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WWF Championship Wrestling- February 1, 1986

by Scrooge McSuck

- Hosted by Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino, taped on January 7th from the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, NY. This week, Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake accept the challenge of the British Bulldogs, but the Tag Titles won't be on the line. Before we can announce anything else, "Adorable" Adrian Adonis and Jimmy Hart interrupt. Adonis is now wearing bright pink trunks, to go along with the streamers and bows. He'll be in action too, by the way.

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat & King Tonga vs. Rusty Brooks & Moondog Spot:

Steamboat and Tonga come out to "Sirius" by The Alan Parsons Project (for those unfamiliar, the song acts as an intro to "Eye in the Sky", and yes, I'm a bit of an APP mark, and it's one of my favorite songs of theirs). Steamboat starts, threatening Spot with his vast knowledge of Karate. Steamboat with a side headlock and shoulder tackle. Brooks takes a cheap shot at him, but the distraction doesn't help, as Steamboat takes both opponents over with deep arm drags. Tonga lays into Brooks with a chop from the apron and connects with a dropkick. Spot surprises Tonga with a knee to the midsection and plants him with a slam. Whip and Tonga comes back with a sunset flip for two. Brooks comes in and gets worked over. Steamboat with a flying chop to the top of the head. Whip to the ropes and they connect with a double chop. Tonga with a crescent kick and diving headbutt for three at 3:37. Steamboat and Tonga aren't too bad of a part-time team, though their chemistry isn't much, of course.

- Lord Alfred Hayes is standing by with this week's Update. Ever since last year's WrestleMania, many people have enquired about Mr. T. He insists he's in peak physical condition and is ready to jump back in the ring if the phone should ring. We see highlights from last year where Hogan and Mr. T trained for WrestleMania, and literally a 1.5 second clip of him standing on the apron from the show itself.

- Vote for Best Personality in Land of a Thousand Dances. Here are SIX of the nominations (a.k.a. the entire roster): The Junkyard Dog, The Fabulous Moolah (who doesn't have a clear line in the song, but whatever), Gene Okerlund, Jim Neidhart, Brutus Beefcake, and Uncle Elmer.

"Adorable" Adrian Adonis (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. Jeff Grilley:

We've seen "Grilley" before, but the name continues to be changed, as the listed name doesn't match the announced name. The Fink has a weird glee in his voice when introducing Adonis from "New York City." He looks AWFUL in the pink trunks and purple boots and appears to have gained more weight since the last Championship Wrestling taping. We get the standard chant directed his way during this era. Lockup to the corner and Adonis gives a clean break. Another lockup and Adonis lays into Grilley with knees. He puts a bow back on his head and spikes Grilley with a DDT for three at 1:25. That was quick. At least Adonis isn't wrestling a flamboyant style, though he's really going over the top in appearance, and we've yet to see him at it's more glorious.

- The Fink hypes a card coming to The University of Wyoming Auditorium in Laramie, WY. The card features: The Hart Foundation vs. The British Bulldogs, Judy Martin vs. Linda Gonzales, George Wells and Danny Spivey in action, and the Main Event of Bob Orton Jr. vs. "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff. Yeah, I'm surprised my set of episodes includes this random one mixed in with a bunch of Boston area broadcasts. Checking my sources, no results are listed. I guess no one from Laramie was a subscriber to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in February 1986.

The Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff (w/ Fred Blassie) vs. Jim Powers & "Special Delivery" Jones:

Think about this for a moment: The Iron Sheik is so unappreciated, he managed to make a team with NIKOLAI VOLKOFF seem tolerable, and never gets credit for it. Sheik starts with Powers, but first takes his time to rile up the audience. Suddenly, Corporal Kirchner appears at ringside, with old glory in hand. U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! Anyway, back to the match. Sheik rakes the eyes of Powers and throws him into the turnbuckle. Jones with right hands, and Powers immediately tags in and gets kicked in the throat. Sheik takes him down with an angled back suplex and Volkoff hits a press-slam back breaker. Sheik with a belly-to-belly suplex and the Camel Clutch finishes at 2:46. Post-match, Kirchner charges the ring and engages in fisticuffs with both men, driving the crowd wild. Sheik nails, but Volkoff tries and fails one more time before taking a powder himself. I didn't think Kirchner was that over, but it's likely a combination of an easy babyface gimmick to get behind and two villains it's easy to cheer against.

- WrestleMania, WrestleMania, WrestleMania... WrestleMania 2: What the World is Coming To. NEW INFORMATION! It'll be April 7th, 1986.

- Gene Okerlund hypes the WWF coming to Laramie, WY "tonight."

- The latest edition of the WWF Magazine is on sale NOW, and the music that accompanies the commercial? Real American.

