WWE All Star Search #9 - 20th May 1985

WWE All Star Search #9 - 20th May 1985

Hello Turnbucklers! It's edition #9 of our All Star Search and the scores are starting to show who's been impressing...and who hasn't. I'll probably post an article looking at the Wrestler Scores before I get to Wrestlemania 2 and we'll delve into them. Until then, we move forwards in 1985 onto this MSG show in May! Last edition we had what was probably the best show I've watched in the series so far. The card for this one looks like sh*t on paper to me unfortunately with a lot of 1984 jobbers getting some time in the ring. We do get a WWE Title match with Don Muraco who is making his blog reappearance. The main event is exactly the match that should've been on the Wrestlemania 1 card but wasn't, in favour of a DUD. Finally we also get another match between the US Express and the tag champs but let's hope that this is the last one.

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The Card:

Rocky Johnson vs Rene Goulet

Jim Neidhart vs Ivan Putski

Pedro Morales vs Terry Gibbs

Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ) vs Don Muraco [WWE Title Match]

Bret Hart vs Rick McGraw

Ken Patera vs Tony Atlas

The US Express vs Iron Sheik/Nikolai Volkoff (Tag Team Champs) [Tag Team Title Match]

The Missing Link vs SD Jones

Jesse Ventura vs Tony Garea

David Sammartino/Bruno Sammartino vs Brutus Beefcake/Johnny Valiant

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The Show:

Our commentary team for tonight is Gorilla Monsoon and Mean Gene Okerlund.

Rocky Johnson vs Rene Goulet

Another opening contest featuring Rene Goulet? He must really be thought of highly backstage as he's still going strong being given 10+ minute matches. This is Rocky Johnson's final MSG appearance and his last appearance on this blog for now. Once again this is a 10 minute opener and the term 'nothing special' comes to mind. The main focus seems to be Goulet's missing glove? O...K. Johnson actually looks quite good in this one, showing off both strength and speed which I wasn't expecting so much. It's still weird to hear him being referred to as 'The Rock'. Goulet does get some offense in but its mixed in between his heely stalling tactics. I actually like Goulet, he's easy to hate which makes him a good heel. Johnson gets the 3 count in the end with a roll up and we move on. Match Rating: *

Jim Neidhart vs Ivan Putski

Straight into the next match now and on paper this one is self-explanatory as to what to expect. Neidhart is still fairly new to the WWE scene and Putski is coming to the end of his career. Both are pushed as powerhouses. That is exactly what we get in this one and the early goings are spent by both trying to out power the other. Of course it breaks down into restholds and the pace slows down by a hefty amount. The crowd are alive towards the end and really get behind Putski in his final flurry of offence but its no use and Neidhart counters a suplex attempt into a roll up for 3. Impressive way to end considering the size of both men and how smooth the sequence actually was. Neidhart still looks strong going forward but the match was too slow for the majority. Match Rating: 3/4*

Pedro Morales vs Terry Gibbs

This is another match that doesn't exactly make me jump out my seat. This is Morales' first appearance on our blog. His biggest career peaks came before this show but I'm interested to see how he comes off on his return and whether he's another former great who's still stuck in a former decade style-wise. Terry Gibbs is a perennial jobber here. The commentary team say Morales looks great....but he doesn't. This match itself was sinfully boring. So many restholds at such a slow pace, it was just hard for me to care. Unfortunately the timekeeper plays a harsh trick on me and rings the bell halfway through the match...but it wasn't over! Damn him! Eventually Morales gets the win with a Boston Crab to decent crowd noise, so I assume the crowd only watched the last 10 seconds of the match. Match Rating: 1/4*

Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ) vs Don Muraco [WWE Title Match]

The crowd has really lit up for this one and Don Muraco comes out to major heat with Mr Fuji! Eye of the Tiger plays and the crowd goes mental as usual! The ringbell is doing my head in at this point as it won't stop pissing ringing. Action kicks off straight away as Muraco blindsides Hogan before he de-belts. He lays in the boots before choking Hogan with his T-shirt. Muraco's offense doesn't last long as Hogan hulks up quickly and sends Muraco to the outside. He nails an atomic drop on the floor before they both make their way back in the ring. Hogan starts choking Muraco with his T-shirt now and even finds time to gob in his face...lovely. The crowd don't care though as they are unglued. They head back outside where they trade chairshots right in front of the ref but no DQ. It makes even less sense when Hogan rolls in and out of the ring to break the countout. Muraco actually gets busted open via these chairshots. Back in the ring and Hogan hits a back suplex and soon after, a standing suplex. Its not long before he hits the leg drop for the 3 count. However Mr Fuji had put Muraco's foot on the ropes so the 3 count doesn't count. This gives Muraco the chance to blast Hogan in the eyes with a load of salt for the DQ. Stupid, pointless finish to a glorified squash match. The crowd noise made this match much better but Muraco got no offense in after the initial phase and its safe to say his career ain't going higher than this. This match is very similar to Hogan vs Orndorff from the month before. Match Rating: *1/2

Lord Al Hayes replaces Mean Gene on commentary and immediately acts like a lecherous old git.

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Bret Hart vs Rick McGraw

Is this our first blog Bret singles match? It could possibly be! Last month he looked extra good in the tag match with the Bulldog's. This time out he's against Rick McGraw who is the definition of...OK. At this point he's still sporting an extra 'T' in his name. He seems less enthusiastic this time around and it shows in his in ring work. The match is slower than I expected with very little to talk about. Bret did show glimpses of good entertainment but that's all they were, glimpses. McGraw was...OK...considering the last time we saw him he was being jobbed out to Ken Patera quite quickly. Strange commentary as Lord Al rants on about Stu Hart but starts getting a bit creepy. Bret eventually got the win via a second rope elbow drop. I'm quite disappointed with this one and Bret honestly came off as well as any other lower card heel in this one. Match Rating: *

Ken Patera vs Tony Atlas

This card is not getting better is it. Out comes out favourite 1970's throwback in Ken Patera and the immensely roided Tony Atlas. Bobby Heenan is out with Patera so maybe he can add something. Before the match even gets under way, both men engage in a posedown with Patera looking old and Atlas looking camper than a picnic basket. Pretty basic start as both men try to out power the other. Patera gains early control using restholds early on. They end up outside where Patera rams Atlas into the apron before getting back in the ring to pose. Patera locks on a bearhug which Atlas wiggles out of into one of his own. That also looked really gay on Atlas' part. Nice cross body followed by a suplex by Atlas into a sleeper that is quickly broken up. Patera tries to stall but Atlas isn't having any of it and nails an atomic drop. They go back and forth until Patera is sent out to the floor. Patera and Heenan suffer a dreaded double noggin knocker before Atlas gets distracted trying to beat up Heenan/ Patera uses that to nail Atlas off the top rope for the 3 count. Better than I was expecting and better than most the crap on the card. Both men still seem very outdated though. Match Rating: *3/4

Into the back with Mean Gene and Bobby Heenan who is representing the Missing Link. Heenan tells us that everyone better have paid their insurance premiums because the Missing Link is going to be piling up the bodies. The Missing Link says nothing and wanders around the background. Its a middle-aged bloke with Einstein hair and a green face. He looks like someone sneezed on him. Thank God that Heenan gave him at least some legitimacy.

Still in the back and Jesse Ventura is now with Mean Gene. Mean Gene is just as shocked as me that Ventura looks somewhat human. Ventura says he's the best on commentary and the best in the ring so watch out Garea!

STILL in the back and this time Mean Gene is with Johnny Valiant and Brutus Beefcake. They talk about San Fransisco and then the Sammartino's. Beefcake doesn't freeze which is an improvement and actually shows off some good confidence. They're ready!

STILL...in the back with Mean Gene and this time he's with the Sammartino's. Bruno's promo's always seem the most real, no yelling and always confident in what he's saying. David on the other hand is a stuttery mofo. Bottom line...they're ready!

