World Wrestling Federation House Show
Date: 6/21/1985
From: New York, NY
MATCH #1: TERRY GIBBS VS. LANNY POFFO
NOTE: This is Lanny Poffo’s debut at MSG.
FINISH: Poffo wins following a top rope moonsault.
Bob’s Take: Poffo shows his agility quickly in the match and it’s something different than most on the roster. Gibbs scoop slams Poffo on the floor to gain momentum. Poffo fought back quickly and the moonsault finish is great for the era. I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected.
Match Rating: **
MATCH #2: TONY ATLAS VS. MATT BORNE
FINISH: Atlas press slams Borne followed by a big splash for the win.
Bob’s Take: Atlas has a good start sending Borne reeling to the floor following a dropkick. Borne gets control following several strikes after Atlas tried to flex his muscles. Borne tries to escape the ring, but Atlas prevents him several times and Borne gets stuck in the ropes. Borne bumped around very well for Atlas, and Atlas looked better here than I’ve ever seen prior to this.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #3: THE MISSING LINK VS. JOSE LUIS RIVERA
FINISH: Link finishes Rivera off with a middle rope splash.
Bob’s Take: Missing Link might have mistimed his appearance as he came out and then turned around to go backstage. Link is quite the character that I haven’t seen much of before. I like his look and his style of wrestling comes across well. I wouldn’t mind seeing Link challenge Hogan one of these months as a fill in challenger.
Match Rating: SQUASH
MATCH #4: JIM BRUNZELL VS. MOONDOG SPOT
FINISH: Brunzell wins following a dropkick.
Bob’s Take: A slower paced match than the other matches. It was so slow that the camera focused on an attractive woman in the crowd to distract Mean Gene on commentary. Spot has productive offense on Brunzell including a top rope forearm strike. Spot beat on Brunzell on the floor ramming him into the ring steps a few times. Brunzell’s dropkick is a nice one and it kind of came out of nowhere. Prior to the finish, the action was a bit dull for the most part.
Match Rating: *
MATCH #5: RANDY SAVAGE VS. RICK MCGRAW
NOTE: This is first televised appearance for Randy Savage.
FINISH: Savage finishes McGraw off with a top rope elbow drop. After the match, Savage tossed McGraw to the floor.
Bob’s Take: So, Savage hasn’t had a match air on TV yet, but he’s had two taped for July releases, so realistically this is the first time he’s on TV. Savage oozes charisma and looks fantastic. Savage gets great crowd heat right from the beginning. McGraw delivered an airplane spin Samoan Drop at one point as a big move, but Savage recovered quickly. Savage is bumping around very well for McGraw. Savage delivers his trademark top rope axe handle onto McGraw on the floor. Savage missed a splash against the ropes and the crowd popped for his bump on it. Savage ends up in a tree of woe after doing an upside down spot and the crowd loved it. Savage is honestly incredible and I think there’s no way to deny that he’s going to be a major player from his first outing here.
Match Rating: **1/2
MATCH #6: THE HEENAN FAMILY (BIG JOHN STUDD, BOBBY HEENAN & ADRIAN ADONIS) VS. GEORGE STEELE & THE US EXPRESS (WINDHAM & ROTUNDO)
FINISH: Steele whacks the referee with a chair causing a disqualification.
Bob’s Take: Heenan is hilarious being terrified of Steele. Windham and Adonis started the bout with Windham controlling the bout with slams and Steele bit Adonis to pop the crowd. Windham tried to slam Studd a few times, but can’t get Studd over, but almost did. Steele sends the heels into the guard railing to pop the crowd big time. Adonis drops Rotundo over the top rope gut first and delivered a DDT to maintain the advantage. Moments later, all six men are brawling in the ring. Steele gets a chair to scare the Heenan Family from the ring. Steele proceeded to deck the referee with the chair. Steele is a lunatic, but the match overall had great energy and I enjoyed it. I keep getting more and more appreciation for guys like Windham and Adonis.
Match Rating: **1/4
MATCH #7: JUDY MARTIN VS. DESIREE PETERSEN
FINISH: Petersen manages to pin Martin with a bridging rollup.
Bob’s Take: Early on, there’s a quick sequence between the two women before Martin takes some time to stall. Petersen delivered a modified Bubba Bomb, which is something I haven’t seen in this era. Petersen gets sent to the floor and lands near the announcers table. Martin delivered a reverse Attitude Adjustment proving these women are way ahead of their time. Martin continues to beat on Petersen sending her into the ring post on the apron. Martin’s aggressive offense comes across very well. Petersen is knocked onto the announcers table where Martin continued to stomp on Petersen. I’ve been enjoying Judy’s offense here. At some point here, Martin’s offense is slow and plodding because she’s just stomping Petersen at ringside and there’s not much to it. It’s a case of kind of killing something that worked. After the extended beating, Petersen turns the momentum briefly in her favor on the floor. Petersen got her butt kicked the majority of th ematch and still found the heart to pull off the win. They could have trimmed Martin’s beatdown on Petersen by a few minutes, but this was a fine undercard match.