Hercules Hernandez vs. Paul Dose:

Dose has his name back, but now he's simply from "Illinois". The Fink seemed like he just wanted to his introduction over with as quickly as possible. No Blassie at ringside, despite being present for the previous match. Lockup and Hercules with a knee to the midsection. Blassie joins the commentary to rant about what took place in the last match. Hercules with a big slam. Whoever did sound-mixing for this episode did a horrible job. Blassie challenges Kirchner to find himself a partner to tag on his team of Volkoff and the Sheik. Hercules with a delayed vertical suplex before tossing Dose through the ropes. Blassie finally makes it to ringside, barking orders. Hercules drags Dose back in and gives him a sloppy press slam and finishes with the "back breaker" (torture rack) at 3:17. Match served more as a back-drop to Blassie's challenge for Kirchner than getting Hercules over as a meaningful threat to the mid-card.

- Piper's Pit with Captain Lou Albano. Piper says he's finding trouble finding brave people to appear on the Pit, saying it's because of his bodyguard. Piper asks Albano "how are you doing, fatso?". George Steele staggers onto the set, backing Piper up a few inches from the Captain. Albano says Steele isn't here to scare anyone. Piper says Steele got beat up by a woman, but Albano says it's because of a hypnosis that Savage has over Elizabeth. Orton makes light of Elizabeth, drawing the ire of the Animal. Piper tells Steele he's ugly and very stupid, and he couldn't get a date with a $100 bill on his forehead. Steele mumbles something about Piper's kilt, sending Piper from the stage in anger.

- Commercial for the LJN WWF Action Figures, narrated by Vince McMahon of all people, using the calmest voice he could possibly use for such a promotion.

The Killer Bees vs. A.J. Petruzzi & Dave Barbie:

For reasons unknown, the match is Joined in Progress. I fondly remember the one show from Philadelphia where the WWF tried getting the nickname "The Barbarian" over for Barbie and it bombed because the guy was complete dog sh*t in the ring and gave up immediately. Blair's in the ring, planting Barbie with a slam and dropping an elbow across the chest. Whip to the ropes and Blair with a running elbow. Brunzell (with a swank beard) with a roll-over cradle for two. Blair back in to give Mr. Barbie a wishbone. Barbie tries fighting off both at the same time, but it doesn't go well. Blair with a snap mare and knee drop for two. Petruzzi tags in and grabs Brunzell with a headlock but Brunzell counters with an atomic drop. Whip and Blair with a powerslam for three at 2:33 (shown). This was a match for the sake of having a match. No mention of any potential storylines, chase for the tag belts, nothing.

- WrestleMania 2 is coming!

- Vote for Best Singles Performance on the Wrestling Album.

The British Bulldogs (w/ Capt. Lou Albano) vs. Greg Valentine & Brutus Beefcake (w/ Johnny Valiant):

Non-Title Match, as mentioned countless times over the last two recaps of Championship Wrestling. Still no whisper of "The Dream Team" from anyone... seriously, was that a name we came up with as the audience, or was it official? Valentine and Dynamite start. Lockup to the corner, Dynamite avoids a cheap shot and hits Valentine with an atomic drop. Whip and Dynamite with a shoulder tackle, sending Valentine staggering into the ropes. Valentine pops Dynamite with a knee and plants him with a slam. Beefcake comes in and drops a pair of forearms across the chest. Snap mare and Beefcake with a leg drop for only a one-count. Davey Boy tags in and works on the left arm of Beefcake. Valentine tags in and they briefly work Davey Boy over in the corner. Valentine with a whip and elbow, followed by a headbutt across the midsection. He works the legs and slaps on a Figure-Four, buy Dynamite saves with a leg drop. Dynamite tags in and catches Beefcake with a back breaker for two. Whip to the ropes and Dynamite with a clothesline for two. Snap Suplex but Valentine saves. Davey Boy scoops Beefcake up and plants him with a running powerslam, hoists Valentine on his shoulders, and Dynamite Kid launches himself off Valentine with a flying headbutt to Beefcake for the three count at 4:27. This crowd goes NUTS and they knew it was Non-Title. Good match that officially sets up the Bulldogs as the clear #1 Contenders for the Tag Team Titles.

- Gene Okerlund is standing by for some generic promos since there's not much you can do to hype the show in Laramie. Okerlund gets thrown off by Adonis, who says he woke up one morning and said he was Mrs. Adonis. We get some racially sensitive jokes, as Adonis calls The JYD "Black Lassie" because his mother was a sewer rat and his father a German Shepherd.

- Vince McMahon brings out Corporal Kirchner for an answer about Fred Blassie's challenge. He won't tell us who his partner is, but the man is someone he can trust to fight by his side. My unofficial guess: The Junkyard Dog. Bruno Sammartino is such a gentleman, he won't even take a guess, because Kirchner wants to keep it a surprise.

- Next Week: Kirchner and his Mystery Partner vs. The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff, Ivan Putski, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, King Kong Bundy, Big John Studd, Tito Santana, and Pedro Morales. I'm guessing the last four will be packed into two tag team matches, based on recent trends.

Final Thoughts: Holy heck, the British Bulldogs are over like Rover, winning a Non-Title Match in decisive fashion over the team of Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake. They're pushing George Steele's angle with Elizbeth, so we can expect more between the Animal and Macho Man in the very near future. This week's update highlighted MR. T in a completely random style, and with WrestleMania 2 announced and given a date, it's likely he'll be part of the show that "the world is coming to", whatever that means.

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