The US Express vs Iron Sheik/Nikolai Volkoff (Tag Team Champs) [Tag Team Title Match]

The heels are out first to big heat as per! 1980's xenephobia really was an amazing heat catalyst, I mean, it's hard to take the champs as seriously as I'd like too but the crowd disagree. Of course Volkoff sings before the match to big heat and I love hit! 'Born in the USA' hits and out come the US Express with Captain Lou Albano. The crowd don't seem as into them as they were 2 months ago which is strange. Big USA chant breaks out right on cue. Quick action to start with the faces taking control over Sheik to major crowd noise. Nice double leg drop by the faces and an atomic drop by Rotundo. Sheik misses a Senton splash attempt which was a nice suprise. Sheik eventually tags out to Volkoff just as Windham comes in and the pace slows down slightly. Windham does gets some shots in but misses a dropkick and the tide doth turn. The heels take turns working over Windham. Sheik hits a lovely gutwrench suplex and maintains control until Rotundo gets the hot tag. It doesn't last long as Volkoff pearl harbours him. Windham takes the time to bust Sheik open on the ringpost in the melee. It all breaks down outside the ring and the champs get counted out but keep their belts. Was a decent little match for what it was but I'm hoping thats the last we see between the two. Match Rating: **

The Missing Link vs SD Jones

Before the match starts, Bobby Heenan lists off a load of face wrestlers and tells them to pay attention. He tells them to pay attention to his newest Heenan family member...The Missing Link. For all that build up, this guy better be good! I should mention that in the time between this show and the last, Orndorff cemented his face turn and fired Heenan. Heenan is now offering $25,000 to anyone to take Orndorff out. None the less, Heenan feels the Missing Link is the dude who will get that dollar. Match is a total squash but christ, The Missing Link looks awful. He's slow, weak and very disjointed. He gets the quick 3 with a falling headbutt/punch (?) from the top rope. I would mention SD Jones...but there is literally nothing to mention other than he just got battered. The officials run away from the Missing Link after the match while Heenan tries and fails to control him. Match Rating: DUD

Jesse Ventura vs Tony Garea

Straight into the next match now as we get the in-ring blog return of Jesse Ventura after his blood clot incident last year. His opponent is Tony Garea who is once again solid, but not spectacular. It takes an age for Jesse to take off all his shit and actually start the match. Of course, even then there's a fair amount of stalling. In fact, the first half of this match is a hefty mix of stalling by Jesse and rest holds by Garea. When Garea is on offense, he works over Jesse's arm throwing in some decent psychology but unfortunately its all for nothing as Jesse forgets to sell. The crowd really hate Jesse here so that adds a lot to this one. Garea gets in a sunset flip and tries to abdominal stretch but unfortunately it all goes sloppily wrong. Finish comes when Garea tries to ram Jesse into the turnbuckle but its countered so Garea levels his own head, staggers down to the mat allowing Jesse to hit a weak looking elbow drop for the win. I really, really wish I liked Jesse Ventura's in ring work more than I do but alas, I don't and this match was crap until the final third. Match Rating: 1/2*

David Sammartino/Bruno Sammartino vs Brutus Beefcake/Johnny Valiant

Time for our main event now and it's not quite a Wrestlemania rematch although this is the match that should've been on the card. Out first is Beefcake and Valiant to big boo's. Valiant is another 70's flashback by the look of him. Beefcake looks like a golden ticket allowing you into Wonka's factory. The Sammartino's come out with a Hogan style entrance (without music) and they get a huge pop, granted though, it was mainly for Bruno. Bruno starts and cleans house early while the crowd go mental. It's apparent though he's aged a little too much to be a regular in ring performer. He seems sluggish and clunky although the crowd distracts you from it. Bruno continues to keep control working over both heels. He works over Beefcakes arm and tags in David who keeps working on the arm. Eventually the heels take control and work over David with lots of chokes and strikes. The finish comes out of nowhere as Valiant misses a charge in the corner and David rolls him up for the win. The heels do some damage to Bruno after the match but in my opinion, they should've left this for a Sammartino feelgood moment. Match itself was better than the Wrestlemania match and I maintain this should've been on that card instead. Still a poor, dull match though. Neither David or Beefcake looked great in this which is wrong considering they're the future. Match Rating: *

So there we have it, edition #9 is done and wow, what a hard show to sit and watch. The things I do for my Turnbucklers. Nevertheless, onto the next show! First...let's see the updated Wrestler Scores.


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Wrestler Scores:

• Rocky Johnson +4 (10)
• Rene Goulet +2 (9)
• Jim Niedhart +4 (14)
• Ivan Putski +2 (6)
• Pedro Morales +2 (2)
• Terry Gibbs +1 (4)
• Hulk Hogan +5 (41)
• Don Muraco +3 (9)
• Bret Hart +4 (11)
• Rick McGraw +3 (8)
• Ken Patera +4 (14)
• Tony Atlas +3 (7)
• Mike Rotundo +6 (16)
• Barry Windham +5 (15)
• Iron Sheik +4 (23)
• Nikolai Volkoff +4 (15)
• The Missing Link +2 (2)
• SD Jones +1 (7)
• Jesse Ventura +3 (10)
• Tony Garea +3 (7)
• David Sammartino +3 (9)
• Bruno Sammartino +3 (3)
• Johnny Valiant +3 (3)
• Brutus Beefcake +4 (13)

So there we have our updated list after this show. After edition #10, I'll be going through the scores so far and the patterns and reasons behind them. Hopefully you'll see us in edition #10! Please leave a comment, follow us on Twitter @TheWrestlinDork, click on any affiliates that take your fancy and please check out Across The Pond where you can find these articles plus so much more!

WWE All Star Search #8 - 27th April 1985

WWE All Star Search #8 - 27th April 1985

Hello Turnbucklers! It's edition #8 and we are less than a month removed from Wrestlemania 1! Wrestlemania 1 was all about the main event and its historical context but let's face it, the show overall was a bit of a stinker. The card for this show looks good so hopefully it'll play out in ring as well. We have one big debut on this edition and we have a big tag team battle royal as main event. This show is mainly tag team matches but hey, doesn't mean it won't be a good show! So shall we see how it plays out? Let's go!

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The Card:

The Hart Foundation vs The British Bulldogs

David Sammartino/Tito Santana vs Brutus Beefcake/Greg 'the Hammer' Valentine (IC Champ)

Roddy Piper/Bob Orton vs SD Jones/George Wells

The US Express vs Iron Sheik/Nikolai Volkoff (Tag Team Champs)

Ricky Steamboat/Jimmy Snuka vs Charlie Fulton/Moondog Spot

Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ) vs Paul Orndorff [WWE Title match]

$50,000 Tag Team Battle Royal

The Show:

Our commentary team tonight is Dick Graham and Gorilla Monsoon who run down whats to come before we go straight into our first match.

The Hart Foundation vs The British Bulldogs

Well ain't this a doozey! This is the first meeting between the two teams and all have history in Stampede Wrestling. This is our first introduction to Bret(t) Hart, Davey Boy Smith and the Dynamite Kid. The Bulldogs are my hometown boys so it's good to see them arrive. The Hart Foundation are in all black in this one, so no pink as of yet. Dynamite and Bret start us off and Dynamite does some cool flips to escape an armbar. Davey Boy in and he escapes a hammerlock by sending Bret Hart to the outside using nothing but momentum. Back in and some nice chain wrestling by Bret and Davey. In comes Neidhart and him and Davey test each others strength which Davey gets the better of. Dynamite back in and so is Bret...who eats an amazing enziguiri followed by a perfect snap suplex for 2. Bret regains control, tags out and Anvil locks on a chinlock to slow things down. Bret back in with some heely antics a foot but Dynamite sneaks in a backslide for 2. Dynamite can't tag out as the heels still work him over. He finally makes the tag but the ref didn't see it and sends Davey back out to mild boo's. Bret nails Dynamite on the concrete on the outside and that looked nasty. Crowd are suprisingly quiet so far. More quick tags and heely antics by the Hart Foundation as Dynamite looks dead on his feet. Dynamite finally makes the hit tag to a somewhat quiet buzz and Davey briefly clears house of the heels but its not for long. Bret hits a lovely backbreaker and Davey now has to play face in peril. A couple of restholds later and Bret drops his soon-to-be normal elbow drops. The pace has slowed down quite a bit here and the crowd are silent apart from one or two blokes yelling randomly. Davey takes a hard bump to the outside but he reverses Bret Hart into the guardrail although Neidhart still poses in the ring. Back in the ring and Davey tries to get a sunset flip on Neidhart but it fails. Bret back in for another amazing backbreaker and he heads up top. Of course he gets cut off and thrown to the mat as Davey goes up instead and nails a perfect missile dropkick. Dynamite back in and he takes control of the heels including another awesome snap suplex and a headbutt. Dynamite nails a lovely tombstone piledriver for 2...Davey in and he hits a Powerslam on Bret who is really taking some punishment. Clothesline on Bret and the time expires soon after. The first half of the match was superb and had a great pace. After half way it slowed down a lot and they lost the crowd. Bret looked amazing here, really taking punishment and really hitting some crisp moves on the Bulldogs. Thats not to take away from the others involved either as everyone did great here. Shame about the ending but its understandable. Match Rating: ***1/4

