Re: Hercules/Billy Jack. Some people were surprised to find that I liked that match a lot, but those guys had tremendous chemistry with one another, probably because they wrestled each other in nearly ever fed they were in. Plus, they decided to work stiff with one another instead of trying to pull their shots. I guess it's just a case of them trusting one another enough to put on a good match.
August 17, 1987
Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan.
Non-Title: The Hart Foundation (w/Jimmy Hart & Danny Davis) vs. The Young Stallions.
This should be good. The Harts have really been on a roll the last few weeks in terms of match quality. Mr. T comes out to play the ringside enforcer. I guess Monsoon is getting his wish of having two referees for tag matches. The Harts attack before the bell. Anvil drops Powers on the top rope with a Snake Eyes, and the Harts hit their version of the Decapitation. Bret takes the Bret Bump, though, allowing Roma to tag in. Roma goes for a monkeyflip, but Bret blocks and puts his feet on the ropes for the win at 2:57. Mr. T sticks his nose in and reverses the decision, though, giving the Stallions the win. Jesse rightly points out that the match should be restarted instead of just handing the Stallions the win. Disappointingly short. 1/2*
Killer Khan vs. Lanny Poffo.
We're JIP from MSG to Khan mauling Poffo. Khan kills some time with a nerve pinch. Lanny gets fired up, but his bodyslam attempt is blocked. He finally gets that bodyslam and a moonsault. It only gets two. That would be the writing on the wall, right there. Khan blocks a charge and drops a knee for the win at 4:38. It had a marginally decent story with Lanny repeatedly going for the bodyslam. Once he finally got it and it didn't get the win, he was screwed. *1/4
SPECIAL REPORT w/Craig DeGeorge. Jimmy Hart is dysphoric because he was turned down by Bam Bam Bigelow. Even Freddie Blassie doesn't know what's going on.
Recap of Bob Orton and Magnificent Muraco getting into it after a match. Orton slaps him around, triggering a toe-to-toe battle that spills over into the audience. Well, that's the end of that alliance.
Recap of The One Man Gang challenging anyone to come down and face him (á la Sho'Nuff). He delivers a series of front suplexes. Jack Tunney fines him $10,000 and puts Gang on probation. Slick thinks that's a bit hefty for a first offense.
Outlaw Ron Bass vs. Sonny Rogers.
Last I saw of Rogers, he was jobbing to the Undertaker on one of the early episodes of Raw. I think he gave Undertaker more trouble than he gives Bass here. Bass pummels him and finishes him with a front face pancake (like a Pedigree without the arms) at 1:59. 1/4*
Ted Dibiase stops by to remind us that he has enough money to buy anything or anybody he wants.
Nikolai Volkoff vs. Koko B. Ware.
Koko sticks and moves early, but Nikolai catches up with him and tosses him to the floor. We go to commercial and come back to Koko sunset flipping back in for two. Nikolai makes the mistake of trying to headbutt Koko. Koko staggers him with another, but Nikolai tosses Koko off a pin cover. Koko gets two off an O'Connor Roll. Nikolai misses a corner charge and hits his knee on the buckle. A flying fist gets two for Koko, but Nikolai still tosses him across the ring on the kickout. They collide for a double KO spot. Koko gets fired up but charges right into a boot. Nikolai hits a butterfly suplex but stops to pose, so Koko goes up and hits a missile dropkick for the upset win at 12:00. **
The WWF's newest manager Oliver Humperdink debuts. Mistake #1 making him a babyface after he made his name as a heel. Humperdink runs down Bobby Heenan for sullying the good name of wrestling managers. Heenan comes out and gets in his face, so Humperdink shoves him off the stage.
George "The Animal" Steele vs. Bob Orton Jr.
Ace is on his way out anyway. Steele rams Orton's face into the buckle but turns his back on him and goes after the turnbuckle stuffing. Orton nails him from behind and hits a pump-splash for two. Steele tosses a chair in and nails Orton with another one. And by "nails," I mean taps lightly. Orton gives the most overly demonstrative sell you'll see this side of Curt Hennig. They brawl up the aisle, and Steele is finally disqualified at 3:02. Bleh. 1/4*
Rick Rude vs. Scott Casey.
From Philly. Casey nearly gets booed out of the building for being from Dallas (see the Eagles/Cowboys rivalry). He was a decent star back in the days of The Blanchards' Southwest Championship Wrestling, but those days were long gone by the time 1987 rolled around. His main claim to fame now is that he trained Booker T. Rude complains about hair and tight-pulling early, trying to get the fans to boo him by sheer douchebaggery. Rude powers out of an armbar but misses a clothesline and gets taken down by a flying crossbody. Rude bails as we go to break. When we come back, Rude is dominating. Move. Pose. Move. Pose. That's every Rude squash from 1987-1990. Rude hits his fistdrop, but he doesn't want to take the pin. Instead, he grabs a chinlock. See, I understand not taking the pin off a fistdrop because you want to hit your finisher, but to haul a guy up just so you can put him in a chinlock?!? Rude hits a Sullivan Stomp and grabs a sleeper. Casey reverses to one of his own and hits a backdrop. He tries again, but Rude punts him and finishes with a slingshot suplex at 13:01. He was a finisher and some airbrushed tights away from stardom at this point. **1/4
Junkyard Dog vs. The One Man Gang (w/Slick).
At this point, they're just tossing out midcarders to do commentary and see if they get over. For this match: Jake Roberts and Don Muraco. OMG jumps JYD from behind but gets whipped over the top. Dog grabs a hammerlock and takes Gang down. Jake gets bored and starts asking Muraco what's going on with him and Orton. JYD works the arm, but Gang fights out of it. Big JYD chant. It looks to be piped in, judging by the relative inactivity of the fans. Slick tries a cheapshot with the cane, but JYD steals it from him. They trade shots with the cane for a double DQ at 6:27. *1/2
The 411: Down week quality-wise, but the show just seemed to breeze by. The addition of Oliver Humperdink as a babyface manager wouldn't mean much in the long run, but his presence helped payoff the long-running Bam Bam Bigelow angle. The Muraco/Orton split would also lead (indirectly) to Muraco turning babyface on his way out of the Fed.
