Post by Shatter Machine on Dec 15, 2015 21:52:56 GMT -5
This is a one-night tournament and the first ever wrestling pay-per-view, held on November 11, 1985 at the Rosemont Horizon, near Chicago.
Vince McMahon and Lord Al Hayes host from an interview area, doing drop-ins throughout the night.
Announcers are Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura
There are highlights of various wrestlers pulling their opponents out of a hat, and Gene Okerlund talks to WWF President Jack Tunney.
Round 1:
Adrian Adonis (with Jimmy Hart)
Vs
Corporal Kirchner
Adonis is one of the truly underrated workers of his generation. People had a tendency to sell him short because he was so overweight. He could bump like a pinball, he could sell, he could fly around the ring better than 90% of the guys he was in there with. Kirchner was kind of a strange case, as the WWF was trying to recapture lightning in a bottle by recreating Sgt. Slaughter with him. It didn’t work. Kirchner grabs a headlock, but Adonis nails a suplex. He drops some elbows, snapmares him a few times, and grabs a chinlock. Kirchner tries a suplex, but Adonis reverses it into a DDT for the pin at 2:35. ½ *
Dynamite Kid
Vs
Nikolai Volkoff
Volkoff sings the Russian national anthem, and Dynamite hits the missile dropkick for the pin at :06. DUD
Randy Savage (with Elizabeth)
Vs
Ivan Putski
Savage had been in the WWF for about 15 seconds at this point. He runs and runs before the bell. After the bell, he stalls like crazy. Putski overpowers him, so Savage runs again. That’s the story of the match. Savage scoops him in the corner and gets the pin using the ropes for leverage at 2:47. ½ *
Davey Boy Smith
Vs
Rick Steamboat
Handshake to start, and this was something they never had back then, a babyface vs babyface match. There’s some really good wrestling, and Smith gets a press slam for 2. They fight over a suplex, and Davey press slams him again. Front face lock, and Steamboat reverses that into a delayed suplex. Smith hits a couple of dropkicks, then he crotches himself on the top rope and the referee stops the match because he can’t continue at 2:53. That could have been great. *
Junkyard Dog
Vs
The Iron Sheik
Sheik jumps JYD at the bell and chokes him with his ring gear. JYD no sells and peppers Sheik with some headbutts. He misses a falling headbutt, and the Sheik attempts to make him humble and applies the camel clutch. Dog escapes and finishes with a headbutt at 3:26. DUD
(So, in a year and a half, the Sheik has gone from a former world champion, the guy who ended Bob Backlund's almost six-year reign as champion to a guy who jobs to a headbutt in under four minutes?)
Terry Funk (with Jimmy Hart)
Vs
Moondog Spot
Funk attempts to convince Spot that both of them should just leave instead of fighting, settling for a draw, but then he jumps him on the floor. It backfires, and Spot winds up in the ring and Funk gets counted out at :25. DUD
Don Muraco (with Mr. Fuji)
Vs
WWF Intercontinental Champion Tito Santana
Muraco was deep into his fat and happy phase after his run as Intercontinental Champion a few years earlier. He works Tito over, but Tito comes back with a high cross body for 2. Sunset for 2, then a backslide, but Muraco escapes. Muraco takes an upside down bump in the corner. Tito grabs a wristlock, and holds on for a while. Muraco hits a couple of clotheslines, then a kneedrop for 2. Powerslam, and Tito’s legs are in the ropes, but the ref doesn’t see it until he counts three. He doesn’t end the match, and Santana rolls Muraco up with an inside cradle for the pin at 4:13. * ½
Gene Okerlund talks to Bobby Heenan, who doesn’t have anyone in the tournament, so he’s here scouting talent as well as putting a bounty on Paul Orndorff.