David Sammartino/Tito Santana vs Brutus Beefcake/Greg 'the Hammer' Valentine (IC Champ)

The future tag champs are out first with Johnny Valiant as Dick Graham says this should be a great one. David Sammartino though? Hmmm. This further baffles me as to why Santana was in the opener of Mania instead of JYD. Brutus and Sammartino start and Sammartino takes early control. Beefcake tries to run away but finds Tito's fist on the apron and the heels regroup on the outside. Fruitcake chants breaks out at Brutus as Hammer comes in and chases Sammartino around the ring with elbows but misses every one. Tito comes in as Hammer bails. He comes back in, stalls for an age, then tags out to Brutus! Sammartino back in and Tito did fuck all then! Sammartino takes control with armbars and slams but its all basic as basic is. Tito in and he works on the arm until Hammer gets involved but Tito fights off the heels. He locks in an armbar...tags out...and Sammartino locks in an arm bar. Crowd are dead in this one too...Heels take over on Sammartino and Hammer works over the back, even applying a chin lock. Beefcake back in and he...just works over Sammartino in general. Tito eventually gets the hot tag and faces off with Valentine. Heel miscommunication allows Santana to roll up Hammer for the win! The David Sammartino run is pretty much a big failure after this point. The crowd were definitely finding it hard to get behind him. Beefcake is showing some improvements after his initial months. Tito was...Tito and Hammer was...Hammer. Looking forward to seeing Beefcake and Hammer team up more so down the line. Match Rating: *3/4

Roddy Piper/Bob Orton vs SD Jones/George Wells

I can't really understand this match as it couldn't be more of a write off for the heels. Shockingly I'm not wrong, as within a few minutes, Piper and Orton have already won with a cheapshot with Orton's cast off the top rope that KO's SD Jones for the win. Normally squash matches are there to make wrestler's look strong and unbeatable...this one didn't do that. Match Rating: DUD

Into the back with Dick Graham who is with the tag champs, Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff. The way they're holding their belts actually gives them a somewhat physical prestige. They say that they shall win tonight but in a less crazy manner they normally get that point across.

The US Express vs Iron Sheik/Nikolai Volkoff (Tag Team Champs)

This is a non-title rematch from Wrestlemania 1 and I can't work out why it's not for the belts. The champs are Blassie-less for this one and the challengers come out on fire and pearl harbour the champs. The crowd are hot for this one. Its a good match with Sheik outdoing Volkoff on the heels side and Windham shining for the faces. Windham is crisp throughout but that's not to take anything away from Rotundo. The action is well balanced with everyone getting in some offence. The heels and their miscommunication spots are funny. Sheik does take a nasty bump to the outside at one point. The finish comes after Volkoff misses a knee in the corner and gets rolled up for the 3 count. The faces and the crowd celebrate, although things quieten down once the crowd realise its not a title change. Match Rating: **1/4

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Ricky Steamboat/Jimmy Snuka vs Charlie Fulton/Moondog Spot

Our last tag team match of the card and on paper it's another complete squash match. In the previous All Star Search, I looked at the similarities between Snuka and Steamboat and how in my opinion, the WWE only really needed one of them. However they've shut me up and put them as a tag team to face Jobber UTD. This is Moondog Spots blog debut and I'm expecting big things. The match goes longer than I expected with the heels actually getting in some decent offense. Charlie Fulton got in a lot more offense than I expecting in particular even though the majority was basic. Moondog Spot was slow and uninteresting but hey, who's suprised. This match gave me the ideal opportunity to compare Steamboat and Snuka and it's obvious that Steamboat is the one with the future and Snuka is falling behind. Again we see a lot of chops, arm drags and leapfrogs. The faces were trying a lot more double team manuevers so it seems that WWE were testing the waters to see if they'd make a good tag team. To be fair they do but Steamboat doesn't need to be there, he needs to be moving up the card but that won't happen until further down the line. I have to point out the sprinkling of boring chants during the restholds which I would never expect during a Steamboat match. Finish comes when all four men get involved at once and Steamboat catches Fulton with a crossbody for 3! Match Rating: *1/2

Into the back with Dick Graham and Hulk Hogan. They shill the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone featuring Hogan before moving onto hyping the upcoming match with Paul Orndorff. Hogan puts over Orndorff something fierce.

Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ) vs Paul Orndorff [WWE Title match]

So at Wrestlemania, Orndorff was on the losing end of the pinfall and thus was left behind by his heely cohorts. One month later he's challenging Hogan for the title and his crowd reaction is slightly more mixed. Hogan is still coming out to Eye of the Tige, still all in whiter and his reception is still double the volume of anyone else on the roster. The crowd is hot for this one! We have the scrappiest start I've seen in a long time before some more stalling. Orndorff takes control early with kicks and clubs before taunting the crowd. Hogan blocks and rams Orndorff into the turnbuckle and follows up with an elbow. Orndorff wants some timeout and bails out to crowd heat. Lots of stalling before Hogan takes control with a headlock and a shoulderblock sends Orndorff reeling in the ropes for more stalling. Back suplex by Hogan, headbutts and a clothesline in the corner send Orndorff to the mat for a 2 count before locking on a chinlock. Big 'Paula' chant for Orndorff which reminds me of the 'Princess Evans' chant at Futureshock. More restholds and this is becoming a really slow paced match and the crowd is fighting to stay hot. Finally Orndorff retakes control with a kitchen sink and elbow drops. Nice suplex by Orndorff followed by a big knee drop for 2. Hogan starts no selling, nails Orndorff with right hands, whips him into the corner, avoids a charge by Orndorff, nails the Leg Drop and that gets the win. Afterwards Orndorff offers his hand in friendship and Hogan eventually accepts to a huge pop! Orndorff is now almost certainly a face! Really disappointed with that match. Baring in mind the heat between the two is huge and baring in mind the aftermath, this was a glorified Hogan squash match if you take away all the stalling. Orndorff got very little offense in on Hogan which isn't good if they want to push him strong as a face in future. Match Rating: *

Before we get to the next match, the flambouyantly dressed Spectrum ring announcer runs down the next 'supercard' in Philly...and boy does it sound DULL. All I'm going to to say is...Charlie Fulton vs Swede Hanson was a highlight. I think I'll let someone else find that show and review it.

$50,000 Tag Team Battle Royal

So this is our main event! A tag team battle royal featuring many of the superstars and teams we've seen already tonight. The winner gets $50,000 to share and all the pride they can handle. There's no point me telling you exactly what happened throughout the battle royal so I'll give you the jist. It only takes one member of a team to be thrown out for the whole team to be eliminated. To be fair, looking at the teams, anyone could've won this one....not David Sammartino though. It all kicks off before the announcer finishes his introductions. The tag champs and the US Express are the first teams to go suprisingly. Piper and Orton try to eliminate Steamboat who skins the cat! The crowd love it as these are the final two teams. Moondog Spot is still ringside and attacks Steamboat for some reason. He escapes and comes off the top rope to take out everyone in the ring. Piper is eliminated by Snuka giving the 'South Pacific Connection' the win! However, Piper steals the money and buggers off with it. Entertaining match although battle royals are hard to rate. Steamboat was the only person in this who truly stood out so he'll get extra points for that! Nice to see Snuka and Piper interacting after their program last year.  Match Rating: *3/4



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Wrestler Scores:

• Jim Neidhart +6 (10)
• Bret Hart +7 (7)
• Davey Boy Smith +6 (6)
• Dynamite Kid +6 (6)
• David Sammartino +2 (6)
• Tito Santana +5 (39)
• Brutus Beefcake +5 (9)
• Greg Valentine +5 (36)
• Roddy Piper +3 (30)
• Bob Orton +3 (10)
• Iron Sheik +4 (19)
• Nikolai Volkoff +4 (11)
• Barry Windham +5 (10)
• Mike Rotundo +4 (10)
• SD Jones +1 (6)
• George Wells +1 (1)
• Jimmy Snuka +5 (19)
• Ricky Steamboat +7 (12)
• Charlie Fulton +4 (8)
• Moondog Spot +3 (3)
• Hulk Hogan +5 (36)
• Paul Orndorff +5 (19)

So all in all, although not spectacular, this show is one of the better ones I've reviewed so far. Bret Hart had a great first appearance looking extra crisp in everything he did. Hogan and Orndorff was a let down but wow, the first match on the card was really good. It will be interesting to see where Orndorff's character development leads too.