Match Rating: **
MATCH #8: TONY GAREA VS. KING KONG BUNDY
FINISH: Bundy hits a splash in the corner and a big splash on the mat to win the match.
Bob’s Take: Garea controls Bundy on the mat with several stomps on the mat, but there’s not a ton of momentum for Garea offensively. Bundy’s offense isn’t all that entertaining or noteworthy. Garea had knocked down Bundy early in the match, but had a struggle doing it later on, which seemed a bit odd. Bundy dominated the match, but it wasn’t all that interesting.
Match Rating: SQUASH
MATCH #9: WWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION GREG VALENTINE VS. RICKY STEAMBOAT
FINISH: Steamboat kicked Valentine to the floor, and the bell rings moments later. After the match, Steamboat punches Valentine to the floor. It is announced as being a count-out victory for Steamboat.
Bob’s Take: This feels like a big title defense for Valentine against someone at the level of Steamboat, but that could also just be me knowing what Steamboat accomplishes in the future. The action at the start is fairly slow and plodding with neither man getting a longterm control. It’s pretty back and forth. Steamboat gets some momentum after a top rope strike, but a splash attempt is blocked allowing Valentine to beatdown Steamboat. Steamboat almost wins the title with a cradle, and the crowd was ready to explode for a title change. Steamboat battles back with a flurry of strikes as the crowd rally behind him. Steamboat almost won after a top rope crossbody. Commentary is baffled by the count-out as it didn’t seem to be ten-seconds. The action here was solid enough and I felt like it served a purpose. The crowd was popping for Steamboat and Valentine is excelling in his role as champ.
Match Rating: **1/2
MATCH #10: B. BRIAN BLAIR VS. BARRY O
FINISH: Blair wins the match with a sleeper hold forcing Barry to pass out.
Bob’s Take: The definition of a cool down match knowing that the next match is the cage match featuring Hogan. Probably could have managed to not need a cool down match since putting the cage up is going to take time anyway, but these guys getting a little payday is probably more important. There wasn’t much heat for this and I’m sure a good portion of that is because Barry O isn’t a serious contender to beat Blair. The rare sight of someone winning with a sleeper hold.
Match Rating: SQUASH
Backstage, Mean Gene interviews Don Muraco and Mr. Fuji. Fuji says this is Muraco’s match, the cage match. Hogan has nowhere to run being in the cage. Muraco says in an hour Hogan is going to be driving in his Cadillac, but Muraco will be fighting for a cab. Muraco is the legend maker. Muraco didn’t need Cyndi Lauper or Mr. T. Muraco was reality before those people came into the scene. Muraco considers this just another day on the job.
Backstage, Mean Gene interviews B. Brian Blair. Blair talks about nothing comparing to MSG. Blair says it is a pleasure to be back in the WWF. Gene notes that Blair is now teaming with Jim Brunzell as the Killer Bees. Blair is a big Miami Dolphins fan and loved their defense that was dubbed the same name.
Backstage, Mean Gene interviews WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan regarding his match with Don Muraco. Hogan doesn’t need a doctor or life insurance policy. Hogan says Hulkamania lives day by day. Hogan says the cage was the only way to settle the war with Don Muraco. Hogan only cares about the WWF World Championship. Hogan doesn’t mind the physical pain and he doesn’t fear any man.
Howard Finkel announces that the 11pm curfew has been waived.
MAIN EVENT: WWF WORLD CHAMPION HULK HOGAN VS. DON MURACO — STEEL CAGE MATCH
FINISH: The door is open and Hogan punches Muraco away to escape the cage and retain the title.
Bob’s Take: Muraco tried to attack Hogan with the championship, but Hogan avoided it and they battled it out briefly. They focus mostly on brawling to start until Hogan decks Muraco with a clothesline. Hogan drives Muraco into the cage first after lifting Muraco over his shoulder. Muraco is busted wide open as a result. Muraco is able to sidestep a strike and ram Hogan into the cage face first. Muraco also catapults Hogan into the cage causing Hogan to get busted wide open. Muraco gets stuck in the ropes around his neck, but Muraco prevented Hogan from leaving. These two are bleeding quite a bit. The finish is rather anti-climatic. I was looking forward to this and it felt a bit of a disappointment.
Match Rating: *1/2
Final Thoughts:
The undercard had a couple of decent matches and the MSG seemed to be hot throughout most of the card, which made the viewing a lot more entertaining. Hogan/Muraco was a bit of a letdown, so I’m going to give this an average rating at best maybe even leaning toward a thumbs down. If the main event had been stronger quality wise then I’d probably be able to recommend it.
Thanks for reading.