Written by: Man of Steel from Place To Be
Prime Time Wrestling
April 27, 1987
Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan
OPENING ANIMATION
Gorilla and Bobby welcome us to this week’s show and we have a doozy. Fuji Vice, more of the Ken Patera story, a tuxedo match, and our feature: Dynamite Kid vs. Bret Hart. Oh yeah, I’ll take that any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Hillbilly Jim defeats Mr. Fuji in a tuxedo match
12/26/86, Madison Square Garden
Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan
Hillbilly is in a white tux and he steps all over Mr. Fuji’s hat. We’re underway at MSG and Fuji rips off part of Hillbilly’s jacket. Hillbilly returns the favor and rips part of Fuji’s jacket. Fuji with a chop and more jacket ripping. This match looks about as good as I’m writing it. Kick by Fuji and he’s taking the rest of Hillbilly’s jacket off. Hillbilly returns the favor and rips Fuji’s jacket and shirt. Fuji with a low blow and he rips Hillbilly’s shirt off. Another kick but Hillbilly rips Fuji’s shirt off. This is hideous. Fuji goes after Hillbilly’s pants but Jim with a head butt. Jim rips Fuji’s pants off with Fuji’s heart boxers. The bell rings and the match is over. That was about as good as you may think. Ugh.
-We’re back and Gorilla says Hillbilly wants a piece of Bundy after he squished the midgets at Wrestlemania. Apparently Bundy was fined $5,000 for the elbow drop on Little Beaver. I rather enjoyed it.
Fabulous Moolah defeats Lelani Kai to retain WWF Women’s Title with a roll-up
12/26/86, Madison Square Garden
Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan
Moolah defends the title here at Madison Square Garden against the former women’s champ. Not sure who the face or heel is here, but I think Moolah is still a heel. They’re not mentioning that Moolah managed Kai at the first Wrestlemania. Some comedy as both Moolah and Kai are pushing the referee around. Kai with some forearms as the bell rings. Moolah pushed in the corner and some boots to the gut followed by a drop kick. Moolah bails to the outside. Kai pulls her back in the ring and some hair pulling. Kai goes for another drop kick but misses. Moolah with a kick to the gut, and some hair pulling snap mares. Moolah throws Kai out to the floor. Moolah grabs her hair and pitches her back in. Moolah with a head butt and a clothesline. Moolah again pitches Kai to the floor. Kai grabs Moolah’s leg and both are out on the floor. Right hands exchanged and Moolah slams Kai’s head into the broadcast table. Moolah slams Kai onto the concrete floor. Gorilla rips the ref for not counting anybody out. The rest of the match is pretty straightforward, with Moolah winning with a roll-up.
-We go to a WWF Update with Craig DeGeorge, who talks about the new career of Danny Davis, and his in-ring debut at Wrestlemania.
-Next is part 4 of “The Ken Patera Story”, where Patera is a free man and pumping iron. He’s ready to return to the WWF and wreak havoc on the man who put him away, Bobby Heenan. Gorilla is vociferously blaming Heenan for all of this. Bobby says he was his in-ring manager, not his babysitter. I’ve said this before, this entire storyline was lame. In real life, Patera was an idiot for the whole McDonalds debacle, and he has no one to blame but himself.
Honky Tonk Man defeats Tom Sharpe with the Shake, Rattle & Roll
3/21/87, Thomas & Mack Center (Las Vegas, NV)
Vince McMahon, Jesse Ventura, and Bruno Sammartino
This was the storyline where Honky was trying to ban the DDT, after screwing Jake Roberts at Wrestlemania with the cheap win. They lock up and Honky with a forearm. Off the ropes but Sharpe with a quick Sunset Flip and an atomic drop for 2. Sharpe with an elbow but Honky with an ax handle. Honky chokes Sharpe with the top rope, then throws him out of the ring. Honky follows him out and drops him on the barricade by the throat, then gyrates in the ring. Honky brings Sharpe back in and a gut-wrench suplex. Honky off the top rope with a fistdrop, He continues to rough up Sharpe in the corner. Vince, Jesse and Bruno discuss Honky’s uphill battle with getting the DDT banned. Honky with the SRR for the 3-count. Effective squash.
-Gorilla says it’s a shock that people are actually voting to ban the DDT. What they should do is ban all of these Muraco/Fuji skits. We now go to Fuji Vice, which is pretty brutal.
George “The Animal” Steele defeats Tiger Chung Lee with a choke
8/3/85, Boston Garden
Gorilla Monsoon and Gene Okerlund
Steele runs in and chases Lee out of the ring. Lee swings at Steele with the kendo stick as he tries to get back in the ring. Lee tries to sneak up on Steele but the Animal chases him out of the ring. More posturing, and they’re back in the ring. They lock up and Steele bites Lee’s arm. Steele now starts biting Lee’s forehead and he bails, but this time Steele chases him out. Both back in and this is awful. Steele does his dancing bit and Lee bails again. My god this is horrible. Steele with a headlock but Lee pushes off and puts him into the corner. Lee with some kicks and both outside. Lee slams Steele’s head into the announce table. Steele responds by throwing the announce table into the ring. The ref pitches the table out of the ring, meanwhile Steele takes Lee down with a choke and the ref stupidly pins him. George rips up the turnbuckles and throws the stuffing out. The replay shows Steele used a foreign object. HUH? This sucked.
-Bobby is livid that Gorilla and Mean Gene blow off the fact that Steele used a foreign object but if one of the Family members used one it would be a federal case, which is true. Gorilla goes that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Did Gorilla really just say that? This show has been one illogical joke after another.