Finally, a good mate of mine is back from a short break and doing his ever popular reviews. He's one of YouTube's oldest reviewers and he's definitely the most interesting. Of course I'm talking about Mr. Marc Pearson and here is his latest video HERE.

These blogs will also be appearing on Across the Pond so if you've never checked out the site, please give it a view!

As always, follow me on Twitter @TheWrestlinDork and please click on the affiliates to keep me fed! Much love Turnbucklers and see you next time!

WWE All Star Search #7 - Wrestlemania 1

WWE All Star Search #7 - Wrestlemania 1

Hello Turnbucklers! So we've made it here after trawling through 1984, Wrestlemania 1. Shown on CCTV it was a huge risk for WWE but I think it's safe to say it paid off. This is a big card with a big main event so it'll be intriguing to see how the rest of the card matches up. Before we get there, let's do a summary of what I've learnt so far. The most over superstar is by far Hulk Hogan. His pops are so much bigger than everyone elses its surreal. Tito Santana, Andre the Giant and Sgt Slaughter have been also getting strong crowd reactions. On the heel side, number 1 has to Roddy Piper. The heat he's gained in a year its amazing! Greg Valentine is another who has impressed me so far, always bringing out consistently decent matches. Most suprising superstar for me so far has been The Iron Sheik, I actually look forward to his matches now. Iron Mike Sharpe is most underrated so far in my opinion. As a jobber he stands out from the crowd. Worst wrestlers so far? My least favourite at least are the Wild Samoans, whether they're the worst is a personal opinion though. Too many headbutts and no sells for my liking. Quick shoutout to Terry Daniels too...and his armbar. Anyway...let's do this!

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The Card:

Tito Santana vs The Executioner

King Kong Bundy vs SD Jones

Ricky Steamboat vs Matt Borne

David Sammartino vs Brutus Beefcake

The Junkyard Dog vs Greg Valentine (IC Champ) [IC Title Match]

The Iron Sheik/Nikolai Volkoff vs The US Express (Tag Team Champs) [Tag Team Title Match]

Andre the Giant vs Big John Studd (Bodyslam Challenge)

Wendi Richter vs Leilani Kai (Womens Champ) [Womens Title Match]

Hulk Hogan/Mr T vs Roddy Piper/Paul Orndorff

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The Show:

Here we go then! We kick off with some funky music while screenshots of the match-ups and celebrities flashing by. Our commentary team is Gorilla Monsoon AND JESSE VENTURA! I've been waiting for this team, my second all time favourite pairing on commentary. Fink welcomes us to Wrestlemania and he gets a big pop. I guess the crowd knew this was a special event from the beginning. Mean Gene Okerlund butchers the American National Anthem for us but gets a BIG reaction. To be fair, he really had fun being the one to sing it.

Into the back with Lord Alfred Hayes who's wearing a lovely cream number. He seems strangely nervous in front of the camera and hypes up 'WrestlingMania'.

Mean Gene is with Tito Santana who says no one is going to stop him...and that means you Executioner! Ariba! As soon as Tito buggers off, Executioner appears to tell Tito he's going for his leg...and nothing else. Talk about giving the game plan away.

Tito Santana vs The Executioner

Executioner in the ring first and he's announced as being unknown...in anything. Big pop for Tito as he comes out. Can't understand why Tito is opening Wrestlemania against the Executioner. Had he had a more formidable or at least established opponent, Tito would've been a perfect opening attraction but not with the Executioner. I should point out that Executioner is Buddy Rose under a mask. The crowd is hot in the beginning as Tito holds Cutioner at bay with dropkicks. Tito maintains control throughout the match although Cutioner does gets some basic offense in. Cutioner does what he promised and aims for the legs but Tito fights back. Executioner looks a little off balance while on the offense. Cutioner goes up top but Santana counters into a slam. He goes for a splash but eats nothing but raised legs. Cutioner works on the legs again but Tito sends Cutioner onto the outside. Flying Jalepeno for Santana, Figure Four and that's all she wrote for Cutioner as Santana wins! Better than I thought it would be and that's including the fact it didn't last long. Crowd loved Tito and Executioner was the standard big man opponent needed to emphasize Santana's normal routine. Match Rating: *1/2

Into the back with a nervous Lord Al who sends us to Mean Gene and SD Jones. Jones has the best voice/accent I've heard yet. He says he's ready. He leaves and King Kong Bundy and Jimmy Hart come in and tell SD Jones to expect to eat a 5 count tonight.

King Kong Bundy vs SD Jones

Big boo's for Bundy which is good considering he's not done much in his run so far apart from squash jobbers. Match goes as follows...Strikes by Bundy, bearhug into the corner, splash in the corner, Jones goes down, eats another splash on the mat...5 count. Bundy wins. As far as squash matches go, this one is relevant and has use to it. Bundy looked like a monster in front of his biggest audience yet. A good way to set the tone over the next year. What the main problem here is the match is announced as a new match length record at 9 seconds...although anyone with a concept of time will understand how wrong that time is. Pointless lie that made WWE look silly for trying. Match Rating: DUD

Into the back with Mean Gene who's with Matt Borne...son of Tough Tony Borne. He puts over Steamboat but says he's too nice of a guy and that's why Borne will win. He leaves and Steamboat appears. He hypes Wrestlemania and says he's here to develop the 'meanness' he's lacking. Arib....wait, no, wrong babyface.

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Ricky Steamboat vs Matt Borne

Not the biggest reaction for Steamboat but I think the crowd have settled slightly. It starts off at a quick pace with Steamboat getting some leapfrogs in before nailing Borne with a chop to the throat. Borne goes for a couple of side suplexes but Steamboat escapes both and nails a delayed atomic drop and shows a little personality in doing so. Reverse atomic drop by Borne puts him in control. It doesn't last long as Steamboat replies with chops and a headlock. Borne with a nice belly to belly suplex followed by a standard suplex. Steamboat fights back, nails another suplex, hits a nice neckbreaker and Steamboat is firmly in control. Steamboat goes up top, nails a flying cross body and gets the 3 count! One of the better, quick matches I've seen in this blog so far. Steamboat looked good here but was no where near the superstar we look back fondly at. Steamboats style and popularity really leave very little for Jimmy Snuka to come back to as at this point, there were so many similarities between the two. Match Rating: **

Into the back with Lord Al, who runs down the next match. We even see Beefcake heading to the ring in the background.

Mean Gene is in the back with the Sammartino's who give us some fighting talk. They leave and are instantly replaced by Beefcake and Valiant. Valiant does all the talking but he sounds like he's trying to fit a years worth of talking into one promo. Beefcake then gets stage fright and has to be bailed out by Valiant. That was incredibly awkward but surely Beefcake would be prepared!

David Sammartino vs Brutus Beefcake

Out of all the matches on the card, this one was the one I was least looking forward too. David Sammartino is the definition of a superstar lacking X Factor and Beefcake at this point was as dull as the Bury Times. David is with dad, Bruno who gets a great reaction from the crowd and Beefer is with Johnny Valiant who is quite similar to Freddie Blassie. The heels stall forever until we get a lock up, but nothing happens. We get a Beefcake strut but its all for nothing as Sammartino controls with his basic offence. We get long headlocks by both and this is getting painfully boring. Eventually, Valiant gets involved on the outside, which draws in daddy Bruno and the whole thing is thrown for a double-DQ. No one looked good in this although Bruno got big cheers. It should have been a tag match between the four men out there. Match Rating: 3/4*

The Junkyard Dog vs Greg Valentine (IC Champ) [IC Title Match]

JYD gets himself a title shot already on the WWE's biggest show to date. It seems a bit strange considering Santana was in the opener after feuding with Hammer for the past year. Steamboat would've been a better choice in this one and JYD could've fought Borne. Hammer of course is out with Jimmy Hart. JYD controls to start and Hammer tries to get a breather. He does get the briefest of offense in before JYD hits his canine-headbutts and Hammer bails outside. Hammer uses heely tactics when he gets back in to take control and works over the leg of JYD. He goes for a figure four but it gets countered. JYD nails some more headbutts and Valentine timbers to the mat. Jimmy Hart tries to get involved but heel miscommunication leads to a nasty fall to the outside by Hart. Seriously, I think it gave him a bad concussion. A bit of back and forth before Hammer goes for the rollup. It looks like he's won but Tito Santana comes down and convinces the referee that he cheated...so we continue! Bwah?! Hammer says fuck that and loses via countout. What a ridiculous finish to a pretty poor match. Both men's popularity saved this one from being really bad. Match Rating: *1/4

Into the back with Mean Gene who's with Blassie, Sheik and Volkoff. They ramble incoherently until the US Express and Albano replace them. They say that they're heading to the ring.....which they're clearly not.

