World Wrestling Federation House Show
Date: 1/21/1985
From: New York, NY
Gorilla Monsoon and Mean Gene are on commentary for the event.
Fink randomly announces that the tag team match between Roddy Piper & Bob Orton vs. Jimmy Snuka & Junkyard Dog in a Texas Tornado tag match before the first match started.
MATCH #1: MOONDOG REX VS. TERRY GIBBS
FINISH: Rex finishes Gibbs off with a neckbreaker.
Bob’s Take: I wonder if they announced the tag stipulation to provide some extra crowd energy for the start of the show. Because, quite frankly, who is going to actually care about this singles match? Gibbs controls early on with strikes, but Rex cut him off quickly. Rex controls the match after dropping Gibbs throat first over the top rope. They both miss elbow drops and Rex fails at hitting a big splash. Gibbs gains control and his offense is rather basic until Rex hit the neckbreaker finish. There wasn’t much to this one. I’m not sure why the Moondogs are working singles matches lately.
Match Rating: *
MATCH #2: RENE GOULET VS. BRET HART
NOTE: This is Bret Hart’s MSG debut in the WWF.
FINISH: Hart forces Goulet to pass out to the sleeper hold to win the match.
Bob’s Take: Hart is not wearing his trademark attire that he’s known for since we’re very early into their career. Hart controls the match with a headlock and an arm bar for a good portion of the early moments of the match. Goulet cuts off Hart with a knee lift and double stomp to begin his attack. Goulet’s offense heavily features a claw. There’s not a lot of exciting action going on, but Goulet continues to work over Hart with a slam. The crowd popped for Hart kicking out and Goulet landing on the referee at one point. Hart almost won following a sunset flip from the apron into the ring, and the crowd noticeably starts to get louder for Hart. This is a rare instance of seeing someone actually win with a sleeper hold. The closing two minutes picked up in quality, but there wasn’t much going on here.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #3: JIM NEIDHART VS. TONY GAREA
FINISH: Neidhart wins following a running powerslam.
Bob’s Take: It’s a bit odd to see the future Hart Foundation wrestling in singles matches on the same card. Historically, I have never cared about Neidhart in a singles role. Neidhart controlled Garea with a test of strength for a bit of time, but Garea fought back with an arm bar in the early stages of the contest. Neidhart uses his power advantage to control Garea with a clothesline. Neidhart likes to rely on rest holds to fill time. It’s probably not a good sign when they do several cuts to the crowd instead of in the ring. It feels like Neidhart is almost lost in the ring when he’s in there in singles matches. The finish was fine, but there was a lot of clunky moments in the match.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Backstage, Mean Gene interviews Mr. Fuji and Don Muraco. Fuji says Muraco is back and he will show the fans how devastating he is. Fuji promises Muraco will make his opponents suffer. Muraco chimes in and says the ladies from Hawaii follow him wherever he goes. Muraco says you can feel the electricity of his return to MSG.
MATCH #4: DON MURACO VS. SWEDE HANSON
NOTE: Before the match, Pedro Morales is introduced and gets a great reception causing Muraco to freak out.
FINISH: Muraco finishes off Hanson with a tombstone piledriver.
Bob’s Take: A few years ago, Hanson was a special referee for Muraco/Snuka in Philadelphia so there’s a bit of history between these two. Hanson starts off with a few slams to cause Muraco to reel to the floor. Muraco is struggling to get much momentum as Hanson absorbs a few strikes to slam Muraco again. The crowd has significant more interest in Muraco than anything else before this bout. There was a bit of a story here as Muraco finally avoided a slam leading to the finish of the match. I do like the tombstone finish for Muraco as it makes him look more of a force compared to other finishers used in the company.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #5: BLACKJACK MULLIGAN VS. MOONDOG SPOT
NOTE: For the first time ever, a female referee named Rita Marie makes her debut.
FINISH: Mulligan wins with an inside cradle.
Bob’s Take: Blackjack Mulligan gets a good reaction a bit more than I expected. The crowd whistles at Rita for when she’s patting down the wrestlers because of course they would. Mulligan is a huge man, and I could find myself buying into him as top guy. Spot bumps well into the corner early, but a second corner spot saw him pull the the breaks a little bit. Moondog gets control on the floor with a chair shot and the referee does nothing about that. I appreciate the different approach by these guys to keep the crowd invested. The use of the chair absolutely increased interest in the bout. The inside cradle finish was a bit odd as I figured there’d be a more impactful spot, but it was a decent short bout anyway.
Match Rating: *1/2
Backstage, Mean Gene is with Ken Paters, who is kissing his muscles. Patera talks about Andre being a big guy, but mentally Andre is many years behind. Patera credits Bobby Heenan for putting this together. Patera brags about lifting 500lbs and he’s going to slam Andre tonight.
MATCH #6: ANDRE THE GIANT VS. KEN PATERA
FINISH: Andre wins by disqualification after Heenan got involved with brass knuckles. After the match, Andre beats up Heenan and Patera. Andre knocks them to the floor to stand tall.
