Legacy Review
The Big Event
August 28, 1986 from Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, the pre-Skydome home of the Blue JaysCommentary: Gorilla Monsoon, Ernie Ladd and Johnny Valiant. I don't get that combination either.
This is technically not a PPV, but a large stadium show that was recorded and released on Coliseum Video. However it's been in the PPV section of the Network since it started so we're doing it now. Plus, it's the only major show between Wrestlemanias 2 and 3 currently available.
The Network copy has a very brief one second title screen and we go right into in-ring intros for the first match.
The Killer Bees def The Funk Brothers (w/Jimmy Hart) in 6:53- The Funks are Hoss (Dory) Funk and non-Funk Jimmy Jack, who's wearing a mask. Not a wrestling mask. A classic robber's mask. Or Lone Ranger. On the first wide shot we can see that the stadium is legitimately almost full. They advertised it as "the largest crowd in wrestling history", probably as a warmup for Wrestlemania 3's "indoor attendance record". Also, even though it's August almost everyone is wearing jackets or sweaters. Canada. Hoss and Blair start. Blair with a bodyslam party on both heels. The heels get Blair into their corner but he fights out. Jimmy Jack tries to go over the top and out but fails and settles for rolling under the ropes instead. Hoss with some uppercuts, but Blair responds with a crossbody for 2. The Bees work Hoss' arm. Jack tags in and runs right into an armdrag and more arm work. Sleeper! Hoss gets a cheap shot to break it up. Brunzell gets slammed on the floor. Match is clipped here, which I'm glad they make obvious on this video instead of cutting stuff out but editing it to try to make it look seamless. I like to know when there's bits of a match missing. And that everything on the Network is uncut. Well, mostly. The Bees pull their masks out from under the ring to be able to swap without tags. One Bee gets an abdominal stretch on Hoss but Jack makes the save. The Bees make the twin magic swap, and Bee 2 gets a Paul Smackage for the win. I don't like rating clipped matches, I don't like it when there's things missing, but I'll do my best. The Bees tried but Dory Hoss was past it, and Jimmy Jack Not Funk pretty much never had it. *1/2
The Magnificent Muraco (w/Mr. Fuji) and King Tonga go to a 20:00 time limit draw- Tonga, AKA Haku, had just made his WWF debut by winning a Big John Studd Bodyslam Challenge. He's also in trunks. Some boos for Tonga, probably because he had worked some Canadian promotions as a heel. There's a clip right at the start. Tonga gets a couple of hiptosses and Muraco rolls out. Muraco with the insincere handshake offer. A dropkick sends Muraco over the top and out. Another clip. Tonga works the arm. Muraco tries to monkey flip out but Tonga hangs on. While Tonga's running the ropes Fuji gets him with the cane in the back, then gives him a couple more cane shots on the floor. Muraco locks in the Nerve Pinch of Double Fisting +2. There's another clip but Haku's still in the same hold. The ref drops his arm like 6 times but still doesn't call it. Haku gets up and chops out. Muraco dodges a corner charge and posts Tonga's knee. Kneebreaker. Figure four. Haku gets to the rope. Muraco goes up top but takes the Flair throw. Tonga climbs up top, hits a high crossbody, the ref takes his sweet time going over to count, and the bell rings for the time limit. Not as bad as I was expecting, but I'm sure the clipping helped. Haku did not work as a face and they'd soon realize that. *
Ted Arcidi def Tony Garea in 2:41- Garea was another name from the '70s just hanging on, and was a 5 time former WWF/WWWF tag champ with four different partners. Arcidi was the 1980s version of Bill Kazmir, a former strongman trying to transition to wrestling that would flame out after a couple of years. Arcidi throws Garea around out of lockups. Move, pose, move, pose by Arcidi. Garea gets some token offense in but runs into a bearhug and quickly submits. Garea would retire later in the year and take a road agent role. 1/4*
The Junkyard Dog def Adrian Adonis (w/Jimmy Hart) by countout in 4:15- There's a bit of a feud here as JYD had pantsed Hart a couple of times on TV. Take what you can get. JYD's entrance is clipped and we go right to him pounding Adonis with his chain. That's the first time JYD should have been DQ'd. Crawling headbutts. Adonis does the Flair Flip and gently lowers himself to the floor. JYD gives him one more crawling headbutt while he's outside. JYD keeps attacking Adonis as he's trying to get in and the ref is all over him. Finally JYD shoves the ref aside, the second time he should have been DQ'd. While the ref's down Hart sprays JYD with Adonis' purfume. Adonis with multiple kneedrops, including one off the second rope for a 2 count. JYD is thrown out and they go into a sloppy clusterfuck of a finishing sequence that ends with JYD just getting back in as Adonis is counted out. The wrestling really wasn't that bad considering who was in there, but the booking and layout were awful. 3/4*
