WWF at London Gardens (London, Ontario)- March 16, 1987
March 14, 1987
by Scrooge McSuck
We're going off the usual path and going for a deep cut with this stop on the Road to WrestleMania III. The WWF normally taped from the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, but from time to time, would record from London, Ontario (though not nearly as frequently). Most of the matches held would be used for content on Prime Time Wrestling (and other assorted non-canon programming), which the exception of two matches: Sika defeating local Frankie Lane, and the British Bulldogs defeating the Hart Foundation by DQ in a short match where Dynamite Kid likely did nothing since he was still recovering from the injury in Hamilton, Ontario in December. All matches included here are based on the order of their listing on my favorite source, TheHistoryofWWE.com.
Gorilla Monsoon, Johnny Valiant, and Jimmy Hart are in the booth to call the action, unless otherwise noted. The WWF ran two more shows, the first in Denver, CO with Hulk Hogan and THE CRUSHER defeating Kamala and Honkytonk Man on top, while the show in Los Angeles included an EIGHT-Man Tag Team Elimination Match (no details given, but the match was Piper, Steamboat, Santana, and Mulligan against Savage, Adonis, Race, and Butch Reed).
"Special Delivery" Jones vs. The Red Demon:
Yikes. Luckily, we're Join in Progress, with the Demon sending Jones to the ropes and driving a knee into the midsection. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but the Demon is the second payday gimmick for Mr. Jose Luis "Mac" Rivera. He lays into Jones while doing a little too much showboating. The camera lingers too much on the crowd, so we miss the Demon removing his wrist tape for a choke hold. He even does the loaded mask gimmick, and nobody cares. They move in slow-motion on a crisscross sequence and the Demon goes back to using the tape. Jones fights back with left hands and sends the Demon face-first into the turnbuckle. Whip across the ring and Jones smacks his post on a missed charge. Jones with a second comeback attempt. He plants the Demon with a slam and goes for the mask, unsuccessfully. Demon works the leg and I'm checked out on this one, constantly looking at the clock, hoping for it to end. You know it's rough when Monsoon uses certain phrases to call it slow and lazy without directly saying it. Jones comeback #3 and a sunset flip out of nowhere finishes at 9:12 (shown). This was like a bad TV match from Championship Wrestling circa 1982, but longer and with a disinterested crowd. ZERO STARSSivi Afi vs. Ivan MacDonald:
Wow, we're stepping it up from that last match. I'm sure I've seen MacDonald once before and was thoroughly unimpressed, but I'll give him a fair look here. He's introduced simply from "Scotland." Lockup to the ropes and a clean break. Afi keeps going for the arm, but MacDonald gets to the ropes for a break. International and MacDonald with a sloppy slam. Afi avoids an elbow drop and gives Mac a slam, followed by a dropkick that sends MacDonald over the top rope in goofy, unnecessary fashion. Back inside, Mac works the arm and hits the world's slowest fireman's carry slam. OK, this guy is terrible, either untrained or completely uncoordinated. Afi doesn't seem to take kindly to being thrown down with a handful of hair and starts laying it in with chops. He transitions to some leg work, locking in a reverse Figure-Four that sends Mac scrambling for the ropes. Afi with a headbutt across the midsection and rolling cradle for two. Mac drops Afi on his hip with a slam and drops an elbow, but Afi won't even give him a one-count and kicks him in the head. We get the most obvious called spot, as Mac gives him the most blatant iggy ever. Sure enough, Afi finishes with the gut-wrench suplex and headbutt at 5:57. At least it was short. When Afi cuts you off and takes the entire match, you know you're terrible. -*Jose Luis Rivera vs. Johnny K-9:
There we go, double-pay for Rivera! We've already covered what kind of pile of human excrement Johnny K-9 is on several occasions around here, so we'll jump into the match. K-9 attacks before the bell while referee John Bonello stands there, plotting to have his wife taken care of. Whip to the ropes and K-9 buries a knee to the midsection. He plants Mac with a slam and dumps him out of the ring. Back inside, Rivera barely gets any bounce on a leapfrog and strings together a series of moves that sends K-9 to the floor for a breather. Monsoon and Valiant question the meaning behind K-9 constantly crossing his arms in an X. Maybe he's practicing getting work as a referee. K-9 with some soft knee strikes in the corner. You can tell everyone is taking the night off with this card. K-9 misses a charge and smacks the post. Rivera unloads with right hands and finishes with a dropkick from the second turnbuckle at 5:24. This was less poopy than the last match, but I've yet to see any inspired effort as we're three matches deep. ZERO STARS
Tom Magee vs. Terry Gibbs:
Our only match on this taping that isn't pulled from an episode of Prime Time, instead coming from a random episode of International Wrestling Challenge. If you're unfamiliar, or missed my deep dive into his career, Tom Magee was a raw project to become a big Superstar and kept on payroll for several years, but never developed and seemed to regress until making his final appearances for the WWF in the Spring of 1989, having never officially appeared on WWF canon (appearing on Superstars, Challenge or a PPV). That, everyone, is the first time someone attempted to describe Magee's career without using "Bret Hart" in there somewhere.Magee makes his entrance with a somersault from the top rope. Lockup and Magee sends Gibbs through the ropes. Gibbs complains about a phantom hair-pull, of course. Gibbs rushes in and gets taken over with a hip toss. Magee with a leapfrog and a second hip toss that looks like he's putting zero effort behind the execution. Magee with a press slam and Gibbs takes a powder. Back inside, Magee with a decent chain of a side headlock into a hammer-lock. Gibbs with shots to the throat and the referee seems to be cool with the blatant cheating. Jimmy Hart jokes that Magee and Lanny Poffo should form an acrobatics team. Magee starts his comeback, coming off the ropes with a dropkick. Back-flip into a knee drop. Gibbs cuts him off in the corner, but Magee flips over a charging attack and the overhead back breaker gets Gibbs to submit at 5:14. I seem to recall them giving that finish to Ted Arcidi not too long before this. This match perfectly sums up Magee: unbelievable athleticism, but the execution ranges from decent to nonexistent, forcing everyone to basically work around him like he's a mannequin. *
"Leaping" Lanny Poffo vs. "The Outlaw" Ron Bass:
If you couldn't tell this is a C-Tour lineup, don't expect it to get much better. Now I wish they did put Magee and Poffo together, sort of like when Vince would give up on a monster heel and make them a comedy goof (Kurrgan and Vladimir Kozlov to name a couple). Poffo frustrates Bass with his agility and bops him in the belly after ducking under a pair of clotheslines. Bass throws Poffo down, but he nips up and pops Bass with another right hand. They keep running with this script for a few more exchanges. Bass forces a break in the corner and drives a series of knees into the midsection. I'm surprised to see that our commentary team is actually at ringside. Bass brings the action to the floor, sending Poffo into the post and over the guardrail. Back inside, Poffo's comeback is cut short. Bass with nothing fancy, just clubbing blows and choking in the corner. Whip to the ropes and Bass with a knee lift, followed by a slam and elbow drop for two. Poffo rallies with a series of right hands, but Bass cuts him off with a clothesline. Poffo fights out of an abdominal stretch and gets about 15-seconds of offense before he's back on his a$$. Bass with a pair of half-hearted swinging neck breakers for two. Poffo with his 67th comeback, including a senton and rolling cradle for a pair of near-falls. Bass with a handful of tights, throwing Poffo through the ropes. Poffo fights his way back in and comes out of the corner with a moonsault for two. Whip to the ropes and Bass with a diving elbow for three at 14:10. There was nothing here to suggest they needed nearly 15-minutes, considering how many times they ran with the same ideas. *Danny Spivey & Jerry Allen vs. Demolition (w/ Johnny Valiant):
