WWF House Show 1/25/1988

Written by: Bob Colling

World Wrestling Federation House Show
Date: 1/25/1988
From: New York, NY

Matches:
1.)Scott Casey defeated Jose Estrada
2.)Sam Houston defeated Danny Davis
3.)Butch Reed defeated the Junkyard Dog
4.)Omar Atlas defeated Dusty Wolfe
5.)The One Man Gang defeated Don Muraco
6.)WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan & Bam-Bam Bigelow defeated Ted DiBiase & Virgil
7.)Paul Roma & Jim Powers defeated Steve Lombardi & Barry Horowitz
8.)Jim Duggan defeated King Harley Race
9.)Ron Bass defeated Hillbilly Jim
10.)The Islanders defeated The British Bulldogs by disqualification

Angle Developments/Notes:
1. Estrada and Casey use the same offense to start the match which consisted of arm drags and scoop slams by both men. Estrada continues to get the better of Casey as he came off the middle rope with an overhand blow. Casey works over Estrada’s left shoulder. His offense is mat wrestling based thus far, really. Estrada shoulder blocks Casey off the apron and he hit the floor hard back first as he appeared to slip off the apron. Casey nearly wins following a sunset flip from the apron back into the ring. Estrada avoids a running cross body and goes for a neck breaker but Casey held the ropes. Casey wins the bout following a shoulder breaker. (*1/4. A rather boring opener to the show. The offense by both men was basic and there didn’t seem to be a lot of chemistry between these two. The crowd, which was still filing into the arena, was also fairly dead for it.)

2. Houston works over Davis in the opening moments of the match focusing on his left arm with a wrist lock and a leg drop. This is turning into an extended squash match for Houston, it would seem like. Davis avoided a cross body and Houston flew over the top rope and crashed to the floor. Davis mainly worked over Houston with strikes and hit a leaping clothesline late in the contest. He argued with the referee and Houston was able to win the match with an inside cradle. (*1/4. Another boring bout here. If Davis actually had some noteworthy offense then maybe it would have been entertaining, but he seriously just punched and kicked Houston for the majority of the time.)

3. Reed accidentally splashes Slick before the bell and is sent to the floor by JTD. On the floor, JYD sends Reed shoulder first into the ring post to keep the advantage. Bobby Heenan thinks that JYD is jealous that Reed was born with blonde hair. I tend to agree with Heenan on that assumption. Reed gets an illegal object from Slick and hits JYD in the throat! Reed drops JYD throat first across the top rope for a two count. JYD uppercuts Reed as he leaps off the middle rope but Reed nails JYD with a big boot a swinging neck breaker. Slick tries to trip JYD but fails at doing that. So, Slick is chased by JYD around the ring. Reed rolls JYD up with a handful of tights to win the match. (**. There was a lot more energy in this bout than the two previous matches. The action wasn’t all that great, but they were able to keep my interest with a good start and since it wasn’t overly long I thought it was a fine under card match.)

4. I don’t care about Omar Atlas and Dusty Wolfe and neither does the crowd as they boo the match due to it being extremely boring. Atlas is able to get the win following a roll up. Seriously, people didn’t care about this one at all.

5. Muraco opens up with a flurry of right hands and turns his attention to Gang’s left leg. The crowd is heavily behind Muraco as he continues to twist Gang’s leg. Gang stops Muraco with a back elbow in the corner to get the advantage but he has a limp thanks to the earlier leg attack. Muraco battles back with a dropkick and sends Gang chest first into the corner. Muraco locks in a sleeper hold! Here comes Butch Reed and Slick. Superstar Billy Graham attacks Slick. Reed enters and nails Muraco with a cane to give Gang the pin fall victory! (*1/2. It was a sub par match, but Muraco looked good. I’m kind of surprised he didn’t get a bigger push in the WWF. The man had the look to be a top champion in the WWF.) After the match, Muraco cleans house after Gang attacked Graham.