Paul Orndorff
Vs
Bob Orton
Orton still has the cast on, so Orndorff works that arm over. Orton grabs a headlock, but Orndorff reverses into an armbar. Orton cuts him off, as Jesse keeps feeding us that he “knows” Orndorff, and he knows that Orndorff is not a great guy. Orndorff gets a sunset for 2. Orton goes to a reverse chinlock, then into a head scissor. Bridge into a backslide by Orton for 2. Orton crotches himself, and Orndorff wipes him out with elbows. Orton bails out and loads the cast, but gets caught using it and DQ’d at 6:29. *
Vince and Lord Al talk about the first round, and Terry Funk comes in screaming
Second Round: (Fifteen Minute Time Limit)
Adrian Adonis (with Jimmy Hart)
Vs
Dynamite Kid
This should be good, since Adonis is a bump machine. He slingshots Dynamite into the corner, and Jesse leaves commentary to go back and talk to Randy Savage. Adonis goes to a chinlock, but Dynamite comes out with a belly to back suplex. He misses a splash, and Adonis works the knee. He goes to a Scorpion Deathlock, but doesn’t sit back. Dynamite makes the ropes, then hits a sunset flip out of the corner for 2. He posts Adonis, then a clothesline. Second rope knee gets 2, snap suplex, then miscommunication between Adonis and Jimmy Hart leads to Dynamite getting the pin at 5:23 * ¾
Rick Steamboat
Vs
Randy Savage (with Elizabeth)
Savage jumps him, and they brawl on the floor. Back in, and Steamboat headscissors him to the floor. Big atomic drop, then they come back in. Steamboat controls, then hits an outside in suplex. Top rope cross body for 2. Savage goes to the apron and pulls the knuckledusters from his trunks and clobbers Steamboat with it on the suplex in for the pin at 3:22 * ¾. Savage would recycle the finish when he won the I-C title from Santana the following February.
Junkyard Dog
Vs
Moondog Spot
JYD headbutts and counts his own pin at :27 because there’s no ref for some reason. Apparently, there are judges at ringside that will allow this. DUD.
Somebody dropped the ball on this one. My guess is the ref assigned was busy sampling JYD's coke backstage and just missed it.
Paul Orndorff
Vs
Tito Santana
Santana grabs a headlock, and Orndorff rolls him over for 2. Orndorff powers out into a wristlock. Santana grabs a headscissors. Orndorff works a hammerlock, which Tito reverses. Orndorff gets the ropes and hits an atomic drop. Tito’s leg is injured, and Orndorff uses a drop toe hold and works the knee. Tito elbows him off, and Orndorff cheap shots him on a rope break, and they brawl to the floor and a double countout at 8:03. Nothing offensive **. This gives JYD a bye into the finals versus the winner of the Savage-Dynamite Kid match.
WWF World Title:
Hulk Hogan (Champion)
Vs
Roddy Piper
Piper has his full pipe and drum regiment play him to the ring. Hogan wears all white, and has his third different title belt with him (the version that looked like the NWA World Tag Team Title belt). They go right to it and brawl on the floor right away. Piper controls briefly, but Hogan nails a clothesline in the corner. Backdrop suplex, followed by a slam and some elbows. They go into the corner, and Piper cuts him off. Hogan grabs a bearhug, but Piper escapes with a thumb to the eye. Piper grabs a sleeper, and Hogan fades, but his arm only drops twice. Hogan fights out, and they go to the floor. Hogan runs him to the post. Back in, Hogan hits the big boot and an atomic drop. The ref gets bumped, and Piper grabs a chair and levels Hogan with it. Hogan blocks a second shot, grabs a sleeper, and Cowboy Bob Orton runs in for the DQ at 7:15. Heel beatdown commences, but Paul Orndorff makes the save. **
Semi-Finals:
Dynamite Kid
Vs
Randy Savage
Savage is sol lean and GOOD LORD is that ring loud. Kid outwrestles him, so Savage goes to his perpetual plan B: take a walk around the ring. Savage gets a cheap shot on a break, but Dynamite flattens him with a shoulder block. Back body drop, and a high cross body gets 2, but Savage is in the ropes. Savage hits a sitdown on a sunset flip attempt, and Dynamite misses a cross body. Double clothesline knocks both guys out. Savage goes up, but Dynamite hits him with a dropkick and a superduperplex, but Savage rolls trhough with an inside cradle for the pin at 5:00. ** Good little match. Again, give these guys 15:00 and it’s a **** affair every night.
They give away a Rolls Royce to a lucky fan.
Finals:
Randy Savage (with Elizabeth)
Vs
Junkyard Dog
Macho Man, of course, runs and runs and runs. When he’s done doing that, he does some running. JYD wins a couple of tie-ups, and then headbutts the lower back. (I’d like to point out that Liz is a smoking hot 22 or so here.) JYD works the back with a bearhug, and some other stuff. Macho goes to the chinlock, but JYD powers out. JYD tumbles to the floor, and Macho bombs away from the top. He breaks the count, and then bombs him again. Savage pummels him on the floor, but gets caught coming off the top. JYD hits several headbutts, and then ties Savage in the ropes. Savage eventually frees himself, and charges at the Dog, but gets backdropped over the top and counted out. That was just not very good. DUD. Gorilla says that there is pandemonium among the crowd, but that has to be a very liberal definition of the word.
The Bottom Line: The more I think about this card, the less I like it. There's nothing on this show that rises above **, and most of it is safely in the DUD range. Nothing is offensive, but there's really nothing to see here. Move along.
