World Wrestling Federation House Show
Date: 4/22/1985
From: New York, NY
Gorilla Monsoon and Mean Gene are on commentary for the show.
MATCH #1: BARRY O VS. THE COBRA
FINISH: Cobra takes Barry over with a running head scissors for the win.
Bob’s Take: Cobra was a babyface last month in Philadelphia against Muraco, but isn’t getting a warm reception from the NY crowd. Also, he’s apparently the WWF Junior Heavyweight Champion and he’s refusing to wear the title according to commentary. Barry has the early advantage delivering a slam and elbow drop. Barry almost wins following a running powerslam. Cobra fought back, but his energy and impact felt a bit less than Barry. Cobra drives Barry down with a back suplex. Cobra hit a top rope axe handle a middle rope knee drop, but Barry is still able to hold on. Barry keeps saving himself by getting on the ropes, as was the case to avoid a pin after a heel kick. Barry decided to stall and returned to the ring to work over Cobra. Cobra spin kicked Barry followed by a crossbody for a two count. Cobra hit a slingshot crossbody to the floor. Cobra misses a top rope senton splash. The running head scissors finish was a bit sloppy. By the end of the match, Cobra got a better reception than he did at the start. The action wasn’t too bad as Barry had substance with his offense, which is a nice change of pace.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #2: TATSUMI FUJINAMI VS. MATT BOURNE
FINISH: Fujinami wins with a German suplex.
Bob’s Take: Back and forth action at the start of the bout with Bourne sending Fujinami hard into the corner, but Fujinami responded with a chop to send Bourne reeling to the floor. The action continues to be a slower pace focusing on strikes and mat wrestling. Bourne has to cheap shot Fujinami a few times throughout the match to keep the advantage. Fujinami tries to get momentum with a dropkick, but Bourne delivered a gut wrench suplex to regain the advantage. Fujinami stops Bourne with a clothesline and the German suplex. It’s just a standard wrestling match, but at least there was some actual action and it wasn’t mostly stalling.
Match Rating: **
Backstage, Mean Gene is with Jimmy Hart and King Kong Bundy for an interview. Hart insults Gene’s lack of height despite being the same height. Bundy promises to put Swede Hanson down and is just another stepping stone to WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan. Gene asks Bundy about a five-count, but Bundy doesn’t answer.
MATCH #3: KING KONG BUNDY VS. SWEDE HANSON
FINISH: Bundy wins the match following a splash in the corner and an elbow drop.
Bob’s Take: Once again, a slow and plodding match between these two bigger wrestlers. Bundy is better suited being presented against smaller wrestlers to showcase his strength and size. Just like in Philadelphia, Bundy splashed Hanson in the corner and delivered an elbow drop (instead of a knee) to win. This didn’t do much for me, at all.
Match Rating: SQUASH
MATCH #4: THE BRITISH BULLDOGS (BRITISH BULLDOG & DYNAMITE KID) VS. JOHNNY RODZ & RENE GOULET
NOTE: This is the MSG debut for the British Bulldogs.
FINISH: Dynamite Kid pins Rodz following a top rope diving headbutt.
Bob’s Take: I feel like this is a big deal for the tag division in the WWF. It’s almost as if the crowd doesn’t know what to expect from the British Bulldogs, but there’s a noticeable aww factor when Dynamite runs the ropes. Bulldogs energy is so much different compared to the other teams. Missile dropkicks and snap suplexs by Dynamite. This is not a completely one-sided match, but the crowd doesn’t care much for Rodz and Goulet when they are in control. I don’t think there’s any doubt how this match was going to play out. Davey plants Rodz with a running powerslam, and Dynamite jumped off of Goulet, who was on Davey’s shoulders, to hit a diving headbutt on Rodz for the win. That is an insane spot for 1985 WWF. I’m excited to see more of the Bulldogs in the WWF.
Match Rating: **1/4
MATCH #5: MOONDOG SPOT VS. RICKY STEAMBOAT
FINISH: Steamboat wins following a top rope crossbody.
Bob’s Take: Still not sure why we’re still doing Moondog singles matches. They brawl on the floor where Steamboat sends Spot into the ring post and focused on the shoulder to control the match. Spot fought back with a backbreaker. The most impactful move Spot delivers for a good portion of the bout. Steamboat hit a middle rope strike after slamming Spot off the middle rope. Spot stopped Steamboat with an atomic drop, but Steamboat responded quickly with strikes leading to the top rope crossbody. Steamboat looked good here, and I’m not sure what’s the point of Spot in singles matches. Steamboat’s capable of a lot more with stronger opponents, obviously.
Match Rating: *
MATCH #6: WWF WORLD CHAMPION HULK HOGAN VS. DON MURACO
FINISH: Muraco rammed Hogan into the apron and returned to the ring to beat the count and thus wins by count-out. Hogan retains the title. After the match, Hogan has a standoff in the ring with Muraco. Hogan tells Muraco to come and get it. Muraco tries to steal the title, but Hogan knocks Muraco to the floor instead to end the segment.
