Written by: Brian Bayless
December 26, 1987
From Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY
Your hosts are Lord Alfred Hayes, Bobby Heenan, and Gorilla Monsoon
This was the WWE 24/7 version of the show, which omits the Dino Bravo vs. Koko B. Ware, Islanders vs. Killer Bees, and Cowboy Lang & Chris Dube vs. Little Tokyo & Lord Littlebrook matches.
Matches tonight include Randy Savage vs. Honky Tonk Man for the WWF Intercontinental Championship, Rockin’ Robin vs. Sensational Sherri for the WWF Womens Championship, and more.
Iron Mike Sharpe vs. S.D. Jones
Sharpe ducks out on the apron as Heenan teases Lord Alfred about Mike Sharpe being his favorite wrestler. Sharpe cheapshots Jones, who ducks an attack then hits a backdrop. Sharpe rolls outside for a breather then reenters when Jones slingshots him in from the apron. Sharpe leapfrogs Jones but whiffs on a dropkick then goes outside again to stall as Gorilla flat-out refers to Sharpe as “Terry Garvin” before getting in the line about his “school of self-defense.” Sharpe now stalls inside of the ring before initiating a test-of-strength. He wins that and smashes Jones’ head off of the turnbuckle but that has no effect as Sharpe ducks out again. He returns to rake the eyes of Jones then hits a jumping clubbing forearm to the back of the neck. Jones comes back with an atomic drop as Sharpe rolls out and falls over the timekeeper’s chair. Jones blocks an eye rake with one of his own then ties up Sharpe in the ropes. The referee finally unties him as Jones whips Sharpe but gets hit on the back of the neck after ducking his head. Jones counters a piledriver attempt with a backdrop then gets two off of a slam. Jones gets two with a headbutt as Sharpe got his foot on the rope. Jones whips Sharpe, who ends up reversing it and hits Jones with a forearm smash and gets the win. Yikes, that looked terrible (7:33) 1/2*.
Thoughts: Not exactly a rocking way to start off the night. Jones could barely move and if you have seen one Sharpe match from this era you have pretty much seen them all. The highlight here was definitely the commentary.
Rougeau Brothers vs. The Conquistadors
Lord Alfred believes that 1988 will be the Rougeau Brothers year. Match starts with Raymond and #1 going at it in a fast-paced sequence that Raymond wins. #2 comes in and gets hit with a few armdrags as the Conquistadors take a breather outside. Jacques and #1 are in as #1 works a side headlock. Jacques comes back with a monkey flip then takes #2 out with one as well as the Conquistadors are back outside taking a break. Heenan compares the Rougeaus to “burnt toast” as the Conquistadors trap Jacques in the corner. Jacques is tied up then Raymond comes in and dropkicks #2 out of the ring. #1 charges at Jacques, who moves out of the way as #1 takes out his own partner with a tope. The crowd went nuts for that, actually. The Rougeaus then work over the leg of #1 for a while as Heenan is pretty funny in making fun of them. #1 uses an eye rake and makes the tag but #2 also gets worked over until #1 comes off of the top to hit Jacques with a forearm from the middle rope. The Conquistadors work over Jacques and its not very exciting at all but we do get this wonderful exchange on commentary :
Gorilla: Jacques Rougeau has that “I don’t know where I am” look on his face
Heenan: Well, he is from Canada
Gorilla: That’s not very nice.
Back to the match as the Conquistadors illegally double-team Jacques in the corner as Heenan is still ragging on the Rougeaus. #2 misses a splash but #1 cuts off Jacques before he could make the tag. Jacques comes back with a small package then a back suplex and finally tags as Raymond is a house of fire. He actually woke up the crowd here. The match breaks down then the Rougeaus use the double noggin-knocker before hitting #1 with the assisted senton from the top as the Rougeaus pick up the win (13:07) *1/2.
Thoughts: Dull match but Heenan was absolutely hilarious with the way he made fun of the Rougeaus on commentary. The WWF had a lot of stale, generic babyface teams here and the Rougeaus were certainly one of them.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan vs. Sika
According to Dave Meltzer, Sika was brought back shortly after being fired to fulfill the role Killer Khan held before he retired. The crowd is really into Duggan’s chants as he backs Sika into the corner. He then works an arm wringer, chanting “Hoooooooo” constantly as the crowd does it with him. Sika tries to fight out but Duggan works an armbar on the mat. Sika finally fights out with a thumb to the eye and starts to gauge and use back rakes but Duggan gets him back down and works the arm. Once again Sika escapes and uses gauges but Duggan fights back, calling him a “son of a bitch.” He knocks Sika through the ropes then hits mounted punches in the corner. Sika uses another reye rake then goes back to gauging his face. These two collide with each other as Duggan is up first and gets a couple of rollups, unable to get the win. Sika hammers away, and it looks awful. Sika misses a clothesline then Duggan comes back to take him down before getting the win with his Three Point Stance (9:16) 1/2*.
