WWF at Madison Square Garden
August 22, 1987
by Scrooge McSuck
We're inching ever-so-closely to the end of the Summer, and it's another stop at Madison Square Garden which, on paper, looks like the B-Tour, with Hulk Hogan headlining against Killer Khan in a Mongolian Stretcher Match in Landover, MD, and then we also have our C-Tour hitting the Omni in Atlanta with Paul Orndorff vs Harley Race, Jake Roberts vs King Kong Bundy, and Koko B. Ware vs Danny Davis as the top attractions. THE OMNI.
Gorilla Monsoon and Lord Alfred Hayes are ringside to call all the action, with the Duke of Dorchester Pete Doherty sitting in for a few matches throughout the night.
Scott Casey vs. Tama:
I shouldn't complain when all the matches have been of decent quality, but I'm glad we're mixing it up and moving Tama away from Martel, at least for one show. Casey is still a fresh face to fill the prelim ranks, with most of his previous work from Southwest Championship and World Class. Tama with some classic heel antics, hiding in the ropes and barking at the crowd to avoid contact with his opponent, then complaining about a phantom hair pull. He gets a little too cocky and a dropkick from Casey sends him flying through the ropes. Tama takes advantage of Casey's lack of patience, nailing him in the corner with a punch to the... uh... butthole? Casey avoids a charge into the corner and works the arm that Tama wrapped around the post. Tama turns things back in his favor, catching Casey with his head down and delivering a headbutt. Casey fights out of a chin-lock, but gets nailed coming off the ropes with a diving elbow. Casey mounts his full-blown comeback, hitting Tama with a piledriver for a near-fall. Tama avoids a charge to the corner, plants Casey with a slam and finishes with a flying splash at 11:25. Perfectly fine opener. **
Tito Santana vs. "The Outlaw" Ron Bass:
These two crossed paths the madison-square-garden-072587.phplast time we made the trip to MSG. Santana is in no mood for games and brings the fight to Bass as soon as he steps foot between the ropes. Bass tries to escape to ringside, but Santana follows and bops him in the face with a chair! Referee, I know they are outside the ring, but you need to restore order! Back in the ring, Santana pulls Bass' vest over his head and comes off the turnbuckle with a knee to the face. Bass attempts to take a walk, and at this point, you know the next play. Bass finally has enough and grabs Miss Betsy, so Santana fetches a chair to counter. Now TITO has the whip, but the referee disarms him, unfortunately. The onslaught of Santana continues, as he pummels Bass and pulls him off the canvas before the referee can count a pin-fall.Bass takes a stroll around ringside to retrieve an illegal object, but Santana quickly cuts him off and hits a roll over snap mare. Santana cranks on a front face-lock, but Bass with a break in the corner and a handful of tights to throw Santana to the concrete. I don't know what Santana rolled around in, but his back is covered in black gunk. Bass with a delayed suplex and piledriver. Santana blocks a second suplex, countering with his own, but Bass quickly regains control and hooks a head-scissors. Santana fights for the escape, but sells fatigue with the best of them. Santana slows Bass down with a forearm, but misses a charge into the corner. Santana with one more comeback in him, but the Figure-Four attempt is blocked. Whip to the ropes, Santana with the flying forearm, knocking Bass out of the ring... and the bell sounds at 19:45 for a Time Limit Draw. Close enough. Well, this was a pretty darn good match, though Bass clamping on a chin-lock late was the final tell needed that they were buying some time for this finish. ***½
WWF Women's Championship Match: The Sensational Sherri (c) vs. Velvet McIntyre:
Sherri with her first defense of the Championship at the Garden since defeating Moolah for it at the Sam Houston Coliseum on July 24th (and basically ending Moolah's stranglehold over the division). Sherri's role was undefined at the time of winning, but on recent TV, she made it clear she was heel, especially with her self-given "Sensational" nickname. Yay, I love heels holding belts forever and then losing them to ANOTHER HEEL! Velvet gets the jump, blasting Sherri with a high knee. Whip to the ropes and Velvet with a foot to the chest for two. Sherri creates separation by tossing Velvet with a handful of hair, but Velvet rolls through with it, holding onto the arm. Sherri temporarily swings the momentum in her favor with all the usual dirty heel tactics, but Velvet continues to punish the arm and lights Sherri up with high kicks. Velvet's wrestling acumen and Sherri's underhanding technique is the story throughout. Velvet counters a charge into the corner and catches Sherri with a series of single-foot dropkicks. Sherri powders and Velvet follows, blasting her with a forearm. Everything seems to be going Velvet's way, but Sherri finds a way to survive a body-scissors and the world's greatest move, the giant swing. Velvet misses a twisting body press but Sherri takes too long climbing the ropes and gets slammed down. Velvet doesn't agree with the referee's call that Sherri was in the ropes, turning her back to the Champion long enough for Sherri to come from behind and hit her with a back suplex to retain at 14:23. This might be the best Sherri match I've watched from this era. She's basically a female Honkytonk Man, getting whooped all match and being no-match for her opponent's skill, but took advantage of one mistake and escaped with the belt. ***Rick Martel vs. Haku (w/ Tama):
It's a dirty shame Martel's no-good partner deserted him in his time of need, having to face all these battles with the Islanders by himself! The crowd chants "TITO!" as the Islanders refuse to allow Martel entry, so Martel runs back to the dressing room and returns with his equalizer, the man from the fictional town of Tocula, Tito Santana! There's too much shenanigans going on, so the referee orders Tama and Santana to leave the ring area. Haku attacks from behind with chops, but Martel quickly cuts him off with a cross body press. It's back and forth early, with both men taking advantage of mistakes. Martel with a snap mare and knee across the chest for two. The charge into the corner spot gets pulled again, as Martel kisses the bottom of the foot. Haku punishes the back, first with a seated chin-lock, followed by a back suplex. Martel shows some fire, but Haku grabs the tights to send him out of the ring. Haku cuts off another comeback, laying Martel out with a clothesline. Martel avoids a flying headbutt and throws a series of left hands. Whip and a dropkick, followed by a monkey-flip. Haku counters a flying head-scissors, dropping Martel across the turnbuckle for a near-fall. Haku with a jumping headbutt for two. Tama sneaks down to ringside and blasts Martel with a chair, allowing Haku to cover for three at 9:20. Santana quickly rushes down to the ring, but the damage is done. They try to do a stretcher job, but Martel is a MAN and leaves with minor assistance. Good enough, not at the level I expected, but still a fine little match. **½The Fink wants to introduce us to the man who claims he should be the rightful WWF Heavyweight Champion as a result of his match at WrestleMania III; ANDRE THE GIANT. Andre makes it down the aisle, takes it in for a moment, and leaves in a bit of a huff. Well, that was unusual, but this also marks Andre's first live appearance for the WWF since working the Saturday Night's Main Event taping on April 28th (and before that, of course, WrestleMania III).
WWF Intercontinental Championship; Lumberjack Match:
The Honkytonk Man (c) (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat:
Rematch from last month's MSG card, as well as the title switch that took place on WWF Superstars back in June. The Lumberjacks here are pretty much everyone except for the stars of our other Main Event attraction. Honky is reluctant to mix it up, staying close to the ropes. He gets the first shot, luring Steamboat into the corner. The Dragon gets tossed over the top, but he skins the cat and knocks Honky out of the ring with a dropkick, first into unfriendly territory, then following him into a sea of Honky allies. They take it to the floor again, and I half-expect to see Strike Force and the Islanders to brawl. Honky wants a timeout, but chooses a poor route to attempt an exit. Honky gets 10 tastes of the turnbuckle not once but twice.
