Prime Time Wrestling 2/22/88
After flopping around on all sorts of different dates, PTW is back on Monday night, at least for this week.
– Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan kick things off from the studio. They talk about the main event of the show being the One Man Gang vs. George Steele. That’s supposed to make people want to stay tuned in?
Match #1: Bad News Brown v. Outback Jack. From the Salisbury, MD 1/27/88 “Wrestling Challenge” Tapings in the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center. Gorilla & Bobby on commentary, sounds dubbed in. Bad News has only been on TV a few weeks, and he’s already ten times more over than poor Jack from Humpty Doo, Australia. BNB jumps Jack to get things going. Outback dodges a charge from Brown in the corner, but runs right into a boot from Bad News when Jack tries his own corner charge. Brown works over the shoulder of Jack, uses lots of headbutts, you know, because he’s black so he has a hard head. Bad News misses a headbutt on the mat, but Jack is unable to gain much success. Brown goes back to the shoulder of Jack, but misses a clothesline and Outback finally has some offense as he lands a clothesline! Elbow drop gets 2 for Jack. Outback’s offense is over as he tosses Brown into the corner but Bad News charges out with a clothesline. Bad News with the Ghetto Blaster and it’s over in 4:27. This was brutal, lots of punching, Jack got almost no offense. A squash, and a boring one at that. To Brown’s credit he played to the crowd, but DUD
– After the match Craig DeGeorge interviews Bad News on the interview platform. Brown is going to take out all the turkeys in the WWF, because he’s from Harlem and all he knows is ‘rats and roaches’. If you don’t like violence you better get some glasses and put some tape on it. WTF? I know Brown wasn’t a great promo guy, but this is hilarious. Bad News says he will pay for the bandages for his opponents when he’s done with them.
– Back in the studio, Gorilla starts going over the WrestleMania IV tournament brackets. The brackets are still in their original form, so Rick Rude is in the top bracket where he could face Hulk or Andre in the semi finals. Monsoon points that out to the Brain, who is speechless.
Match #2: “Dangerous” Danny Davis v. Brady Boone. From Boston Garden 2/6/88. Craig DeGeorge & Alfred Hayes on commentary. Davis has some choice words for the referee of the match before things get going. Brady goes off on the offense to get things going, some good fast paced stuff that forces Davis to regroup outside the ring. Boone gets a body block for two and goes to a side headlock. Davis counters with a head scissors but Boone with a jack knife pin for 2. Boone tries a dropkick, but Danny holds onto the ropes and Brady misses. David takes over the match. Danny leaves his feet with a jumping clothesline for 2. Davis stays on the offense, Boone screws up a small package for 2. I don’t think there’s a match yet that Boone hasn’t blown at least one spot. Davis stays on top, dropping Boone’s throat across the top rope and hitting an inverted atomic drop. Boone finally comes back after countering a backdrop. Boone comes back with a snap suplex and it looks like he dumps Davis right on his head. Brady nearly screws up a front handspring flip, and then goes for the Vader/Swagger Bomb out of the corner and lands it, but then sells it like he landed on Davis’ knees. The only problem us, Davis didn’t bring his knees up. The announcers cover up, claiming Brady came down on Danny’s elbow, how ridiculous. Anyway, Boone sells the move like he missed it, then he misses a Stinger splash in the corner, which also looked awkward and slow motion as all hell. Davis comes back with a flying butt drop off the top rope to get the win in 7:59. I just don’t know what it is with Boone, he had the tools, but he really screwed up a lot in his WWF run. This match was a prolonged version of a squash, with bad baby face heat. 1/4*
– Special Report with Craig DeGeorge. We take a look at Jack Tunney announcing the WrestleMania IV Title Tournament. This is followed by more studio discussion of how the tournament could play out. Gorilla talks about how it could come down to DiBiase vs. Andre in the finals with Ted buying the win. Of course the brackets would change and this is all pointless unfortunately.