Thoughts: The match was terrible and Sika could barely move but the fans were crazy for Duggan and his antics made the match somewhat tolerable.
WWF Womens Title Match: Rockin’ Robin vs. Sensational Sherri (c)
Robin catches Sherri with a pair of armdrags before working an armbar on the mat. Sherri tries to escape with a hairpull but Robin maintain the hold. The fans boo Sherri, who is telling them to shut up. Robin continues to work the arm but misses a charge in the corner. Sherri goes on the attack as she screams at Robin to get up. She hits a slam then tosses her outside as Sherri taunts the fans. Robin crawls underneath the ring, as Sherri bends over the ropes to look for her, then takes her over with a dropkick from behind. Sherri works up the crowd then has Robin chase her all over the place. Robin ends up bringing Sherri back inside by her hair then gets two with a clothesline. Robin gets two with a bulldog as the crowd bought that as a nearfall. Robin places Sherri up top then slams her off. Robin climbs up but misses an elbow drop from the middle rope as both ladies are down. They brawl on their knees as Robin wins that as she covers for two. Robin hits a slam and goes to the middle rope again as she tries a splash but Sherri got her knees up then Sherri covers and grabs the tights for the win (7:30) **.
Thoughts: Sherri did a great job as a heel and Robin looked much better here than she did at the Survivor Series last month. They really haven’t established a top contender for Sherri’s title yet and Sherri herself barely got any TV time as the champion.
Greg “The Hammer” Valentine w/ Jimmy Hart vs. Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake
Sadly, Heenan as left the announcers booth. Beefcake is the first wrestler to be shown coming out of the curtain tonight. These two start off by slugging it out as Beefcake wins that. Valentine tries a kick but Beefcake catches that and takes him down before dropping an elbow. Valentine gets sent to the floor as Beefcake struts around the ring. The crowd is firmly behind Beefcake as he now lays into Valentine with mounted punches in the corner. They now brawl on the mat as Valentine wins that before he drags Beefcake outside. He rams Beefcake against a chair then hits him with it across the back as Valentine heads back into the ring. Back inside, they continue to slug it out until Valentine goes to work on the leg. He hits a double axe handle from the middle rope before getting two with an elbow drop. Valentine puts on a chinlock as Hart slaps the apron. Beefcake fights back and hits a suplex but gets caught with a back elbow smash after an Irish whip sequence. Valentine tosses Beefcake to the floort then hits him with a double underhook suplex that nearly killed Beefcake, who spun off and took the bump like he was powerbombed. Beefcake kicks out of that then hulks up as he is throwing windmill punches. Valentine still knocks him down but gets caught with a punch to the gut coming off of the top rope. Beefcake hits a knee lift as Valentine begs for mercy. Beefcake hits a slam then an elbow drop for a nearfall. Valentine fights back and hits a backbreaker for two then they slug it out again. Valentine catches Beefcake with a boot but Beefcake is able to come back with a sleeper as Hart is panicking on the apron. Hart gets Beefcake’s scissors and taunts him with those as Beefcake breaks the hold and chases Hart backstage, giving Valentine the win via countout (11:53) **3/4. Valentine slowly gets to his feet as Beefcake comes back out with the scissors. Valentine beats on Beefcake but is unable to put on the figure four then Beefcake chases Valentine to the back with the scissors then heads into the ring and cuts up Hart’s jacket
Thoughts: Solid match that was mostly all action. The end let the feud continue and allowed the fans to see the heels get their comeuppance when Beefcake cut up Hart’s jacket. This feud was going along smoothly as they reestablished Valentine back into the singles ranks after the unsuccessful New Dream Team broke up.