Not recommended in the slightest.
Vince McMahon and Lord Al Hayes host from an interview area, doing drop-ins throughout the night.
Announcers are Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura
There are highlights of various wrestlers pulling their opponents out of a hat, and Gene Okerlund talks to WWF President Jack Tunney.
Round 1:
Adrian Adonis (with Jimmy Hart)
Vs
Corporal Kirchner
Adonis is one of the truly underrated workers of his generation. People had a tendency to sell him short because he was so overweight. He could bump like a pinball, he could sell, he could fly around the ring better than 90% of the guys he was in there with. Kirchner was kind of a strange case, as the WWF was trying to recapture lightning in a bottle by recreating Sgt. Slaughter with him. It didn’t work. Kirchner grabs a headlock, but Adonis nails a suplex. He drops some elbows, snapmares him a few times, and grabs a chinlock. Kirchner tries a suplex, but Adonis reverses it into a DDT for the pin at 2:35. ½ *
Dynamite Kid
Vs
Nikolai Volkoff
Volkoff sings the Russian national anthem, and Dynamite hits the missile dropkick for the pin at :06. DUD
Randy Savage (with Elizabeth)
Vs
Ivan Putski
Savage had been in the WWF for about 15 seconds at this point. He runs and runs before the bell. After the bell, he stalls like crazy. Putski overpowers him, so Savage runs again. That’s the story of the match. Savage scoops him in the corner and gets the pin using the ropes for leverage at 2:47. ½ *
Davey Boy Smith
Vs
Rick Steamboat
Handshake to start, and this was something they never had back then, a babyface vs babyface match. There’s some really good wrestling, and Smith gets a press slam for 2. They fight over a suplex, and Davey press slams him again. Front face lock, and Steamboat reverses that into a delayed suplex. Smith hits a couple of dropkicks, then he crotches himself on the top rope and the referee stops the match because he can’t continue at 2:53. That could have been great. *
Junkyard Dog
Vs
The Iron Sheik
Sheik jumps JYD at the bell and chokes him with his ring gear. JYD no sells and peppers Sheik with some headbutts. He misses a falling headbutt, and the Sheik attempts to make him humble and applies the camel clutch. Dog escapes and finishes with a headbutt at 3:26. DUD
(So, in a year and a half, the Sheik has gone from a former world champion, the guy who ended Bob Backlund's almost six-year reign as champion to a guy who jobs to a headbutt in under four minutes?)
Terry Funk (with Jimmy Hart)
Vs
Moondog Spot
Funk attempts to convince Spot that both of them should just leave instead of fighting, settling for a draw, but then he jumps him on the floor. It backfires, and Spot winds up in the ring and Funk gets counted out at :25. DUD
Don Muraco (with Mr. Fuji)
Vs
WWF Intercontinental Champion Tito Santana
Muraco was deep into his fat and happy phase after his run as Intercontinental Champion a few years earlier. He works Tito over, but Tito comes back with a high cross body for 2. Sunset for 2, then a backslide, but Muraco escapes. Muraco takes an upside down bump in the corner. Tito grabs a wristlock, and holds on for a while. Muraco hits a couple of clotheslines, then a kneedrop for 2. Powerslam, and Tito’s legs are in the ropes, but the ref doesn’t see it until he counts three. He doesn’t end the match, and Santana rolls Muraco up with an inside cradle for the pin at 4:13. * ½
Gene Okerlund talks to Bobby Heenan, who doesn’t have anyone in the tournament, so he’s here scouting talent as well as putting a bounty on Paul Orndorff.
Paul Orndorff
Vs
Bob Orton
Orton still has the cast on, so Orndorff works that arm over. Orton grabs a headlock, but Orndorff reverses into an armbar. Orton cuts him off, as Jesse keeps feeding us that he “knows” Orndorff, and he knows that Orndorff is not a great guy. Orndorff gets a sunset for 2. Orton goes to a reverse chinlock, then into a head scissor. Bridge into a backslide by Orton for 2. Orton crotches himself, and Orndorff wipes him out with elbows. Orton bails out and loads the cast, but gets caught using it and DQ’d at 6:29. *
Vince and Lord Al talk about the first round, and Terry Funk comes in screaming
Second Round: (Fifteen Minute Time Limit)
Adrian Adonis (with Jimmy Hart)
Vs
Dynamite Kid
This should be good, since Adonis is a bump machine. He slingshots Dynamite into the corner, and Jesse leaves commentary to go back and talk to Randy Savage. Adonis goes to a chinlock, but Dynamite comes out with a belly to back suplex. He misses a splash, and Adonis works the knee. He goes to a Scorpion Deathlock, but doesn’t sit back. Dynamite makes the ropes, then hits a sunset flip out of the corner for 2. He posts Adonis, then a clothesline. Second rope knee gets 2, snap suplex, then miscommunication between Adonis and Jimmy Hart leads to Dynamite getting the pin at 5:23 * ¾
Rick Steamboat
Vs
Randy Savage (with Elizabeth)
Savage jumps him, and they brawl on the floor. Back in, and Steamboat headscissors him to the floor. Big atomic drop, then they come back in. Steamboat controls, then hits an outside in suplex. Top rope cross body for 2. Savage goes to the apron and pulls the knuckledusters from his trunks and clobbers Steamboat with it on the suplex in for the pin at 3:22 * ¾. Savage would recycle the finish when he won the I-C title from Santana the following February.