Match #3: The Killer Bees (B. Brian Blair and Jumpin’ Jim Brunzell) v. Steve Lombardi & Barry Horowitz. From the 1/26/88 Hershey Park Arena “Superstars” tapings, in Hershey, PA. Gorilla wastes no time in the studio mentioning Lombardi & Horowitz are from the “Terry Garvin School of Self Defense”. Lord Alfred and Bobby Heenan on commentary. The Bees get things going on Horowitz, some decent stuff from Brunzell. Horowitz hits a well placed elbow to Blair and is able to tag out to Lombardi. Steve doesn’t fair any better. Blair does the stupid bee flapping wing thing as he comes off the second rope. As I watch this match I can’t help but wonder how bland the Bees would have been had they not worn Bumble Bee tights. The heels finally take over on Brunzell with some heelish stuff in their corner. Horowitz & Lombardi are coming off a TV win from last week, so you’d think it would make this match mean more, but it doesn’t. As accomplished as Horowitz was, he does nothing in this match that would make you think so. Lombardi tags in and takes a high knee from Brunzell. Hot tag to Blair. Brian slams Barry onto Steve, then a powerslam on Horowitz. Brunzell comes back in and the Bees throw the heels into each other, Lombardi falls out of the ring. Brunzell atomic drops Horowitz into Blair, who after more goofy bee wing flapping comes off the second rope with a clothesline for the win in 5:45. The Bees stuff was bland at best, the heel stuff was terrible, it’s like they weren’t allowed to do anything that resembled an actual wrestling move. 1/2*
Match #4: The Ultimate Warrior v. “King” Harley Race (w/ Bobby Heenan). From the 1/26/88 Hershey Park Arena tapings, in Hershey, PA. From Superstars with Vince, Ventura, and Bruno on commentary. Race jumps the Warrior and immediately hits a PILEDRIVER! But the Warrior doesn’t stay down long, he’s back up and Race takes a backwards bump to the floor. Warrior comes off the apron with an elbow to the floor and throws Race back inside. Warrior with more chops and a clothesline on Harley, when HERCULES jumps the Warrior from behind causing the DQ at 1:40. Warrior wraps his chain around the throat of the Warrior, trying to choke him out. Warrior fights his way out, yanking the chain from his throat and swinging it around as Hercules and company take off. Not really a match but I’ll give it a 1/4* for including an angle.
Match #5: Sam Houston v. “Iron” Mike Sharpe. From Boston Garden 2/6/88. Sharpe does his usual stalling while Sam does the two step. Sharpe roughs Sam up and tosses him to the mat. Mike does it again but Houston pops up with a dropkick and a series of moves and Sharpe takes a break on the floor. Lots of stalling, Sharpe wants a test of strength, and takes a minute to lock up. Houston finally breaks the hold, breaking free and cart wheeling around Sharpe, a couple moves by Houston and Sharpe is right back outside the ring, walking towards the dressing room, maybe to wash his hands. For this that don’t know, Iron Mike is a clean freak, obsessive compulsive type stuff. Odd choice of a job to choose wouldn’t you say? Unfortunately for us, he returns to the ring and we’re forced to continue this match. Sharpe takes over with some forearms and elbows, Houston comes back briefly with an atomic drop, but then Sam misses a charge in the corner. Sam counters a slam with a roll up for 2. Sharpe counters a backdrop with his deadly forearm. Houston is knocked to the floor and thrown into the railing. Back in the ring, Houston makes a comeback, but Sharpe reverses a whip off the ropes, Houston counters a hiptoss or something and turns it into a bulldog for the win at 11:37. After the match, DANNY DAVIS attacks Houston with a devastating atomic drop of doom, and Houston sells it like he was destroyed. OK. The match was a typical Mike Sharpe match. Houston made it better due to his bumping. He was good, it’s just a shame he got stuck in the WWF in this period when he was so thin. 1/2*
– It’s our very first WrestleMania IV Report. We’re only 6 weeks out! Two new matches signed besides the tournament. Bobby Heenan & The Islanders vs. The Bulldogs & Koko, featuring the return of Matilda. Bobby & The Islanders respond. Koko’s mother’s name is Tupper… Ware. Bobby knows a good taxidermist for Matilda. Bulldogs & Koko respond. Frankie is flapping like crazy. I wonder what Dynamite did to him. The other match signed for WrestleMania is Beefcake vs. IC Champion Honky Tonk Man. Honky & Jimmy Hart talk, nobody has been able to beat him yet, and nobody will. Honky & Jimmy say the scissors are banned from ringside. Bob Uecker is returning this year as well.
– Back in the studio, Gorilla trashes Heenan for getting in the ring at WrestleMania IV. Bobby says he’s sending the veterinarian Matilda, 2 more bulldogs, and 2 birds after the PPV.
Match #6: The Bolsheviks (Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov) w/ Slick v. Special Delivery Jones and Brady Boone. From the 1/26/88 Hershey Park Arena tapings, in Hershey, PA. Boone pulling double duty on this show. I’d almost forgotten that Slick managed the Bolsheviks. I honestly didn’t know Slick managed them into 1988. Gorilla & Bobby doing the commentary. Volkoff with a boot to Boone’s mouth to start, and some more strongman offense including a one handed choke with Boone raised in the air. Boone slides over a slam from Volkoff and does some flipping for no reason. a Dropkick to Nikolai and Boris tags in. A dropkick to Boris and SD tags in. And SD tags out. Wow, that was fast. The faces make a few quick tags until Boris hits Jones with a big clothesline and makes the tag to Nikolai. Volkoff with a chinlock on SD. Boris tags in and tosses SD to the floor where Nikolai takes advantage. Volkoff tags back in, but Jones hits a headbutt and gets the tag to Boone. Brady comes in with a flying back elbow for 2. Boone misses a blind tag to Zhukov. Brady runs off the ropes right into a clothesline from Zhukov to the back of the head from the apron. Boone staggers forward into a Russian Hammer from Volkoff, then Boris drops a knee and gets the pin at 6:19. Sad to say, but probably the best match on the show so far. 3/4*
– Mean Gene interviews “The Rock” Don Muraco. God is he vascular. Muraco talks Dino Bravo and WrestleMania IV. Muraco is impressed with Bravo, but Don has worked harder. Muraco talks about all the other potential opponents he could have in the tournament and Gene cuts him off to end the interview.