The Islanders defeat The Gladiator/Moondog Spot when Tama pins the Gladiator with a top rope splash
2/16/87, New Haven Coliseum (Drama was at this show)
Vince McMahon, Jesse Ventura, and Bruno Sammartino
The Islanders are still babyfaces here as they get a good ovation. Tama starts with Spottie, and they lock up. Spot with some clubbing blows, then a shoulder block. Tama with consecutive leap frogs into a chop. Tag to Haku and he hits a cross body for 2. Spottie with a right hand and a tag to the Gladiator who goes for a punch and hits Spot instead. Spot off the ropes and Haku with a drop kick for 2. Tag to Gladiator and Haku with an armbar. Tag to Tama who takes the armbar over. Tag to Haku and a gut-wrench suplex. Tag back to Kama and a suplex for 2. Gladiator tags Spot and he’s double teamed with head butts. Haku with a backbreaker and then a tag to Kama, who drops and elbow. Tama with an armbar. He bounces off the ropes, but Spottie catches him with a backbreaker. Tag to Gladiator, who goes for a body slam but is caught in a small package for 2. Tag to Haku with hits some forearms and a body slam. Quick tag to Kama and a big clothesline for 2. Tama with a headlock and a tag to Haku as Jesse baits Bruno and Vince to admit Hogan is the underdog against Andre at Wrestlemania. Both agree, of course. Haku has Gladiator in a Boston Crab, then lets go and stomps. Haku with a powerslam, and a tag to Kama, who drops a top rope splash for the pin. Best match of the show so far.
-In the studio Bobby says the Islanders are a good team, but the team is lacking hate. Gorilla makes another Patera comment and Bobby is exasperated.
Dynamite Kid defeats Bret Hart with a sunset flip reversal
9/14/85, Capital Centre (Landover, MD)
Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan
Now this is what I’m talking about. It’s a shame back in the day we didn’t appreciate this as much as we do now. Put the 1994 Bret Hart in there and this is 5 stars. Still the 1986 Bret Hart will do. They lock up and Kid pushes Bret into the ropes. Bret complains about hair pulling. They lock again and Kid pushes Bret again into the ropes. Bret complains about hair pulling and bails. They lock up and Kid with a headlock. They do the shoulder block/leap frog combo and in the end Bret goes for a body scissors but Kid catches him. Kid slingshots Bret over the ropes and to the floor. Bret finally gets back in and they posture. They lock up and Bret pushes Kid into the ropes, but he goes for a kick and gets caught. Kid with an atomic drop, then the patented snap suplex. Kid with a headlock. They reverse multiple times into a hammerlock but on the last reversal Kid snaps Bret over the ropes to the floor. Bret stalks on the floor and gets back in. They lock up and Bret with a wrist lock, but Kid with an an awesome flip reversal into his own hammerlock. Damn Dynamite was awesome in his day. Bret grabs Kid’s hair and slams him to the canvas. Bret with some stomps and a low knee drop. Bret lifts Kid by the hair and drops him. Bret with some elbows and a leg drop. Kid’s head is slammed into the turnbuckle. Back from commercial and Bret still in control. Some right hands and Bret pitches Kid to the floor. Bret follows him out with an elbow to the floor. Kid finally gets back in and Bret with his patented backbreaker for 2. Kid whipped into the ropes and reverses a back drop into a sunset flip for 2. Bret with a stomp to the gut regains control. Bret with a head butt and a forearm. Another forearm and an elbow to the neck. Another forearm and Kid ducks and slips Bret into a backslide for 2. Bret whips Kid into the ropes and goes for a backbreaker, but Kid reverses it into one of his own. Bret starts choking, then ties Kid into the ropes. Bret goes for a blind charge but as you would expect Kid gets loose and out of the way, causing Bret to crotch the ropes. Kid with a clothesline into a flying head butt. Kid lifts Bret up by the hair and drops him. Kid whips Bret into the corner and Bret does his patented sternum first. Kid with a kneedrop to the chin for 2. Kid with a reverse suplex for 2. Best PT match in weeks. Kid goes to the top and hits a big knee drop, but Bret kicks out at 2. They do a Irish whip combo but Kid trips on Bret’s foot and goes straight into the ropes. Bret goes for a scoop slam, gut Kid reverses and goes for a roll-up but when he hit the ropes Bret ducks and Kid hits the deck. Back in the ring and Bret goes for a sunset flip but Dynamite with a sweet roll-up reverse for the 3 count. Anvil runs in and the Foundation double teams Kid but Davey Boy Smith comes in and press slams Bret to the canvas. The Champs bail. An awesome 4-star match.
-They do a quick wrap-up and we’re done.
DRAMA’S TAKE: On the whole this was a pretty crappy episode. The Islanders and the main event were the only things worth watching here. That tuxedo match was a debacle, and the women’s match was pretty straight up dull. The Muraco/Fuji story was really getting bad here. Thank god the Ken Patera Story is over, but Bobby is really getting the shaft. Then again this is the 1980’s, so heels can’t be bailed out with actual logic. Hulk Hogan was barely mentioned here, as was Andre, Savage or Steamboat. The big players of the time were mentioned once or twice during the matches, but not by Gorilla or Bobby. Wrestlemania was only a month old, and the main event players were forgotten. This episode of Prime Time should also be forgotten except for the main event and an impressive performance by the Islanders. FINAL GRADE: D