The Iron Sheik/Nikolai Volkoff vs The US Express (Tag Team Champs) [Tag Team Title Match]

NOW they're heading to the ring. Big boo's for the foreigners and massive cheers for the US Express. Big shock there. Volkoff does his pre-match singing and then we get under way. The US Express are Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham who won the titles a few months earlier from Murdoch and Adonis. Rotundo and Sheik start us off with Rotundo getting the advantage with hiptosses and slams. Windham gets a shot in before he gets the tag and follows up with a shot from the top rope. The heels try and gain control but heel miscommunication on their part means Volkoff eats a Sheik dropkick. Sheik apologizes and Volkoff comes in...but finds himself in a headlock. A couple of one counts and eventually the heels take control. Sheik nails an elbow for 2 and follows up with a lovely side suplex. He tries for a standard suplex but Rotundo counters into one of his own. Volkoff in but quickly finds himself in a hammerlock before eating a sunset flip. Volkoff regains control, Sheik back in who locks on an abdominal stretch. He eventually escapes and makes the hot tag to Windham. Rotundo takes Sheik to the floor but doesn't keep an eye on him. Windham and Volkoff brawl until Sheik nails Windham in the noodle with Blassies cane behind the ref's back and that gets the win and we have new tag champs! A bit of a suprise considering the US Express were over huge and the foreigners were no where near in comparison. I can't see this title reign being a long one but lets see. Match was actually a good'n I think. Rotundo was a good face in peril and the foreigners had enough heat on them to really make it work. Match Rating: **1/4

Into the back with Mean Gene who's with the new Tag Champs. They say they proved themselves and that Russian and Arab countries are the best. That escalated quickly.

Still in the back and Mean Gene is joined with Heenan and Studd. Heenan is great here as he tells Gene to keep his hands to himself and tells Andre to look forward to retirement.

Andre the Giant vs Big John Studd (Bodyslam Challenge)

This is Studd's $15,000 vs Andre's career...which hardly seems balanced. In fact, Andre comes out with a massive Donny Osmond smile on his face so I don't really feel like he's about to become unemployed. Studd of course is with Bobby 'the Brain' Heenan. Studd tries to get the early advantage but it doesn't quite work and he finds himself reeling on the outside. Back in and Andre does his chokes in the corner...which is a high spot for him...and then uses his arse to his advantage. Studd fights back, tries to slam Andre but it fails. Andre with a bearhug, which I thought was a heel's hold. Studd bites his way out of it but soon finds himself in a headlock. Studd goes for a boot, countered...and he eats a slam shortly after. Andre wins! He gets his bag of money to throw to the crowd but Heenan knicks it back. Glorified squash match I'm afraid but Studd was never going to win this. What's worse is the fact neither man could move very well. Match Rating: DUD

Into the back where Mean Gene is with Andre who cuts a barely understandable promo about his win. I wish I could tell you what he said but he sounded like a bath being unplugged.

Still in the back with Lauper and Richter who tells Shmoolah and Lani Kai to watch out! Richter yells that she's ready and sounds like an utter hick in the process. They are replaced by Moolah and Kai, where by Moolah shows off her new glasses and Kai says...watch out!

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Wendi Richter vs Leilani Kai (Womens Champ) [Womens Title Match]

At the War to Settle the Score, Moolah cost Richter the title to Leilani Kai. Cyndi Lauper is still with Richter and Moolah is with Kai. I'm not going to dwell too much on this one because it was utterly a stinker. Lots of slow back and forth with hair pulling added here and there. Kai tries for a gutwrench suplex but the women botch it and have to salvage it into a pinning attempt. Moolah tries to get involved but Lauper stops her to a big pop. More back and forth until Kai goes for a crossbody off the top but a horrific looking roll through gets the win and the title for Richter. Let the cringeworthy celebratory dancing begin! At this point, all the hype the women's division had developed was starting to disappear now. Unfortunately the female wrestlers involved couldn't hold up their end of the deal so to speak. Not much more Lauper can do for them. Match Rating: DUD

In the back, Mean Gene is with the new champ and Lauper. They're both very happy and Richter still yells and sounds like an utter hick.

Hulk Hogan/Mr T vs Roddy Piper/Paul Orndorff

It's main event time! So here we have...Billy Martin (who has no relevance outside the USA) as ring announcer, Pat Patterson as the ref (just for a paycheck I presume), Liberace as ringbell dude (with added effeminate bell) and of course, Muhammed Ali as special enforcer. Ali gets a huge pop and every other celebrity is quickly forgotten. Piper and Orndorff's entrance is epic as they come out with the bagpipe band. Cowboy Bob Orton plus his cast are with them. We get the now well-known visual of Mr T and Hogan ready to head to the ring...and here they come! Massive pop and my version has Eye of the Tiger to make it just that little bit better! Jimmy Snuka is with the faces in this one. Everyone, plus myself, is hyped up for this. Orndorff and Hogan start...or so it looks but Piper begs to start with Hogan...and then Mr T wants to start with Piper. They lock up and trade strikes with Piper getting a brief advantage before T nails him with a firemans's carry! This draws all 6 men in the ring for a big shmoz until Ali comes in and sends Piper outside. The heels then try to walk out but the faces don't let them. The heels charge the ring but eat a double noggin-knocker, some Hogan offence and then a second double noggin-knocker. Hogan nails an atomic drop on Piper and tags in T. T hits a cool double clothesline and slams Piper to the mat followed by a hiptoss on Orndorff. Nice and the crowd love it! Hogan back in for sends Piper to the outside but gets beaten on Orndorff which sends Hogan outside also. Piper with a chairshot to the back on Hogan but no DQ. The heels can finally take control of the match as they work over Hogan. Orndorff comes in and nails a lovely suplex on Hogan. After more heel tags in and out, Orndorff hits a lovely backbreaker on Hogan but misses an elbow drop which allows T to come back in to huge noise! He wails away on Orndorff but not for long thanks to Piper. Its not long before Hogan makes his way back in for a third double noggin-knocker! Orndorff manages to get in a lovely side suplex while Piper manages to distract the ref. This also means Orton can involve himself but Snuka tries to stop him. In the resulting shmoz between everyone, Orton manages to nails Orndorff with his cats accidentally and that gives Hogan and Mr T the win! Piper and Orton berate Orndorff afterwards which plants seeds for a faceturn. They leave Orndorff behind when they leave as the faces all eat up the crowd noise. WWE's first really massive main event and it was a success! Good action, great noise and an OK finish. It was strange that Hogan was the face in peril in this one though and you'd think the celebrity would be the one to look weaker and struggle to overcome the heels. Match Rating: ***

That's it for the show so let's see who gained the most from this show and who didn't....

Wrestler Scores:

• Tito Santana +5 (34)
• The Executioner +3 (3)
• King Kong Bundy +5 (9)
• SD Jones +1 (5)
• Ricky Steamboat +5 (5)
• Matt Borne +4 (7)
• David Sammartino +1 (4)
• Brutus Beefcake +2 (4)
• Junkyard Dog +4 (8)
• Greg Valentine +5 (31)
• Iron Sheik +6 (15)
• Nikolai Volkoff +5 (7)
• Mike Rotundo +6 (6)
• Barry Windham +5 (5)
• Andre the Giant +3 (13)
• Big John Studd +2 (10)
• Wendi Richter +1 (3)
• Lailani Kai +1 (1)
• Hulk Hogan +6 (31)
• Mr T +3 (7)
• Roddy Piper +6 (27)
• Paul Orndorff +6 (14)

So a card with 3 DUDS on it is never a great one is it. My advice, just watch the main event for quality seeking viewers. 

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @thewrestlindork and check out our affiliates! See you next edition for an April house show!

