World Wrestling Federation House Show
Date: 1/10/1987
From: Philadelphia, PA
MATCH #1: SCOTT MCGHEE VS. TERRY GIBBS
FINISH: McGhee avoids Gibbs in the corner and gets a rollup to pickup the win.
Bob’s Take: Neither one of these guys got a positive reaction from the crowd. I’m sure it is more because they are not well known talents for the WWF. Gibbs interacts with a heckling fan in the front row who calls him a greaseball. I feel like these guys are in a tough spot to try and entertain the crowd when they’re essentially enhancement guys against each other. Gibbs showed some charisma as a heel and that got the crowd to support McGhee eventually. McGhee crashes through the ropes to the floor at one point and it’s a turning point for Gibbs. There’s really not much to this bout, but Gibbs showed great charisma to keep the crowd invested in jeering. The action itself was rather dull and boring to kickoff the show.
Match Rating: *
MATCH #2: KOKO B. WARE VS. DON MURACO
FINISH: As Koko is pummeling Muraco on the mat the bell sounds and the match ends in a time limit draw. After the match, Koko and Muraco continue to brawl for a bit. Muraco dumps Koko over the top to the floor.
Bob’s Take: Koko had the early advantage with his speed and dropkicked Muraco to the floor early on. Muraco tries to keep control with a bearhug, but Koko doesn’t remained trapped for long. Koko misses a crossbody and hits the ropes throat first allowing Muraco to get the advantage in the match. Muraco focuses his attack on Koko’s throat by dropping Koko throat first over the guard railing and the ropes several times. Koko avoids a spear in the corner and Muraco hit the post followed by being slammed off the top, and the crowd loved the momentum Koko had on Muraco. At one point, Koko hit a missile dropkick and got a three count, but Muraco had his boot on the bottom rope and the referee saw it to continue the match. It would have been a huge win for Koko. Usually time limit draws are a drag to get through, but this was actually done fairly well and they did enough wrestling to hold my interest. So, this was a surprisingly enjoyable match.
Match Rating: **1/4
MATCH #3: DANNY SPIVEY & MIKE ROTUNDO VS. GREG VALENTINE & BRUTUS BEEFCAKE
FINISH: Spivey tries for a bulldog on Beefcake, but Valentine decks Spivey with a clothesline as the referee is distracted. Beefcake pins Spivey to win the match.
Bob’s Take: Spivey and Rotundo started the match before the bell even sounded, but eventually Spivey and Valentine legally start the bout. Valentine is worked over by Spivey and Rotundo for a bit. Valentine manage to avoid a figure four attempt by Rotuno and Beefcake enters to deliver a knee strike from behind. There’s been good pacing for the tag match with consistent tags by each team and there hasn’t been a long heat segment for one team. Valentine drops Rotundo over the ropes throat first leading to Rotundo getting worked over for several moments. The referee doesn’t see Rotundo making a tag a couple of times and the beating continues. They drag out Rotundo’s beating rather well. Rotundo sells the exhaustion and the crowd pops well for when Spivey gets the hot tag. They made good use of their time and Rotundo selling the beating was nicely done throughout the match. The finish was pretty good, too. I thought this was a good tag match on the undercard.
Match Rating: ***
MATCH #4: THE HONKYTONK MAN VS. GEORGE STEELE
FINISH: Late in the match, Steele gets a chair and stalks Honky with it. Steele shoves the referee down and gets disqualified. After the match, Honky tries to attack Steele, but is decked to the floor for his troubles.
Bob’s Take: Honky stalled a little bit early on actively avoiding Steele at any cost. Honky decked Steele into the ropes and stomped a trapped Steele for the advantage. That advantage doesn’t late too long and Steele tosses Honky to the mat before ripping open a turnbuckle to get a pop from the crowd. Steele gets sent into the exposed turnbuckle, and Honky regained control. The finish is to be expected, but this was never suppose to be a mat classic. The fans enjoyed Steele working over Honky and that’s all it needed to be.
Match Rating: 1/2*
MATCH #5: PAUL ROMA VS. DINO BRAVO
FINISH: Late in the match, Roma misses a crossbody and Bravo hits a back suplex for the win.