Bob’s Take: There’s a different level of buzz for when Andre is in the ring and the crowd does not like Patera throwing popcorn at him at ringside. Andre uses his size early on to control the match and the crowd pops big time for Andre sending Patera into Heenan on the floor. Patera can’t get any momentum in the match and struggles to the floor looking to retreat backstage, but Heenan stops Patera. Patera gets a few strikes in on Andre and tries for a slam, but doesn’t come remotely close to accomplishing that. Andre atomic dropped Patera sending Patera over the ropes to the floor. Andre is having a good time beating up Patera. Heenan comes off the top to deck Andre, knocking the referee out too. Heenan uses brass knuckles to knock Andre down to help Patera, but Patera still can’t get any momentum. The referee tossed the match out. I thought this was a good segment with Patera bumping around very well. It’s a one-sided match, and I expected that. Heenan is fantastic, too.
Match Rating: **1/2
MATCH #7: BIG JOHN STUDD VS. GEORGE WELLS
FINISH: Studd finishes Wells off with a backbreaker. However, Wells clearly kicked out at two and was not thrilled with that result.
Bob’s Take: The crowd gets under Heenan’s skin by calling him a weasel. Wells almost gets a slam on Studd a couple of times, but Studd blocked it by holding the ropes. Now, I feel like the bit is a little dead to me since Hogan literally slammed Studd in New Jersey even if it was on the floor. Wells has some good energy and the crowd seems to be supportive of his offense. The crowd pops for a sunset flip by Wells, but Studd got out of it quick. The finish is clearly messed up, but the crowd enjoyed Wells quite a bit.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #8: JIMMY SNUKA & JUNKYARD DOG VS. BOB ORTON & RODDY PIPER — TEXAS TORNADO TAG MATCH
FINISH: Piper trips JYD from the floor after laying out Snuka with a chair. Orton covers JYD for the win.
Bob’s Take: The crowd is hot for this match and I’m intrigued by the Texas Tornado aspect of the bout. As expected, all four men are in the ring and the heels are beaten down early on. Snuka and Piper brawl on the floor where Piper sends Snuka into the post. Snuka recovers quickly to regain control on the heels. This is a bit of a messy brawl, but considering the stipulation it makes a lot of sense. Piper and Orton keep control with stereo sleeper holds, and that kind of kills the match momentum. Orton takes a good bump in the corner at one point. Snuka avoids a splash by Orton off the top by getting his knees up. The finish is a bit lame for the stipulation and there wasn’t much in the ‘hardcore’ sense. I’d say I was a bit underwhelmed by this one.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #9: RICK MCGRAW VS. THE SPOILER
FINISH: Spoiler picks up the win following a double under hook suplex.
Bob’s Take: The definition of a cool down match coming off the previous match before we head into the main event. It is noted that McGraw is coming back from a neck injury, which is something I’m not sure I knew about previously. I have virtually zero interest in this match. I was not expecting Spoiler to actually win. I thought this would be a feel-good win for McGraw, but this sucked anyway.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Backstage, Mean Gene interviews Tito Santana. Santana has a lot of thoughts regarding the match because the last time they fought they reached the curfew time. Santana says that the curfew will be lifted for them to continue fighting.
MAIN EVENT: WWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION GREG VALENTINE VS. TITO SANTANA
FINISH: Valentine fails to return to the ring after a flying forearm smash and is counted out. However, Santana does not win the title.
Bob’s Take: Santana has the early advantage with strikes and a chin lock, but the crowd is seemingly well aware that there’s a good bit to go before really getting invested in Santana. Valentine gets control stomping Santana on the mat quite a bit. It’s a bit of a slower match than I’d expect. Valentine continues a slow moving offense with strikes and stomps to keep Santana on the mat. Santana fights back with an atomic drop and drops Valentine as the crowd begins to rally behind Santana. Valentine is able to breakaway and bailed to the floor to cool off Santana’s momentum. Santana missed a flying forearm smash and fell to the floor. Valentine nearly wins with a shoulder breaker. Santana countered a figure four with a near win with a cradle at one point late. Santana hits the flying forearm smash, but Valentine rolls to the floor. Valentine isn’t able to get back in the ring, but Santana doesn’t win the title. For a split second, I think the crowd thought there was a title change, but they quickly got deflated realizing that it doesn’t work that way. It’s a fine match as a first level of the feud. Probably not the best match to end the show with considering the finish. I’d say
Match Rating: **1/4
Final Thoughts:
An MSG show without Hogan on the card is a tough one to get through. There’s a couple of decent matches, but there’s nothing too enjoyable to go out of your way to see. I probably would have just done Andre vs. Patera in the main event spot to end the show on a bigger note than a count-out finish. Sure we get the MSG debut of Bret, but the overall show is a bit too lackluster for me. Avoid.
Thanks for reading.