WWE All Star Search #6: 17th March 1985 (ft. The War to Settle the Score)

WWE All Star Search #6: 17th March 1985 (ft. The War to Settle the Score)

Welcome Turnbucklers! Its edition #6 and we are back in MSG for another house show on our road to the very first Wrestlemania. Not going to lie, finding shows between October 1984 and March 1985 was hard, very hard. So to make up for it, I'm adding two HUGE events into this edition. First I'm going to look at an IC Title match, followed by a key match in the Rock 'n' Wrestling era which is the WWE Title match from the War to Settle the Score. Then it's onto the last big show before Wrestlemania 1 and we have a massive list of new faces in this one so let's see how they make their first impressions on the All Star Search. Finally, the main event is a Lumberjack Match so let's hope that turns out to be fun. Would like to add a big thank you and hello to any new readers out there, last edition broke my viewing records by x5 which is overwhelming and very humbling! Shall we begin...?

The Card:

Tito Santana (IC Champ) vs Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine [IC Title Match]

Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ) vs Rowdy Roddy Piper [WWE Title Match]

Rocky Johnson vs Charlie Fulton

Barry O vs Rene Goulet

Jim Neidhart vs SD Jones

King Kong Bundy vs Jose Luis Rivera

David Sammartino vs Matt Borne

Andre The Giant/Jimmy Snuka/Junkyard Dog vs Ken Patera/Jesse Ventura/Big John Studd

Ricky Steamboat vs Terry Gibbs

Greg Valentine (IC Champ) vs Tito Santana [IC Title Match - Lumberjack Match]

The Show:

Let's begin with an IC Title match from September 1984 between the champ, Tito Santana and Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine. They've had a run of good matches each in this series so far with Hammer made to look strong in his contendership. They had a decent match a few months earlier but it was overshadowed by the whole Jimmy Snuka stretcher job going on at the time.

Tito Santana (IC Champ) vs Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine [IC Title Match]

Its September 1984 here and Tito is your defending IC champion. They've had previous interactions and this feud has been simmering nicely. Albano is with Hammer in this one and both are getting solid heat. Tito is nursing a poor leg in this one and Valentine uses it to his advantage in his normal methodical way. Crowd is solidly behind Santana in this one with many a chant. Valentine works over the injured leg but Santana escapes and manages to hit his Flying Burrito for a close two count. He continues on the offense and gets another close two. He thinks he's won though and while his back is turned, Hammer nails him with a knee to the back...and that gets the 3 and we have a new IC Champion! Crowd chant bullshit and everyone seemed slightly confused about the finish. Santana did a great sympathy job and Valentine looked crisp as always. Match Rating: **1/4

Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ) vs Rowdy Roddy Piper [WWE Title Match]

Talk about a money match! This was hyped up beyond another level at this point in time. Hogan being Hogan was riding high as champion but oh boy, Piper was generating unparalleled heat! This was shown live on MTV much like the Brawl to End it All and again, drew HUGE numbers. Piper comes out to major heat accompanyed by his bagpipe players and Cowboy Bob Orton (with a cast on his arm). Piper to generate some extra heat...destroys a nice looking guitar! In the words of a friend...SOME GUY! is our special ring announcer...but being from anywhere that isn't America...no clue who he is. Eye of the Tiger hits to a monstrous pop...as per! You can't even dream of comparing Cena to Hogan watching this. Cyndi Lauper, her fella and Captain Lou Albano are accompanying Hogan. By the way, Albano is a face now after realising the errors of his ways. Crowd is hot as they start off like a house of fire trading shots. We hear Mr T is in the crowd as Hogan takes control in the early going with slams. The crowd is unglued. Piper does take control eventually with boots and gets solid heat. Sleeper by Piper and Hulk...Hulks up...but doesn't get too far with it. Piper with more offense than I was expecting at this point. Orton tries to get involved and fails so Hogan regains control. Mr Wonderful Paul Orndorff comes out to support Piper from the outside and the ref gets bumped. Orndorff gets involved and he and Piper double team Hogan. Lauper gets on the apron to do some mouthing off and the heels get sucked in but hold on...crowd pops HUGE...and Mr T of all people gets involved to even the odds. Mr T however ends up getting double teamed until Hogan is up and bails him out. The match itself is thrown out as a no contest. Well, well, well, that was certainly a fun little match. If Piper got the belt here in time for Wrestlemania...the reaction would have been catatonic. The heat for everyone involved was smoldering. Of course, this puts us firmly on the road to Wrestlemania 1! Exciting! Match Rating: **1/2

Onto the MSG House Show now and our commentary team are Gorilla Monsoon and Mean Gene Okerlund once again. At this point its worth me mentioning that their commentary dynamic is a little off. Both play very similar roles and are obviously both face. More balance is definitely needed soon.

Rocky Johnson vs Charlie Fulton

What a way to start us off! Boring, slow paced match with literally nothing to mention. Punches and stalling head scissors is the peak of this one in fact. The crowd were somewhat dead during this one. At one point, Rocky is referred to as 'Rock' which is a fun little precursor. Johnson gets the win with a sunset flip. Match Rating: DUD

Barry O vs Rene Goulet

Into the next match now and we have a first debut of this edition. Barry O is Cowboy Bob's brother and Randy Orton's uncle. Rene Goulet is my 1984 foreign heel of the year...a trophy is on his way to him. 'Who knows what that O could mean' - Gorilla Monsoon. The match itself is as dull as dull can be. The commentary team spend the majority of the match discussing Wrestlemania and its tag team main event. Nice powerslam by Barry for 2. It picks up slightly towards the end of the match and a small package gets the win for Barry O. Dull, simple as. Barry O looked as vanilla as a discount Vienetta. Match Rating: 1/4*

Jim Neidhart vs SD Jones

Its blog debut number 2 and it's Jim 'soon to be Anvil' Neidhart! His appearance instantly makes him stand out from most of the roster in a positive way. His opponent is SD Jones who is slowly becoming more and more of a jobber as months drift by. Neidhart is with Jimmy Hart who I think is also making his blog debut. Fun early goings with both men trading offense. Neidhart shows off the personality we'll become accustomed too over time with his overexaggerations. He does show off his size and power though which is a good thing. They do the scoop slam/reversed into an armbar spot which I've seen numerous times since starting these reviews but I haven't seen it before. SD Jones uses the hard-head gimmick but its all in vain as Neidhart eventually gets the easy win with a crisp Powerslam. Good debut from Neidhart, I found it hard not to be entertained by him. Match Rating: 3/4*

King Kong Bundy vs Jose Luis Rivera

Blog debut number 3 - King Kong Bundy! We're going to be seeing a lot of him over the next year. Jimmy Hart is back out with Bundy. Rivera, much like SD Jones is slipping further into jobber territory. In comparison to everyone but Andre and Big John Studd, Bundy is just ridiculously big. He puts his size to good use, easily overpowering Rivera on a number of occasions. The crowd are quiet but seemingly because their in awe of Bundy. Rivera gets 2 dropkicks in but Bundy is barely phased. Bundy gets the win not long after with a massive elbow drop. Utter squash match but Bundy looked impressive as a beast, if not just for his look. Match Rating: 1/2*

Into the back with Hulk Hogan and Mr T. Hogan says Mr T is the best partner he could've found for Wrestlemania. Mr T says he specialises in work, torture and pain...his words, not mine. Bottom line 'they dead meat!' says T and Hogan says he apologizes for whats the come.

Well, well, well, we're getting a live Piper's Pit! Out comes Piper with 'Cowboy' Bob Orton alongside him to major heat. The microphone is annoying dodgy. Piper says that he's out there talking because no one wanted to fight him. He rips on New York as a heel would...but slightly funnier. He trolls the crowd something fierce by hyping up his next guest making it sound like Mr T...but it's Mr Wonderful Paul Orndorff. Big boo's for that one. Orndorff tries talking but just makes sound...I think I heard him say 'outhouse'. Piper tells Mr T to stop snorting Cocaine and come join him in the ring. Which he promptly does to big cheers and he's brought Hogan and Jimmy Snuka with him. Snuka hasn't been mentioned since he was stretchered out months ago which is nice. Piper tells T to sit down and of course, rips into him while still trying to play it friendly and cool. It doesn't last long and tensions soon rise but the crowd eat it up. Piper runs down T's life acheivements and tells him he's giving T the chance to back out the fight to save face and there will be no shame! T fires back and says he ain't quitting. Piper brings out a painting of Mr T with his arm in a sling but T ain't scared! Things start getting physical but no brawl. Heels bail out the ring leaving the faces to soak up mild cheers. Mr T says Piper gonna pay! He promises! Good promo and I am actually hyped for Mania 1! Piper was gold here and Mr T was great in his role too.