Bob’s Take: Muraco has gotten himself over to a point where there is a buzz here for Hogan’s title defense. It’s truly amazing how much more invested the crowd is in any Hogan match than most of anything I watch on the house shows in this era. There’s a great anticipation before they even lockup. They have a mat wrestling based start, and if it were any of the other singles matches before this it would have been met with silence, but the audience cares so much for Hogan that they remain invested. Muraco low blows Hogan and kept control focusing on his left knee. Muraco keeps the advantage with deliberate offense to keep Hogan on the mat. Muraco tried to deliver a tombstone, but Hogan fought free and the crowd erupted for that. They end up on the floor and brawl for a bit. The count-out is all a formula to lead to another match between these two at the Garden. This is an entertaining match and I’m interested in a rematch.
Match Rating: **1/2
MATCH #7: WWF TAG TEAM CHAMPION THE IRON SHEIK VS. MIKE ROTUNDO
FINISH: Rotundo avoids a knee lift in the corner and pins Sheik with a rollup.
Bob’s Take: Rotundo goes right after Sheik with strikes for a hot start and continued with a slam. Rotundo is generating a strong reaction compared to a few months ago. Sheik gained control with a backdrop and maintained that control for several minutes. Rotundo avoids a loaded boot and strikes Sheik several times. Rotundo controls Sheik on the mat for several moments. They go to the floor where Rotundo continued to work over Sheik. After the hot start, the match cools down considerably. Sheik tosses Rotundo into a table at ringside and whacks Rotundo with a chair at ringside. All of this is seen by the referee who proceeds to do nothing about it. Sheik misses a top rope diving headbut attempt. Rotundo had a good start to the match, but it stalled quickly. At least the crowd seemed to be invested in Rotundo prevailing.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #8: BARRY WINDHAM VS. WWF TAG TEAM CHAMPION NIKOLAI VOLKOFF
FINISH: Sheik comes out and attacks Windham to cause a disqualification. After the match, Rotundo runs out and makes the save and the crowd goes nuts for this.
Bob’s Take: Windham starts off controlling Volkoff with arm control, but it’s not as interesting as the previous match. It’s not a hot start like Rotundo vs. Sheik had. Windham continues to work on Volkoff’s arm with strikes. Volkoff gains control after sending Windham into the roeps and delivered an elbow strike. Volkof showed off his power with a press slam for a two count. At one point, they collide heads to even the match. I think it’s clear that the tag match is a major interest. Volkoff just doesn’t do much for me entertainment wise.
Match Rating: *
Howard Finkel promotes the next show at MSG on May 20th. Bret Hart vs. Rick McGraw, Tony Garea vs. Jesse Ventura, Rene Goulet vs. Rocky Johnson. Ken Patera vs. Tony Atlas, Jim Neidhart vs. Ivan Putski, Terry Gibbs vs. Pedro Morales. WWF Tag Team Champions Volkoff & Sheik defend the titles against Rotundo & Windham. The main event will see WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan defending against Don Muraco. A special bonus match has been signed where David & Bruno Sammartino battle Johnny V & Brutus Beefcake.
Backstage, Mean Gene interviews Tito Santana and Junkyard Dog. Santana talks about battling Greg Valentine for months. Santana says there is no belt on the line and it’s just a battle between two teams. Santana says they will make them pay and the title will be next.
MAIN EVENT: THE JUNKYARD DOG & TITO SANTANA VS. BRUTUS BEEFCAKE & WWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION GREG VALENTINE:
FINISH: Santana nails Valentine with a flying forearm smash for the win. After the match, Valentine and Beefcake attack afterward to end the segment.
Bob’s Take: Santana couldn’t wait for the bell before going after Valentine and JYD did the same to Beefcake. The crowd loves it when JYD headbutts his opponent on the mat. Beefcake accidentally decked Valentine on the apron and got double teamed for his troubles. Valentine gets control on Santana with strikes and keeps Santana on the mat. Beefcake and Valentine keep the momentum for a bit as Santana tries to battle back. JYD tries to get involved, but is stopped by the referee. Santana is able to mount Valentine with strikes and the crowd erupts for that flurry. All four men brawl for a moment, but Beefcake kept control on Santana briefly. JYD gets the hot tag as Santana avoided both men. JYD cleans house, but missed a headbutt attempt on Valentine. JYD bites Beefcake face and ear. Valentine helps trip JYD to the mat and is worked over by Beefcake. Santana gets the hot tag and fires away on Valentine. Beefcake tossed JYD to the floor and Santana gets worked over. Santana hit the flying forearm smash out of nowhere to get the win. It’d a good finish and adds to the drama of wanting to see Santana vs. Valentine for the title again.
Match Rating: *1/2
Final Thoughts:
The NY crowd seemed to enjoy the show, but the action was rather subpar. I liked that Hogan was on the show and the segment with Muraco was entertaining. British Bulldogs will be a pleasant sight to see in the tag division. So, while a bad show there is still some positive things to focus on.
Thanks for reading.