Bob’s Take: This feels like a cool down match following the excitement of Steele going after Honky despite that not being a good match the crowd was electric for Steele. It’s a slower pace match with Bravo casually working over Roma with slams. It ends up being a mostly one-sided enhancement match for Bravo. I’ve never been a fan of Bravo and this didn’t do much for me.
Match Rating: *
MATCH #6: JAKE ROBERTS VS. KING KONG BUNDY
FINISH: Bundy and Roberts are counted out ending this in a double count-out. After the match, Bundy misses a splash in the corner and is scared by Roberts grabbing a snake.
Bob’s Take: Roberts has the early advantage with jabs much to the delight of the fans, but there’s no followup and it’s a slower paced match. I shouldn’t be surprised by that since it’s a Bundy match. Bundy gets control following a slam to stop Roberts momentum. This is 100% an angle as they quickly went to the floor and were counted out with very little actual wrestling taking place. I’m sure these two will square off again, or at least it’s the plan.
Match Rating: *
MATCH #7: WWF TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS DAVEY BOY SMITH & JUNKYARD DOG VS. THE HART FOUNDATION
NOTE: Junkyard Dog is replacing an injured Dynamite Kid.
FINISH: Late in the match, Davey counters Neidhart’s inside cradle on JYD and JYD pins Neidhart to retain the titles. Danny Davis was the referee and did a fast count thinking Neidhart had the cover and didn’t realize it was JYD.
Bob’s Take: Matilda attacks the Hart Foundation at the start, and I wasn’t expecting that. The crowd popped for it and I thought it was hilarious. It’s kind of a bummer that Dynamite is hurt and can’t compete, as these two teams would be a huge drawing factor for the show. Davey Boy gets worked over the Hart Foundation for an extended period of time. Neidhart sending Davey into the railing while Bret did some good heel taunting to piss off JYD. Hart’s don’t have crazy offense, but Davey tries to fight back with a crucifix, but is worked over quickly by Bret. The crowd seems to be invested in Davey getting worked over. Davey breaks free by ramming Bret into the corner. Bret decks Davey, but a major turning point is Davey crotching Bret over the top rope with a press slam. JYD getting the hot tag got a great reaction from the crowd. All things considered, I thought this was an entertaining match. The crowd was electric for it and I’m glad there was an actual finish and not a DQ or something lame.
Match Rating: **1/2
MATCH #8: JOSE LUIS RIVERA VS. BARRY O
FINISH: Rivera picks up the win following a suplex.
Bob’s Take: I can at least appreciate that there wasn’t a slow plodding focus of this match. Rivera had a ton of energy and kept a good pacing working over Barry throughout the match. Barry doesn’t get worked over the whole time as he hit a clothesline. I think the referee messed up the count on the supposed finish as they both looked at him confused. Right after that, Rivera won with a suick suplex. Barry looked to be pissed off and walked out of the ring.
Match Rating: *1/4
MAIN EVENT: WWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION RANDY SAVAGE VS. RICKY STEAMBOAT
FINISH: Late in the match, Steamboat grabs a chair having lost his patience and elbows the referee. Steamboat has been disqualified. Savage bails from the match to avoid a chair shot, but Steamboat brawls with Savage on the aisle.
Bob’s Take: The crowd is fired up for Steamboat working over Savage with a top rope axe handle at the start and Savage bumps around a bit before bailing at the start. This match has had the most crowd heat attached to it and it makes it feel like a big time match. These two are next level pros in the ring. It’s honestly incredible to see them compete at such speed for a house show knowing what they’re capable off on a bigger stage. The crowd eats up them fighting on the floor where Steamboat sends Savage into the railing. While the DQ is a cheap finish, I don’t feel like I got screwed over on the match. They worked a good match for the time they were going at it and they need to drag this out a bit. The crowd loved it and it flew by for me. So, for angle advancement and for quality action there was a good mix here.
Match Rating: **1/2
Final Thoughts:
I’d say this is an average show overall as the main event is good and there’s a couple of entertaining undercard matches too. I’d be leaning towards a thumbs up more-so than being a thumbs down event. Philadelphia seemed engaged with most of everything taking place so this was an easy show to watch.
Thanks for reading.