David Sammartino vs Matt Borne

Blog debuts number 4 and 5! David Sammartino is the vanilla looking son of Bruno and Matt Borne is the son of 'Tough' Tony Borne...but you'll know him better as Doink the Clown. Borne looks like Charlie Fulton and here's me thinking I'd never get Charlie Fulton in a reference. Slaps and shoves to start before we get into some back and forth. Sammartino shows of some decent greco roman skills and Borne nails a lovely belly to belly suplex. Borne showing good aggression that we'll see later down the road. Of course it breaks down into restholds and strikes before Borne eats a big back body drop. More restholds before Sammartino gets a suplex and takes control. Sammartino goes up top but Borne slams him down for a slow 2 count. He goes for a powerslam but Sammartino rolls through for the 3 count! Sammartino looked...vanilla and Borne looked decent but too many restholds. Match Rating: 1/2*

Andre The Giant/Jimmy Snuka/Junkyard Dog vs Ken Patera/Jesse Ventura/Big John Studd

We have blog debut number 6 in this one and you better grab dem cakes as it's the Junkyard Dog! Lots of big names in this one. Andre and Studd are developing a feud that will lead towards Wrestlemania. Jimmy Snuka makes his first blog appearance since turning one of my previous editions into an episode of Casualty. Jesse Ventura is back from his bloodclot late last year and Patera is enjoying a decent push since his return. Bobby Heenan is with the heels in this one and Cpt Lou Albano is with the faces. Andre wastes no time getting to Studd but Studd bails to the floor. Faces control the early stages with JYD hitting his unique strikes and headbutts and Andre nailing a double noggin knocker on the heels. Everyone brawls with both sides getting a brief advantage. Eventually Snuka comes in and finds himself as face in peril as each of the heels take turns working him over. Eventually Snuka gets the tag to Andre who comes in and nails Studd with strikes. Ventura gets tagged in but realises he's out of his depth. A big boot and a superfly splash get the win for Snuka and his team! I really enjoyed that one, good flow, good balance and everyone played their role well. JYD is already proving popular in the WWE and his brief in ring appearances in this were harmless. Andre and Studd continued their feud towards Wrestlemania and showed good heat between the two. Snuka played a good face in peril, which makes sense as he has the least reason to be protected. Jesse found himself with little to do but that's a good thing considering his recent health issues. Match Rating: **3/4

Ricky Steamboat vs Terry Gibbs

Another debut here as we have Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat making his first blog appearance. He's another performer who was on the 1983 Starrcade card and I think, also the 1984 card too. Terry Gibbs...is also here. Lots of back and forth with Gibbs getting a decent amount of offense in. Steamboat looked as crisp as ever hitting his usual arsenal of moves. He makes Gibbs look great when Gibbs is on the offense. Steamboat shows off his array of chops and strikes. With a couple of poses thrown in for good measure. Steamboat gets the win with a flying cross body! Nothing special, just a way to get Steamboat some ring time. Match Rating: *

Greg Valentine (IC Champ) vs Tito Santana [IC Title Match - Lumberjack Match]

It's the main event! As mentioned earlier, Valentine is now the IC Champ and is now with Jimmy Hart at his side and Tito wants his belt back! This is Lumberjack rules so we have an array of superstars around the ring. Big pop for Tito which is always a good sign. Hammer pearl harbours him to start put to no avail as Hammer quickly ends up outside. The heels seem to protect him but ultimate babyface Ricky Steamboat, calm as you like, walks over and throws him back in. Santana keeps control for a few minutes while Hammer sells like gold but the tide shifts with an atomic drop for Hammer. Santana regains control, Hammer tries to escape but the faces throw him back into the ring. Hammer selling so much like Flair its silly....that includes flops and all. Someone randomly rings the ringbell but its ignored so I have no idea what that was about. Hammer in control now and works over the legs of Tito...good psycology working his way to the figure four and what's even better, Tito sells it! Tito thrown outside and then thrown back in like he's just a corpse. He's thrown back outside to the faces who...protect him...no! That's not your job lads. Hammer goes for the figure four but its countered into a cradle for 2. Tito fights back and Hammer Flair flops again. Suplex by Santana and he goes for his own Figure Four. Hart distracts the ref while the heels help out Hammer. Tito distracts himself with the outside heels but gets pearl harboured by Hammer. They hit a shoulderblock on each other, Hammer falls on top of Santana and that gets the 3! Hammer is completely KO'd too though. Really enjoyed that one and the Lumberjack was a nice tweak to the usual formula between these two. Santana is by far the best at gaining sympathy from the crowd and Valentine is WWE's very own Flair (just not as good). Match Rating: ***

Wrestler Scores:

(I'm taking into consideration the two extra matches reviewed and the live Piper's Pit. Mr T gets a rating therefore as he played a crucial role in a main segment in the show.)

• Tito Santana +12 (29)
• Greg Valentine +13 (26)
• Hulk Hogan +7 (25)
• Roddy Piper +14 (21)
• Rocky Johnson +2 (6)
• Charlie Fulton +1 (4)
• Barry O +2 (2)
• Rene Goulet +2 (7)
• Jim Neidhart +4 (4)
• SD Jones +2 (4)
• King Kong Bundy +4 (4)
• Jose Luis Rivera +1 (4)
• Mr T +4 (4)
• David Sammartino +3 (3)
• Matt Borne +3 (3)
• Jesse Ventura +5 (7)
• Ken Patera +5 (10)
• Big John Studd +5 (8)
• Andre The Giant +5 (10)
• Jimmy Snuka +4 (14)
• Junkyard Dog +4 (4)
• Ricky Steamboat +3 (3)
• Terry Gibbs +3 (3) 

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @TheWreslinDork and I shall see you next time...for Wrestlemania 1!!

WWE All Star Search #5: September 22nd 1984

WWE All Star Search #5: September 22nd 1984

Welcome Turnbucklers! Its edition #5 and we are back in Madison Square Garden for the September supercard. So who's new to the blog this time round? Well we got...Brutus Beefcake (this show is his MSG debut), Nikolai Volkoff, Big John Studd and...AND...one of my personal favourites, Bobby Heenan, who makes his suprise debut on this show. Its worth mentioning Hogan is on this show and Santana isn't so let's do this shall we!

The Card:

Brutus Beefcake vs Salvatore Bellomo

Nikolai Volkoff vs Chief Jay Strongbow

David Schultz vs SD Jones

Greg Valentine vs Jose Luis Rivera

Big John Studd vs Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ) [WWE Title Match]

Ken Patera vs Rick McGraw

Sgt Slaughter/Wild Samoans vs Cpt Lou Albano/Adrain Adonis/Dick Murdoch (WWE Tag Team Champs)

B. Brian Blair vs Iron Mike Sharpe

Kamala vs Pat Patterson

The Show:

Your commentary team tonight are Gorilla Monsoon and Mean Gene Okerlund.

Brutus Beefcake vs Salvatore Bellomo

Beefcake's debut and he comes out looking like a gay magician. Before we start Howard Finkel announces Jesse Ventura is in hospital so won't be there tonight. Big heat for Fink giving the address for well wishes to be sent! Big John Studd is announced as his replacement to a MASSIVE pop. Wow. As far as jobbers go, Bellomo has been doing alright in this blog. He gets some nice offense in early in this one, so far so good. Beefcake admittedly is coming across as nothing special and has had barely any offense so far. Nice mule kick by Bellomo that I've not seen before....by a human at least. When Beefcake is in control, the problem is he shows no personality and neither does he move set and to me that's lowcard/jobber to me. The only personality he shows is a small hip shuffle to prove his flambouyancy. He is methodical but its all so basic and boring. He does however catch Bellomo is a lovely powerslam for the win! Not a great debut for Brutus but decent finish. Match Rating: 3/4*

Nikolai Volkoff vs Chief Jay Strongbow

I'm not expecting a high flying spectacle for this one. We start with Volkoff singing the USSR national anthem and gets big, Cold War heat. Turns out there were a lot of rest holds in this and a lot of scrappy looking punches. There was a long nerve hold spot by Volkoff. Volkoff gets the win with a shot to Strongbow's chest. Boring match that made Volkoff look poor. Match Rating: DUD

