WWF Championship Wrestling- June 14, 1986
by Scrooge McSuck
Hosted by Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino, taped on June 3rd from the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, NY. All Vince can get out is that we'll see Jake "The Snake" Roberts this week, leading to Ricky Steamboat storming the set with something covered by a blanket, promising to give the present to Roberts and saying, "what goes around comes around."
Corporal Kirchner & George "The Animal" Steele vs. Les Thornton & Max Blue:
I'm disappointed we aren't getting another match with the JYD and Steele together. Vince still gets to use the term "a most unusual team" to describe Kirchner and Steele. I like that the bell rings and then we get a minute of standing around for a syndication squash. Steele starts, backing Blue into the ropes and chewing on him. Howard Finkel cuts in to promote a show at a local High School, so you know you're getting the A-list guys. Thornton tags in, as does Kirchner. Kirchner slips out of a slam and rolls Thornton up for two. Kirchner with a slam but he misses an elbow drop. Blue is back in while Steele rips open a turnbuckle and uses the stuffing to blind Blue. HOW IS THAT LEGAL?! Kirchner with 100 years to set up an ugly suplex. Kirchner with a rolling takedown and knee across the chest. Blue gets to taste the bottom of the Animal's boot. Steele goes back for more turnbuckle stuffing, gives some to Thornton and a second helping to Blue. Kirchner finally finishes with a Samoan drop at 3:46. Kirchner coaches Steele into giving a salute, which might be the high spot of the match."Mean" Gene Okerlund is standing by with this week's Update, courtesy of WWF Magazine. He mentions Andre the Giant's dominant performance at WrestleMania 2, and little did Andre know that would be his last match for the WWF. Fans are disgusted by Jack Tunney's decision to suspend him for missing an alleged contractually obligated date, and Lou Albano promises to dispute that decision if it means going to the higher courts. We follow that with a random clip from the Battle Royal, and we finish with Okerlund doing the "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" gesture. Oh, and then someone swings a rubber chicken into the shot, with Okerlund chiming in "I'm going to choke this chicken."
"Macho Man" Randy Savage (w/ Elizabeth) vs. Jerry Monti:
Recently, Savage has been working with Hulk Hogan on the house show loop in Champion vs. Champion matches where only Hogan's title is on the line, so he doesn't have a truly dedicated feud to sink our teeth into for the TV audience, with Vince not even acknowledging the matches and saying Savage is looking for an opportunity at the title. Lockup and Savage snaps Monti over with an arm drag. Crisscross and Monti with a hip toss. UH-OH. Savage no-sells a second toss and clips Monti with a big clothesline. He hangs Monti over the top rope as we get comments from Tito Santana. Face it, Tito, your time in the sun is over. Back inside, Savage with a powerslam, knee drop, and flying elbow for three at 1:24. The crowd chants "Tito" to get under Savage's skin. Savage's squash matches are always a highlight.Ken Resnick is standing by to sell the June 27th card at the Boston Garden. Fans will get to see the debut of Billy Jack Haynes! King Tonga and Pedro Morales will be there! Dan Spivey and Mike Rotundo vs. Les Thornton and Tiger Chung Lee! Tony Atlas vs. Harley Race! The Junkyard Dog vs. King Kong Bundy! Jake "The Snake" Roberts vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat! Paul Orndorff vs. The Magnificent Muraco! AND FOR THE WWF TITLE, Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage!
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs. Jack Kruger:
I could bore everyone and go into detail about what might be under the covers of what Steamboat brings to ringside, but instead, we can reveal the identity of his opponent. While the name doesn't mean much to the casual fan, fans of the era will remember Kruger, sans mustache, as the loud unkempt referee from the Fall of 1987 through 1988, notably working WrestleMania IV and being the schmuck referee that counts Bam Bam Bigelow out while standing on the apron and being assaulted by his opponent. Kruger opens with a boot to the midsection. Steamboat sends him from corner to corner and Kruger surprises him and everyone else with a clothesline. Knee drop across the chest and Kruger covers for a one-count. He plants Steamboat with a slam and nails a flying fist drop for two. Kruger tries it again, but Steamboat slams him off the top rope. He sends Kruger to the turnbuckle, and he somehow bumps off it by taking a dive over the top rope! Back inside, Steamboat with an atomic drop, followed by a chop that misses by a solid 18-inches. Whip and Steamboat with a belly-to-belly suplex before finishing with the flying body press at 2:38. I should note Steamboat's headband stayed perfectly adjusted the entire time.Ken Resnick is standing by with Hulk Hogan to promote his title defense against Randy Savage at the Boston Garden.
Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake (w/ Johnny Valiant) vs. Ricky Thompson & Mike Lucca:
Those are some jobbers right there to top all jobbers. Since losing the Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania 2, the former Champions have remained in the conversation regarding whom will chase the Bulldogs for the belts. Valentine starts with Thompson. Lockup and Valentine plants him with a slam. Beefcake with a snap mare and elbow across the shoulder. He busts out a suplex as we get pre-recorded comments from the British Bulldogs, sans Lou Albano. Valentine back in, barely getting Thompson up for a stomach buster. Yes, sand bagging is always a good idea. Beefcake with a whip and high knee that missed so badly they had to cut to a different angle for the impact. The wind must've been strong, because it still finished Thompson at 2:54, with Lucca doing nothing but stand on the apron. Not the best squash I've seen from this duo."Adorable" Adrian Adonis and Jimmy Hart are standing by for this week's edition of The Flower Shop with guest "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff. The microphone is placed inside a bouquet of flowers. Adonis asks Orndorff if he's taking a backseat to Hulk Hogan. Orndorff is quickly angered, denying taking a backseat to anyone. Adonis says Hogan is getting more cheers and that he sells more dolls than Paul Orndorff and let's not talk about the posters sales. Oh, and Hogan makes sure to get the fall in tag team matches, with Orndorff even saying he does 90% of the work but it doesn't bother him that Hogan takes the falls from him. Sounds like he's quite annoyed by all of this, but ORNDORFF AND HOGAN ARE FRIENDS AND NOTHING WILL CHANGE IT.
Jake "The Snake" Roberts vs. Don Driggers:
We all know we're going to see Ricky Steamboat in this segment, the only question is when it will be. Lockup to the ropes and Roberts buries a shoulder into the midsection. Whip to the ropes and Driggers comes back with a dropkick. Driggers goes for the arm, but Roberts backs him into the corner and pops him on the side of the head with an elbow. Snap mare out of the corner, followed by a scoop slam. Vince says he's surprised this has been a lopsided match. SURE, VINCE. Roberts gets annoyed by the crowd chanting for Steamboat and decks Driggers with a right hand. Roberts with another slam and he starts agitating the snake in the bag. He lays Driggers out with a short-arm clothesline and finishes with the DDT at 2:17. Post-match, Roberts goes for Damian, but Steamboat rushes in with his mysterious bag of mystery. He lays out Roberts with a clothesline and unleashes A GIANT MONITOR LIZARD to send Roberts scurrying for the locker room. In the weeks that followed, they would call it a "Komodo Dragon", which is still technically a monitor lizard."Leaping" Lanny Poffo is standing by for words on behalf of MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, and gives us a poem about driving sober.
Big John Studd (w/ Bobby Heenan) vs. Jim Powers & Rick Hunter:
Studd quickly interrupts The Fink and says this is a slam challenge, offering $15,000 in cash to man that could pull off the accomplishment. Suddenly, King Tonga shows up and wants to take on the challenge himself. Studd denies the challenge, stating the offer is to Powers and Hunter, not him. Hunter goes first and can't budge Studd. On the third try he gets Studd off his feet, but that's as far as he gets. Now it's Powers' turn, and he has the same level of success. The geeks try to do a double slam, breaking the rules of the challenge. Studd shrugs them off and gives them both slams with ease. Whip and Powers surprises Studd with a dropkick, but another slam attempt backfires. Studd dumps him out and slams Hunter for three at 2:19. Post-match, Studd keeps punishing the geeks until Tonga comes back to the ring. He nails Studd with a couple of chops, scoops him up with a long delay and plants him with a slam to drive the crowd wild. That's unofficial, by the way.Ken Resnick standing by with Randy Savage to hype the show in Boston.
Bruno and Vince recap the wild week and advertise for next week: The Junkyard Dog! Killer Bees! Hercules! Bob Orton! BIlly Jack Haynes! The Funk Brothers! The Hart Foundation! Tito Santana! Lanny Poffo! AND MORE! Vince, it's only an hour-long show!
Final Thoughts: Not the best for quality squashes this week, with a handful of clunkers, but we got three big angles to help push some feuds, even if there's not much reason to care about one of them. Steamboat unveiling a monitor lizard to counter Damian was a cool moment, though a bit unnecessary, since the feud was already heated and didn't need a boost this soon. Then we've got Tonga being the next man to slam John Studd, who no doubt will deny it happened, because heels going to heel. Finally, they're planting the seeds for trouble between Paul Orndorff and Hulk Hogan, as Orndorff's poor delivery of his lines made it more obvious than it needed to be, as if the casual fan is a dumb mark who doesn't understand subtlety.
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