Steamboat gets tripped up by the Islanders, then Steele returns the favor by picking the ankle of Honky. Steamboat with a delayed back suplex for a near-fall. Whip to the corner and Honky counters a monkey-flip, with some high effort over-exaggeration selling from Steamboat. Honky with a slam and the flying fist drop for two. Steamboat shows some life, but Honky cuts him off with a shoulder tackle to the midsection. Another comeback attempt from the Dragon but he gets dumped out of the ring. Steamboat rallies again, sending Honky into the turnbuckle and planting him with a slam. He comes off the top with a big chop, but Jimmy Hart has the referee distracted. For no good reason, Steele gets in the ring to give the visual three-count for Steamboat. During the chaos, Honky whacks Steamboat with the megaphone and covers for three at 11:40. Post-match, the lumberjacks brawl for the hell of it. Fine for what it was, though to be honest, Lumberjack rules aren't high on my list of enjoyable gimmick matches, and they all have the same playbook. **½
"Superstar" Billy Graham vs. "The Natural" Butch Reed (w/ Slick):
Graham is in the middle of his comeback tour (including his first match at MSG in over four years), having undergone hip replacement surgery late in 1986. Graham is only 44 here, but looks and moves like he's 60. Reed tries getting the jump, but Graham fights him off with right hands. Poor Slick is in the ring and gets knocked over the top rope. Graham with a sleeper, but Reed to the ropes for the break, and in the process, has something handed off to him and one shot has Graham in trouble. Reed chokes Superstar with his torn up shirt and goes to work on the hip. TAKE THAT, GRANDPA! Reed with a snap mare, and I'm surprised Graham was willing to give him that bump. This whole heat segment is "I've fallen and I can't get up" vibes. Graham fights out of a chin-lock, but the hip is his Achilles heel. Graham with the comeback, sending Reed from corner to corner. Superstar with the bearhug, but Slick hops in for the cheap disqualification at 8:58. Post-match, Graham lays out Slick and reapplies the bearhug on Reed, with it taking a group of officials and even Gorilla Monsoon to get him to release the hold. There's only so much you're getting out of washed and physically destroyed Billy Graham. At least it was kept reasonably short. *Leapin' Lanny Poffo vs. Jose Estrada:
Might as well get up and go use the restroom myself with such a promising encounter. Poffo has a poem for us and serves up a few flying discs for the crowd. Estrada doesn't care much for Poffo's antics and attacks before the bell, a trend we have seen all too often on this card. Estrada drops the hammer with several trips from the top rope. Poor Poffo can't even remove his jacket! He manages to create separation and grabs a choke in the ropes! Estrada suckers Poffo in by begging off and dumps him through the ropes. Back inside, Estrada with a successful charge into the corner, but his knee drop misses. Poffo AGAIN falls for the beg off trap. Nothing really worth noting as they go back and forth without much reason to care either way. Poffo finally learns his lesson and brings the heat when Estrada tries his schtick a third time. Poffo with a slam, but the moonsault misses the target. Estrada misses a dive into the corner, and Poffo finishes with a flying senton at 7:41. Nothing technically wrong with the work, it just fell flat for me. *½The WWF returns to Madison Square Garden on September 21st and the Fink gives a run down on what to expect; The Wild Samoan Sika will be in singles action! King Harley Race takes on Hillbilly Jim! Johnny Valiant's (New) Dream Team faces the Rougeau Brothers! Cowboy Bob Orton goes one-on-one with The Magnificent Muraco! Kamala battles George "The Animal" Steele! The Islanders meet Strike Force! The Honkytonk Man goes against Jake "The Snake Roberts! In the Main Event, the One Man Gang challenges WWF Champion Hulk Hogan!
The Junkyard Dog & George "The Animal" Steele vs. Demolition:
What a wacky, random tag team match to throw out there, and I'm all for it. Steele and JYD are strictly special attraction guys with little storyline direction, and Demolition are still finding their way in a crowded tag team division. Ax and JYD start, with Ax going to work with clubbing blows. He plants the Dog with a slam, but misses the follow-up elbow and gets caught in the wrong side of town. Steele bites Ax and sells the paint smearing all over his hands and face. Steele with his usual antics, including the spot where he counters a clothesline by biting the arm. They're all working this like they would a match taped for syndication; rushed and with little rhyme or reason behind anything. Steele has finally had enough of Demolition's double-team work and bonks Smash with a chair to draw the disqualification at 6:10. Not much here, but it was short, which is always a positive for sub-par matches. *Final Thoughts: A better show than I expected when looking at the lineup, though it does fall off for the last few matches. The matches expected to earn top marks actually underperformed, with the TLD between Santana and Bass and the Women's Title being the best matches on the show for me, while Honky/Steamboat and Haku/Martel were fine, but below expectations. Nothing was hideous, and the sub-par matches are all reasonably short, so overall, a solid card and worth checking out if you need your late 80's WWF fix.
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