplex, but Beefcake and Valiant sweep the leg in clear view of the referee. Valentine takes advantage of the distracted Haku and works the leg. Tama picks the leg of Valentine, and this time Davis calls for the bell at 3:04, awarding the match to Valentine by disqualification (take another shot). Just sitting through the content of this ONE taping and I'm already sick of biased referee Danny Davis and all the shenanigans that go along with it.Three Hours Later, It's The MAIN EVENT... After sitting through all that was taped for Superstars of Wrestling and Prime Time Wrestling, the crowd gets their advertised Main Event. Lucky for them, it's got the star power and isn't a rush-job that makes you feel ripped off.
Hulk Hogan & Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage (w/ Elizabeth) & The Honkytonk Man (w/ Jimmy Hart)
This would later surface for us Americans on the Randy Savage Unreleased Matches DVD set (and also available to overseas audiences as part of International Wrestling Challenge), but I'll give it a fresh look. The faces come out together to Hulk Hogan's "Real American", robbing us of some Alan Parsons Project (the version I'm watching is the TV edit, not the home video version). Savage tosses a chair in the ring and the referee goes down. Steamboat whips Honky into the boot of Hogan and lays into him with chops. Savage tries a sneak attack, but bails as soon as Steamboat turns around. Steamboat offers Honky's hand, but Savage won't tag. Honky eats another boot from Hogan. Hulk drags Honky to the corner and this time the tag is forced on Macho Man. The crowd is losing their mind and the IDEA of Steamboat getting his hands on Savage. Unfortunately, Savage escapes disaster and tags Honky back in, where he continues to play the role of a ping-pong ball. Honky goes to the eyes of the Hulkster and gets his first meaningful offense, consisting entirely of right hands. Hogan shrugs them off and carries Honky out of the corner for an inverted atomic drop. Whip to the corner and Hogan charges in with a clothesline.Savage nails Steamboat from the apron, and NOW he's willing to tag in, coming off the top rope with a double axe-handle. Honky with a scoop slam and flying fist drop. Steamboat counters a back body-drop attempt, but Savage snatches him by the hair to keep him in the corner. Hogan chases Savage out of the ring again, but Steamboat is still in a difficult predicament. During the chaos, Honky plants Steamboat on the arena floor with a slam. Back inside, Steamboat fights out of a chin-lock and the two knock heads. Hogan with the hot tag, running wild on both men with right hands. Savage eats the big boot, and Steamboat FINALLY gets his hands on Savage, unloading with chops. Steamboat climbs the ropes, but Honky throws him off. Savage brings in the ring bell and tosses the referee. This time it's Hogan preventing the dive from the top rope. Steamboat wrestles the bell away from Savage and sends him running for the dressing room. Honky continues taking a beating, and now Jimmy Hart is thrown in the ring! Honky and Hart get whipped into each other and poor Jimmy gets to eat the big boot with extra gusto. Since the bell was taken into the ring, I'll just say it's a DQ victory for Hogan and Steamboat at the 11:00 mark. Super-fun match to send the crowd home happy, with the predictable ridiculously overbooked non-finish. A molten-hot crowd makes everything better, too. ***
Final Thoughts: If you're in love with Danny Davis and his shenanigans as a referee, then this taping is your jam. He's all over a bunch of important matches, sometimes being a little less obvious with his biases, but other times slapping everyone in the face with how direct it's presented. With only three weeks of taping, I can imagine it flew by a little better than other tapings, and there was at least a decent effort in giving the fans as many of their stars as possible, even if every match with star vs star ended in a screwy finish (predictable for the era, ESPECIALLY for the WWF). I'm not sure if breaking down a Wrestling Challenge taping will be as detailed as Superstars of Wrestling, but we can give it a look, with Challenge taped the next day from Hershey, PA.
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