Junkyard Dog
Vs
Moondog Spot
JYD headbutts and counts his own pin at :27 because there’s no ref for some reason. Apparently, there are judges at ringside that will allow this. DUD.
Somebody dropped the ball on this one. My guess is the ref assigned was busy sampling JYD's coke backstage and just missed it.
Paul Orndorff
Vs
Tito Santana
Santana grabs a headlock, and Orndorff rolls him over for 2. Orndorff powers out into a wristlock. Santana grabs a headscissors. Orndorff works a hammerlock, which Tito reverses. Orndorff gets the ropes and hits an atomic drop. Tito’s leg is injured, and Orndorff uses a drop toe hold and works the knee. Tito elbows him off, and Orndorff cheap shots him on a rope break, and they brawl to the floor and a double countout at 8:03. Nothing offensive **. This gives JYD a bye into the finals versus the winner of the Savage-Dynamite Kid match.
WWF World Title:
Hulk Hogan (Champion)
Vs
Roddy Piper
Piper has his full pipe and drum regiment play him to the ring. Hogan wears all white, and has his third different title belt with him (the version that looked like the NWA World Tag Team Title belt). They go right to it and brawl on the floor right away. Piper controls briefly, but Hogan nails a clothesline in the corner. Backdrop suplex, followed by a slam and some elbows. They go into the corner, and Piper cuts him off. Hogan grabs a bearhug, but Piper escapes with a thumb to the eye. Piper grabs a sleeper, and Hogan fades, but his arm only drops twice. Hogan fights out, and they go to the floor. Hogan runs him to the post. Back in, Hogan hits the big boot and an atomic drop. The ref gets bumped, and Piper grabs a chair and levels Hogan with it. Hogan blocks a second shot, grabs a sleeper, and Cowboy Bob Orton runs in for the DQ at 7:15. Heel beatdown commences, but Paul Orndorff makes the save. **
Semi-Finals:
Dynamite Kid
Vs
Randy Savage
Savage is sol lean and GOOD LORD is that ring loud. Kid outwrestles him, so Savage goes to his perpetual plan B: take a walk around the ring. Savage gets a cheap shot on a break, but Dynamite flattens him with a shoulder block. Back body drop, and a high cross body gets 2, but Savage is in the ropes. Savage hits a sitdown on a sunset flip attempt, and Dynamite misses a cross body. Double clothesline knocks both guys out. Savage goes up, but Dynamite hits him with a dropkick and a superduperplex, but Savage rolls trhough with an inside cradle for the pin at 5:00. ** Good little match. Again, give these guys 15:00 and it’s a **** affair every night.
They give away a Rolls Royce to a lucky fan.
Finals:
Randy Savage (with Elizabeth)
Vs
Junkyard Dog
Macho Man, of course, runs and runs and runs. When he’s done doing that, he does some running. JYD wins a couple of tie-ups, and then headbutts the lower back. (I’d like to point out that Liz is a smoking hot 22 or so here.) JYD works the back with a bearhug, and some other stuff. Macho goes to the chinlock, but JYD powers out. JYD tumbles to the floor, and Macho bombs away from the top. He breaks the count, and then bombs him again. Savage pummels him on the floor, but gets caught coming off the top. JYD hits several headbutts, and then ties Savage in the ropes. Savage eventually frees himself, and charges at the Dog, but gets backdropped over the top and counted out. That was just not very good. DUD. Gorilla says that there is pandemonium among the crowd, but that has to be a very liberal definition of the word.
The Bottom Line: The more I think about this card, the less I like it. There's nothing on this show that rises above **, and most of it is safely in the DUD range. Nothing is offensive, but there's really nothing to see here. Move along.
Not recommended in the slightest.