"The Rebel" Dick Slater def Iron Mike Sharpe in 6:24- This is toward the start of Slater's only WWF run, which lasted less than a year. Sharpe is a longtime WWF jobber getting a rare big event payday. He's introduced as "Canada's Greatest Athlete". He's got two gimmicks: a black brace on one forearm, and he screams and grunts all through his matches. Slater with a hammerlock and Sharpe goes straight for the ropes. Slater stomps on Sharpe's fingers. That's no Pete Dunne or Marty Scurll joint manipulation but it gets the job done. Sharpe gets a few brace-covered forearm shots in. Clip. Slater gets a rolling neckbreaker, then an elbow off the top rope for the 3. 1/2*
King Kong Bundy, Big John Studd & Bobby Heenan def The Machines & Capt. Lou Albano (w/Giant Machine) by DQ in 7:49- Giant Machine is Andre the Giant. Andre had been feuding with Bundy and Studd. For reasons unknown Andre no showed a tag match and was suspended (the real life reason was to give him time off for back surgery and to film The Princess Bride). When he came back it was with the Dusty Rhodes Special, wearing a mask. With the gag being, how is a mask going to keep you from telling it's Andre. It's ANDRE. He tagged along with a couple of partners, who rotated in and out of the group. The Machine names were a play on Super Strong Machine from New Japan, where Andre had also just worked some dates around movie filming and the team was supposed to be from there. Also, if Heenan can unmask and prove Giant Machine is really Andre, Andre will be fired. Tonight, the Machines are being played by Blackjack Mulligan and Bill Eadie, future Demolition Ax. Studd starts with Ax Machine. Captain Lou's wrestling gear is exactly the same as his managerial gear. Studd ends up outside and gets a piece of Andre Machine. Bundy and Mulligan Machine have a shoulderblock standoff. The heels get the edge and Heenan directs traffic. Once the opponent is safely down Heenan tags in. He tries to get the mask off but Outside Machine comes in and shoos him away. Outside Machine becomes Inside Machine and the heels take over again. Heenan tags in, but turns his back to give directions and Tagging Out Machine tags out to Albano. Albano whips Heenan into the corner and Heenan flips into the Tree of Woe. An eye poke from Heenan allows him to tag out. Donnybrook Machine. Fezzik Machine (I am the brute squad) comes in to take some shots and ends up being DQ Machine. Heenan does a near 360 sell on the way out. That man could bump with the best of them. 1/4*
Snake Pit Match: Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat def Jake "The Snake" Roberts in 10:17- Roberts gave Steamboat a DDT on the exposed concrete floor during the spring SNME and Steamboat, not being John Cena, actually sustained injuries and needed time to recover (yes I'm still bitter about the end of the Summerslam '10 main event, why do you ask?). Snake Pit Match is just a fancy way of saying no countout or DQ. Roberts ambushes Steamboat as soon as he hits the ring. Steamboat fights him off and gives him a backdrop while both guys still have their robes on. Steamboat flips Roberts over with an arm wringer and works the arm for a while. The local ref is literally jumping up off the mat every time he counts. Valiant goes on some insane rant in the booth about a female dragon and I'm starting to wonder what kind of drugs are being passed around and consumed up there. Steamboat with a reverse hook kick to the gut. Roberts sells it like a low blow and falls out of the ring. Steamboat follows but eats a Roberts' spear that looked a bit south of Saskatoon. Roberts grabs a chair but Steamboat manages to get it and whacks Roberts with it. No DQ. The karate chop off the top rope gets a jumpy 2 count. Roberts reverses a whip and Steamboat flies over the corner and out. Roberts slingshots him into the post and Steamboat is bleeding a little. Vicious short arm clothesline from Roberts. He hooks in the DDT but Steamboat pushes him into the corner. Inverted atomic drop from Roberts with an A+ Steamboat sell. Gutbuster. Roberts goes for an arrogant cover. Steamboat rolls him over and gets the 3! This doesn't quite have the intensity that really sells a blood feud, but as you'd expect from these two it's still good stuff. ***
Billy Jack Haynes def Hercules Hernandez in 6:08- Monsoon is by himself for commentary for this one, and it sounds like it was recorded after the show in the studio. He says that Valiant might be away getting "libations". Yeah, I bet. It sounded like he didn't need any more. Basic start. Herc shows a little more spunk that usual. Haynes bell rings his way out of a bear hug. They collide near the corner and it's so powerful both guys go down. Lots of kicky punchy from Haynes. He does get an elbow off the second rope. He tries for the full nelson but Herc slips out. Herc gets a near fall but Haynes' foot is on the ropes. Herc think he won and celebrates. Haynes schoolboys him for the 3. Not that it's saying much, but their WM 3 match is better. 3/4* for the match, **** for Monsoon being by himself in the booth