– And apparently even though this show is taped, we’re just now alerted we won’t be getting One Man Gang vs. George Steele, but rather a repeat of Andre vs. Hogan from The Main Event.
Match #7: WWF Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan v. Andre the Giant (w/ Ted DiBiase & Virgil): From “The Main Event” 2/5/88 in Indianapolis, Indiana’s Market Square Arena. Commentators are Vince McMahon & The Body. This time the match is joined in progress with all the good stuff edited out. Andre slams the Hulkster and kicks the crap out of him while he’s down. Andre hits Hogan with a big boot, but loses his balance and falls as well. Hulk rolls outside, but Virgil rolls him back in to prevent a count out because DIBIASE WANTS THAT TITLE! Andre chokes Hogan with his singlet strap. Andre tries a choke, or nerve hold, or some shit, but Hogan powers out to the fans delight. HULK HOGAN COMES FLYING OFF THE SECOND ROPE WITH A CLOTHESLINE. The giant goes down! Hulk off the ropes for a legdrop, but Virgil grabs his leg! Hulk off the ropes again, this time NAILS THE LEGDROP, but referee “DAVE” Hebner misses the count by dealing with Virgil. Hogan confronts Hebner, but Andre sneaks up behind with some headbutts and a shitty suplex looking thingy. Andre covers! 1….. Hogan gets his shoulder up in plain sight of the referee, but Hebner keeps counting! 2….3!
Oh my God! Andre the Giant has won the WWF Heavyweight Championship! Hebner raises Andre’s hand as Virgil & DiBiase join in the celebration. Hogan is arguing with Hebner as the referee grabs the WWF Title and hands it to the Giant. The Fink finalizes it by proclaiming Andre the “newwww” WWF Champion. Hogan’s four year reign as champion has come to an end! Like a UFC fight, Mean Gene interviews Andre in the ring immediately following the match. The Giant presents Ted DiBiase with the belt. Andre keeps referring to the title as the “WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP”. The Million Dollar Man gets the belt strapped around his waist as Hogan runs the heels out of the ring. While Hogan is busy jaw jacking with the heels, he fails to realize what’s going on in the ring behind him. What is this? TWO DAVE HEBNERS? Finally, Hulk turns to see double vision. Hogan knows something fishy has went down and now he wants some answers. Hogan doesn’t know which ref is the real Dave Hebner. Hogan grabs both Hebners and shakes them up. The Hebners get into another argument about who the real Dave Hebner is, when suddenly the evil Hebner nails the other one and kicks him out of the ring. Hogan realizes the aggressive Hebner is the imposter, and before the imposter can flee, Hulk grabs him and presses him into the air. Hulk flings the evil Hebner out of the ring towards DiBiase & Virgil, but Hebner overshoots them by about a foot and almost clears them before they all take a bump to the floor. (This was Earl Hebner’s WWF debut after leaving the NWA)
I won’t rate this thing again, especially since it was in progress this week. I’m sure it was still better than OMG vs. Animal Steele.
Final Thoughts: This was another one of those shows that wasn’t very good based on ring action. Actually, even the banter with Bobby and Gorilla this week seemed shorter or more bland than usual, though Gorilla did seem to get into the tournament prediction segments. We continue to build to WrestleMania IV while they wrap some random worthless matches around the segments to fill time. The only reason I like this type of Prime Time episode is because you get to see a lot of guys showcased that you don’t always see. Sometimes it’s for the better these guys weren’t given more time to shine on the syndicated shows. I still liked seeing Houston and even the Bolsheviks get some offense. It was even nice to see the Bees in a squash, as bland as it was. That’s the word of the day here for sure, Bland. We got one WrestleMania angle out of it with the Warrior and Hercules, but really nothing else. This is a show you could miss, and it wouldn’t hurt a thing. Somehow, I just love this kind of stuff though. I guess it’s the era.
Match of the Night: The Bolsheviks vs. SD Jones & Brady Boone. It’s sad when the Bolsheviks are bringing in the best match on a show, but Nikolai did better than usual and the faces were there to put on a show. It was nothing more than a glorified squash, so take that for what it’s worth. I liked the finish sequence.[spacer height=”20px”]
