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WWF at the Philadelphia Spectrum
June 20, 1987

by Scrooge McSuck

After struggling to get through the latest card from Madison Square Garden (featuring a great Hogan/Race title match and a lot of long, dull matches underneath), it's time for more Spectrum action courtesy of PRISM. The WWF ran Ft. Wayne, IN with the Hart Foundation and Bulldogs on top of what looks like a C-Tour, while a show in Augusta, GA has no information available other than Randy Savage being scheduled to appear.

Dick Graham and Gorilla Monsoon are ringside to call the action, unless otherwise noted.

Jerry Allen vs. Terry Gibbs:

I DARE YOU TO GIVE THESE GUYS 20-MINUTES. I was curious about Gibbs' non-WWF work, and there's not much out there readily available (and by that, I mean a quick YouTube search). Allen's going to stick around for the next year or so as a prelim house show guy who gets treated like standard enhancement talent on syndication. Allen offers a sign of sportsmanship, but Gibbs isn't interested. Allen avoids a cheap-shot and pops Gibbs with a soft right hand. We get our first international of the night, with Allen controlling the early action. Allen's got the physique, but he's worse than Jim Powers. The crowd isn't entertained by this 3-minute arm bar. LOUD "Boring" chants that Dick Graham acknowledges! Gibbs avoids an elbow drop and nails Allen under the chin with a knee. OH MY GOD, A BEARHUG? REALLY?!?! Allen escapes but gets caught with his head down. Gibbs with a slam and elbow drop for two. Allen escapes a second bearhug and the big comeback is to silence. Gibbs misses a charge to the corner and a sunset flip finishes at 10:53. An absolute nothing of a match. I don't think either man broke a sweat. ZERO STARS

Outback Jack vs. Jose Estrada:

What luck, I got a rematch to the worst match from the latest Madison Square Garden card. Estrada doesn't waste time, hiding out on the floor. Estrada goes to the eyes and pounds away, but Jack quickly turns things around. Estrada to the eyes again and it's not just a rematch, it's a Punch-a-Mania Rematch. Estrada with clubbing forearms from the top rope. We get a silly spot of Outback trying to kick out of a cover, but Estrada holds the belt of his pants to keep position. Jack gets fired up, throwing right hands. Estrada goes to the eyes for what feels like the fifth time already. Whip to the ropes, Jack ducks under an elbow and we get a clothesline double-down. Jack with an atomic drop and scoop slam that has Estrada begging off. Another slam and Jack finishes with the Boomerang at 8:22. Well, this one wasn't good either, but they at least tried to do stuff. ½*

Paul Roma & Jim Powers vs. The Shadows:

Of course. We've covered these teams enough, prelim fodder where Powers and Roma have the slight edge. The Shadows attack at the bell, but Roma and Powers quickly turn things around in a clunky looking sequence. All four men get a chance to work an International, with the duo of Roma and Powers getting the better of every exchange. Powers works the arm of Shadow Rivera and the crowd could not care any less, it's so quiet. Shadow Rex comes in illegally, hitting Roma with a clothesline and back suplex. Roma escapes a chin-lock, only to get caught off the ropes with a powerslam. You know things aren't going well when Monsoon and Graham are casually calling out blown spots. Sloppy double-team work from the Shadows and good gravy, these two have zero chemistry. Roma escapes an overhead back-breaker by kicking off the buckle and countering with a back body-drop. Powers with the tag, running wild with dropkicks. Colley is out of position on everything in this match. Heck breaks loose, Shadow Smash is knocked out of the ring, and Roma hits Shadow Conquistador with a flying sunset flip for three at 14:32. Randy Colley needs to be served his papers, he's awful. Everyone else was OK. *

Tito Santana vs. "The Outlaw" Ron Bass:

Welcome to purgatory! Ron Bass is standing around, doing nothing since the departure of Blackjack Mulligan, and Santana has nothing going for him now that the program with Butch Reed cooled. Hopefully someone involved in the plans of a big push in the tag team division doesn't wig out, forcing some roster adjustments. Lockup to the ropes and Bass unloads with right hands. Whip is reversed and Santana returns fire, sending Bass out of the ring with a dropkick. Tito grew up on the mean-streets of fictional "Tocula", he isn't taking anyone's crap! Back inside, Bass with a handful of tights, sending Santana face-first into the turnbuckle. Bass with a clothesline and knee to the midsection for a two-count.

Santana fights out of a chin-lock, but a yank of the tights allows Bass to re-apply the hold. Swinging neck breaker from the Outlaw for a near-fall. Santana fights out of the corner and literally has Bass on the ropes. Tito comes off the second rope with a fist-drop for two. Flying Forearm connects, but Bass is able to kick out. Whip to the ropes and Bass counters a back body-drop attempt with a boot to the chest. He sends Tito across the ring, but bonks his knee on the buckle. Figure-Four applied, but Bass grabbed the referee and got himself disqualified at 11:22. Post-match, Bass grabs the whip, but the referee keeps him from doing any damage. Nothing fancy here, just your typical prelim effort from Santana. **

Billy Jack Haynes vs. "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff:

Orndorff's falling down the card was inevitable, so being paired with Haynes isn't too much of a demotion considering the issues with the roster at the time (especially near the top of the babyface depth chart). At least it's not Round 122 of the Hercules vs. Billy Jack feud that carried through the last quarter of 1986 and through the first half of 1987. Lockup takes them around the ring until the referee forces them apart. Haynes cranks on a side headlock, with Orndorff doing everything he can, unsuccessfully, to counter. A whip to the ropes finally breaks, but a shoulder block from Haynes sends Mr. Wonderful out of the ring. The crowd chants "Paula", getting under his skin. Despite doing very little physically for nearly 10-minutes, the crowd is still hot at Orndorff.

