Wrestling Challenge #1

Reviews, Shows, TV Shows

The SmarK 24/7 Rant for Wrestling Challenge #1 (September 7 1986)

– Might as well go back to the beginning of Challenge for fun.

– Your hosts are Gorilla, Ernie Ladd & Johnny V

Magnificent Muraco & Iron Mike Sharpe v. Mike Rotundo & Danny Spivey.

Kind of a weird match. Hearing Gorilla call the US Express “excitement personified” is pretty funny given their overwhelming blandness. Rotundo gets a slam on Muraco and controsl the arm while Superstar Graham has a cut-in video promo. Quite the incomprehensible one it is, too. Over to Spivey for more armdrags, but Sharpe gets a cheapshot from the apron and comes in to pound away. Spivey backdrops him out of the corner and follows with a dropkick, and it’s over to Rotundo to finish with the airplane spin, but Muraco saves. Rotundo with a small package, but Muraco turns it over behind the ref’s back, and then Spivey turns it over again to finish at 3:03. Decent little TV match. **

Randy Savage doesn’t like it when fans boo him. Get on the bandwagon, yeah!

Adrian Adonis v. Tommy Sharp

Bob Orton (with pink cowboy hat) is acting as Adrian’s bodyguard here. Lemme tell ya, Adonis stealing Piper’s bodyguard and then co-opting his interview segment is a HELL of a deal. That may have been one of the greatest feuds of all-time. Adonis wrestles the jobber to the mat and works on the arm, then tosses him for some abuse from the Ace. Back in, Adonis tosses him around, and Orton brazenly comes in with a backdrop suplex into an Adonis flying elbow to finish at 3:03. Awesome — the Piper feud hadn’t even started and you already wanted him to come back and kick their asses.

Bob Orton gives an interview with Killer Ken Resnick and clarifies his allegiance switch — Adonis pays better and Piper stopped sending cheques when he left for Hollywood. Well, that’s fair, but the pink cowboy hat is a bit on the homosexual side.

Koko B. Ware v. Bob Bradley

Debut for the Birdman here. He gets a quick backdrop, but Bradley gets a headlock. They criss-cross and Koko gets a crossbody for two, but Bradley pounds him in the corner to take over. Slam and he goes up, but misses a flying kneedrop and Koko elbows him down and follows with a dropkick. Missile dropkick finishes at 2:48.

Jimmy Hart offers more on the Bob Orton defection, as he notes that he can’t bring the Hart Foundation with him everywhere, so he needed some extra protection.

Paul Orndorff v. TROY MARTIN

Holy fucknuts, it’s a teenaged Shane Douglas doing job duty! Funny thing related to this, as young Mr. Martin teamed with Paul as “Troy Orndorff” a little while after this and played his (kayfabe) younger nephew before changing his name and becoming a sort-of star on his own. Orndorff shrugs off the skinny jobber’s headlock attempt and tosses him, then gives him a slam on the floor and tosses him into the front row. And we get a cut-in promo from the Honky Tonk Man as a FACE for a bonus. Best squash ever! Back in, Orndorff throws a dropkick and follows with a short clothesline to set up the HULK-KILLING PILEDRIVER at 1:37. Gorilla notes that Troy’s career may be over. Sadly, no. Orndorff was MONEY at this point. Literally, given the box office he was drawing with Hulk.

And another debut, as it’s the Snake Pit with Jake Roberts. The Wizard gives a promo about the coming of Kamala and I don’t understand a damn word of it.

And now another great moment, as Harley Race is crowned KING by Bobby Heenan, in all his regalness (TM Vince McMahon), thus earning the WWF a lawsuit from Jerry Lawler. They never settled, but hired him instead. Bobby is tremendous here, of course.

The British Bulldogs v. The Moondogs

This is non-title, because the Bulldogs obviously fear the Moondogs. It’s BONZO GONZO immediately and the Bulldogs clean house, then Kid snap suplexes Rex for two. Spot quickly trips him up and gets his own suplex for two. Rex elbows Kid down for two, but he comes back with a sunset flip for two. The Moondogs trade off on Kid, as Dynamite is sure “getting the heat”, as Don West would say on national TV. Spot elbows him down for two, but Kid finally gets a clothesline and brings in Davey Boy. He rams the Moondogs together and gets a suplex on Rex for two. No delay on that one for some reason. The Moondogs actually manage to toss Dynamite and double-team Davey, but he comes back in with a flying bodypress on Rex to finish at 4:24. I’d actually like to see this match given some time on a house show. **1/4

Jake Roberts does an interview about how much he hates Ricky Steamboat, and Randy Savage pops in to point out that he’s also awesome and also hates Ricky Steamboat. That’s quite the tag team.

Great stuff here. I could watch Shane Douglas getting dropped on his head all day and all night, too.