S.D Jones vs Dr D David Schultz

I've not seen much of either of these two so this might be interesting. Crowd seem restless and are still quite loud. The early goings of the match are just scraps between the two with Jones coming out on top. Jones looks like an idiot though as he keeps accepting Schult'z test of strength...except Schultz keeps slapping him at the last second. Jones didn't catch on until the THIRD time. The finish is awkward as Schultz nails a jumping leg lariat for the count 3...but the 3rd count was delayed and it looked like SD kicked out. Boring match where neither looked too great. Schultz was OK. Match Rating: 1/2*

Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine vs Jose Luis Rivera

I don't like Rivera's chances in this one as he was the quintessential jobber. Valentine had a decent match last month against Tito so I'm interested to see how he comes off with a less formidable opponent. Hammer gains control pretty early and shows off his methodical side while going for the figure four. He hits a lovely knee to the stomach which Gorilla calls a 'reverse backbreaker'. He throws Rivera to the outside, suplexes Rivera back in...or so it looked until he turned it into a shoulderbreaker instead, nice! Rivera eventually gets 2 scoop slams worth of offence but that's it as Hammer drops him over the top rope. Rivera fights back and the crowd is alive now. Lovely double underhook suplex by Hammer followed by an elbow. Figure four gets the win for Hammer not long after. Hammer looked good in this and Rivera got the crowds sympathy. Still a squash match but it was fun. Match Rating: *1/4

Into the back with BOBBY 'THE BRAIN' HEENAN and Big John Studd. I'm a massive Heenan fan so I'm buzzing he's now appeared. He claims he's outsmarted every one in wrestling for bagging Studd as his client and he's soon to be world champ. Studd claims to be the winner tonight and new champ too. Heenan finishes by saying Studdomania will run wild!

Hulk Hogan (WWE Champ) vs Big John Studd [WWE Title Match]

Big heat for Heenan and Studd but I don't know whether it's because they know them and their characters already or because they're facing Hogan. Hogan, by the way, comes out to the biggest pop I've heard yet on this blog. Holy ship, it's deafening and he's still using Eye of the Tiger so he looks like a complete superstar. That right there, gets the guy points already. Hogan is bleeding from the chest...before any physical interaction. The commentators say he might have scratched himself...I just think it's where the needle went in. Anyway...Studd controls from the start but Hulk instantly Hulk's up...but gets cut off with a knee to the chest. Hulk counters in the corner and sends Studd reeling outside while the crowd go mental. Hulk back in control, tries for a body slam but can't quite do it so Studd takes control. There's a bearhug spot by Studd but Hogan expectantly escapes...but runs into a shoulderblock. Crowd are still buzzing at this as another bearhug is applied. Hogan hulks up, counters and both men go down for a breather. Hogan sent outside where he blades and won't be let back in the ring by Studd. Hogan hulks up, back in the ring and plows through Studd. He tries to slam him again and fails again. Back outside the ring for a big brawl to take place. In the melee, Heenan pushes Studd back in the ring and he gets the countout win! The heels knick the belt and run off to the back while Hogan moans and bollocks the referee. Crap match, slow and sluggish but the crowd were molten hot. That is why Hogan will forever has his place in wrestling, because no wrestler with such unrelatability gained that reaction week in, week out. Big John Studd for me was Big John DUD. Match Rating: 3/4*

Ken Patera vs Rick McGraw

So it's the recently reappeared Ken Patera versus Quick Draw. Ken Patera still looks like a poor man's Ric Flair and is a complete throwback to the previous decade. This is a complete squash match and not a fun one. Patera uses his power and his Olympic prowess to quick control, working on McGraw's leg. Patera gets the win with a Full Nelson. Crowd didn't care and neither did I. Match Rating: 1/2*

Into the back with Captain Lou Albano who says he's going to un-mar his name and although he may be effectively useless in ring tonight, he can still help...and still may cripple someone.

Sgt Slaughter/Wild Samoans vs Cpt Lou Albano/Adrain Adonis/Dick Murdoch (WWE Tag Team Champs)

The Wild Samoans are after revenge here after being screwed out of the titles by Albano and the champs. Slaughter is added into this one because...extra face value? So was it better than last months *1/4 encounter...Well the crowd are hot early on when the faces clean house and Albano waddles to the back. The Samoans no sell a double noggin-knocker...because they're not American I assume. Albano briefly comes in and nails a few punches but they get no sold and he's quickly back out. More no selling by the Samoans and Murdoch finds himself in the wrong corner and panics like a hipster without hummus. If the Samoans don't feel pain with elbows shots and headbutts...does that make all head maneuvers irrelavant. Would they no sell an Undertaker Tombstone at Wrestlemania? The heels take control of Sgt Slaughter as he feels pain apparently. The heels are methodical and aggressive when controlling as you'd expect from the champs. The crowd love it all! Especially when Albano comes in and gets beaten by the Samoans. Adonis hits a great missile dropkick from the top rope! Slaughter eventually comes back in and cleans house of the heels then everyone brawls as the crowd eats it up.Finish comes when Slaughter manages to slam Murdoch off the top rope for 3! The crowd were hot and the heels successfully kept them intrigued and would up. It was the same Murdoch/Adonis match I've seen a couple of times so far. The Samoans used way too many headbutts and way too many no-sells. Slaughter was...Slaughter and Albano was fun to watch. The addition of Slaughter and Albano made this slightly better than last months match. Match Rating: *1/2

B. Brian Blair vs Iron Mike Sharpe

So here we have a rematch from last month where both men looked decent. Sharpe does his normal mouthing off routine and even hijacks the microphone to talk about his arms. Blair at this point was one of the smoother and quicker workers on the roster and was still enjoying his newbie push. The beginning of this match is a lot of stalling on the part of Sharpe until his aggressive nature gives him control. He uses the railings and chairs to punish Blair on the outside. Blair eventually gets some offense in of his own, working over Sharpe's legs. The match was very back and forth with lots of counters and reversals between the 2. Sharpe definitely had more control than I was expecting from him. Unfortunately it's Blairs lack of personality that's letting him down. If you took Blair's in-ring work and Sharpe's characteristics and charisma...you got yourself a superstar. The balance in this match has been perfect. Great balance between offense amount that both men get, the different styles of moves and their selling. The one thing that bugs me is the crowd seem I bit uninterested. Finish comes after some really good back and forth when Sharpe shoves the referee down after using a foreign object. Blair wins by DQ. Better than their original match, best match of this card so far and it's a shame neither man made it too far up the card. Match Rating: **1/4

Before our main event, Bobby Heenan comes back out. He complains about Studd not winning the title despite winning the match. Surely you know the rules Bobby? He has a contract for Hogan to sign for a rematch whereby Hogan can lose the title on a countout. Hogan comes out to a big pop as per and signs the contract. Hogan gets some fighting talk in and heads to the back.

Kamala vs Pat Patterson

So THIS is our main event?! WWF had some strange ideas when it came to card chronology. Kamala comes out to no reaction so we can appreciate he's stereotypical tribal theme in all it's outdated glory. Kamala pearl habours Auntie Pat and goes through his basic array of strikes and chokes. Patterson fights out but can't get the scoop slam. Pat Patterson uses his brains to keep control but it's a shame Kamala can't sell. Not long later, Kamala hits a splash for the 3 count. What a way to end the night. Match Rating: DUD

Awful show, highlight being Blair vs Sharpe, which should tell you all you need to know. Nice intro for Heenan though and it means I can look forward to his appearances from now on.

Wrestler Scores:

• Brutus Beefcake +2 (2)
• Salvatore Bellomo +2 (11)
• Nikolai Volkoff +2 (2)
• Cheif Jay Strongbow +1 (6)
• David Schultz +3 (3)
• SD Jones +2 (2)
• Greg Valentine +4 (13)
• Jose Luis Rivera +3 (3)
• Big John Studd +3 (3)
• Hulk Hogan +6 (18)
• Ken Patera +3 (6)
• Rick McGraw +2 (5)
• Sgt Slaughter +3 (11)
• Afa +3 (10)
• Sika +3 (10)
• Cpt Lou Albano +3 (3)
• Adrian Adonis +4 (11)
• Dick Murdoch +4 (10)
• B Brian Blair +5 (9)
• Iron Mike Sharpe +5 (8)
• Kamala +2 (4)
• Pat Patterson +2 (4)