Things kick into high gear as we get an extended rope running sequence, ending with Haynes missing a cross body press. Orndorff runs through Billy Jerk with a clothesline, followed by a pair of elbow drops. Lots of choking from Orndorff as this match just drags along. Haynes escapes a chin-lock with a leverage move, but Orndorff cuts his comeback off with a rake of the eyes. Whip to the ropes and Orndorff with a dropkick. He signals for the Piledriver, but Haynes counters. Orndorff meets knees in the corner and Haynes comes off the turnbuckle with an elbow. Orndorff with a handful of tights, throwing Haynes through the ropes. Haynes comes back in with a sunset flip for two. We get a series of near-falls and a double-down. Haynes gets the Full Nelson applied, and the bell rings at 21:05 for our time limit draw. You can tell they were going long. There's a solid 8-10 minute match in here with a ton of padding. *½

WWF Women's Championship Match:
The Fabulous Moolah (c) vs. Debbie Combs:

Craig DeGeorge has taken over for Gorilla Monsoon on commentary. Don't look now, but the clock is finally running out on Moolah's stranglehold of the Women's Championship, but that won't save us from suffering through another one of her "this is how we worked in 1961" wonders. We get some "comedy" between Moolah and the referee. Moolah yanks the hair to take Combs to the canvas. Debbie turns things around, working the arm. Moolah rolls away from a splash, then Combs does the same. Moolah offers a handshake and it's COMBS sneaking in a cheap shot! Debbie with a Full Nelson into a body-scissors. Moolah escapes but is sent across the ring with a monkey-flip. Moolah is giving a surprising amount of offense. Just as I type that, Moolah takes over with hair mares and more spots with the referee. Combs teases a comeback until missing a dive in the corner and taking a spill to the arena floor. Back inside, Combs ducks a clothesline, Moolah avoids a dropkick, and a roll-over cradle allows Moolah to retain at 6:38. Surprisingly not bad. Maybe Moolah was feeling generous, I don't know. **

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs. Kamala (w/ Mr. Fuji & Kim-Chee):

Hey, Steamboat is on the card... and working Kamala? Not a match we saw often, so I'm all for it, just for the sake of something fresh and interesting. This feels like a battle of men coming down from better days, though Kamala's fall is much more obvious. Steamboat uses his agility to avoid and frustrate Kamala. Kamala shows off his leaping ability and catches Steamboat by surprise with a side crescent kick. Fuji talks Kamala out of climbing the ropes and punishes Steamboat with chops and chokes. Kamala misses a splash in the corner, allowing Steamboat to land a series of blows. Kim-Chee picks the ankle, but Steamboat fights him off and comes off the top with the big chop. Now Fuji hops on the apron to distract the referee. Kim-Chee with another distraction, allowing Kamala to slam Steamboat off the top and hit the splash for three at 6:00! Wow, I know it wasn't clean, but that caught me by surprise. Not much to this one, just some standard Kamala stuff with Steamboat selling for most of it. *½

Hulk Hogan & Ken Patera vs. "The King" Harley Race & Hercules (w/ Bobby Heenan):

Main Event and final match of the night. Eh, I guess we didn't need the WWF Championship on the line for the sake of propping up Ken Patera as a meaningful babyface. Hogan is once again rocking the all white alternate gear. It's a big brawl as soon as Hogan and Patera get to the ring, and it doesn't take long for them to clear the Heenan Family out. Things settle down with Hogan and Race starting formally. Race goes to the midsection and pops Hulk with a headbutt. Hogan blocks a suplex, taking Race over with one of his own and sends the King over the top rope with a clothesline. Now it's Patera and Hercules' turn to show the crowd a good time, and we immediately get Race and Hercules knocked into each other. Patera gives the audience a sequel with a DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER and poor Hercules gets to play ping-pong between Hulk and Patera.

In the biggest surprise of the night, Hulk is playing the face-in-peril. Race connects with a piledriver (which drunken Graham calls a "reverse piledriver" for whatever reason) for two. Hogan fights out of Hercules' bearhug and comes off the ropes with a clothesline. Patera with the hot tag, throwing Hercules across the ring with a slam, followed by a suplex. Bearhug applied, but The King made the save, and now Patera gets to play face-in-peril. A-HA, it's one of those types of tag matches. Race with a belly-to-belly suplex and gut-wrench suplex, but Hogan saves on each pin attempt. Hogan back in for the real hot tag, running wild on Race with slams. Whip to the ropes, big boot and leg drop to Race. Hercules gets taken out, Heenan is knocked off the apron, and a double clothesline finishes Race at 11:26. Hogan and Patera with celebratory posing to cap off the night. Fun tag team match that didn't overstay its welcome and sent the crowd home happy. ***

Final Thoughts: The Spectrum once again delivers some unique matches on top, which seems to be the only reason to check out most of these cards. The work underneath is mostly poor, and even the stars vs stars matches are mostly meh, but hey, we got a fun tag team main event with Hogan and Patera teaming up, and a curious match between Kamala and Ricky Steamboat, so not all is lost. I would definitely skip through the rest and not think twice, unless you're THAT interested in seeing a not-awful Moolah match.

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