6. Andre the Giant is in the corner of DiBiase and Virgil for the tag match. DiBiase and Virgil attack before the bell but that lasts all of about five seconds. Hogan and Bigelow turn the tables and send the heels into each other. Hogan controls DiBiase by ramming him into the corner and into Bigelow’s head. Bigelow enters the match and nails DiBiase with a big clothesline. Hogan returns to the match and drives DiBiase down with a back suplex. Andre trips Hogan as he turns the ropes and DiBiase gets the cheap advantage as a result. DiBiase knocks Hogan off his feet with a clothesline and continues to stomp away on the champ. Virgil comes off the top rope and strike Hogan as he was being held by DiBiase. Andre chokes Hogan while the referee is distracted. Hogan is worked over by DiBiase after the Million Dollar Man leaps off the middle rope to strike the champ. DiBiase stops Hogan’s momentum with a series of falling fist drops. Hogan collides with DiBiase in the middle of the ring with a double clothesline and makes his way over to Bigelow to make the tag to him. Bigelow enters and cleans house with several strikes. Bigelow gorilla press slams Virgil! Hogan leg drops Virgil and Bigelow splashes Virgil to get the victory! After the match, Andre and DiBiase attack the winners. Andre head butts Bigelow and send Hogan to the floor. Bigelow dropkicks Andre in the ring and Hogan tosses a few chairs in to scare the heels off. (***. A solid match that had a lot of energy and all five men put on an entertaining show. Bigelow should have stuck around because he was getting some good reactions with his association with Hogan. The angle between Hogan/Andre/DiBiase is red hot at this point in time.)

7. Considering the Brawler and Horowitz aren’t an actual tag team and are just jobbers for the Young Stallions this thirteen minute extended squash match isn’t going to get as much detail as the other matches. Powers pinned Brawler after a snap power slam. Yep, moving on.

8. Race gets the early advantage with a few strikes in the corner but Duggan drops the King with a clothesline. Duggan tosses Race into a corner and the King flips over to the floor. They return to the ring and Race is sent shoulder first into the ring post. Race is clotheslined back into the ring by Duggan while he stood on the apron trying to regain composure. They collide shoulders and Race ends up bouncing off the ropes and head butts Duggan’s groin. Race has struggled to get anything going for himself in this match thus far. Race blocks a backdrop and drives Duggan down with a belly to belly suplex. Race plants Duggan with a pile driver for a two count! Duggan drops Race with a series of jabs but misses a knee drop. Race sends Duggan to the floor and maintains his offense with a head butt, however he misses a falling head butt and hits the floor! Duggan goes under the ring after Race drops him throat first across the top rope. Duggan surprises Race from behind and hammers away on the King. Race ends up coming off the top for a cross body but Duggan rolls through and pins Race! (***. A surprisingly good match from these two. I was expecting a slow drawn out match, but instead they kept a good pace and had several near falls and whatnot. The fans were into it, which since Duggan was a big face at this time, shouldn’t be all that shocking.)

9. Ron Bass avoids a splash by Jim and plants him with a short pedigree to win the bout. It was just a squash for Bass as it was just about five minutes long.

10. Bobby Heenan has a leash for the invisible dog to taunt the British Bulldogs who don’t have Matilda. Kid and Smith attack Tama and Haku before the bell to get the early advantage. Kid plants Tama with a pile driver but can’t put him away. Tama is sent into Haku on the apron and Kid gets a near fall, again. Smith and Haku tag into the contest. Smith hits a cross body but only manages to get a two count. Smith is focusing on Haku’s left arm with an arm bar mainly. Kid takes Haku over with a snap suplex for a two count. Smith is worked over by Tama with several clubbing blows as the heels finally get some steady offense. Haku gets a near win following a standing dropkick on Smith. Kid gets the hot tag rather quickly and cleans house sending the Islanders into each other. The referee is doing a bad job during this match and it’s noted by the announcers several times. Kid is double teamed as Tama comes off the top to strike him over the back. Islanders keep control of Kid with basic holds with Tama working over Kid with a nerve hold for several moments. The Islanders are taunting Kid with the leash. Smith gets the tag and drives Haku down with a delayed vertical suplex. Smith follows up with a big pile driver but Tama broke up the cover. Smith hits the running power slam on both Tama and Haku! Smith gets the leash and hits Tama several times! Haku is hit with it as well as the bell sounds! (**1/2. A decent main event to close the show but it didn’t seem to have all that much entertainment attached to it. It was just an average match to me.)

Final Thoughts:
Aside from the Hogan tag match and Race/Duggan, this show is full of boredom. I can easily say this gets a thumbs down from me. Avoid it as it’s not the worth the two and half hours or so to sit through it.

Thanks for reading.