World Wrestling Federation House Show
Date: 2/16/1985
From: Philadelphia, PA
MATCH #1: TONY GAREA VS. MOONDOG REX
FINISH: Rex counters a slam attempt with a cradle for the win.
Bob’s Take: A slow start to the match with both men focusing on arm control of their opponent. I’m still not sure why the Moondogs are being presented in singles matches instead of a tag team especially when they are both on the show. Rex controls a good portion of the match, but his offense is slow and plodding focusing mostly on strikes. Garea gets a flurry of offense, but it’s not anything damagign as he’s trying to several pin attempts instead of inflicting damage on Rex. It’s a bit funny that Garea tries for a slam, but that leads to the finish, so even if he tried to inflict damage, he simply couldn’t.
Match Rating: 1/2*
MATCH #2: JIM POWERS VS. AJ PETRUZZI
FINISH: Petruzzi wins following a swinging neckbreaker.
Bob’s Take: A very young Jim Powers, who isn’t as big as he’s best known for being physically, but he’s still in great shape even in 1985. This kind of felt like a student having a match to get his feet wet in the ring and the crowd did not waste time voicing their displeasure with the outing. Once the fans voiced their frustration they went to the finish quickly, which led to a sarcastic cheer from the crowd.
Match Rating: SQUASH
MATCH #3: DAVE ‘THE BARBARIAN’ BARBIE VS. CARL FURY
FINISH: Barbie handily wins the match following a press slam.
Bob’s Take: Apparently, the Barbarian nickname is very new because commentary wasn’t even aware of such a name for Barbie. Barbie has a good presence for himself and showcased his power with slams throughout the match. There’s something about Barbie that I like.
Match Rating: SQUASH
MATCH #4: SWEDE HANSON VS. CHARLIE FULTON
FINISH: Hanson finishes off Fulton with a big splash.
Bob’s Take: There’s not a whole lot of action going on at the start as they focus on strikes and basic standing blows. The finish was a bit abrupt, but it’s not like anything of note transpired here.
Match Rating: SQUASH
MATCH #5: NIKOLAI VOLKOFF VS. GEORGE WELLS
FINISH: Volkoff avoids a football tackle in the corner and pins Wells for the win.
Bob’s Take: Finally there’s a match between two guys that the crowd would seemingly care about seeing as Wells has had a few appearances and looked fairly good for a former football player. Volkoff generates a ton of heat at this point, too. Wells had a few moments of offense, but it was focused largely on a headlock and basic strikes. Wells does come across well as a fighter, I will give him that. Wells pops the crowd well with a few football tackles to get momentum going for himself. The finish makes sense as Wells went for the move too many times and it cost him. I thought this was a fine undercard match.
Match Rating: **
Backstage, Kal Rudman interviews WWF Tag Team Champion Barry Windham. Rudman claims that Windham is his favorite wrestler. Windham notes that Dick Murdoch is a fellow Texan, but Murdoch handles wrestling a bit differently. Windham insults Murdoch for hanging out in bars instead of the gym. Windham isn’t sure Murdoch has any heart whatsoever. Windham believes Murdoch is going to see he can get the job done. Rudman is a bit awkward here simping hard for Windham.
MATCH #6: WWF TAG TEAM CHAMPION BARRY WINDHAM VS. DICK MURDOCH
FINISH: Windham manages to counter a slam attempt from the apron into the ring and pins Murdoch with a rollup. After the match, Murdoch attacks Windham with a microphone.
Bob’s Take: Barry Windham looks like a star in the WWF and I’m not shocked that the WWF quickly put a title on him. Windham is a heartthrob for the WWF female audience and I don’t think I’ve heard women in the crowd screaming for a WWF wrestler to this level in this era. They are able to keep the crowd engaged with their back and forth strikes. Windham plays the babyface role rather well building the momentum for when he’s going to comeback on Murdoch. Windham hits the railing at one point after Murdoch broke free from an abdominal stretch and continued to work over Windham on the floor. Murdoch does a great job selling for Windham and the crowd goes nuts for Windham getting control on the floor. Windham missed a top rope splash, and the crowd deflated and Windham is wiped out falling over the ropes dangerously at one point. Murdoch attacks Windham with a crutch that he stole from Windham’s number one fan, Kal Rudman. However, the referee didn’t disqualify Murdoch. Windham was fantastic here and Murdoch did a good job, too. The Philly crowd loves Windham and this was a ton of fun to watch.
Match Rating: ***
MATCH #7: THE HEENAN FAMILY (HEENAN & ORNDORFF) VS. BRUNO & DAVID SAMMARTINO
FINISH: Bruno has a bearhug on Heenan, but Orndorff whacks Bruno over the back with a wooden stool to cause a disqualification. After the match, Orndorff beats on Bruno, but David makes the save to run Orndorff away.