“Ravishing” Rick Rude w/ Bobby Heenan vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
Match starts with both guys fighting over a wristlock. Steamboat skins-the-cat then kicks Heenan off as he tries to interfere. Rude runs over as Steamboat pulls the ropes down on him as Rude is pissed off outside of the ring. Rude stalls as Heenan is out of breath as he briefly joins commentary. Back to the match as they work a test-of-strength. Steamboat gets out of that and takes Rude down as he works the arm. Steamboat trips after a leapfrog then recovers and hits an armdrag. Steamboat works an armbar on the mat then switches to a standing wristlock. Steamboat continues to work the arm until he misses a charge in the corner. Rude punches away then flexes while the crowd boos. Rude then targets the back and applies a reverse chinlock…………..for a long time. Steamboat dodges a sitdown splash and tries for a slam but his back gives out as Rude goes back on the attack. Rude hits a slam before applying a bearhug. Steamboat breaks free and but misses a dropkick and lands on his back as Rude now locks on an abdominal stretch, using the tights for leverage. Steamboat gets out of that with a hip toss but Rude flattens him with a clothesline for two. Rude goes back to the reverse chinlock until Steamboat lifts him up and hits an electric chair drop as both men are down. Rude is up first and heads to the top rope where Steamboat catches him midair with a fist. Steamboat uses turnbuckle smashes as the fans count along. Rude rakes the eyes and uses a side headlock takedown that leads to a mat reversal sequence. Steamboat gets two with a backslide as that kicks off a series of rollups that leads to nearfalls. Rude catches Steamboat with a back elbow smash but cannot get him over for a suplex. Steamboat gets two off of a suplex but fails to slam him as Rude falls on top for two. Rude misses a corner charge as Steamboat heads up top and hits the flying chop but the bell rings, signaling the 20 minute time-limit (20:00) **1/2. After the match, Heenan gets on the mic to yell at Steamboat that he could not last five more minutes with Rude, who attacks Steamboat from behind. A few referees pull Rude off but Steamboat yanks Rude back inside as he attempted to leave. Steamboat then clears Rude and Heenan from the ring as Rude teases heading back in while Pat Patterson tries to prevent him but he just ends up leaving.
Thoughts: The last few minutes of this match were really good but a majority of this match dragged. Rude’s initial chinlock spot felt like an eternity. I loved the end and they seem to be turning this into a feud for the two on the house show circuit. Steamboat really hadn’t done anything except for house shows and PPV since losing the Intercontinental Title to the Honky Tonk Man back in June.
Craig DeGeorge is with Greg Valentine and Jimmy Hart, who claims Madonna gave him the jacet that Beeefcake cut up and wants to start a “Ban the Scissors” campaign. Valentine then tells us that Beefcake’s sleeper should be banned from the WWF and that he got his hand raised in front of “24,000 people.”
We get another interview with Jimmy Hart, who is freaking out over having to be held in a cage above ringside during the Honky Tonk Man’s match against Randy Savage.
WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Honky Tonk Man (c) w/ Jimmy Hart & Peggy Sue vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage w/ Elizabeth
The announcers attempt to identify Peggy Sue (Sensational Sherri) despite the fact on TV they had already made the assumption it was Sherri. They lower the cage onto the floor, which took a long time, as Savage tosses Honky over the top rope. Savage then grabs Hart and puts him into the cage and locking the door. Hart is panicking as Honky hangs on to Hart as he is being lifted up. Honky stops as Hart is going mental as Savage orders the cage all the way to the top of the Garden. Peggy Sue tries to calm Honky down as he is irate. Savage then wants Hart lowered into the “danger zone” as the match is underway. Savage beats on Honky to start until Peggy Sue grabs his leg, allowing Honky to attack Savage from behind. Honky beats on Savage outside of the ring then sends him into the guardrail before heading back inside. In the ring, Savage fights back until missing a charge in the corner. Honky stomps away and gets a nearfall as he fights off Savage’s comebacks. Savage blocks a sunset flip with a punch then hits a suplex. Honky rolls away from a knee drop then hammers away. Honky winds up for a punch but Savage ducks and he goes over the top rope in a ridiculous spot. Savage follows him out then brings Honky back inside where he hits a double axe handle. Honky escapes for a breather but Savage flies out with another double axe handle. Back inside, Savage hits another double axe handle for a two count as the camera shows Hart freaking out. Savage collides with the referee but is able to counter the Shake, Rattle, and Roll with a backdrop. Honky is sent to the floor then Savage sees Peggy Sue grab a hold of Elizabeth and runs over to break that up, allowing Honky to hit him from behind with the belt. The referee awakes as Honky is in the ring instructing him to countout Savage but he waves it off as the bell rings. The cage is finally lowered down as we await the decision, which is a DQ win for Randy Savage as the crowd is happy (9:29) **1/4. Honky backs the referee into the corner but Savage makes the save and takes out him and Hart before setting his sights on Peggy Sue. He ends up yanking off her blond wig as Peggy covers her face and takes off to the back. Savage then orders his music played
Thoughts: This was really just a bunch of smoke-and-mirrors and did not get interesting until the final minute or so. The stipulations didn’t mean much to the match itself but it was a bit funny seeing Hart spaz out in the cage. This feud will continue.
Final Thoughts: This show was slightly below average for a house show at this point. There were a few solid matches along with some crap and we got to see a match involving a top feud as well. If this show makes it to the WWE Network, I’d maybe seek out Rude/Steamboat and Beefcake/Valentine or the main event if that feud interests you but as a whole show, even including the three omitted matches from this version, I’d definitely skip out on the rest.