Am I allowed to protest a show that is 38 years old? Allen is subbing for Mike Rotundo who peaced out and left for Florida before showing up in Jim Crockett Promotions. Allen is terrible and Spivey is less terrible, but not good enough to carry the workload. The Demolition/Johnny V relationship never made sense, but at least we're nearing the end of it. Smash and Allen start. Lockup, Smash with a knee to the midsection and a shoulder block. Snap mare out of the corner and Smash cranks the neck. Whip to the ropes, Allen ducks under a clothesline and goes for a sunset flip, but Smash blocks. An elbow drop misses, allowing the Spivey-Allen Connection to take turns working the arm. Ax tags in and finds himself in the same predicament. Spivey with a cross body press for two. Ax sends Allen into the boot of Smash to take control. Smash sends Allen to the outside, where Ax introduces him to the post. Back inside, Ax with a snap mare into a chin-lock. Allen teases a comeback, but Smash cuts him off with a rake of the eyes. Allen gets dumped again and Smash drops him across the guardrail. Allen continues taking abuse on the floor while the referee does his best impression of Stevie Wonder. Allen eventually creates some separation and tags in Spivey, who runs wild with left hands. Whip to the ropes and he hooks Ax with a diving clothesline. Allen tags back in, which seems unwise. He sends Ax to the corner and Ax pops back out with a clothesline, and that's enough for three at 10:49. Ax and Smash gobbled up Jerry Allen most of the match, making this a perfectly fine effort. **
Koko B. Ware vs. "Dangerous" Danny Davis (w/ Jimmy Hart):
WHAT? THIS IS THE SECOND MOST IMPORTANT MATCH ON THE CARD?!? The matches with Koko in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania III are Davis' first matches since coming under the tutelage of Jimmy Hart. At least the crowd is awake for this one. Davis spends the opening minutes playing chicken-sh*t heel on the floor. Lockup to the corner, Davis pops Koko with a right hand, and bails out. Davis busts out a hip toss and arm drag, hotdogging each time. Koko's had enough and sends Davis over the top rope with a dropkick. Davis with another short burst of offense before being chased out. Davis complains of a hair-pull and the referee actually tells Koko to release the hold! Whip to the ropes, Koko with a hip toss and dropkick. You know where Davis ends up. Davis offers a handshake and Koko responds by biting the hand.Davis goes to the eyes and catches Koko coming out of the corner with the world's ugliest belly-to-belly suplex for a two-count. The crowd rallies behind Koko as he fights out of a front face-lock. Whip to the corner and Koko dives face-first into the turnbuckle. Koko gets dumped out of the ring and rammed into the guardrail. Not having the ringside mats shows off how ugly and second-rate this venue looks. Back inside, Koko ducks a clothesline and hits a cross body press for two. Davis quickly gets on Koko and slaps on a sleeper. Koko escapes and gets his own applied, but Davis breaks it by ramming Koko into the corner. Whip and they smack heads for a double-down. They trade blows, with Koko getting the better of the exchange. He misses ANOTHER dive into the corner, this time straddling the turnbuckle. Koko counters a slam with a small package for two. Koko unloads with a flurry of rights and lefts. He comes off the second rope with a flying fist drop… and the bell rings at 17:06, with the official result being a DRAW. Well, that finish helps neither. It shows Davis isn't good enough to beat Koko, and that Koko isn't good enough to beat Davis. With that said, at least they had a story to tell with this match, and it was actually decent until the weak finish. **
Final Thoughts: I'm usually one who can sit through anything, but this was a real chore to get through. Getting through some of the prelim stuff wasn't too bad because some stuff was kept reasonably timed, but I really started questioning things when Lanny Poffo and Ron Bass kept dipping into the same bag of tricks to pad out a 15-minute match. The last two matches featured were at least somewhat entertaining, though neither is anything I'd go out of my way to track down. Even as Prime Time filler, this was just a bad night of professional wrestling.
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