Bob’s Take: The Spectrum is buzzing for this. The Spectrum comes unglued as all four men are in the ring going at it with Bruno focusing on Orndorff and David pummeled Heenan until the heels bailed to the floor. Bruno looks great in the ring taking Heenan over with forceful arm drags. I find it a little tough to buy into David as he looks like a young kid trying to impersonate his father, and it doesn’t help that his father is literally right there. Heenan tried to leap off the top rope, but Bruno shook the ropes causing Heenan to comically fall to the floor. David gets worked over by Orndorff, but Bruno gets the hot tag to fight for his son until the DQ finish. The crowd was hot for this, and I enjoyed the action.
Match Rating: ***
MATCH #8: WWF TAG TEAM CHAMPION MIKE ROTUNDO VS. MR. X
FINISH: Rotundo wins following the airplane spin.
Bob’s Take: So, while Windham would be getting hot response from the Philly crowd, that is not the case for Rotundo. Rotundo doesn’t connect with the crowd in the same way as Windham. Rotundo’s offense is much slower and methodical and he doesn’t have much of a personality. Plus, the women are screaming for him so that’s hurting his crowd reaction, too. Rotundo is better off being in tag matches.
Match Rating: SQUASH
MATCH #9: TONY ATLAS VS. MOONDOG SPOT
FINISH: Atlas wins following a gorilla press slam.
Bob’s Take: Atlas is now bald and looks like how I’ve always known him to look my entire life. The crowd popped for when Atlas rubbed his bald head because now people can’t pull his hair, but that’s actually the only time they popped for most of the bout. Spot is a bit boring while he’s in control of the bout, though they do go to the floor to try and jolt the crowd, but that doesn’t work very well. Atlas showcased his impressive strength for the finish, but there’s nothing here, really.
Match Rating: 1/2*
MATCH #10: RENE GOULET VS. HILLBILLY JIM
NOTE: This is the Spectrum debut for Hillbilly Jim.
FINISH: Hillbilly Jim catches Goulet coming off the top to lock in a bearhug for the submission win.
Bob’s Take: I feel like I’m losing my mind because Hillbilly Jim looks a lot bigger than I ever remembered seeing him. There’s not much to this as Jim caught Goulet coming off the top for the bearhug submission. Jim comes across as a likable character, though.
Match Rating: SQUASH
The ring announcer provides an announcement regarding the March 17th event in Philadelphia. King Kong Bundy, Tito Santana, and Don Muraco will be appearing. WWF Intercontinental Champion Greg Valentine will defend against Junkyard Dog. Roddy Piper will be in action against Jimmy Snuka. The main event will see Paul Orndorff team with Bobby Heenan against David Sammartino and Bruno Sammartino and it will be a lumberjack match. The lumberjack concept is explained.
Backstage, Kal Rudman interviews WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan. Hogan says he’s not use to being in Philadelphia at 2pm. Hogan says he’s hungry since he missed a meal and he’s looking to eat some fruit cakes (Beefcake). Hogan credits the crowd as being the gasoline he needs to keep going. Hogan says Beefcake is the reason Rudman is hurt and he’s going to take care of business tonight.
MAIN EVENT: WWF WORLD CHAMPION HULK HOGAN VS. BRUTUS BEEFCAKE
FINISH: Hogan rolls Beefcake up from behind to retain the title. After the match, Beefcake and Johnny V attempt to attack Hogan, but they get sent to the floor.
Bob’s Take: It seems a bit like a rush job to put Beefcake in the main event spot against Hogan, but here we are. From what I’ve seen of Beefcake in this era, there’s nothing about him that would tend to make me think he’s a threat to the title. Hogan gets the early advantage focusing on strikes and biting Beefcake’s forehead. The crowd is loving this as Hogan pummels Beefcake. Beefcake gains control and comes off the top to deliver an elbow strike as a key move for the challenger. Beefcake cuts off Hogan on a comeback attempt with a clothesline in the corner. Hogan withstands the strikes to boot Beefcake followed by a slam and the leg drop, but Johnny V caused a distraction and Beefcake almost won the title with a knee lift from behind, but Hogan had his boot under the ropes. Beefcake celebrates with the title, but Hogan gets a rollup from behind to retain the title. I’m not sure why they went with a finish to seemingly protect Beefcake, but I guess it doesn’t matter too much.
Match Rating: *1/2
Final Thoughts:
A subpar main event, but the undercard had a couple of fun matches where the crowd was hot for the action. A runtime of just over two hours and it wasn’t a chore to get through for the most part. If there was a stronger Hogan match, I’d give this a thumbs up, but I’ll say an average show.
Thanks for reading.