The Fabulous Rougeaus def The Dream Team in 14:51- Valiant is the Dream Team's manager but he's, unfortunately, stuck in the booth. Early days for the Rougeaus as they're in red gear instead of their more well known fleur de lis tights. Suzuki-Gun attack by the heels. All four guys fight in the ring. The faces double team Valentine. Raymond with a sunset flip for 2. During an abdominal stretch Valentine JUST stretches out to tag Beefacke. Beefcake with a shot and a cover. The local ref for this match counts super slow. Like, super duper what the hell slow. He even checks the shoulders are down between each count! Valentine with an elbow off the second rope on Raymond, then he goes and takes out Jacques. Raymond counters with a crossbody for 2. Double dropkick. Valentine flop! The heels work Jacques over for a bit. He tries to fight out of the heel corner which leads to Donnybrook 2: The Wrath of Donnybrook. The heels are whipped into each other. The Rougeaus hit a finisher-like move on Beefcake that could easily be the finish, but Valentine makes the save. Valentine rams Raymond's head on The Hardest Part of the Ring (apron) outside and Raymond goes face in peril. The heels work his back for a good 5 minutes until Valentine's wind up elbow misses and Raymond gets the hot tag. Dropkick party! A slugfest pushes Jacques into the heel corner, but he counters with a dropkick that hits booth heels. Valentine dodges a kneedrop off the second rope and hooks Jacques in the figure four. Raymond saves and we have Donnybrook 3: The Search for a Finish. Valentine keeps working the knee. As he's hooking the figure four up again Raymond gets him in a sunset flip, and for some reason even though Raymond isn't legal the ref counts the pin. Valiant is livid and cuts a promo in the booth. Monsoon admits Raymond wasn't the legal man when he got the pin. The Raymond face in peril segment drug a bit, but otherwise this was damn good tag team wrestling. ***1/4
"Handsome" Harley Race def Pedro Morales in 3:23- Another dream match happening years too late: wrestling's #1 non-WWF star of the '70s vs WWF's #2 face in the '70s after Bruno Sammartino. There's no obvious edit like earlier in the show but I'm pretty sure the start of the match has been clipped off. Race flops out of the ring off a punch. He drags Morales out with him, gives him a couple of elbows in the throat, rams him into the ring bell, and posts him. After they get back in Morales reverses a suplex. Small package for 2. Corner assisted roll up for 2. While the ref is looking elsewhere Race gets a takedown in the corner, puts his feet on the ropes and gets the 3. Are those Canadians chanting "bullshit"? Nah, it's got to be Americans that snuck over the border for the show. *1/2
WWF Championship: Hulk Hogan (c) def "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff (w/Bobby Heenan) by DQ in 11:05- Orndorff's face run did not last long. After palling around with Hogan for a few months he got tired of him, like people do, turned on him and hooked back up with Bobby Heenan to be Hogan's big feud for most of '86. Hogan/Orndorff gets lost a bit in history because it's bookended by Hogan's huge feuds with Piper and Andre but it was a pretty good moneymaker in its own right. Orndorff even came out to Real American to mock Hogan, including this match. It just keeps playing as Hogan makes his entrance. Hogan's got a tape job on the bottom of his left ear. Why? I don't know. The Ring Gearhead team just notices these things. As the ref is checking Hogan Orndorff ambushes him with a clothesline. They go toe to toe in a slugfest with Hogan eventually winning the exchange. Hogan with a headbutt! That's an unusual one. Orndorff gets a sneaky low blow in, and while Hogan is hunched over Heenan reaches up and slaps him! That wakes Hogan up. Atomic drop on Orndorff and Hogan chases Heenan around and through the ring. Heenan still has his wrestling gear on. Orndorff catches Hogan coming back in. They go out and Orndorff suplexes Hogan on the outside. He works Hogan over on the outside off and on while going back into the ring to play to the crowd in between. Eventually Hogan gets back in. OK, I have to say, I've never seen so many local refs with gimmicks. This one is jawing with both guys so much it's almost as if he wants to make it a triple threat. An Orndorff kneedrop off the second rope gets 2. He goes for a piledriver to finish it off but Hogan powers out. Hogan grabs a headlock but Orndorff side suplexes out. Arrogant cover. Hogan gets a foot on the ropes but Orndorff acts like he won. Hulk up! A high knee sends both Orndorff and the ref down. Hogan tries for a piledriver but Heenan hits him from behind with a chair. Orndorff covers for what could be a 3 count but the ref is still down. The ref slowly crawls over and taps Orndorff on the shoulder. Orndorff thinks he won. He and Heenan celebrate. Heenan puts the belt on Orndorff. Finally Fink gets in, milks the moment a little more, and announces Hogan wins by DQ. A livid Orndorff keeps beating Hogan down while still wearing the belt. Hogan takes the belt back and fights him off to send the crowd home happy. **1/2
OVERALL SHOW THOUGHTS- Meh.
OVERALL SHOW GRADE: C-
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